From the desk of Dr. Cohen

BBQ Sauce Throw Down

Suzanne made some serious "Q" last weekend. She wanted to determine who in the greater Seattle area makes the best barbecue sauce. But, she needed a few extra taste buds so she decided to invite the SSC staff over to the house for lunch to taste-test ten different locally-made sauces.

And, of course, to taste barbecue sauce you need barbecued meat; so the day before the event she fired up the Big Green Egg. For those of you who haven't heard of it, the Big Green Egg is a kamado-style charcoal grill and smoker that can sear as high as 750 degrees or slow cook as low as 200 degrees. The Egg's devotees form something of a cult with many websites and online content. Suzanne followed instructions found on one such site (www.nakedwhiz.com/elder.htm) on how to stack the natural lump charcoal and adjust the vents so as to hold a 200-degree fire for 16-18 hours. The result: a moist, fall-apart, pork shoulder roast that really didn't need any barbecue sauce at all.

In addition to the perfect meat, Suzanne laid out thirst-quenching homemade lemonade, a vinegar and oil coleslaw that was out of this world, a potato salad with mayo she made from scratch and steamed jasmine rice (Hawaiian style) to help cleanse the palate between sauces. The meal was finished up with a bowl of Bing and Rainier cherries. All this good food and friendly "sauce" banter made for a wonderful impromptu SSC get-together. The sun even made a brief appearance - maybe it actually IS the beginning of summer in the Northwest!

This was a great way to kick off the barbecue season and could be a really fun study club event for the summer. I hope you get a chance to break out your grill and "throw down" your own local sauces. At our throw down, Uncle D's BBQ sauce made in Lake Tapps, Washington was the winner. Uncle D's should be coming to your local Whole Foods Market in the very near future.

posted -- 2010-06-22

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