Bacon Explosion Next?

I was going through my collection of sticky notes this morning and came across a phrase that I had written myself a long time ago The Bacon Explosion. So like any good web-o-phile, I jogged my memory by plugging it into google...alas, there it was, the wonderful Bacon Explosion Recipe! A laticework of bacon, wrapped around sausage and more bacon. My neurons properly firing with excitement, I declare that I will put down my studies of pulled pork sandwiches for a week and research this monster of bacon love. I am heading to Queens this weekend to bring this Porkenstein to life! Perhaps the next barbeque menu from Three Brothers will feature a new item.

Rib Recipe Experiment

The other day, while surfing the web for new BBQ sauce ideas, I stumbled across a recipe for home made ribs (and sauce) from Tyler Florence. Now, I usually look to food network recipes for inspiration, only occasionally trying to recreate their work. But his time, I had to experiment. I wanted to know, what people who make ribs at home, without a proper smoking process were experiencing. I havent had non smoked ribs pretty much since I ventured into my Queens, New York Barbeque establishment, 3BROS. So I took the recipe home, whipped up the bbq sauce to specs, and placed my ribs in the oven.

Issue #1 The sauce was way too sweet. But definitely passable. It made me appreciate our stock sauce at the shop.

Issue #2 The ribs took waaaay longer to cook than the prescribed time. It suggested cooking "low and slow" for 2 hours...I had them in for three, and they were still not "fall off the bone"

All in all, I ate the ribs, and they werent that bad. Just not smoked, and a bit bland. I wont tell you they were a McRib or anything, but if given the choice, I sure would rather put the time and effort into learning how to smoke, or find a local shop to buy some real smoked ribs.

New York Loves BBQ

If there is one thing that surprises me on this journey into the food industry it's how much New Yorkers love BBQ. I mean, sitting in 3BROS in Bayside, I watch how people pass by the window, catch the neon BBQ sign, stroll back towards the door, walk intently in and instantly say

Wow it smells good in here!

It's not as though they are just making a passing comment, it is a statement such that you would imagine these folks are from Kansas City, or Memphis, and they just got transported back to their youth, when Uncle Bob and Aunt Linda would barbeque a pig in the back yard pit. But they aren't...these are New Yawkas, brought up on propane tanks and bottled sauce. But man, they order pulled pork, brisket and ribs as though it was mothers milk. Qualify me as impressed.