Grilling Good Eats

By Mike Thayer

It's five-o'clock somewhere right?

This is a go-to adult beverage for me, of my own invention, I call it, the Hillbilly High.  It ain't purdy, it ain't sweet, it ain't lady-like foo-foo, it don't have an umbrella in it.

It's bourbon dammit, with a caffeine kicker. 

The Hillbilly High

Ingredients:

• 1 shot of your favorite bourbon
• 1 shot of Mountain Dew (I prefer Diet Mountain Dew, it's not as sweet)
• 1 shot of water
• a squeeze of lime juice and a slice to garnish

Serve on the rocks.

What makes it Hillbilly?  Well, the best American Whiskeys (Bourbon is my preference) come from Kentucky and Tennessee, Hillbilly country.  

What makes it "high?"  Mountain Dew, not only was it invented in Hillbilly country (Tennessee, 1940), it brings the caffeine kick!

Enjoy. 

And the recipe is so easy, ask your favorite bartender to whip one up for you. 

$pend Wisely My Friends.....

via www.bacheloronthecheap.com

 

By Mike Thayer

What is the most popular thing to add to meats cooked outdoors?

BBQ Sauces

It’s true, the most popular thing to add to the plethora of meats cooked outdoors is BBQ sauce. If you had guessed ketchup, believe it or not, you would be wrong.

The person who invented BBQ sauce is unknown, but whoever he was, he was a genius! References to the sauce started appearing in 17th century English and French literature about the formation of the American colonies. The rest is history and boy has BBQ sauce been kicked up a notch with all kinds of flavors and varieties created over the last 400+ years!

A traditional flavoring for pork, beef and chicken, sauce can range from watery to thick, from being heavy on the vinegar to being loaded with spice. Ranging in flavor from sugary to savory, to HOT!, heck, there’s even mustard and mayonnaise based BBQ sauces. It’s a regional thing, there’s Carolina BBQ; Tennessee whiskey BBQ; Texas BBQ; and the favorite of many, Kansas City Style BBQ.

What is your favorite, do you like sweet, tangy, KC style, Carolina style?  Have you tried enough variety to know?

I've made this a challenge or sorts, sampling all those sauces, making comparisons and letting you know what I think the cream of the crop is. Will it be KC Masterpiece? Sweet Baby Ray's? Stubbs? Something else?

In my first tasting challenge, I sampled KC Masterpiece and Sweet Baby Ray's.  You can read that review here.

Today, I'm pitting Weber Original vs. Cookies Original.

The meat vehicle of choice to take these sauces on a test drive is some crock pot 'pulled' pork, pork loin (1-1/2 lb.) that was rubbed with my signature dry rub (refrigerated for 24 hours) and then placed in the crock pot with a very simple marinade of Margarita mix (one cup) and cooked on the high setting for 5-1/2 hours.  I chose pulled pork because it is arguably THE best foundation for testing BBQ sauces with.   

Weber Original

From the iconic maker of grills, comes Weber's Sweet & Thick Original BBQ Sauce.  You figure they know what they're doing right?  The recipe boasts of NO high fructose corn syrup and from the ingredients listed on the label this sauce is made in a Texas style, with more spice and less sugar than a KC BBQ style sauce.  And yes, Weber knows what they're doing, this is a very respectable sauce.  Smooth with a really nice finish, what sets Weber apart from other sauces is the use of red pepper, you definitely get that in each bite, it's not subtle, but it's not overpowering either.  I also appreciate that this sauce doesn't have any harsh, in-your-face 'sugarness' to it.  Costing $2.87 for an 18 ounce bottle, I'm giving Weber Original 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  It's reasonably priced and delivers a nicely balanced marriage of BBQ flavor.  It's a repeat buy.

Cookies Original

Hailing from my home state of Iowa....  Yes, Iowa has some good BBQ.....  If you are a regular reader I really like Cookies Flavor Enhancer, my favorite off-the-shelf all purpose seasoning.  And I've been known to use Cookies BBQ sauce as a base for doctoring up with minced onion, bourbon, garlic powder, Cayenne, red pepper flake and a few other ingredients.  So in full disclosure I'm already familiar with this sauce.  It's a KC BBQ style sauce, rich and thick, not something you can mop ribs with but works really well as a glaze applied 10 minutes or so before serving.  What sets this sauce apart from others is the use of Worcestershire Sauce in the recipe.  A bit on the sweet side (which is why I like to doctor it, balancing it out with some heat), this is a versatile sauce, delivering classic BBQ flavor that will please just about everyone.  Costing me $3.19 for a 26 ounce bottle, Cookies Original Sweet & Smoky BBQ Sauce is reasonably priced and is a repeat buy.  I'm giving it 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  It's another sauce that fits in the 'respectable sauce' category. 

Stay tuned for more sauce tastings!

$pend Wisely My Friends.....

By Mike Thayer

Be sure to take advantage of the March Bundle and Butcher Bag Specials going on at Yoder Meats, THE best butcher shop in town!

March Bundle Special

• 1 lb. Frozen Bratwurst
• 1 lb. All Beef Hot Dogs
• 2 lbs. Boneless Chicken Thighs
• 2 lbs. Chicken Legs
• 2 lbs. Chicken Breast
• 2 lbs. Sirloin Steak
• 3 lbs. Pork Chops
• 3 lbs. Pork Butt

All that variety and only $64! We're talking about $4.00 a pound of high quality meat and think about all the St. Patrick's Day party potential there!  Think Guinness beer and brats, or hot dogs and green beer.  How about a three meat Shepherd's Pie or pulled pork glazed with a Jameson Whiskey BBQ Sauce?  If you're planning a party, you've got PLENTY to work with here!

Butcher Bag for March

• 1 lb. Chicken Legs
• 1 lb. Frozen Bratwurst
• 1 lb. Sirloin Steak
• 2 lbs. Chicken Breast
• 2 lbs. Pork Chops

A very nice selection of meats and just $30! That's under $4.29 a pound and looking forward to grilling season this Butcher Bag of great meats would make for a nice stash in the freezer!!  Just imagine a nice juicy grilled pork chop that's been marinaded in some garlic infused olive oil, dressed with some Kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, a little Rosemary and cooked over the fire to perfection!

The specials are available at all Yoder Meats locations.  I shop at the East Central location, the staff is super!

Yoder Meats
6458 E. Central
Wichita, KS 67206
P. 316-201-6409

 

By Mike Thayer

What is the most popular thing to add to meats cooked outdoors?

BBQ Sauces

It’s true, the most popular thing to add to the plethora of meats cooked outdoors is BBQ sauce. If you had guessed ketchup, believe it or not, you would be wrong.

The person who invented BBQ sauce is unknown, but whoever he was, he was a genius! References to the sauce started appearing in 17th century English and French literature about the formation of the American colonies. The rest is history and boy has BBQ sauce been kicked up a notch with all kinds of flavors and varieties created over the last 400+ years!

A traditional flavoring for pork, beef and chicken, sauce can range from watery to thick, from being heavy on the vinegar to being loaded with spice. Ranging in flavor from sugary to savory, to HOT!, heck, there’s even mustard and mayonnaise based BBQ sauces. It’s a regional thing, there’s Carolina BBQ; Tennessee whiskey BBQ; Texas BBQ; and the favorite of many, Kansas City Style BBQ.

What is your favorite, do you like sweet, tangy, KC style, Carolina style?  Have you tried enough variety to know?

In the coming weeks, I'm going to be sampling it all, making comparisons and letting you know what I think the cream of the crop is. Will it be KC Masterpiece? Sweet Baby Ray's? Stubbs? Something else?

In my first tasting challenge, I sampled KC Masterpiece and Sweet Baby Ray's.  You can read that review here.

Today, I'm pitting Heinz Classic vs. Famous Dave's.

The meat vehicle of choice to take these sauces on a test drive is a Monster Thickburger from Hardees.  I chose the Monster Thickburger because it's a burger I recently reviewed that really needs some doctoring to make it better and there's nothing better to doctor a burger with than BBQ sauce!

I cut the Monster Thickburger in half and applied the two respective sauces equally on each half.  Let the better half be eaten.

Heinz Classic

The commentary on the bottle boasts of how the Heinz Barbecue team traveled the country and talked with pitmasters to bring us a sauce that captures the real flavors of barbecue.  Did they only talk to the losing teams then?  Because this sauce sucks.  It's a KC BBQ style sauce that is just too heavy on the sweet.  The first ingredient listed on the label is cane sugar, I'll give them kudos for using a natural ingredient rather than high fructose corn syrup, but goodness gracious - sugar is your first ingredient Heinz?  It's overpowering.  After taking the bite of the Monster Thickburger half dressed with this sauce, I immediately put it down, wondering how I was going to further doctor it to make it edible.  The burger was actually better WITHOUT the sauce!  Costing me $2.49 for a 21.4 ounce bottle, the best thing about this sauce IS the bottle!  It's the upside down kind, easy squeeze.  I'm giving Heinz BBQ Sauce Classic just 1 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  The price is actually quite reasonable, but it's a garbage sauce and definitely not a repeat buy.  Kids will probably like it because it's that damn sweet, but if you really have a passion for BBQ, this sauce is insulting.

Famous Dave's BBQ Sauce - Rich & Sassy, Original Recipe

If you know anything about BBQ, you know that Famous Dave's is renowned for winning on the competition BBQ circuit, touting more than 700 awards from a variety of contests nationwide, awards for Famous Dave's meats, desserts, his sauce, his catering business and his restaurants.  So it comes as no surprise that this is a good sauce.  It's a nicely balanced sauce hitting all the right notes, the tomato, the spice which is smartly offset by the sweet, you get the twang of the vinegar and here's what sets this sauce apart, the pineapple juice.  It's a refreshing kiss of tart.  There's a hint of honey in there too, making for a really nice saucy bite.  Needless to say, this is the Monster Thickburger half I enjoyed most and finished.   That Heinz half went in the fridge after one bite, I'll attempt a rescue later.  Costing me $3.19 for a 20 ounce bottle, Famous Dave's BBQ Sauce is reasonably priced and is a repeat buy.  I'm giving it 3 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  It's a very respectable sauce, but there are better sauces out there.

Stay tuned for more sauce tastings!

$pend Wisely My Friends.....

For more food and drink reviews go to www.bacheloronthecheap.com