LJ's BBQ - Pawtucket, Rhode Island

LJ's is a small establishment tucked away in a small shopping plaza.  As I walked toward the restaurant's entrance, I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  Upon opening the doors and entering, I found it to be quite pleasant.

Initially, I thought this was a standard BBQ place that did not smoke its meats.  Part of this is actually true, as not everything here is smoked, but oven-roasted or baked.  However, the brisket on the sandwich I ordered was definitely smoked.  The menu said it is "finished on the grill," which I found very odd.  But, yes, the brisket did have grill marks on it when served.  Whatever.  It was still very tender and sliced super thin.  It was perfect.  The sandwich I ordered came with some kind of runny, bourbon BBQ sauce and was damned sweet (too sweet, actually).  I'd recommend the brisket be served with a tangier sauce - but that's just me.

Otherwise, I had a good experience at LJ's.

The waitress sold me there was no macaroni and cheese because it was in the process of "cooling."  Ok.  Weird.  And they did not have beef ribs, corn on the cob, or mashed potatoes available.  Keep in mind I ate at LJ's at 2:30 p.m. on a weekday.

I had read reviews about the pulled pork at LJ's but sadly I was not in the mood for it when I arrived.  I'm a brisket guy and just had to have it.

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Smoked Meatballs

The New York Giants and New England Patriots will be playing in the Super Bowl this weekend.  And I'll be smoking meatballs for the Super Bowl party at my friend's new home.  But these aren't just your ordinary smoked meatball.  I will stuff mine with smoked Monterey Jack Cheese and finish them by wrapping each meatball in bacon before they all go onto the smoker.

The following recipe netted 110 meatballs.  So, adjust the ingredients based on how much ground meat you are using.  Here it goes!

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs. Ground Beef
• 1/2 lb. Smoked Monterey Jack Cheese, chunked (any hard cheese will do)
• 3/4 cup Bread Crumbs (seasoned, preferably)
• 4 Eggs
• 4 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 1/2 cups Water
• 1/4 cup Onion Powder
• 1/4 cup Lawry's Seasoned Salt
• 1/4 cup Ground Black Pepper
• 1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
• 1 lb. sliced Bacon (cut in half)

Directions:

Seasoning the meat:  Place ground beef into large mixing bowl.  Add garlic, Worcester sauce, onion powder, seasoned salt, black pepper, and parsley.  Mix thoroughly.  In separate bowl, beat eggs (whites and yolks)  and add water.  Slowly add bread crumbs to egg mixture and mix thoroughly.  Add egg mixture to ground beef and mix well.

Grab enough beef to make a small meatball.  Do not make the meatball just yet.  Press the beef until it is relatively flat and create a small pocket for the chunk of cheese.

 Now you may roll the beef into a meatball, ensuring the cheese cannot be seen!

Cut bacon slices in half.  Take one cut slice and wrap meatball.  Place a toothpick through the bacon and meatball to hold in place.  You're all done.

Smoke the meatballs at 225-235F for roughly 1 hour and 20 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

These meatballs may also be finished with the sauce of your choice.

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Poultry

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Pork

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Beef

Jerk Short Ribs

Pulled Beef

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Sauces/Salsas

Salsa Verde

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Sides

Smoked Macaroni & Cheese

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Appetizers

Atomic Buffalo Turds

Remmy's Smoked Meatballs

Remmy's Spiced-out Wings

Smoked Cheese

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Super Bowl XLVI Party

Super Bowl Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year.  The Super Bowl is my second-favorite sporting event as a sports fan; second to NCAA Basketball March Madness. 

Here are a couple of Super Bowl Sunday facts.

1. 14,500 tons of chips are consumed.
2. 8 million pounds of guacamole is consumed.
3. The most popular choices of takeout or delivery items on Super Bowl Sunday are pizza, chicken wings and subs or sandwiches.
4. The average number of people at a Super Bowl party is 17.

Here's an even better fact: My smoker will be purring come Super Bowl Sunday, as it always does.

One of my best friends loves wings.  So do most Super Bowl party attendees.  Those will be on the menu once again.  On New Year's Eve, I made many wings to go along with a homemade spicy sauce that had just a little too much bite for some of the party people.  To ensure the crowd is satisfied for the big game, I will be going with a sweet, runny barbeque sauce.  I haven't finalized all of the details for the sauce.  But as soon as I make the sauce, I will list the recipe for it. 

What better to accompany smoked wings than MOINK balls?  MOINK balls are typically frozen beef (MOO) meatballs wrapped in bacon (OINK) that are smoked. MOO+OINK= MOINK.  I, personally, don't eat the cheap meatballs.  So, I make homemade meatballs and wrap in center-cut bacon before putting them over the beautiful burning wood.  This allows me to prepare the meatballs the way I like and use any type of seasonings I am in the mood for.  These things are addicting and are usually a crowd-pleaser. 

This year's Super Bowl party will have about a dozen people.  I will be making roughly 80 wings and 30 MOINK balls.  Nothing like some good ol' 'que during a football game.

Stay tuned for these recipes and pictures.

Go Giants! (anybody but New England)

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Andy Nelson's Southern Pit Barbeque - Cockeysville, Maryland

You know you're at a real BBQ joint when you arrive and see and smell the wood out back!  Andy Nelson's BBQ is AWESOME.  It's one of the better BBQ joints I've ever eaten at.

I ordered a meal for lunch - chopped turkey sandwich with two sides (mac & cheese, beans) along with a 1/4 lb. of brisket.  The turkey was good but my only gripe about the sandwich was that the turkey was smothered in BBQ sauce.  I wish it was served dry, allowing one to put any kind of sauce and any amount of sauce desired onto the sandwich.

The brisket is sliced very thin and I actually liked it.  I usually slice my brisket thicker but I have no complaints!  It was juicy and tender and had a nice smoke ring.

The Mac was pretty good.  Not 100% sure if it was "homemade," but it certainly looked like it was.  The pit beans were also good.  They had a bit of a bite to them.  Not much heat, so don't be too scared.  But definitely a kick at the end.

The restaurant itself has a lot of charm to it.  Pictures of hogs and other BBQ-related things are everywhere.  Great atmosphere for a BBQ restaurant especially one in rural MD.  I love it.

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