So what is BBQ? Traditional BBQ (or barbeque) is the process of cooking a piece of meat in a closed cooker/pit at a very low temperature (usually between 225 and 270 degrees F) for a long time. This is known as the low-and-slow method. In general, the meat is cooked over indirect heat. Indirect cooking is when the source of the heat (the fire) is away from the meat. The design of your cooker (known as a pit) will determine where the fire placement lives. Some pits will have a fire box off to the side while others will have them at the bottom with a heat deflector above (usually a water pan).

Most pits also allow for the burning of wood to add smoke (more about this in a future post). It is very important that you understand the limitations of your pit. Do not burn the wrong fuel in your pit. A good example is not to burn charcoal in a propane/gas grill. This can result in unwanted and dangerous reactions. One of my friends did this and the glass exploded because of the tremendous heat that charcoal generates.

So you are asking yourself (I hope) if BBQ is just the style of cooking low and slow, why are there so many different types of BBQ? The different styles of BBQ describe the unique style of the region. These are some of the well known styles:

• Eastern North Carolina -  Mostly pork butt or whole hog chopped or pulled. Uses hickory smoke mixed with spicy vinegar BBQ sauce.
• Western North Carolina – Mostly pork butt mixed with a tomato based vinegar sauce.
• Texas – Beef brisket smoked with oak or mesquite. NO sauce required.
• Kansas City – This is the traditional style of BBQ that everyone thinks of when you mention BBQ. This includes beef/pork ribs with sweet sauce. Sauce is KING with Kansas City BBQ.
• Memphis – Ribs and shredded pork are the staples of Memphis BBQ. The origin of the question: “Wet or Dry?” And no, they are not talking about the weather. They want to know if you want your ribs sauced or only with dry rub. Shredded pork is generally mixed with the sauce.

Which BBQ style is best? Well I know one thing, this is a religious war question. In my opinion, all BBQ styles are good. Everyone has their own favorite style. I can’t really answer this question for anybody but myself. I will say, I have my preference, but I like ALL styles. The only thing I can say from personal experience is that I prefer my coleslaw as a side dish, not a topper

So now when you go into a restaurant, you should now know what they mean when they say they are a Kansas City, Texas or Memphis BBQ joint. One thing to be aware of is that any food that isn’t cooked low and slow is not really BBQ. There are several places in San Diego that advertise they make BBQ, but their entire process flies in the face of low and slow to get product out the door fast. While many people like the food, it’s not traditional BBQ. (More on this in future posts).

Source references:

http://pnwba.com/whatisbbq_page.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue
http://bbq.about.com/b/2012/04/11/what-is-your-fuel-of-choice.htm

I thought I would start a series of blogs about BBQ and BBQing. In this series I will attempt to dispel myths and legend and try to offer my “not so humble” opinion on BBQ.

Who am I and why should anyone listen to me? Well, that’s a very good question… I am someone that spent close to 30 years trying to figure out how to cook BBQ. I do not claim to be an expert, but I definitely know what NOT to do. I strongly believe the following quote by Henry Ford:

– Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently

I have created amazing disasters trying to produce edible BBQ. Some of it, went straight from the grill to the trash. In 2007, I discovered a BBQ class in San Diego being taught by Pitmaster Konrad Haskins. The class was an all day class taught at the Embassy Suites in La Jolla. Konrad has taught tons of people how to do BBQ correctly. He has even taught some famous people you might know from TLC’s Pitmaster series: Harry Soo of Slap Yo’ Daddy BBQ. I would highly recommend take either Konrad’s or Harry’s class. This is money WELL worth it. I am hoping to travel to Texas to take another of his classes this year.

We had 12 student in our class, many of us had the same experience as me. All bad I leaned some very key lessons that I hope to share over this series. Before I begin, I think it is very important that you understand some ideas.

1. You can’t learn to cook BBQ from a book. You need to get your hands dirty and fail a few times. You should NOT expect that you will make great BBQ without trying and failing (or succeeding).
2. BBQ is a style of cooking, not a type of food. BBQ is cooking food over low (indirect) heat for a long period of time.
3. The average person considers BBQ when cooking over direct heat. This is actually known as grilling. The confusion comes from our age-old tradition of calling our backyard gatherings a BBQ. Most of these gatherings include hamburgers, hot-dogs and grilled chicken. This is a term of an event rather than a style of cooking.
4. If you start with an inferior product you will get an inferior result. Buy the best quality meat you can find and afford. I will be covering this topic in a blog all its own.
5. You can BBQ in just about anything. You don’t need expensive equipment to produce good BBQ. although once you start, you will crave it. I have eaten good BBQ cooked inside a 55 oil drum.
6. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, almost everyone out there loves to share their knowledge and techniques. Yes, there are a few arrogant people out there. I just nod my head and smile.
7. Less is more!
8. BBQ is done when it’s done. What took six hours one day, might take eight the next time.

Over the next few months, I hope to cover my opinions (that’s why you are reading MY blog right?) about BBQ and what I think is important. My posts will include how-tos, techniques I have been taught, suggestions and most importantly restaurant reviews.

Please remember, I am starting down this path because I am amazed by the reviews I am reading. Many reviews are out of context, incomplete, or in several cases posts by competitors to slander their competition. This is one of the danger of the Internet. Anyone can post comments without any consequences and MANY people will believe them without fact checking. My goal is to educate people on BBQ and help them understand what makes good or bad BBQ. While most of what I will post is my opinion, I will try to educate with facts and figures about cooking BBQ and try to demystify some of the propaganda we have been inundated throughout our lives.

If anyone would like me to review a specific location or topic, please leave me a comment or send me an update. I will do my best to try and accommodate your suggestion.

Once I arrived, I had to pass through a metal detector and X-Ray machine. Other than having to take off my belt (WHY PEOPLE?) it was uneventful. At least I could keep my shoes on. I found a seat in the large jury room and waited for the orientation. Once the orientation was over, we waited about 20 minutes while people were called to deal with paperwork. They gave us a 15 minute break and then started calling names to the courtrooms.

I was called in the 1st group. Once we arrived at the court room, we discovered this could be a very long trial, going all the way until Jun 1st. At least the court proceeding would be Monday-Thursday from 9:30-4:30. I was not called as one of the first 24 names, so I was hopeful. After several people where excused because of scheduling issues (I don’t know why people don’t listen to directions, to avoid this problem) I was called to be juror number 7.

During the court questioning, I determined this was a case about an airplane crash that resulted in the Plaintiffs parents dying in a crash that may or may not have been due to faulty navigation equipment. Since I was ultimately excused, I was able to do research and found the accident listed on the net:

http://www.planecrashmap.com/plane/fl/N827GM

During the jury questioning phase it was amazing to hear some of the excuses people tried to use to get out of jury duty. The most interesting one was “I have no faith in the legal system, so I would not be impartial”. I just had to laugh.

When I disclosed the fact I was a private pilot. I was told that being a subject matter expert on flying didn’t disqualify me, not that I was trying to be. I was questioned about my flight experience, specifically instrument flying. I explained my experience and they asked me some specific equipment usage questions.

After this direct questioning, the group was asked things like experience with flying, quality assurance and human factors. I raised my hand and told them I had a degree in Cognitive Science. He actually knew what that was He then asked about anyone with experience in psychology. I raised my hand and had to explain my degree a bit more. He also asked people if they had been a witness to an aviation investigation. I again raised my hand, and he said he would get back to me (he never did). He asked a few other questions, then asked if anyone had any experience in aerospace. I raised my hand. I explained I had worked on the shuttle project and helped with the building of the Discovery. A few more questions for the group and then we took a recess.

After the recess, I was called back into the room as an individual. I was asked more questions about my flying experience and then answered all the questions on the personal questionnaire. I was then excused from the courtroom and others were brought in one-on-one.

The Bailiff then brought everyone back in and two more people where excused. The defense attorneys then  asked their questions. He asked me directly about what I did with the space shuttle. I explained the work and he asked me if I knew who Robert Gibson was? I explained I knew who he was, but never met or worked with him. He then told me he would be called as an expert witness and wanted to know if I could be impartial knowing his status as a shuttle pilot. I said that I could.

There were a few more questions for the jurors and then the plaintiff’s lawyers didn’t accept the jurors as seated, so the lawyers and judge had a side bar outside the courtroom. When the lawyers came back into the courtroom, the judge instructed the lawyers they could now decide if they wanted to excuse any jurors. It was interesting to see the lawyers reaction because he seem caught off-guard. He said, “You want me to excuse them in open court?”.

After shuffling papers, and getting the seating chart, then counting the seats, he excuse jury 7 ME! I figured it was my work on the shuttle and knowledge of one of the witnesses that got me excused. Alas, I will never know. Perhaps one of my lawyer friends can provide me some insight? It might also been the fact I had a psychology degree?

Anyway, this was an interesting experience and I really wanted to be on this case because of the subject matter. It’s something that would have really interested me. So, this was my day in court.

I am impressed with the bergman 650 exec, but the price is a bit much. I am also thinking of waiting on the new BMW scooters. I am not sure I will ever want to purchase another Piaggio/Vespa or Aprilla scooter or motorcycle again because of the length of time this has taken. I sort of feel that if this was a car, it would have been scrapped and replaced with a brand new one, but motorcycles and scooters don’t seem to carry the same level of customer service as cars.

Kudos developers.

Thanks again for all the volunteers that make this event happen. It is amazing that an event of 2500 riders over two days can be pulled off as well as it is.

See you all again next year.

That got me thinking about the quality of these jeans and I realized that they just don’t last anywhere as long as when I used to buy them.

My research got me thinking about how many companies have outsourced their manufacturing and I was shocked. I guess I should not have been, but wow!

I have decided that I am going to make a conscious attempt to stop buying products that are not made in the USA. There is a great site that lists products made in the USA. http://www.onlyamericanmadehere.com/.

With so many people out of work in this country, the best thing you can do is keep your money in the USA and not support companies that outsource their jobs.

Please think twice when buying items. Look for an American made product first. I am willing to pay a little more money to keep a countryman/woman working.

The shuttle arrived and we headed for the ferry. We boarded and it took about 30 minutes to get down to the harbor. Once there the ferry was just arriving so we didn’t have too long to wait. We boarded and sat inside this time so that we stayed out of the sun. The ride back was just as smooth as the ride over and took about 45 minutes. After we disembarked we had to wait for the rental car shuttle because the reservation was not properly made, not the first problem, but hopefully the last. Fortunately, I was able to call them and they arrived in about ten minutes. We picked up the rental car and then drove back to the hotel. We checked in and unpacked and had our stored luggage sent to the room.

Angie was hungry so we went over to the Hula Grill for food. We sat and listened to music while we ate. After we finished lunch we went to the pool for a swim and hung out for a while. We sat in the spa for a little while and met some people from Riverside. His eldest daughter was starting at Point Loma University this Fall. We were graced with the presence of a woman who was a bartender from Las Vegas and was way more than three-sheets by the time she entered the spa. She definitely had way too much to drink. It was more comical than anything because she was one of those Meer drunks. She had an opinion on everything, especially the weather in Seattle. She kept saying how much she hated it, but later we found out she had never been there.

We had left overs for dinner. We figured after carrying them around between three islands we should finally eat them.

The next day we got up early for breakfast and drove into Lahaina. We parked and walked to Cheeseburger in Paradise for breakfast. I guess this is a Jimmy Buffet themed restaurant, but for some reason they were playing Hawaiian music. The food was good, but the employees really know how to cross and up sell you. If you are weak, you may not want to go there.

After breakfast we walked over to Hilo Hattie’s so that Angie could do some shopping. As it turned out I ended up spending more money than her . I bought a shirt and she bought some pineapple earrings. We also bought some candies. We headed up the coast for some snorkeling. We went to Honoluka Bay on the advice of several people at the hotel. The best advice was to not park on the right side of the road as they give people tickets. We lucked out and got a spot just as someone was leaving. We walked down the steps to the beach and found a place to lay our stuff.

The water was not too cold and Angie and I went in to do some snorkeling. I am not sure that snorkeling is something that she is ever going to get the hang of. I think she needs to spend a lot of time in the pool first. I was able to swim out to some rocks and saw a lot of fish and even one eel. Because I didn’t have flippers or a life vest, I got pretty tired floating and treading water so I came back in and we laid out on the sand.

We went in the water a few more time and enjoyed the water and waves. Afterwards we headed back to the hotel. We drive along the coast through some of the older parts of the town. This is the road I remember from twenty years ago. We even drove by the China Boat restaurant.

We returned to the hotel and hung out at the pool. We tried several times to flag down the waitress for drinks but she just refused to come by. We finally just went up on our own and got the drinks. We got a little burned laying at the pool, but not too bad. After swimming and relaxing we got dressed for the Luau at the Sheraton hotel.

We walked about ten minutes to the Luau. They gave us drinks and took our picture while we waited to check in. After checking in, we were seated at our table. We went to get some drinks , we took a look at some of the local artists works. I ended up buying a mask for my collection. They had some demonstrations of native Hawaiian games and skills.

We watched the unveiling of the pig from the IMU. The pig looked fantastic once it was revealed. I need to figure out a way to put on in my back yard. Perhaps the pool needs to go?

Once the pig was revealed it was taken in to be shredded and dinner was served. Dinner consisted of potato salad, pasta salad, purple sweet potatos, Mahi Mahi, teriyaki steak and the kulua pork. The food was really good, although neither of us was willing to try the poi. We finished eating and enjoyed the sunset.

At sunset (our last one on Maui ) we watched the lighting of the torches and the cliff diver jumping into the ocean. The sunset here never gets old. After the sun set, the luau show started. The dancers came on stage and the show started.

The show was amazing. The dancers performed many traditional Hawaiian and Polynesian dances. We both enjoyed the show a lot.

After the show we walked back to the hotel and went to the spa to relax. We met some people we had chatted with the previous night. We talked about what we all did during the day. They had actually been at the luau but we didn’t see them there. After soaking for a while we went back to the room and went to sleep.

Today is our last day on the Islands. We got up and packed for our flight home. We checked out of the hotel (seriously, they charged me $2.00 to make an 800 call?). This really has to be one of the most nickle and dime hotels we have ever stayed at. Overall, I have to say all of the hotel are overpriced but at least at the Marriott on Kauai they provided some quality service. The Westin doesn’t seem to know how to really provide quality service. I normally don’t book package hotels and probably won’t again…well with the exception of the Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas.

We drove into Lahaina and found a place to park. We went to Longhi’s Lahaina for breakfast, the food was good, but really really slow service. Angie’s food didn’t come out for quite a long time because they burned it the first time. After breakfast, Angie wanted to go back to Hilo Hattie’s because she didn’t get her free shell necklace. We then had to return to the restaurant because she left her hat there. Fortunately, it was still there. We walked back to the car and headed back to the airport. As we drive out of town there was a lot of traffic. Apparently, a canoe event had just finished so a lot of people were crossing the roads at random causing the traffic to stop to let them cross. This caused about a five mile backup. Once we passed the beach area it was smooth driving the rest of the way.

We stopped to fill up on gas and then I dropped Angie off at the airport with the luggage while I returned the rental car. I made it back to the airport and we checked in. The check in terminals all had 404 browser errors running IE. Ah, welcome back to reality. The line for security was really slow, but the X-Ray seemed to go quickly.  We had to pass through two agricultural inspections. All they do is X-Ray the luggage, because I guess fruits, vegetable and flowers show up on the X-Ray machine?

Our plane was a little late arriving but it finally pulled into the terminal. Alaska apparently does something interesting, if you have luggage you are willing to check, you can board early if you choose to check it through baggage claim. The gate attendant said it was because they had $24k in fines last year. I find that hard to believe, but I did find a lot of other fines they have received with a quick Google search. I am not so sure I want to be flying on this airline

The flight home was uneventful. We arrived a few minutes later than planned but it was good to be home. We picked up our luggage and went to get a shuttle home.

We headed down the road and had breakfast at Lulu‘s. We both had french toast. Angie’s was plain and mine was macadamia nut with bananas. After breakfast, we drove to the car rental place to drop off the car. They then gave us a lift to the Lahaina harbor. We checked in with the ferry office and waited for the ferry to arrive.

We boarded the ferry and grabbed a seat on top of the boat. The seats were a lot more comfortable than the ones we road in to Moloka’i. Plus there was no sign of any soot around After a recorded safety message the ferry left the harbor. We noticed a lot of surfers in the water just near the departure channel. There are quite a good amount of waves that break just outside the harbor on both sides. The ride over to Lana’i took about 45 minutes and it was nice and smooth. A big change from the ride over to Moloka’i. The water is protected from the winds by the island, so the crossing is quite smooth.

We sailed into the harbor on Lana’i and disembarked. There were a number of shuttles waiting for us. The island has a pretty good transportation system, but it does cost $35 a person. The cost is for your entire stay, so the longer you stay, the better deal it is.

The shuttles run from the harbor, to the airport and all the hotels on the island. They do not all run to each location, so you have to be careful of which one you get on or you may end up not going where you had planned to. Several people had this problem while we were there. Our shuttle took us to our hotel. We chose not to stay at one of the main hotels on the island, but instead at a bed and breakfast in the main town of Lana’i City.

The hotel’s name is Hotel Lana’i. They have several rooms from small to full cottages with front porches that overlook the city. The hotel is situated on a small hill above the city and has a lot of Norfolk Pines on the property. The walkway to our room was lined with pineapple plants. Two of which had fruit on them (very tiny, but cute). Our room had a nice living room, bathroom and bedroom. There was a refrigerator and cooler in the room. We unpacked and decided to take a nap. The hotel has a nice restaurant but they are only open Weds-Sunday and since this was Tuesday, we had to wait until tomorrow before we could eat there.

After our nap, we walked down to the main square of the town. We checked out some of the stores. We noticed that pretty much everything closes at 7pm. The subtleties of a small town you forget about. Most of the dinner places were open until 8 or 8:30pm. We decided to eat at Pele’s Other Garden. A small Italian deli that was serving pizza, pasta and salads for dinner. Angie had cheese ravioli and I had the cheese tortellini with garlic pesto sauce. It’s very odd eating a pesto sauce without pine nuts in them, but I guess they don’t get them on the islands. I ordered a side of meat balls. They were good, but they didn’t say what type of meat and we didn’t ask.

After dinner we strolled through their park area and back to the hotel. Although we had not done that much today, we still felt beat. It was off to blog, some reading and then bed as tomorrow would be a busy day. Well, as busy as you can get in a very small town.

The next day we got up and had a continental breakfast at the hotel. Wow, this is a rare thing in Hawaii. The fact that food was included for breakfast makes this the best priced room on all the islands we stayed at. After breakfast we decided to rent a 4×4 Jeep. We got lucky that they had one available as the next day they were all booked up. We walked down to the rental place which was about two blocks from the hotel. Another reason I am glad we stayed at this hotel is it was close to everything. The other hotels would have required us to catch a shuttle first.

The jeep they gave us looked like it had been through the wars But this was because of the dust and sand on the island. The sand is a reddish color and it gets into everything. The jeep was originally black interier, but now it’s a dull black with red in every seam and crevice. We learned later that our hair, clothing and bags all came away with a red hue. I had to sign tons of waivers and disclaimers that I would not drive on the beach, deep sand or on any unmarked road. I was warned of towing fees and fines. I guess they have a lot of trouble with people doing the wrong things on the island. It ruins it for everyone else.

We headed out to the first stop on our trip. Out on Route 1, we turned right at the end of the paved road towards Naha to see the fish pond. The drive was about 90 minutes with a church at the half way point being built. When we reached the end of the trail, we had arrived at Naha. We got out and changed into swimming suites. There was absolutely nobody around except for a few boats about a half mile off shore sailing by. We went into the water which was nice and warm. This would be an excellent place to have a picnic lunch. If you plan to do this drive, go to shipwreck beach first, then come this direction and have your lunch.

We turned around and headed back to shipwreck beach. After about an hour we reached the turn off point for the trail. We continued along the road until we reached the end. About 100 yards is a soft patch of sand. It may look OK to drive through, but I recommend that you do NOT even with a 4×4 unless you know how to drive in soft sand, you WILL get stuck. Note, you have been warned. When we rented the car, a lady was calling in that she was stuck and when we left the beach another couple was stuck.

We walked to shipwreck beach and found the remains of the lighthouse. The remains of the Liberty are sunk on the coral reef in the distance. This area also has petroglyphs, but we were unable to find them. Another couple was looking as well and we seemed unable to find any trace of them. I know they are there, we just must have been looking in the wrong location.

Both of us were hungry and decided it was time to go back to the city for lunch. We wanted to try the Lodge at Koele. On our way back to the car, we ran into a couple stuck in the sand. They did a really good job of getting stuck. I am not sure who was driving, but they got stuck because they were not using four wheel drive and pretty much burried the rear wheel 2/3 of the way into the sand. Nothing they could do but call for help. We gave them a lift back to the car dealership because it was lunch time and nobody was answering the phone.

We found out they were from Seattle by way of Alaska, and knew how to drive in snow, but not sand. They were on their honeymoon so at least they have a story to tell their friends and family when they get back.

The ride back took about 30 minutes and we dropped them off at the renal agency. We then headed up to the lodge for lunch. The lodge didn’t have a lot of guests and seemed quote empty, although about five tables were seated for lunch. We sat and ordered lunch. I had the Venison Chili and Angie had the asian chicken salad. I also tried their rasberry lemonade, it was pretty good but a bit sweet for my taste.

After lunch, we walked around the grounds. They had some nice fish ponds and waterfalls. The gardens were well kept, except for a hole in the grass that was covered by grass, that I had the misfortune of stepping in. I semi-twisted my ankle. Let’s hope it don’t get in the way of futher hiking. We walked back to the car and continue on our driving/hiking tour around the island.

Our next destination was to go to Polihua Beach and Keahi a Kawelo Garden of the Gods. This was a much better road than the previous route, it was quite wide and smooth, although there was red dirt all over the place, and the winds would blow our dust back at us in some places. This is probably the main reason there is so much dust in all the jeeps. We took a wrong turn and ended up on a side ride that went to the resevoir. Once we realized our mistake we turned around and made it back to the correct road. We traveled along the road until we reached the Garden of the Gods. Here was a lot of rock formations. As we traveled past the rocks the road turned very bumpy. The road remained bumpy all the way down to Polihua Beach.

We reached the beach and parked just short of the soft sand. We walked over the sand dune and down to the water. There was not a single person in sight either direction on the beach. The beach was unmarked by any footprints. We walked to the rocky point which is the northern most point of Lana’i. This area of Lana’i is not a good place to swim as the ocean currents are really strong. They call it the Tahitian express, because of you get caught in the currents, you will not get out until you reach Tahiti.

We braved sticking our feet into the water, but didn’t go swimming. On the walk back to the car, we had to walk into the wind. It was a lot harder going back and every once in a while we got sand blasted when the wind picked up a lot of sand. As we headed back the beach had a few more people, so we had it to ourselves for just a little while. The sand was really hot so I had to put my shoes back on as my feet. We drive back up from the beach, the ride up didn’t seem as bad as the ride down. I think gravity and speed had something to do with it. The trip back was a lot faster since we didn’t have to make an unscheduled detour. When we got back to town, we drove down to the Kaumalapa’u Barge Harbor. This was a completely paved road and went by the airport. The road are lined with Norfolk Pines and really make it stand out. There is something abotu a long tree lined road that makes you feel like your in the country. But country that is being well maintained.

After we reached the harbor we turned around and headed to the Four Seasons at Manele Bay. We parked in the parking lot, which was at the top of a pretty steep hill. We could not find anyway to easily walk down the hill to the hotel, so we decided it wasn’t in our stars today. We drive back to the hotel and returned the rental car. The entire day we drove about 100 miles, but when I filled up the gas tank it took over 14 gallons of gas. The car should get at least 20 miles to the gallon (I still need to look it up online), but at 20 miles to the gallan, that would only be five gallons of gas. The rental agency was willing to credit me and we settled on about $30. At
$5.18 a gallon it was quite a lot of money. We walked back to the hotel and changed our dinner reservations to an hour later. We showered and tried to get rid of all the red dirt and dust from our body and hair. I decided to take a nap before dinner. One forgets how much walking around in the sun drains you.

After a few hour nap, we dressed for dinner and went to the hotel dining room, the lana’i city grille. It seemed to be the happening place. The bar was full and just about every table was occupied. Although we were a few minutes early, our table was ready and we were seated.

We ordered the crab dip appetizer and some drinks. I tried the spicy lobster and coconut bisque, which was good, but I think a bit too much coconut. I ordered the Venison Loin and Angie ordered the Meatloaf. The Venison was quite delicious and had a prune reduction sauce that I really enjoyed. Again, we didn’t ask what type of meat was in the meatloaf, but it was pretty good.

After dinner we went back to the room and crashed. I was beat from the day.