CAPTAIN THOM'S SLAPPIN' FAT BACON FLAVORED KETCHUP

    We have on the plate; Captain Thom's Slappin' Fat Bacon Flavored Ketchup. Wow, that was a mouthful. This product caught my eye on the grocery shelf and I could not pass it by. Will it deliver bacon flavor or will it be another bacon novelty that has enticed my purchase? We tried this product on a burger and a couple of dogs. Hold on to your hats because we are trying Captain Thoms Slappin' Fat Bacon Flavored Ketchup.

   Against my better judgment I read the ingredient list. Natural Bacon flavoring was listed and I will just assume this this has something to do with real bonafide bacon. Ketchup was the main ingredient in listed in this concoction. The top was removed to reveal a nice smoky possibly bacon aroma. The prominent flavor was ketchup this was no surprise. It did have a pleasant smoky/bacon like flavor. You know what this is pretty darn good. I tried this on a spoon and it had a pleasant bacon after taste with a luscious mouthfeel. I may be in love. Captain Thom's Slappin' Fat Bacon Flavored Ketchup is the real deal in my book. I have to say I am a little shocked.

BBQ IN THE GLEN

Willow Glen California is our location for sampling and scoring ribs, chicken and tri-tip meats today. How do we do it? Why are we so lucky? It is a beautiful day and these question sometimes cross my mind.We are dedicated to our, I like to think of it as our calling, passion of bbq judging. After all these contests we still take the act of critiquing and then scoring bbq very serious. You can be serious and still have a lot of fun and enjoyment and that is exactly what we did at the BBQ In The Glen.

BBQ In The Glen was sponsored by the group; Willow Glen Business Association dedicated to promoting local business and the neighborhood. Their mission statement is as follows; The 3rd Annual Willow Glen BBQ in the Glen is a community event featuring amateur and professional BBQ teams competing for pride and prizes. The community gets the opportunity to sample the finished product, while enjoying an afternoon of music, kids' court, beer and wine.

It is always fun to meet and socialize with our barbeque friends. We saw and met new judges and competitors this day. This contest brought out the local competitors that might not normaly competet in the sanctioned KCBS events. The competitors were classified as amateurs and professionals. The public purchased tickets and were treated to some fantastic bbq from both classifications of competitors.

The weather was perfect with a slight breeze and the thermometer hovering in the high 70's. Summer has quickly passed us by. The same holds true for our bbq season. We possibly have one more contest next week depending on what our 'Tour Director", Ms. Goofy decides. We had a lot of fun today. The public in Willow Glen, evident by the smiles and bbq sauce on their face had a blast too. So long for now.

SLOW HAND BBQ MARTINEZ

Slow Hand BBQ has opened a second location in Martinez California. Martinez is in our backyard and we were excited to sample this new bbq restaurant. The location has housed numerous bbq joints over the years. Downtown Martinez can be challenging for a restaurant because after the court house closes the town shuts down. A small disclaimer will be added today. We are returning from a weekend of championship barbeque and we have nothing but high hopes for this restaurant. We are entering Slow Hand BBQ with an open mind and hungry palette.

The interior has not really changed from the previous owner. The wall decorations are a little different. There is a huge wall menu and you place your order at the counter. We learned fast from our order taker there are no deviations from this posted menu. I like to get a sampler or at least several different meats to get a feel for the place. Well our order taker would not do that. There is no such thing as a sampler or 2 meat dinner. He did point out we could order the one meat platter and buy other meats by the pound.  Fair enough. I ordered the brisket dinner with two ribs. Nope, I was corrected. I could only order four ribs. I did as instructed and this lesson was learned. Ribs, brisket and side of slaw for me and tri-tip sandwich with mac&cheese for Ms. Goofy. We also started out with two bacon wrapped cheese stuffed jalapenos.

Our meal was delivered promptly on a paper lined cafeteria tray. We started with our bacon wrapped jalapenos. They were tasty and rich. They also had a texture as they had been sitting in a hot box for a very long time; limp. Ms. Goofy’s  trip tip sandwich was a very generous proportion of grey looking meat. The grey appearance was deceiving because it was tender and had good beef flavor. Ms. Goofy really enjoyed her thick and creamy side of Mac & Cheese.

The ribs and brisket were cooked properly. They both were tender and had good smoke. The problem with my ribs was the dry rub was very pedestrian. A good bbq rub is supposed to enhance and compliment the meat. This rub was very forgetful. The brisket was on the dry side. There were two tomato based house made sauces to revive these bland meat offerings. The very thin fluid sauces were a disappointment and could have been labeled bland and blander.  This platter was served with two stale parker house type rolls that was not consumed.

There was a highlight to my meal and that was the Cole-Slaw. It was not a traditional mayonnaise based but was alive and vibrant with the perfect vinegar seasoning. Shredded cabbage with sweet peppers really refreshed from my mediocre meat offerings.

We want to love Slow Hand BBQ because it is so close to our abode. There were hits and misses today that makes it hard to give it a thumbs up. We have not given up on this restaurant. We are going to return on a Sunday when they serves giant beef ribs and will be sure to not deviate from the posted menu.. The verdict is open till after our return.

HOT Q'S & COLD BREWS BBQ 2018

The bbq season is winding down. Hot Q's & Cold Brews is our second to last contest for the year and our final KCBS sanctioned event. Feather Falls Casino rolled out the red carpet for this event. We could not of had a better time visiting with our bbq friends and judging some of the finest competition bbq in the nation. It also was an added bonus that I walked away from the casino with more money than I came in with. 

This event gave the public plenty of opportunities to sample championship bbq. The beer drinkers in the crowd were treated to micro-beers brewed on the premise in the casinos very own microbrewery. While enjoying beer and bbq a band had everyone tapping their feet. 

Forty three teams competed today. The weather could not of been nicer. The thermometer hovered in the low 80's. The grounds had that special bbq aroma to entice everyone nearby. I had finished judging and still got hungry by the wonderful bbq smells. I do have to mention the booth selling cheesecake. I will also admit that I purchased a whole cake with lemon and lemon curd. I am weak.

I tell you we had so much fun. A day full of judging, brews and music. The added bonus of adult gambling games in he casino made this day perfect. The day wound down and around 5;30 the award ceremonies commenced. Several of our friends took the coveted 'Walk" (Taking the Walk, is when you go to the stage to get your trophies and prizes).

In conclusion, here is an image of my personal friend Chris P Bacon. Congratulations to all the teams that competed. A special shout out to the team "Burnin and Lootin" for winning the Grand Championship. I am also giving myself a little pat on the back for winning at the tables. So long for now.

5 MEAT FEAST

With a title of 5 Meat Feast how could this Mad Meat Genius resist? Sometimes you just do not feel like cooking. The television ads work because every time Little Caesar's runs their promotion a little dribble of drool forms at my gullible meat loving lips. The price is only nine dollars. How can they sell a pizza pie so low? We slash I give into temptation and brave the 5 Meat Feast.

We called the order in, picked it up and returned all with in 15 minutes. The pizza was hot. It looked just like the T.V. ads. I have to admit it tasted pretty good. Maybe I do not want to know how they can sell these pies for nine dollars. 

PREMIUM BEEF PATTIES MADE WITH WAGYU

Those of you that live in the Redding California area are familiar with the very popular 'R & R Quality Meats & Seafood market. They sell meats and seafood in large volumes and reasonable prices. Whenever we are in the area we stop by. We also know they sell pre-formed hamburger patties that sometimes are flavored, stuffed or contain Wagyu beef. They usually are premium burgers and we love them. R & R has packaged some pre-formed Wagyu patties. This is a 3 pound package of 12 1/4 pd frozen patties for 9 dollars. This is more than reasonable in price so we decide to give them a try. 

 We open the resealable package and remove a frozen brick of patties. Each patty is seperated by wax paper. With a little prying the patties will separate, remove what you want and then reseal the bag for later use. The bag suggests you thaw the patty and cook on a hot griddle. That is what we do after we seasoned with salt & pepper. A lot of moisture emits from these patties. They cook fairly quickly because of their 1/4 pd size. We add cheese to our burgers. The million dollar question; how do they taste?

The burger looked great on the plate. The first bite was taken. It was okay leaning towards the disappointing side. There is a texture issue. These patties have been processed and frozen. I would compare the texture to a fast food burger. The flavor had a slight gaminess that I did not find particularly pleasant. This is not I expect in a so called Wagyu burger. It had more of a grass-fed flavor. We finished our burgers and decided we did not even want to keep the rest of the package. There is a reason these burgers are so cheap and it reinforces the old saying; 'You get what you pay for".

                                            

THE ART OF HOT SAUCE

Enrique Monroy of Monroy's Hot Sauce  has created a fun coffee table book about our beloved hot sauce. "The Art of Hot Sauce" is hot off the presses and ready for all hot sauce fueled enthusiasts. This was one mans quest with the cooperation of multiple spicy hot sauce companies contributing.to create this book. There are plenty of tantalizing images to make one sweat with hot sauce fever. The reading is light and perfect for thumbing through while relaxing. We are friends with Enrique and had to pick up a copy. This would make the perfect gift for any of your hot sauce loving friends. 

The Art of Hot Sauce

by Enrique Monroy

ISBN 978-1-54394-462-4