Danger Pigs BBQ

On September 24, Andy and I are off to Murphysboro, IL for “Praise the Lard!” – the 23rd annual Murphysboro Barbecue Cook-off. I believe this to be the first Danger Pigs KCBS judging excursion. While it’s quite a drive, we encourage any of you to head on down that weekend and sample some great mid-season barbecue. There’s also a chance that the Danger Pigs sauce will be entered into the sauce competition! More information about the event can be found here.

Andy thought it would be a good idea to leave the country for the first 9 days of beautiful weather here in Chicago, so I decided to whip out the smoker and spend two weekends using it. Unfortunately, my first weekend wasn’t captured on camera, but the menu was as follows. All meats from Gene’s Sausage Shop in Lincoln Square here in Chicago. If you haven’t been, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Smoked and pulled pork butt – no rub, no marinade. Just smoked, pulled, then served plain or with Andy’s homemade sauce. If you’re looking for pure pork flavor, nothing beats this.

Marinated Chicken Wings – I had four huge skin-on legs, and they weighed in at nearly 2 lbs. total. The marinade was a buttermilk base with some garlic, ancho chili powder, lime, coriander, cumin, tumeric and hot sauce. This was hands down some of the juiciest chicken legs I’ve ever had.

This last weekend, I went back to Gene’s and picked up a 5 lb. brisket and a few huge logs of cherry wood for the smoke. I had to go to Jewel for a 3.5 lb. salmon fillet. I’m not proud.

Here’s the lineup: