Chili and Barbecue

Tonight we went to our Ward "Trunk or Treat" party. It was very well attended and the kids had a great time. They came home with tons of candy for mom and dad!

Part of the party included the annual chili, trunk decoration, costume, and dessert contests. I was a judge for the trunk decoration division along with the other members of the Young Men's Presidency. It was actually pretty easy. Not too many people decorated their trunks.

This is probably my favorite Ward party each year. This year was extra special since I won one of the four categories for chili, "tastiest." What I did was find a recipe on the Internet that looked interesting and made it. Here is the link: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chili-Ricks/Detail.aspx to the recipe.

The thing that caught my attention was that the recipe uses chocolate as one of the ingredients. I was surprise by how much the chocolate added to the flavor. As I told people what the secret ingredient was, they were all surprised and maybe even shocked that someone would use chocolate to make chili. Really there was not that much chocolate, only two ounces of unsweetened baking chocolate, but it made the difference!

I really like the allrecipes website. I have found many recipes here that have been really well received by my test tasting gallery for which I am really appreciative. I have a great family that love to eat and I am happy to feed them. Cooking brings me a certain satisfaction, and immediate return on investment that I can't get anywhere else.

For example, I love to see people's reaction when they get that first bite of tenderly smoked brisket and/or pulled pork. If I had the money to quit my job and buy the necessary equipment, I would open a barbecue joint in a heart beat. I have this dream of taking an old gas station, garage, rundown building or whatever other old place I could find and turning it into a hole in the wall dive where people come to eat succulent, tender, slow cooked brisket, pork ribs, and pulled pork. Add my families potato salad, coleslaw, barbecue beans, and a few other choices of side dishes and I think I have the "recipe" for success.

I kinda want one of those out of the way places that people would go to just because the food is that good, not because the place is pretty. Where people would not have to pay an arm and a leg just to eat great food and would waddle away full and feel like they got a great value as well as a great meal. A place that would become a family tradition, a weekly or even more often trek to get the best food around. Am I asking for too much? I hope I don't sound prideful or conceited. I just love to cook and barbecue is my favorite. I love the time it takes to make perfection happen, throwing the wood on the fire and keeping the heat going at a constant temperature...low and slow. The smell that emanates from the smoker and the scent of my clothes after tending the fire all day. I am sure my wife does not appreciate the smell though. A small price to pay, she loves the food as well.

The only thing I have to come up with still is my own signature sauce. There are a few commercial sauces that I am partial to. Sweet Baby Rays and KC Masterpiece are two of my favorites. Recently I watched a show on PBS that was sort of a quest to find the best barbecue sauce. One of the tested brands was one I had not heard of before is Aurthur Bryant's. I understand this sauce is more of a vinegar flavor sauce rather than a sweet sauce. I am eager to get some ordered and try it out. If anyone wants to order some in, I will cook up a smoky slab of beef to go along with it.

As for a sauce for the pork, I make a North Carolina sauce based on one that I got out of a book by Steven Raichlen. The sauce is a bit like the one you can slather on the delicious pulled pork at Sugar House Barbecue in Salt Lake City, Utah. My sauce needs some work but it is getting there.

I have got to stop! I am sitting here drooling on the keyboard, fearing I will be electrocuted, and have also made myself really hungry. Now I've gotta go find something to eat.