BOB KRAMER COCOBOLO FOLDER 2.1

Kramer knives offered me the opportunity to buy a special pocket knife. I did not hesitate because anything made by Bob Kramer is guaranteed to be quality, collectible, and a very special tool. The handle is made of cocobolo wood. The blade and handle are etched with the Kramer knife logo. This is a hand forged beauty that I am proud to own.

STOCK UP

It is time for the yearly ritual of stocking up with charcoal briquettes. Memorial Day charcoal  sales at the big box stores are a tradition that we take advantage of. This year the price is 9.88 for a double bag of 18.6 pounds. This is almost half off the regular price. It makes sense to buy 372 pound because it will be put to good use. If now I coul only talk Ms. Goofy into unloading the truck.

BURNIE GRILL

The Burnie Grill looks like a whole lot of fun. How about a meal cooked over your own self contained campfire grill. The Burnie Grill is an alder wood log embedded with alder wood charcoal. This cooking log is notched for air flow and has a charcoal starter cube for ignition. You light a match, step back and 20 minutes later you have a cooking vessel. It may be environmentally green and politically correct because it does not leave any trace except some ash and it is made of all natural wood.  Burnie claims this notching of the grill stump comes from an ancient Nordic technique. You will have to supply your own cooking grill but that will not be a problem here at Mad Meat Genius lab. Pull up a stump because we are firing up the Burnie Grill.

We are cooking a couple of steaks tonight. The Burnie Grill is lit by a fire starter in the center of the log. Once lit, the charcoal surrounding lights fairly quickly. It was a breezy evening and we were ready to cook in 20 minutes just as the brochure claimed. The instructions also suggested having some water to extinguish any flames if the wood started to flame. This was prudent Intel with our windy conditions because we experienced wood  flare ups. We cooked a filet and a T-bone steak. The grill was crowded and we adapted. We did notice the heat a little uneven on the cooking grate. It was a little challenging with the fire flareups which we extinguished immediately with the water. One thing I really enjoyed was the smell of smoldering alder wood. It was like we were camping and sitting around a campfire. Our steaks were done and tasted very good. They had a definite hint of alder wood smoke.

Overall the Burnie grill was fun. It was very easy to light. It did have some challenges with even cooking temperature on the grate and flare ups I loved the smell and flavoring of the Alder wood. When we had finished using the Burnie Grill it was put in our kettle grill to allow burning down to ashes. I would purchase the Burnie grill if I was going on a campaign trip. This unique cooking device may be a little too much for home use. I do love a challenge and the Burnie Grill was actually a whole lot of fun.

SHAW'S TEXAS STYLE BBQ

"Pop-up restaurants seem to be popular these days. It is a cheaper alternative to opening a brick and mortar establishment. Shaw's Texas Style BBQ comes through my home town about once a month. He sets up right in the local auto repair shop parking lot. I thought it was about time to give his bbq a try. I live only two blocks away and could of walked but chose to drive because I wanted to bring home dinner right away. Shaw's sells chicken, ribs, sausage and tri-tip. I chose a three way combination excluding chicken. I also committed an error of judgement and forgot to ask for the sauce on the side.

Once home I opened the Styrofoam clam-shell to reveal a whole mess of sauce covered bbq. It did not look to appetizing to me. The spareribs had been band-sawed in half to make little rib lets. The tri-tip was buried somewhere in the swimming pool of tomato based, sweet and liquid smoke flavored bbq sauce. The potato salad looked commercially made and the beans may or may not have been freshly harvested from a can. I would like to tell you how it tasted but all I could really taste was the sauce. The tri-tip seemed to be tender. The sausage was dry and the ribs were tough. Oh my, sometimes you just cannot please this bbq judge. Next time Shaw's passes through town so will I.

THE CRUMBER

The Crumb Sweeper is a tool designed to remove crumbs from a tablecloth, used especially in fine dining situations. “The Crumber’ is the person who uses this elegant tool. The Crumb Sweeper is so much more than a tool that performs a menial task but a touch of elegance and a reminder of a gentler time when fine dining was a spectacle to be enjoyed. The main course is complete and the table is cleared for the dessert course. The tablecloth of fine linen has been cleared clean except for a few wayward crumbs that escaped the bolero jacketed bus person. In comes “The Crumber’. Usually the waiter, with practiced hands will gracefully sweep, to clear and cleanse the field of culinary delight. This simple, gentle act will signal the final course of dinning pleasure. Ben Lobenstein understands and appreciates this slowing vanishing act of fine dining. He has generously gifted me this gold monogrammed crumb sweeper from the Shaddowbrook restaurant. Thankyou Ben, for I will appreciate and cherish this symbol of food service extraordinaire.

8th LIVERMORE KoC RIBS, CHILI, CARS, BREWS & BLUES

8th Livermore KoC Ribs, Chili, Cars, Brews & Blues, what more can you ask for? It was a beautiful sunny day in Livermore, California. We were there to have some fun. It just so happened that we judged a rib and chili contest. We would like to share some images with. Be prepared for a lot of shiny polished chrome and pictures of people having ribalicious fun.

WESTERN FESTIVAL ELK GROVE

The skies were a little gray today but that did not darken the festivities at the Western Festival Elk Grove. In fact a little cloud cover provided a pleasant break from the heat sometimes experienced in Elk Grove. We are here at this festival to judge thirty five competitive barbeque teams. As allways we look forward to sampling and scoring some of the best barbeque in the nation. This was so much more than just a competition it was a gathering of festive people from the Elk Grove area. We would love to share some images with you.

There was a midway with carnival rides to make any child happy. An art and wine show displayed many local artists creations with the opportunity to sample local wines too. To add atmosphere a small trio of musicians entertained. Music was everywhere. A main stage had headlining acts while there was a couple of strolling musicians. In fact we were serenaded in the judges tent by a lone bag piper who announced with all of its blustery splendor the arrival of their meat teams entries. 

Pony rides for the children made me a little jealous. I am sure they had a weight limit and I really exceeded it after scoring chicken, ribs, pork and brisket. We judge so often that it still amazes me how fantastic bbq can be. Wow, we had some fantastic entries today. After our judging duties I strolled the grounds. I saw lots of booths promoting local business and charitable causes. I made sure to enter the contest to win a years supply of bundt cakes from the local baker.

The scores were tabulated and the winners were declared. Our friends Bill & Yvonne Sousa of 'Big Bs Down & Dirty, (pictured in the last image) took Reserve Grand Champion. The team, Simply Marvelous was the Grand Champion today. What a great day. We cannot wait till next weekend when we get to do this all over again in Livermore.