Blue Ribbon BBQ Blog

Recipe of the Week: Chow Chow

CHOW CHOW

This recipe will require two days to make, but it's easy and worth waiting for!

(8 servings)

Ingredients

1 medium head shredded cabbage

4 diced green bell peppers

2 diced yellow onions

2 diced green tomatoes

3 cups distilled white vinegar

2 ½ cups sugar

½ cup salt

1 tablespoon celery seed

1 teaspoon ground tumeric

Directions

In a large bowl, mix cabbage, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and salt. Cover and leave out at room temperature overnight.

Drain vegetables using a salad spinner, or very well in a colander.  In a large pot, add vinegar, sugar, celery seed and tumeric.   Bring to a rapid boil, add vegetables and return to boiling.   Reduce heat and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.   Chill well in refrigerator and serve cold as a side or on your favorite barbecue sandwich.   Enjoy!

2012 Lexington Battle Green BBQ Festival! And Barbecue Battle!

Barbecue ♦ Live Music  Saturday and Sunday, May 19 and 20, 2012

Rain or shine!

featuring the Roy Sludge Trio

Come Join Blue Ribbon Barbecue for Great Local Food, Live Music, Cooking Workshops, 3-on-3 Blacktop Battle basketball tournament, and a State Championship BBQ Cook-Off at this second annual event these will be just some of the fun and exciting things in store for you at this event!

 

Location and Details, and Hours:

1557 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, Ma.

Saturday May 19th 2012: Gates open at 11:00 AM, and close at 7:00 PM.

Sunday May 20th 2012: Gates open at NOON, and close at 4:00 PM.

Admission:

$5; kids under 13 free with adult.
Benefits the LABBB Collaborative Programs schools for special needs students.

Fun and Food

Featured Food Vendors - BBQ, Grilling, and more!

Family Entertainment - 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, War Reenactors, and more!

Wood Cookery College - Cooking Demonstration Classes

 

Music Schedule

Original and Cover, Rockabilly and Country!

Saturday, May 19:

11:30am:   F-Tones
12:30pm:   Little Rock
02:00pm:   F-Tones
04:00pm:   Roy Sludge Quattro
05:20pm:   Roy Sludge Quattro

Sunday, May 20:

12:00pm:   Groove Stone 

2:00pm:   F-Tones

 

BBQ Competition, 2012 Registered Teams include:

Lakeside Smokers	Methuen, MA
Beantown Smokers	Charlestown, MA
Silk Road BBQ	Belmont, MA
Fatback Joe's	Hampden, MA
S'mo Q	Trumbull, CT
Can't Stop Grillin'	Puslinch, ONT
Que and a Half Men	Rockland, MA
Saucehound	Watertown, MA
The Devine Swine	Hudson, NH
Smoke 'em If You Got 'em	Southbridge, MA
Pigman and the Sounders	Glen Rock, NJ
Pork Butt and Chicken Legs	Sterling, MA
Mad Mike's Smokin Hawgs	Rockland, MA
Howling Hog Barbecue	E. Randolph, VT
Sweet Breathe BBQ	S. Burlington, VT
Smokin Barrels	Blasdell, NY
Squeels on Wheels	Ludlow, VT
ZBQ	Cumberland, RI
Smokin' Hoggz BBQ	Abington, MA
New Englan BBQ	Malden, MA
Blue Ribbon BBQ
Hoo Doo Too
The Meat Fairy
Yabba Dabba Que

 

Rain or shine, please come join us. Bring your family and friends.  This is sure to be one of the greater Boston areas best events of the year!!!  For more information please go to lexingtonbbqbattle.com

 

 

Recipe of the Week: Grilled Pork Chops with Maple Glaze

GRILLED PORK CHOPS WITH MAPLE GLAZE

This recipe will require two days to make, but it's easy and worth waiting for!

(6 servings)

Ingredients

6 1" thick bone-in pork chops

1 ½ cups apple cider

1 ½ cups water

½ cup maple syrup

½ cranberry sauce

½ cup apple sauce

3 ½ tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cracked black pepper

½ tablespoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon dried minced garlic

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

¹/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper

6 dried allspice berries

½ bay leaf

Directions

Combine apple cider, water, kosher salt, sugar, cracked black pepper, dried thyme, minced garlic, allspice and bay leaf in a large bowl and stir well to create brine.   Put chops in a one gallon resealable bag and pour in brine.   Refrigerate overnight.

Prepare charcoal or gas grill and aim for 450°F.   In a medium pan, combine maple syrup, cranberry sauce, applesauce, mustard, salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to create glaze. Heat over medium heat until warm.   Remove from heat and set aside ½ cup.

Grill chops until internal temperature reaches 150°F, about eight minutes each side.   A few minutes before they are finished, baste both sides of the chops with the glaze.   Remove from grill and drizzle the ½ cup of glaze you set aside earlier over the chops.   Serve and enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Turnip Greens with Bacon

TURNIP GREENS WITH BACON

(8 servings)

Ingredients

2 pounds turnip greens

½ pound thick bacon, cubed (prefereably smoked slab bacon)

½ cup onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

5 cups water

Directions

Wash greens thoroughly, discarding any discolored greens or tough stems.  Add bacon and water to a large pot, bring to a rapid boil and reduce heat to a brisk simmer.  Add turnip greens ½ pound at a time, stirring until wilted before adding more.  Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir well.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for one hour.  Serve while steaming hot and enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Memphis Style Coleslaw

MEMPHIS STYLE COLESLAW

(8 servings)

Ingredients

8 cups shredded cabbage

1 ¾ cups shredded white onion

1 cup shredded green bell pepper

⅓ cup shredded carrots

¼ cup shredded celery

⅔ cup sugar

6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

6 tablespoons yellow prepared mustard

¼ cup catsup

¼ cup sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

½ tablespoon salt

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Mix cabbage, onion, bell pepper, carrots, celery and sugar together in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and blend well until smooth to make the dressing.  Pour dressing over cabbage mix and stir.  Chill for at least 2 hours.  Enjoy!

Recipe of the Week: Tomato Pudding

TOMATO PUDDING

This recipe will require two days to make, but it's easy and worth waiting for!

(8 servings)

Ingredients

2 cans crushed tomatos (28 oz each)

1 can tomato paste (6 oz)

3 cups toasted bread cubes

½ cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons dry mustard

1 teaspoon salt

⅛ tablespoon baking soda

Directions

Grease a 3-quart baking dish and fill with bread cubes.  Melt butter and drizzle over cubes.  In large bowl, combine all other ingredients.  Pour mixture into baking dish and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Bake for 40 minutes.  Enjoy!

Blue Ribbon Barbecue Lights It Up Blue for Autism Awareness!

Stop by during the month of April and see the “Blue” in Blue Ribbon Barbecue.

 

Blue Ribbon Barbecue Lights It Up Blue for Autism Awareness!

Award-winning Blue Ribbon Barbecue, (www.blueribbonbbq.com), Located in Newton at 1375 Washington Street, and in Arlington at 908 Massachusetts Ave, and offering barbecue catering at 617-Big-Ribs will light its stores in Blue as part of the Light It Up Blue campaign (www.lightitupblue.org) to shine a light on Autism throughout April which is Autism Awareness month.  Autism Spectrum Disorder is a group of complex disorders of brain development. For more information contact Autism Speaks (www.autismspeaks.org), the nation’s largest autism science and advocacy organization.

 

Blue Ribbon Barbecue has a personal connection with autism: it is the proud employer of a young man with autism who works side by side with Blue Ribbon Barbecue’s excellent chefs!

Recipe of the Week: Potted Pork

POTTED PORK

(10 servings)

Ingredients

2 pounds fatty pork shoulder (boneless)

½ pound pork fat (unsalted)

1 cup water

3 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

2 teaspoons sea salt

½ teaspoon pepper

¼ teaspoon allspice

Directions

Cut pork shoulder into 1" pieces and pork fat into ½" pieces.  Finely chop onion and garlic.  In a food processor, finely ground the pork shoulder and fat together.  (Depending upon the size of your food processor, you may need to do this in multiple batches.)

Add pork mixture, bay leaf, salt, pepper, allspice, onion, garlic and water to a heavy 3 quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat and simmer lightly covered until the meat is tender (about 90 minutes).

Remove the bay leaf.  Use a spoon to put the pork into five 8 ounce ramekins and pour the remaining liquid over the meat.  Cover each ramekin with wax paper and chill for at least 3 hours until firm.

Potted pork tastes best when it is left to sit at room temperature before enjoying on crackers or toast.  This will keep about 7 days chilled and the flavor actually gets even better after a few days.  Enjoy!

The Boston Globe: 25 Best Comfort Foods

Blue Ribbon BBQ is honored to have the North Carolina Pulled Pork Sandwich chosen as one The Boston Globe's 25 Best Comfort Foods.

"Barbecue might be the ultimate American comfort food, meat cooked low and slow, infused with smoky flavor.  Blue Ribbon Bar-B-Q's pulled pork sandwich is hard to beat.  Pork shoulder is smoked for 14 hours and then seasoned with a North Carolina-style vinegar based sauce.  It's piled on a soft roll, which soaks up the juices."

Grab one today in the Arlington or West Newton restaurant locations, or for your next private or corporate function of 10 people or more, call (617) BIG-RIBS to order The Sandwich Deal. For just $8.99 per person, choose three boneless sandwich meats and three side dishes.  We'll complete your meal with sandwich rolls, homemade pickles, cornbread and a trio of sweet, hot and gold BBQ sauces.

Check out Blue Ribbon BBQ and the other 24 selections in the full article.  Looking for something different?  Be sure to like Blue Ribbon BBQ on Facebook to get daily specials from our restaurant locations and more!

Recipe of the Week: Candied Sweet Potatoes

CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

(8 servings)

Ingredients

4 large sweet potatoes

½ cup maple syrup

¼ cup dark brown sugar

¼ cup butter

¼ cup water

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon grated ginger root

¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 400° F.  Peel sweet potatoes, cut into 1" cubes and place into a buttered 9" x 13" pan.  Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium and stir in brown sugar until dissolved.  Add water, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil, add maple syrup and simmer for 2 minutes.  Pour over sweet potatoes and cover with foil.  Bake on center rack for 45 minutes, basting sweet potatoes after 15 and 30 minutes.  Remove foil, move to top rack and increase heat to 475° F.  Cook an additional 20 minutes or until syrup has thickened.  Baste again and serve immediately. Enjoy!