According to a recent news story, napping is permittable at the workplace.  At first, I thought it was great news.  I can have that long lunch, with the extra side of nice-full-belly.  Hell , I can even knock back a few wobbly pops knowing that some shut eye is just around the corner.  But then I read this in the article: “If you have employees working 16-hour days, you want to give them an opportunity to take a power nap.”

And that sucks.  Who needs 16 hour workdays?  Let’s be real - people are already short changing themselves on sleep, and with footbtall season upon us, that only worsens the matter. For most fellas, football season means less sleep and more hangovers.  The male species has spent decades perfecting the ability to awakewn on Monday, hungover and stinky, yet somehow getting to work in a comatosed state and coasting through the day in a “laying low” kind of operation.  My friend Matt used to refer to this as his “tax day” for the week.  You know, the day at work you don’t do anything to make up for the money you lose in taxes. I don’t care what you call it, but work naps plus football season equals win in my opinion.

Hurricane season is still in full swing and much of the East coast is experiencing it first hand with Hurricane Earl barreling through. With that in mind, we wanted to take a few minutes to talk BBQ safety. Maybe this post should better be labeled, “love your smoker”.

Make sure you don’t leave your BBQ partner in crime sitting out in the rain for the storms, guys. First, your smoker treats you better than that so you should take care of the lil’ guy. Second, the last thing you need is some poorly named hurricane (Earl? Seriously? What’s scary about as storm named EARL? Call it the Kraken and I’ll run.) picking up your grill and hurling it into your house, your neighbors house, the woods, or all the way to Oz to land on some bitchy lady with bad socks.

So do what it takes to keep your grill and safe and in good condition. Take the extra time to put her to bed in the garage, your shed, or at the very least put a cover an secure it to something solid with a chain.

OK, Some of us here at Bully Life are giant nerds. Even those of us that aren’t, can certainly appreciate the genius-level DIY projects that get featured regularly in Make Magazine. Recently, make featured Peter Rauch, who put together a great little smoker and meat timer from scratch.

Any BBQ junky or foodie that watches Alton Brown has probably seen the terracotta flower pot smoker before, but Rauch took this approach to epic proportions by making a DIY controller that manages the heat of the electric heating element and provides alarms for the meat temperature. All bundled up in a sleek little touchscreen interface. Here’s to you BBQ Man! Go check out the article at Make, but be sure to tell us about your own DIY BBQ exploits. If we think your story is praise worthy, we’ll send you a big Bully Life shout out here in the blog and maybe even send you some swag!

So, two weeks ago we made the 430-plus mile drive from Boston down to Salisbury, Maryland to judge Pork In The Park.

Not only is this registered as the Maryland State Championship, we learned that the 134 teams competing helped qualify this event as the largest on the East Coast and the second largest contest in the country for the 2010 season.

We’d like to thank all of the teams who competed, especially iQue, a New England team that placed 4th in chicken.  We’d also like to congratulate the teams that placed well in their respective categories:

Chicken
1 Smokin Eddy’s
2 Acme Brothers BBQ
3 Lava Pigs BBQ
4 IQUE
5 Feeding Friendz
6 Wilbur’s Revenge
7 Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ
8 Old Dominion Smokehouse
9 4:20 Que
10 Widespread BBQ Team

Ribs
1 Fat Angel BBQ
2 Good Smoke BBQ
3 Hickory Prime
4 Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ
5 Mr. BOBO’s Traveling BBQ
6 Lazy Ass BBQ Crew
7 Who are those Guys?
8 Hambones by the Fire
9 Ribs Within
10 War Pigs

Pork
1 Serial Griller
2 Smokey Bottom Boys
3 Mr. BOBO’s Traveling BBQ
4 Dizzy Pig
5 Hog Feathers BBQ
6 Chicken Chokers
7 Chop Shop
8 Jacked Up BBQ
9 Buckner Brothers Barbeque
10 Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ

Brisket
1 PA Midnite Smokers
2 Feeding Friendz
3 3 EYZ BBQ
4 Gonehoggin.com
5 White Dog BBQ
6 Dizzy Pig
7 Lakeside Smokers
8 Florida Skin N Bones
9 Acme Brothers BBQ
10 Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ

Our congratulations goes out to Chix, Swine & Bovine BBQ, who took the Grand Championship, and Serial Griller, who placed second overall.

Until the next time…

Why does MSN gotta tease me and talk all dirty?  I mean, bacon cupcakes…BACON CUPCAKES!  Man, c’mawn.  And if that’s not enough, bacon gumballs and bacon ice cream.  Don’t believe me?  Check for yourself.  Oh dear Lord, don’t take me now!  Please, oh please, keep me on this earth long enough to make it through April 24th for the Boston Beer and Bacon Festival.

So a while back, the Boston Globe posted a round-up story about barbecue joints in New England.  And last Sunday, the Patriots had their bye week, so you know what we had to, right?

Armed with a bottle of Russell’s Reserve bourbon, some Grappa, and New England’s own maple spirit, Cabin Fever, our journey began.  Thankfully we planned ahead for this one - there was a sober driver, courtesy of First Choice Limo.  We trudged over an hour to Sturbridge, Mass.  Aside from a quirky village, Sturbridge is home to B.T.’s Smokehouse, where we scored a rack of pork ribs, a brisket sandwich, and a pulled-pork sandwich.

Well, on this particular trip, the ribs sure looked pretty to the eyes.  Sadly, they were a let-down to the mouth.  Our rack was a little overcooked, and may have sat around a tad too long.  It’s a shame, too, because the ribs have potential - gritty rub, nice bark, pinkish meat and a light smoke flavor all hinted at the promise of what could have been.

The brisket sandwich was a home run.  It went so fast that - gone before we knew it.  After the initial meat sampling, we slathered on a bit of the house sweet sauce with a touch of the hot.  The hot sauce is hot, perhaps ridiculously so to a barbecue pallet, but if you like it hot, then this is for you.  The sweet sauce was nice, thick enough texture so that some of it sticks to the meat.  The pulled pork fell a notch below the brisket, but was also an excellent sandwich.  We tried a touch of the house mustard sauce on the pork sandwich….then a touch of the Eastern Carolina-style vinegar sauce.  Both of these sauces were also good, but this sandwich is a pleasure served plain!

BT’s should be commended for the extremely fresh bulkie rolls our sandwiches were served on - very noteworthy.  Also noteworthy is the simple fact that these guys really know what they’re doing.  We’ve crisscrossed the country in search of barbecue - Kansas City, Memphis, Lockhart - and BTs serves up real good barbecue, that is very reasonably priced, and goes great with bourbon!

Good thing we ate light…because an hour and twenty minutes away Chester’s Barbecue awaits in New London, CT.

So there we have it.  Another year for the Rockin’ Ribfest at the Anheuser-Busch facility in Merrimack New Hampshire has come and gone.  We’d like to take thank the folks who organized the event and congratulate Lakeside Smokers, Grand Champions of the event!

We’d also like to congratulate the following teams who placed in the top 5 of each respective category:

Overall:
1 Lakeside Smokers
2 I Smell Smoke
3 Lo’-N-Slo’ BBQ
4 Jack’s Down Home BBQ
5 Lunchmeat

Chicken:
1 Jack’s Down Home BBQ
2 Dogs In Smoke
3 Feeding FriendZ
4 Lo’-N-Slo’ BBQ
5 Transformers

Ribs:
1 IQue
2 Transformers
3 Lakeside Smokers
4 Green Mountain SmokeShac
5 Mighty Swine Dining

Pork:
1 I Smell Smoke
2 Squealing For Vengeance
3 Lakeside Smokers
4 Bone Daddy’s
5 Bourbon & Beale

Brisket:
1 Lakeside Smokers
2 I Smell Smoke
3 Share Our StrengthCharit
4 Purple Turtle Catering
5 Yabba Dabba Que

Barbecue interest continues to grow.

Check out Craig “Meathead” Goldwyn’s article discussing regional variations in barbecue sauce that appeared in the Huffington Post of all places. Goldwyn breaks things down in to 9 categories.  Which one will you like best.

Well, like we said, “Everything Is Bigger In Texas.” And damn does the brisket at Smitty’s Market live up to that saying. The thin slices measured in around a quarter-inch thick, while the fatter ones pushed close to half-an-inch in thickness. And while the brisket was thick, it was also extremely moist - exuding flavor from melted fat and just a hint of post oak wood. The people at Smitty’s told us post oak is commonplace in the geographic region. It provides a very mild flavor, which is less abrasive than, say, mesquite. The brisket’s texture was fantastic; the meat breaking with the greatest of ease. We swear this brisket is so wonderfully greasy and flavorful that if you smacked it across your lips on the coldest winter day in New England, you wouldn’t need ChapStick!

John, the pit master at Smitty’s, certainly knows how to judge when his ribs are finished. Similar to the brisket, the ribs were extremely moist, a nice bark trapping in the juice. With each bite, the meat pulled cleanly from the bone, providing tender, juicy, mouthfuls of succulent pork. Before this trip, we expected every place in Texas to serve beef ribs – not so at this venue.

The juicy, homemade sausage possessed a rich flavor that we found greatly pleasing. The sauce at Smitty’s has a ketchupy flavor, with very slight hints of pepper and brown sugar. It grew on us with each taste.

Lockhart is known for barbecue. In fact, it’s been dubbed the barbecue capital of Texas. And with places like Smitty’s in town, it’s easy to understand why.

Did we mention Everything Is Bigger in Texas?

Well, our way of living up to that saying was with our appetites. After eating at Smitty’s we hit Black’s Barbecue on the same day. One thing we appreciate about Black’s, is the sign that reads ‘Barbecue 8 days a week.’ This was fabulous….because we knew the place was open on Sunday, we didn’t have to worry about getting there before the 8 p.m. closing time, and there was no bike race to cut us off either.

While we were still outside the restaurant, we could smell smoke.

Ahhhh, smoke.

The brisket at Black’s was sliced thinner than the stuff we had from Smitty’s. It bears a stronger, more flavorful smoky kick too. While a tad firmer, and perhaps drier, than the meat at Smitty’s, this brisket was still very moist, breaking in your hands with just a gentle tug – a reflection of tried cooking methods.

Thank you Mr. Black.

Pulling the rib meat away from the bone, we spied deep layers of pink, penetrating throughout the meat, leaving a wonderful smoke flavor on the taste buds. The ribs were thick and meaty, but we found our rack a little chewy.

Black’s home-spun sausage is a pork and beef mixture, dressed with salt and pepper. Less moist than the sausage at Smitty’s, but still wet and flavorful, the sausage at Black’s is not to be missed on your first visit. Black’s sauce, a blandish tomato-based sauce, has a tangy feel and a loose peppery flavor. It provides a nice enhancement to their smoked meats and is also not to be missed on your first visit.

Bottom line: If you like smoke, you’ll love Black’s!

From Jefferson City, we drove over 400 miles to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Along the way, one of the boys from Boston saw his first oil well.  A black rig, undulating like a seesaw.  Gee, how exciting.  We also saw lots of rain.  After the 6-plus hour drive, we crashed in a random hotel then hit the road around 9 a.m. the next morning.

In Oklahoma, we experienced a culture shock of sorts.  You see, in this part of the country, the employees at McDonald’s actually ask how many creamers you want in your coffee AND pour them in the coffee for you.  Back home in cantankerous New England, you’re lucky if  anyone gives a damns about how many creamers you want in your coffee and they sure as hell don’t pour them in your coffee for you.  Instead, you might get a handful of creamers tossed into a bag, shoved in your face with a “Here, do it yourself!” dispensation, as the  employee begrudgingly shuffles along to the next person in line.  We also learned that in this part of the country a “regular” coffee means black.  Seems logical enough, right?  However, thanks to the Dunkin’ Donuts chain, in New England, a regular coffee has come to mean “light with sugar.”  Hmmm, the things you learn when you travel.

Our destination this day - Lockhart Texas.

Like everyone else, we heard “Everything Is Bigger In Texas.”  And pretty much right away, we learned it first hand when we noticed that the police in Texas drive pick up trucks instead of cars.  Oh, and they have bright, flashing lights, too.  I’ll let your imagination roam…

We rumbled along highway 35 for what seemed like forever.  No big deal…unless you realize that Smitty’s, one of our targeted venues, closes at 3 p.m…..and we were still over six hours away.

As we got closer and closer to Lockhart, we realized there was no way we could make it to Smitty’s before closing!

Ghastly!  Shameful!  Just plain wrong!

How could we have come so far and missed out on Smitty’s legendary morsels?

We called the folks at Smitty’s and informed them of or plight.  Since they’d still be cleaning for a short while passed closing, the good people at Smitty’s were kind enough to take an order over the phone, so long as we could pick it up by 3:30.

The race was on!

Quite literally in fact.  Around 3:15, with only about 3 miles to go, Texas police brought highway 183 to a stop for a bike race.  Now I don’t have a problem with a bike race….but damn, we’re 2,000 miles from home, racing against the clock, 15 minutes to go, and we got burned.

Up in smoke.

Lost our chance.

For 3 agonizing miles we pressed on, hoping and praying, to get to taste Smitty’s barbecue.

3:37.

We finally arrived in the neighborhood, but weren’t quite able to find the place.

Sadness set in.

Along with tinges of guilt and frustration.

It was hopeless…

And then, oddly, a phone call came….

from Smitty’s!!!!!

They were checking in on us to make sure we were coming, as our order was prepared and waiting.  They also provided us a sniff of the direction in which to travel.  When we arrived, the staff at Smitty’s greeted us with laughter and open arms.  They couldn’t believe we drove all the way from Boston just for a taste of their barbecue.  While the staff put the finishing touches on the day’s tiddyings, we got a complete tour of the establishment.

Well, like they say, everything is bigger in Texas. And it just might be.  Including our memory of the good people and great service at Smitty’s.

Thanks guys!