October’s almost gone

Here I am at the end of October. This is the month I tell people shows why Ohio is a great place to live… The fall colors are great! Living in the woods means I get to see a lot of color, and this year is one of the best recent years to do some leaf viewing.

October is also really busy for us. It’s great weather to be out, so we do a lot. Every weekend seems to fill up, almost too much. Luckily, we have a couple of weekends to relax between now and the holidays starting. It’s also been a tough October for me, with Woody gone. He always liked the turn in weather, and I just have great memories of spending time with him at this time of the year. If anyone reading this has a dog, especially a lab, make sure to spoil them a little extra for me this week! Continue reading →

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Ohio Smoked Meat and BBQ Festvial

Last weekend was our 5th competition, in Nelsonville, Ohio… The Ohio Smoked Meat and BBQ Festival. This was our latest competition season-wise, and Friday night was COLD!!! We made due, though, and got through the night to end up with a great Saturday with 60+ degree temps and gorgeous fall colors everywhere around.

One thing that’s different about this comp is that there’s no other festival going along with it, so it’s nothing but teams that show up to cook. And our biggest contribution was to be the 25th team to allow the winner to be eligible for next year’s Jack Daniels competition. Other than that, we pretty much blew it, but, most importantly, we had a great time cooking bad food! :) Continue reading →

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One more comp!

Tomorrow morning we take off for Nelsonville, Ohio, for the Ohio Smoke Meat Festival!!!

It’s possibly going to be raining, so we’re not leaving until about 10:00 am, which should get us there about 12:30. We’ll have time to set up and prep well before the 6:00 PM Cook’s Meeting.

After last weekend, this cook should be a breeze! Just joking, really. Continue reading →

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Into October

We just finished with the Ohio Sauerkraut Festival. I haven’t heard how many people were there, but it was pretty packed, and the weather was PERFECT for a festival! I got there on Saturday at 7:00 AM, and it was crowded by 8:00.

We didn’t do as much business as we’d hoped, but we did at least cover our costs and then some. Mostly, we learned a lot. For instance, we now know that we can get over 400 lbs of meat on our cooker at one time! We did most of the cook using nothing but wood, which was also a great learning experience. Regulating temps with wood is a bit different than with charcoal, I think. Continue reading →

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Our first REALLY big cook!

On Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15, Bucky McOinkum’s Barbecue will be cooking the most meat we’ve ever done for one event! The Ohio Sauerkraut Festival in Waynesville, Ohio, is this coming weekend, and it’s the largest festival in the state. Continue reading →

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First cooking class

On Monday, September 18, 2006, Bucky McOinkum’s Barbecue held its first cooking class at Cooks’ Wares in Springboro, Ohio!

18 people signed up for the class, and it was a good mix of men and women. Actually, there were more women than I expected to be there. The class went from 6:00 PM to 9:00 pm, with a break in the middle. I didn’t realize how tiring 3 hours of class would be! Continue reading →

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First time bread baking

This weekend is the first weekend I’ve ever made bread. The good news is that I came up with some pretty decent bread. The bad news is that it took more than one try!

I used a few different sources for tips and hints, but ended up using the recipe on the King Arthur Flour website, Breads From The Hearth: Baguettes and Ciabatta. The online ‘class’ makes it pretty easy to make the breads, and, if I’d followed the instructions the first time, would have had better results with the first batch. Continue reading →

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Making something new

I’m going for it this weekend… I got a new mixer a couple of weeks ago, and now I have to use it, so I’m going to make my first attempt at bread!

The mixer is a Kitchenaid Professional 600 Series stand mixer in the color ‘Licorice’ (a decent black color). We got it as a refurb, which means the one year warrantee is 6 months, but it’s a LOT cheaper than the standard retail! I’ll have to figure out how to store it, as it will take up a chunk of counterspace.

Tonight, I’m going to make the poolish, which is the starter for the baquettes I want to make tomorrow. Continue reading →

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Pulled off pulled pork

Today’s blog entry is from a frequent reader and commenter, Todd Jurjevic. This is a true guest blog entry, going over his first attempt at pulled pork!
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Several weeks ago I got the brilliant idea to do a big cook for the big game. For all of you non-Buckeyes the big game I am referring to is OSU Vs Texas. Now I am fairly new at barbecuing. I have done Ribs, Turkey, Chicken and even Brisket, all achieving good success. This was the big game and I wanted to attempt something big. After some discussion, mainly with Curt, I decided on pulled pork. After a couple frantic e-mails to Curt, to which he always responded, I felt a little more confidence that I could pull off pulled pork. However, it did turn out to be a learning experience. Continue reading →

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Carnival of the Grill Edition 2

It’s finally here, the 2nd edition of Carnival of the Grill! Adam of Men In Aprons was kind enough to let me host the Carnival this time, and he’s got a great entry for this edition.

A lot of people think that September is the END of grilling season, with Labor Day signifying things like pools closing and grill accessories being packed up. I live in Ohio, but my grill gear never goes into hibernation! If you’re thinking of packing it up, keep it out a bit longer and see how autumnal grilling can be the best of the year. The weather is cooler, so the fire is more inviting than during the summer. And it’s just that much nicer to sit out with friends, manning (or womanning) the grill. Don’t be afraid! Continue reading →

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Barbecue class coming up!

If you’re in the SW Ohio area, keep in mind that we’re holding a Tailgating class on September 18 in Spingboro at Cooks’ Wares. It’s a great store with really nice classroom facilities. The food will be good, and I think everyone will learn something!

Contact information is:

Call Cooks’ Wares at 937-748-4540

It’s that simple! Continue reading →

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