April 2005
Beachfront BBQ Championship
This is a quick little post about this weekend’s BBQ championship happening in Southern California at Imperial Beach. It will be a great opportunity to see the pros in action and eat some delicious BBQ. The BBQ Championship goes from 10am to 4pm this Saturday the 16th of April.
Location: Seacoast Inn 800 Seacoast Drive Imperial Beach
Event Info: Imperial Beach Chamber of Commerce (619) 424-3151
SignOnSanDiego.com > Community Events
BBQ TV
Living in Los Angeles, California you find that the Internet is a great place to find oodles upon oodles of BBQ Information, but it’s not the only one. There is always television. I’m not trying to get you to leave my website, just trying to keep you informed. RFD TV on Direct TV and the Dish Networks feature programming such as Campfire Café, which isn’t strictly about BBQ, and BBQ TV, which is. Yes, I said BBQ TV. I caught an episode of BBQ America this weekend on PBS and don’t forget that Food Network always increases their BBQ programming during the warmer months. TiVo comes in handy when it comes to finding these types of programs but it is not a total necessity.
Here are some online links to some offline information:
BBQ TV website
There is some programming available online as well as a serious assortment of BBQ links.
Food Network website
They will be featuring the Reno Rib Off on April 17 and you can search their programming for upcoming BBQ scheduling.
BBQ America local listings
BBQ skills: how to cut stuff up
BBQ’n can be divided into two halves. Half, preparation and the other half is performance. Preparation insures a truly wonderful BBQ creation. Whereas a good performance will help you achieve nearly celebrity status in the eyes of your friends, family or that really cute neighbor. After all, isn’t that what really what counts?
One of the many steps on road to BBQ grandeur would include proficiency in food preparation. Like, what is the best way to cut an onion?… while wearing a pair of furry slippers of course! The following link will help you to understand what julienne really means and demonstrate how to efficiently dice a shallot. The illustrations are great and you can select whether to show you either right-handed or southpaw. Practice makes perfect, and hopefully your knife skills will soon help you in both preparation and performance.
Rib Ranch Bar-B-Q
Rib Ranch Bar-B-Q on Topanga Canyon Blvd.
Have you ever got up in the morning and decided that you had to have some barbecue. That’s what happened to me today. I was really craving some slow smoked barbecue spare ribs, but deep down inside a little voice was telling me that I don’t have the time make any today. Lets face it, real good home style BBQ takes time to prepare. On to plan “B,” convince my wife that I really wanted to take her out to get some BBQ for lunch and that it had entirely nothing to do with my BBQ Junkie blog. She is a very understanding soul and went along with it. Yesss!
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BBQ Food in Los Angeles.
I was recently reading an old issue of Sunset magazine, from last July as a matter of fact. The article that caught my eye was titled The West’s Best BBQ and it featured some of Los Angeles’ top BBQ restaurants. I was disturbed by the fact that I had been to most of these restaurants, but have only reviewed one thus far, Dr. Hogly Wogly’s. For this I apologize. But, how can a do an honest review of a BBQ restaurant without having been there recently. Plus, what good is a restaurant review with out current photography of the food? It’s gotta look as yummy as it sounds. If you can’t wait for my review of your favorite BBQ food in Los Angeles, here is a list of restaurants that I plan on visiting soon.
Phillip’s Bar-B-Que
4307 Leimert Blvd. Los Angeles
323-292-7613
Mr. Cecil’s California Ribs - BBQ Junkie Review
12244 W. Pico Blvd, West L.A.
310-442-1550
13625 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks
818-905-8400
Woody’s Bar-B-Que
3446 Slauson Ave. Los Angeles
323-294-9443
Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill - BBQ Junkie Review
540 New Los Angeles Ave. Moorpark
805-523-7253
Web Site
Lucilles’s Smokehouse Bar-B-Que
7411 Carson St. Long Beach
Web Site
Dr. Hogly Wogly’s Tyler Texas BBQ - BBQ Junkie Review
8136 Sepulveda Blvd. Van Nuys
818-780-6701
Web Site
By no means are these restaurants going to be the extent of this blog, but their BBQ food has earned them enough respect to move them up the list. If you have other BBQ Joints that you feel I should review or have recently visited one of the restaurants mentioned, let me know.
Big Lu’s Chipotle BBQ Sauce
Quick little barbecue sauce thats great for pork or chicken. Thanks Jill for sending this recipe back to me …I’m pretty bad at writing things down. Oh well, on to the recipe.
1 cup Ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup apple cidar vinegar
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp worchestshire sauce
2 Tblsp Molasses
2 Tblsp Chipotle chiles in Adobo sauce (adjust to your taste)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
Directions: Mix everything together and use it - Delicious!
Another BBQ Pit to build
You might think that I am a little obsessed with creating posts about building your own BBQ pit, but this design that I found has wheels… and what’s better than a stand alone BBQ pit? A BBQ pit on wheels, of course. So, consider this a companion piece to the previous post about making your own BBQ pit. I hope that you find the page helpful, if not entertaining, there are decent instructions and photos.
Enjoy.
What is the BBQ Junkie forum?
The BBQ Junkie Forum is a very special place. It is designed for anyone to post questions or suggestions on the topic of barbecue. Yes, anyone… with an interest in barbecue. Perhaps you are looking for a good tri tip recipe that doesn’t require on overnight marinade? Or, maybe, you just have a good recommendation on where to buy a good tri tip? Any dialogue that pertains to barbecue is encouraged. The interface is easy and intuitive, so have fun with it.
Here is the link to the BBQ Junkie Forum
Dr. Hogly Wogly’s
Dr. Hogly Wogly’s is recognized as one of Los Angeles’ foremost BBQ destinations. Although it claims to by Tyler Texas style BBQ, this San Fernando Valley restaurant has become a significant ingredient in the Los Angeles barbecue vernacular. If you aren’t the type of person who likes to barbecue, or perhaps doesn’t have the time to barbecue, but are a fan of barbecue, I would recommend going to see the Doctor.
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Steven Raichlens’s BBQ Commandments
Steven Raichlen, author of several BBQ and Grilling books (I was given one as a gift a few years ago) is also a “beer can chicken” evangelist. I am not sure if he is the one who actually invented the dish or is just its biggest proponent. I don’t really care, because it always comes out so scrumptious. Along with many television appearances on cooking shows he also has a program of his own on PBS, Barbecue University. He has a website/blog where you can get excerpts from his books, some recipes and, best of all, his Ten Commandments of the grill.