Blue Ribbon BBQ Blog

Urban Escapes Boulders, Beers & BBQ

This evening, Blue Ribbon Barbecue kicks off a six week BBQ Belt Tasting Menu in partnership with Urban Escapes.  Urban Escapes crafts social adventures for active people - and it is in this spirit that it has developed the "Boulders, Beer and BBQ" parties for Boston's climbing fanatics. 

The fun begins at 7 PM at the MetroRock Indoor Climbing Center in Everett, MA, every Saturday (with the exception of September 4th) from now through October 2nd. 

Each event is open to 250 participants and everything is included but the shoes!  Haverhill Brewery of Massachusetts and Long Trail Brewing Company of Vermont will be providing great, regional beer to accompany the barbecue.

The BBQ Belt Tasting Menu schedule is as follows:

• August 21st - North Carolina - North Carolina Pork Sliders, Vinegar Chow Chow, Blue Ribbon's BBQ sauces and cornbread.
• August 28th - South Carolina - Low Country Gumbo, Cantina Rice, hot sauce and cornbread.
• September 11th - Georgia - Brunswick Stew and cornbread.
• September 18th - Kentucky - Lamb Burgoo, cornbread and hot sauce.
• September 25th - Santa Fe, New Mexico - Latin Chicken Chop, Rice & Beans, corn tortillas and platters with sour cream, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, jalapeños and cheese.
• October 2nd - Kansas City, Missouri - Kansas City Rib Tips, Cole Slaw and cornbread.

For more information or to buy tickets, visit the event page.

Blue Ribbon Barbecue caters Breezy Hill Farm Day!!

Blue Ribbon Barbecue recently spent a day down on the farm! On July 18^th,Blue Ribbon Barbecue donated catered food to over 250 participants who left their busy world behind at the first annual Breezy Hill Farm County Fair Day. There were pony & hayrides, an antique car show, a rousing riding demonstration by the Barnstable Barnburners drill team, and live Rock and Roll performed by Ripcord. The fair was a fundraiser on behalf of the Breezy Hill Therapeutic riding program.  

Blue Ribbon served up plenty of food from their catering menu, including all the favorites; BBQ ribs, pulled chicken, burnt ends,  baked beans, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, cole slaw, corn bread, and of course plenty of hot dogs for the kids. There was plenty of barbecue for the hungry crowd, and as always people lined up for seconds! It was a fabulous day for barbecue and all had fun.

Breezy Hill farm is a 100-acre farm located in Holliston, MA, that teaches Therapeutic riding. The philosophy of the Therapeutic Riding program at Breezy Hill is to expose those with physical, developmental, and social delays to the joys and benefits of horseback riding while simultaneously providing specific therapeutic interventions.  

The riders use one of six horses in an outdoor or indoor riding ring. With each rider, they have two volunteers, a leader for the horse, a riding instructor, and at times an occupational therapist. Therapeutic interventions are integrated within the riding experience and facilitate self- sufficiency in daily living tasks.

The Therapeutic Riding program at Breezy Hill emphasizes the enjoyment and freedom of riding a horse. The ultimate goal of the program is to increase independence in all areas of living while participating in a fun activity.

"The Dish" with Francis Rivera. Fathers Day barbecue food.

Happy Fathers Day, enjoy!!

To see the video that was just aired on "The Dish" with Francis Rivera, click here.  See recipe below  

SOUTHERN STYLE CHAMP:

-- Sear cabbage and scallions in hot oil then add to fresh mash potatoes.
-- Stir in crispy bacon pieces.
-- red skinned potatoes steamed until soft 5 lbs.
-- scalded milk 3 cups
-- melted butter ½ cup
-- salt 3 t 
-- black pepper 1t
-- green cabbage thinly shredded 1 lb.
-- scallions thinly sliced 1 bunch
-- crispy cooked bacon cubes ½ lb.
-- olive oil ¼ cup

Rib Tips:

Cut from slab of rib, or make ribs whole

**At Blue Ribbon we use a special smoking process to get them tender, but you can try steaming them in a roaster to try to get the same effective tenderness** We also offer this item on our bbq catering menu.

then rub with flavor of your choice

after smoking or steaming for 4-5 hours, remove from pan, cover with BBQ Sauce of your choice , cover and bake in the over for about another hour.

Blue Ribbon Barbecue/Boston Magazine

300 Horses = ? BBQ Pigs

Blue Ribbon is preparing for the major uptick in the outdoor BBQ cooking season. Annually around May 1st, not only does the weather turn better for outdoor events but we really are put to the test to keep up with the increase in graduation parties, outdoor corporate events and cookouts in the metrowest area. We experience a crush of customers calling us for events where they would like to serve great southern food. Each year we see the "regulars" in the towns surrounding our Newton and Arlington restaurants call back.

This year even with the lousy economy we are seeing a real increase in the event business. Could this be targeted marketing? Yes. Could this be our newly updated user-friendly website? Yes. Could this be new operating systems making order-taking easier for both customer and customer service? Yes. We believe this is the year Blue Ribbon BBQ will change the face of barbecue in New England forever.

Each year we are forced to purchase more equipment, hire more delivery drivers and find qualified service personnel. In an effort to keep up with the demand we've improved our phone systems. We've hired a great big posse of qualified delivery drivers who work for our company. Service personnel is trained and dressed in new uniforms, ready to serve great barbeque with southern style.

We are not shy when showing off our state-of-the-art equipment in our Newton catering kitchen. Processing barbeque in this location has given us the edge up on the competition. We own the largest BBQ smoking operation in New England. We currently own three barbeque smokers built for us by the J&R Manufacturing Company out of Mesquite, Texas (best on the market). Blue Ribbon now ranks as the largest maker of Southern-style real BBQ in New England.

In order to produce this fine food for you all and deliver it to your events we have purchased some super new equipment. Big Blue, a new 300 horsepower Ford F250 Super Duty crew cab will be towing the newest PR-72 pig roaster made by Meadow Creek Smokers. This one's big enough to smoke two hogs at the same time! We've also added two 6 foot BBQ grills made by Holstein Grills for barbecuing in your backyard.

I can hear you all now saying bigger isn't always better. I want you to know that I still work the floor daily tasting and testing foods before they are sent out. This company was built on the idea that great Southern barbecue is all you need to be successful. Fifteen years later I say great Southern BBQ and good service will keep us successful. - Geoff

Kansas City BBQ Rib Tips

We have a newly developed Southern special party food. These are the brisket bones cut from the pork spare rib, rubbed heavily with extra sweet bbq rub then smoked until juicy and tender. Simmered in Blue Ribbon Special barbecue sauce. Check back each day for a new flavor. Soak up the sauce with fresh cornbread and wash it down with a cup of real sweet tea. These are the best appetizers in Boston restaurants and all of New England. Available now in our Newton and Arlington barbecue restaurant locations. Don't forget to add some of these to your next corporate event.

Blue Ribbon Website Changes

You may have noticed that Blue Ribbon Barbecue has an entirely new website.  You've made suggestions to us over the years and we've listened!  While we're going to miss our road signs and license plates, we think you'll discover that the new site is far easier to navigate and find exactly what you're looking for.

The updated Boston skyline on our home page is immediately noticeable, but within blueribbonbbq.com you'll find lots of new content.  Existing and future catering customers will love the expanded delivery area, which now includes all of Cape Cod, Hartford, Connecticut, and even parts of coastal Maine.  (Surprisingly, many of our customers didn't realize that we've long offered authentic Southern-style BBQ delivery to nearby Providence and Worcester.)  Our service options are also clearly explained taking the guesswork out of your order.

We welcome your comments.  Please let us know how you like the new site.  If you're feeling nostalgic, you can always come back to this post where I've posted a screen shot of the previous website.

Blue Ribbon's First Blog

Hi! I'm Geoff Janowski, owner of Blue Ribbon Barbecue.  We are an independently-owned restaurant group and catering service providing authentic wood-smoked Southern barbeque in the Boston area.  In the coming months, we will be providing an inside look at our meat smoking process, videos of our catered events throughout New England and other BBQ news.  In the meantime, we welcome you to "Get With The Program" and send us your questions and comments.