Well, as you can see from the title, this might seem a bit strange, but I've got Bob in my head to contend with. I think we each had our own idea and this was the compromise, probably the worst case. For various reasons I was recently blessed with two rubs from two sources: Rub 1 is some Foil Hat Rub from Bigabyte (shown here with my sous chefs):
And Rub 2 is dubbed Moose #2, shown with my sous ... cow(?):
Out of the kindness of his heart Richard sent me this rub that was formulated for chicken. Now, I rarely cook chicken, sure I do curry chicken kabobs a LOT
and also do very nice Greek chicken kabobs, but straight up chicken grilled or BBQed is maybe a couple times a year. Now I've done it enough to know that chicken loves the smoke and I'm not intimidated, but promised I'd give it a shot and report the results even if they aren't from the ideal chef.
So, last weekend I managed to sneak in some boneless, skinless chicken thighs to go along with three racks of babybacks and some boneless beef short ribs. I was hoping to try everything out at once, which is normally not the best of ideas. My thought was to cook everything up at once and have a mini-throwdown of sorts. Why boneless, skinless chicken you might ask. Because I am lazy, I will answer. You can see that this is completely unfair to Moose, because not only are these boneless skinless thighs, but I optimize the temperature for the ribs(!) as normally I'd cook the chicken at a higher temp.
So, I ran the Oval up to about 275* and threw the ribs on for three hours with a chunk of oak. The ribs were seasoned with Foil Hat and no sauce was used:
My plan was to throw the chicken on (notice the very simple cooking style -- these were seasoned inside and out and placed in an aluminum pan, no skin scraping -- I told you I'm lazy -- and no parkay -- don't have margarine in the house and not even sure where to find it):
Planned to foil the ribs for about 1.5 hours
but unfortunately I had to run an errand and was gone for 2 hours. That's ok, because I then decided to use these slightly overcooked ribs for the throwdown. I removed the bones
and made a sammie with a loaf of French bread that some kind soul who was aware of my lack of bread-making ability made for me.
If you're not familiar with the throwdowns, please visit and vote. There are 12 really good entries this week with links so you can read about each one:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83465
The more people who participate by entering and/or voting the better.
The real competition came next! Besides myself and my wife, we have two daughters, aged 8 and 11, whose taste in food depends on the phase of the moon. Yes, these are the judges (sorry Chris and Richard, them's the breaks). So entry number 1 is the ribs:
and entry number 2 is the chicken thighs:
So, what was the outcome? Almost immediately there was some disturbance. I believe the moon was full: Judge 1 (aged 11) did not like the thighs and Judge 2 (aged 8 ) did not like the ribs, so they swapped (fair enough). Judge 2 finished her thigh and that of Judge 1 and decided she wanted MORE. This is absolutely unheard of. Meanwhile (because of the full moon), Judge 1 while eating the ribs suddenly declared that they tasted "fuzzy" -- Yes, you read that right "fuzzy"; I have no idea what the fark that means. I have had all kinds of ribs before and never before have I encountered "fuzzy" ones. Not to be outdone, Judge 2 announced that she doesn't like the chicken (despite working on her third helping) as it is suddenly too spicy.
OK, so welcome to my world, arrrrrgh! :mad2:
The adult assessment
Ribs: Despite the opinions of the judges, the parents declared the ribs the best ever. Yes, I've had tons of ribs in my life, but I cannot recall having any that tasted as good. Foil Hat is a real winner, at least for those whose taste buds are not attuned to fuzziness. Incidentally, we have all since had leftover ribs for dinner and everyone ate them and they apparently lost their fuzziness, but then again, the moon was no longer full.
Chicken: I really enjoyed the chicken (and I assumed this was a winner with Judge 2 also, judging by the amount she ate). The seasoning was significantly different than what I'm used to as to be very refreshing. My wife was not as fond of it, but thinks it could use salt -- I tried both straight-up with no additives remember. I would like to try this again grilled with added salt. I have had some leftovers for lunch and will gladly use it again. It has since been turned into chicken salad and is REALLY good. I just want to note that I've never cooked chicken this way and it was very nice, tender and juicy. I had expected the outside to be tough and chewy but it wasn't. For lazy, fat-conscious people who don't want to bother with skin or add margarine, it worked well -- and best of all, it wasn't fuzzy!
Throwdown results? Even though any sane person would admit the deck was seriously stacked against Moose, all the food was VERY good. Based on the reactions of the judges, I am declaring two winners :thumb: -- no tie-breakers in my throwdowns! Granted the outcome could be very different during a new moon. I will use these in future cooks and will post more pron as it happens, but that's all for now. Now Chris, how do I print up these certificates?
And Rub 2 is dubbed Moose #2, shown with my sous ... cow(?):
Out of the kindness of his heart Richard sent me this rub that was formulated for chicken. Now, I rarely cook chicken, sure I do curry chicken kabobs a LOT
and also do very nice Greek chicken kabobs, but straight up chicken grilled or BBQed is maybe a couple times a year. Now I've done it enough to know that chicken loves the smoke and I'm not intimidated, but promised I'd give it a shot and report the results even if they aren't from the ideal chef.
So, last weekend I managed to sneak in some boneless, skinless chicken thighs to go along with three racks of babybacks and some boneless beef short ribs. I was hoping to try everything out at once, which is normally not the best of ideas. My thought was to cook everything up at once and have a mini-throwdown of sorts. Why boneless, skinless chicken you might ask. Because I am lazy, I will answer. You can see that this is completely unfair to Moose, because not only are these boneless skinless thighs, but I optimize the temperature for the ribs(!) as normally I'd cook the chicken at a higher temp.
So, I ran the Oval up to about 275* and threw the ribs on for three hours with a chunk of oak. The ribs were seasoned with Foil Hat and no sauce was used:
My plan was to throw the chicken on (notice the very simple cooking style -- these were seasoned inside and out and placed in an aluminum pan, no skin scraping -- I told you I'm lazy -- and no parkay -- don't have margarine in the house and not even sure where to find it):
Planned to foil the ribs for about 1.5 hours
but unfortunately I had to run an errand and was gone for 2 hours. That's ok, because I then decided to use these slightly overcooked ribs for the throwdown. I removed the bones
and made a sammie with a loaf of French bread that some kind soul who was aware of my lack of bread-making ability made for me.
If you're not familiar with the throwdowns, please visit and vote. There are 12 really good entries this week with links so you can read about each one:
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=83465
The more people who participate by entering and/or voting the better.
The real competition came next! Besides myself and my wife, we have two daughters, aged 8 and 11, whose taste in food depends on the phase of the moon. Yes, these are the judges (sorry Chris and Richard, them's the breaks). So entry number 1 is the ribs:
and entry number 2 is the chicken thighs:
So, what was the outcome? Almost immediately there was some disturbance. I believe the moon was full: Judge 1 (aged 11) did not like the thighs and Judge 2 (aged 8 ) did not like the ribs, so they swapped (fair enough). Judge 2 finished her thigh and that of Judge 1 and decided she wanted MORE. This is absolutely unheard of. Meanwhile (because of the full moon), Judge 1 while eating the ribs suddenly declared that they tasted "fuzzy" -- Yes, you read that right "fuzzy"; I have no idea what the fark that means. I have had all kinds of ribs before and never before have I encountered "fuzzy" ones. Not to be outdone, Judge 2 announced that she doesn't like the chicken (despite working on her third helping) as it is suddenly too spicy.
OK, so welcome to my world, arrrrrgh! :mad2:
The adult assessment
Ribs: Despite the opinions of the judges, the parents declared the ribs the best ever. Yes, I've had tons of ribs in my life, but I cannot recall having any that tasted as good. Foil Hat is a real winner, at least for those whose taste buds are not attuned to fuzziness. Incidentally, we have all since had leftover ribs for dinner and everyone ate them and they apparently lost their fuzziness, but then again, the moon was no longer full.
Chicken: I really enjoyed the chicken (and I assumed this was a winner with Judge 2 also, judging by the amount she ate). The seasoning was significantly different than what I'm used to as to be very refreshing. My wife was not as fond of it, but thinks it could use salt -- I tried both straight-up with no additives remember. I would like to try this again grilled with added salt. I have had some leftovers for lunch and will gladly use it again. It has since been turned into chicken salad and is REALLY good. I just want to note that I've never cooked chicken this way and it was very nice, tender and juicy. I had expected the outside to be tough and chewy but it wasn't. For lazy, fat-conscious people who don't want to bother with skin or add margarine, it worked well -- and best of all, it wasn't fuzzy!
Throwdown results? Even though any sane person would admit the deck was seriously stacked against Moose, all the food was VERY good. Based on the reactions of the judges, I am declaring two winners :thumb: -- no tie-breakers in my throwdowns! Granted the outcome could be very different during a new moon. I will use these in future cooks and will post more pron as it happens, but that's all for now. Now Chris, how do I print up these certificates?
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I may reconsider the use of fuzz in my rub. I thought it brought something more interesting to the mouthfeel of the foods, but perhaps I went too far and added too much fuzziness, or perhaps I just prefer fuzzy more than the average person.:thumb:
