Do You Compete?

If you do more than three barbecue or grilling competitions per year, we'd be honored to have you fly our flag, a 3' x 5' vinyl banner (with grommet holes so you can tie it up) with our AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club logo:
If that's you, and you'd like one, send:
  • your name,
  • team name,
  • shipping address,
  • and phone number to  meathead@AmazingRibs.com.
We will send you the banner and, if you want (tell us if you want), an acrylic holder with 100 postcards with the small Food Temperature Guide for you to hand out.  We have a limited quantity.


At your next round of competitions, be sure to tell everyone you're a proud member of 'Earth's Favorite Barbecue Website', AmazingRibs.com!

Note: If you already asked for one, it is on order.
Congratulations to July's Gold Medal Giveaway Winner, torque!
July's GMG winner, torque (a.k.a. Edward Dinel), was as excited as ever!
 
"Holy Crap! I'm flabbergasted. My wife and I are looking at stuff right now!" was his first reply.

"I was literally talking JUST this weekend about trying to build my own PID temperature controller for our
Slow 'N Sear."
 
"I'm still grinning ear-to-ear while walking from meeting to meeting here at work today!

Edward chose the   Green Mountain Grills Daniel Boone Wi-Fi Pellet Smoker Package, MSRP $896.
 
Well Edward, now you have that PID temperature controller on a whole new device for set-it-and-forget-it ease!

Be sure to send your "congrats" in his announcement topic in The Pit . 


Do YOU Have MCS?
You may or may not recognize the acronym, but you've probably had it - or currently have it - MCS.

Our Commonly Used Acronyms and Abbreviations topic defines MCS as More Cooker Syndrome...you know, that irrepressible desire we have to keep collecting cookers, smokers, grills, thermometers and all manner of grilling & cooking gadgets that the budget may or may not allow. Ring a bell?

Here's a couple new acquisitions from some of our fellow Pit brethren to temporarily lend a measure of satiety to this fun condition:

Theman56's new Blaz'n Grill Works Grid Iron pellet grill:


Beefchop's new Shirley Fabrication Patio 24x42 Cabinet Offset:

Pit member GourmandPhil teases us with his "KBQ pictures".  He's so excited to get his new Karubecue that there's simply no time to get it out of its boxes!

Congrats GourmandPhil, and we expect more out-of-box photos soon!



Other Pit members who've recently joined the KBQ family are Robert R, Farmer Jeremy, Tombstone, SteveEd, and johnnylighton.  Congrats boys!

Have you recently acquired a new gadget, grill, smoker, etc. and want to show it off?  Please do, we love that kind of bragging! 

It doesn't matter if it's simple and humble, if you built it yourself, or if you had to take out a second mortgage, show it off in our Grills and Smokers channel!  Scroll down the page to see the sub-channels for Charcoal, Gas, Pellets, Logs, Electric, or Multiple fuels, as you see below.


Show Us What You're Cookin'- JULY 4th 2017 Edition!


The pinnacle of summer holidays in the US is the 4th of July, and it's marked by all manner of outdoor activities- fishing, water skiing, swimming, bonfires, races, fireworks, - you name it - and of course, eating, drinking, cooking, and just enjoying the sun, friends, and family.  And as we knew would be the case, our Pit members didn't disappoint when it came to BBQ & cooking photos!

Kicking it off (above) is this artistic gem of a blueberry & cherry pie from Craigar's "beautiful & talented" wife.  Looks too good to eat!
Newer member cemushr nailed these ribs on the new GMG:


Mike Nilsen put out a pair of beautiful smoked ducks:


Moderator Spinaker made pork belly burnt ends, just look at them (sadly that's all we can do)!

PSULion's 2" thick Prime boneless ribeye, reverse seared in a cast iron pan was "the best steak I've ever had", PSULion says:

Member rgriffeath knows his way around the smoker, that's for sure!  He might be a professor of music at his day job, but here he's a professor of BBQ.  His pictures never disappoint, case in point these 4th of July ribs with his "I ain't tellin" sauce!


With photos like these, Charter Member Dr._Pat could be a professional photographer or pitmaster, or both, but being a surgeon is nothing to scoff at either!  He doesn't specify his exact recipe or cuts here, so let's just drool and try to figure it out!



Charter Member theroc went with "something a bit lighter" early in the holiday weekend to keep some room for the pork and beef to come later.  Here's his fresh grilled onaga (long-tail red snapper) salad with chili-mayonnaise sauce. 



Lonnie mac prepared this inviting Kurobuta ham from Snake River Farms, cooked with peach wood.  "Dang, probably the best ham I have ever tasted", he said.



T-bone gives us a nice action shot of beef ribs on the smoker.  "Beef ribs should be on the menu every 4th of July", he says.  How about every weekend?  Sign me up!




More beef ribs, this time from Charter Member JDuffy, cooked on his Pit Barrel Cooker:


Newer member crunchysue shared her 1.5hr baby backs ribs from her new PBC, gorgeous color, (and perhaps a record time?) Sue!



Look at that color and that juice!  PJBowmaster slayed Independence Day dinner with this pork loin smoked on his 24" Smoke Vault at 225 degrees for about 3 hours to internal temp of 140 degrees F, then finished up on the Weber gas grill to brown.




And that's certainly not all of the Amazing food and cooking shots from the past month, but merely a highlight reel of what our members have been sharing.  Be sure to pop in to the Show Us What You're Cookin' topic to see the rest!



Did Someone Say Bacon?
There are restaurants devoted to it.  It works equally well for breakfast as it does dinner.  It plays the part of the main course or a subtle background addition to hundreds of recipes from salad to pizza to meatloaf...even dessert and drinks!  It wins hearts and mouths and ruins diets the world over, and we still love it. 

Yes, it's bacon!  That smoky, salty, meaty treat that is irresistible to nearly every meat eater, bacon is perhaps the most adaptable ingredient in the culinary world.

Have you ever tried making your own?  If you're like many, it's just easier to buy a pack or two of your favorite storebought brand.  But, until you've tried homemade bacon, you haven't eaten real bacon!

Meathead helps make it VERY easy to make your own gourmet bacon at home.  The prep is easy, the ingredients are simple and easy to find, and most importantly it's safe!  The results are unparalleled to anything you can buy in the supermarket.

DWCowles recently made his first batch of homemade bacon using Meathead's recipe for both Simple (Original) and Maple bacon.  "Delicious" and "Fantastic" were his comments on the two.


So what are you waiting for?  You love meat, you love bacon, you love making your own BBQ, so don't be intimidated by curing your own bacon!  Take the plunge, and post your results for us to drool over in the Recipes and Techniques > Pork channel!                   
                                                    
  
Science Corner With Dr. Blonder
Avocados, Vacuum Sealers, & Polyphenol Balloons

We've all been there, apples & avocados seem to brown up about 10 seconds after slicing despite our best efforts to stop it.  Ziplocs, Tupperware, asking nicely, scolding- it doesn't matter.  Brown.

Until now!  Pit member Mbmorgan decided to try using his vacuum sealer to keep his leftover avocado fresh-looking, and the results were exactly what he'd hoped.  A still fresh-looking cut avocado 5 days later!

Day 1:                                                       Day 5:
                                              
We know the beauty of vacuum sealers is that they remove air and therefore oxygen from our foods, which prevents oxidation and keeps food looking and tasting fresher longer.  But perhaps there are foods (like avocados) that we've never thought to use them with.  Bravo, Mbmorgan, for sharing this great tip with us!

Dr. Blonder (docblonder) tells us the science end of this whole thing:

"Why do they brown? Well, the plant flesh contains little balloons filled with polyphenol. When you slice open the avocado, some of these balloons are damaged and the polyphenol leaks out. In combination with oxygen, the enzyme then forms compounds toxic to insects and bacteria. Plus turns brown. So a defensive mechanism against nibbling microbes and insects."

"You can delay browning by changing the chemistry with an acid to slow the polyphenol reaction. Or store in a bag with a sliced onion (the hydrogen sulfide also deactivates the enzyme). Or cool in the fridge. Or package without oxygen. Commercially the flesh is briefly exposed to steam- the heat and moisture inactivates the polyphenol enzyme for more than a week, even if exposed to air!"

"The vacuum bags not only removes oxygen, but gently compresses the avocado flesh, preventing further enzyme release at the surface."

You never know what gems you'll pick up from our talented members and moderators here in The Pit, so be sure to browse regularly so you can "keep up with the Joneses" in all things food & science!
Ads Blocked!

We are pleased to inform you our talented tech team successfully updated our forum software a few weeks back...and we're relieved to tell you that our talented tech team also fixed the ad blocker that broke when we made the upgrade. Everything is back to normal!

You shouldn't encounter problems with ads anymore, but if you do, simply:
  1. log out of The Pit,
  2. close your browser,
  3. log in again

This should clear any old bad code in your browser's cache and all should be well in the world.

 

If you encounter any problems with ads when logged in, please follow the above steps, and try manually clearing your browser's cache if it's not set up to automatically do so when you close it.  If your problem still persists after doing this, let our moderators know in our Help! & Suggestion Box channel.  

 
Help Wanted!

AmazingRibs.com needs an Associate Editor!
  • You will be needed to write some original content, but your main job will be to make our existing content at AmazingRibs.com better.
  • You will be an independent contractor and you can work from home. We are based in the Chicago area, but you can be anywhere, although we prefer someone in the US so we can talk without time zone problems.
  • You will report directly to Meathead.
  • Hours are flexible, but we have a backlog of work so it could be substantially full time for several months, and if you are good, maybe for a long time.
  • Pay will be commensurate with your experience and skills but we pay people we love whatever it takes to hold onto them.
  • It's a fun gig! Read more about the job here.
In Case You Missed It...

Swag alert!  AmazingRibs.com team shirts are in!
Available in the 4 colors shown here and a multitude of sizes.   A relaxed fit made from no-fuss fabric blend, 75% polyester and 25% rayon, medium weight, soft, feels like cotton, with a stain and soil-release finish and faux-coconut shell buttons.  What's best about them is they're embroidered not screen printed, and it doesn't feel scratchy inside!  Get your name or Pit nickname embroidered over the left pocket for no additional charge.
                            
 


Greg Rempe from The BBQ Central Show, the revered BBQ radio show, delivers us our very own "PitCast", the podcast exclusive to Pitmaster Club members, has been reaching a little closer to home the last several weeks.  Greg tells us his goal is to be "very Pitmaster Club-focused" going forward, and he's delivering!  He's not only interviewed Meathead, Max, Dr. Blonder, and the moderators in the past, but the last few weeks he's been talking to some well known Pit members, picking their brains for the benefit of us all.

In case you missed it: 

And many more member-centric PitCasts to come! 


"This is going to be the year that YOU need to be heard!  I want to talk to you, I want to interview you... so hit me up in the PitCast forum...I will reply back, we will get you booked ," he says.  And he adds, "if you're really good we will do it on a regular basis."

Need Help?
Not everyone feels at home in an online forum such as The Pit.  If that's you and you're occasionally finding yourself lost & wondering how to get around, how to post a picture, where to post a topic or find a topic that interests you, we have few select topics that may help!

First of all, from any page in The Pit, just click Help!


Then if you need more specific help, please view:

The Pit's Welcome! and Tutorials channel- this contains:

The Pit's Help! & Suggestion Box channel- start a new topic here, or scan through previous topics here, if: 

  • The tutorials don't help you or don't address your particular trouble, or
  • If you have a suggestion for something you think could be addressed, fixed, upgraded, smoothed out, a bug you're experiencing, etc., post the details here and if it's something we can pass on to the IT department, we'll do so!

All of us, together with our great IT experts, will continually work to make the Pitmaster Club an ever-improving experience for you!  

 
"Hot From The Pit" is the exclusive members only monthly newsletter of the AmazingRibs.com Pitmaster Club from Aaron "Huskee" Lyons, Manager of the Pitmaster Club.

You're receiving this because you're awesome and you're a member of the Club!

For past issues check out the newsletter archive in The Pit.