Saturday, February 5, 2011

You Say It's Snowing ? Fire Up The Grill...!


I guess you all know by now that folks in Texas like their bar-b-cue.

Doesn't take much of a reason to fire up the ol' grill. The weather doesn't make much difference either! Rain, cold, hot, snow, or ice...all considered to be good for grilling! Freshly grilled meat from the outside, fresh baked bread from the inside! Talk about a winning combination of aromas! Makes my mouth water, that's for sure!

Of course, there always seems to be folks competing to see who's the best at the art of the grill! One thing I always wanted to do was to get a job as a taster! Not necessarily a judge, but a taster!

Thought you might like to read about just how seriously these cook-offs can be taken!

Houston team wins tailgating championship

By KEN HOFFMAN Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle
Feb. 4, 2011, 4:02PM


FORT WORTH — Hundreds of fans crowded into Sundance Square to watch America's best parking lot chefs compete in the Bing National Tailgating Championship.

Or maybe they were just trying to stay warm.

Tailgating contestants started cooking at 5 a.m. Thursday and fans began gathering around 10 a.m. The temperature was 26 degrees at eatin' time.

When the smoke cleared, the Bull's Eye Tailgaters from Houston won the top prize of $15,000 and a gold-colored, fully functional gas barbecue grill.

It's a little glitzy.

The event was hosted by New Orleans Saints star Reggie Bush and Joe Cahn, the "Commish" of the Tailgating Institute of America.

The Bull's Eye team won the Houston semifinals back in November. The judges were former Texans lineman Steve McKinney, H-E-B president Scott McClelland and me. Ah, we remember those pork ribs well.

The Houston cookers defeated tailgate teams from Denver, New York, Phoenix, New Orleans and Seattle.

Do they even know what barbecue is in those cities? From now on, the winner of the Houston event should be given the national trophy to save everybody time and trouble.

The Bull's Eye team cooked (take a deep breath) brisket, jalapeƱo cheddar sausage, bacon-wrapped beef tenderloin, smoked Cajun sausage, beef ribs, pork ribs, Cajun pork tenderloin and chicken. Plus all the fixin's.

"We're a Southern state so we wanted to impress the judges with our volume of beef and other meats," said Jason Saldivar, who founded the Bull's Eye Tailgaters with his brothers Troy and Ray.

"This was definitely the coldest weather we ever cooked in. We were prepared with propane heaters, though. The biggest hurdle we had was timing everything so it would be hot off the grill when we served the judges. That's what we do: timing and execution."

ken.hoffman@chron.com

Gotta love guys that are always thinking ahead and prepared for the competition! Probably some good people to have on your team, don't ya think?

What say we have fresh coffee and hot chocolate in the kitchen! That way we don't have to mess with the ice on the patio table!

9 comments:

Catman said...

Crazy. Hope non of them get hit on the head with ice.

HermitJim said...

Hey Catman...
Some of these guys are borderline nut jobs! They will spend fortunes to win a $25 dollar grill and a trophy!

I do like grilling, but would rather do it in the warmer weather, ya know?

More fun things to do in the cold weather, for sure!

Thanks for coming by today!

JoJo said...

Good Morning My Special One,
I love grilled meat but don't do it much here, I do a lot more up in the mountain. But is sounds like fun for those guy.
I think we are going to warm up now its 30 degrees. You stay warm and comfy now.

Mechanic in Illinois said...

It's snowing here in central Illinois alright. We got about 15 inches of snow and with the wind blowing we had 20 foot drifts. Worked over 70 hours plowing since tuesday. Today its about 5 above and the wind is suppose to pick up so I'm sure we'll be out plowing soon. 4 of us cover over 70 miles of road for the township. Thanks for the story and have a great saturday.

Ken said...

...now,i'll brave the arctic conditions,fire up the grill,and have some sausage dogs fer lunch(aint steaks,or brisket,but i got a good imagination...lol)Jim,yer such an instigator...

HermitJim said...

Hey JoJo...
You know I'm going to do what I can to stay warm! As long as I can keep my feet warm, I'm good!

Cooking on a grill always seems better when done while camping! Something about it just adds flavor!

You stay warm, sweetie, and thanks for coming by today!


Hey Mechanic...
Sounds to me like you have your hands full, trying to keep up with these Winter storms!

I don't envy you the job of plowing out in this cold!

Stay warm, my friend, and thanks for coming by today!


Hey Ken...
Didn't mean to stir things up, but just think about how good that meat will taste when you bring it back inside!

Besides, grilling keeps us out of trouble, right? At least, a little bit?

Thanks, buddy, for coming by today!

Sunfighter said...

Many's the time the snow was coming down hard and I had a Turkey on the grill on a cold crisp November day, not one of those wimpy propane grills either. Besides, that what they Brandy for.

HermitJim said...

Hey Sunfighter...
I'd say it can be an interesting way to cure cabin fever!

Besides, the brandy can help in case of snakebite, right? Gotta watch out for those "snow snakes"!

Thanks for dropping by today!

Kelle at The Never Done Farm said...

We're crazy too, because nothing better than a BBQed T bone when the wind is blowing and windchills are -56F! Hey my Dh cooked them, I did the inside cooking and kept the wood stove stoked, LOL!!!!

To each their own, right?
Blessings,
Kelle