BBQ in the Burbs

Germantown Commissary - Germantown, TN
http://commissarybbq.com/

I went to lunch yesterday at the Germantown Commissary. This was my first visit here even though I’ve wanted to go for several years now. I just don’t eat out for BBQ too often considering the amount I cook at home. I was in the mood yesterday and thought an adventure to Germantown would be fun and different from the norm. I was also looking forward to trying their hot BBQ sauce seeing how I have never had that before either. Lots of people love this BBQ joint so I was excited to check it out.

I heard that they can fill up quick for lunch so I got there around 11:30. I was instantly greeted at the door and was seated in an empty dining area around the counter. Some people were following me in so I quickly realized that my timing was perfect. I was then waited on by a very friendly waitress who took my order promptly. I decided early on that I would try their well-known BBQ nachos and a jumbo pulled pork sandwich. One of each would have been efficient for lunch but my quest was for the experience, not my hunger. The meal was brought out within 5 minutes and I saw that I was in for a large BBQ encounter.

I took note of the BBQ sauces on the table as well as their rub. I put some hot BBQ sauce, a few sprinkles of rub and a cup of jalapenos on the pile of chips and BBQ. I got busy with the nachos and was down 3 napkins before taking a break. As I looked around the room at all of the awesome décor of nostalgia and sports memorabilia, it dawned on me that the pork had little flavor. The sauce wasn’t really much better as they did not complement each other very well. The pork was tender, pink and plentiful but it did not have much of a smoke flavor at all. The sauce was very bland and not even remotely spicy. I found it to be missing something and lacking depth that you normally get with a BBQ sauce. It wasn’t very sweet or smokey, which is normally how Memphis BBQ sauce is made. I did like the rub, however, which was loaded with brown sugar and spices. I then ate my sandwich that was also missing all the flavors of great BBQ. Sadly, I paid my bill then proceeded back to work.

I realize that the Germantown Commissary is a local favorite in this great BBQ city and that’s fantastic. I love seeing local establishments become huge success stories where even famous people visit for the experiences of great, Memphis BBQ. This place just wasn’t for me. Maybe I am a BBQ snob but compared to what can be done with smoked swine elsewhere, the Germantown Commissary doesn’t live up to the hype, IMO.

Enter the Dragon

Redd-Eye Brand
Dragon's Fury
http://www.redd-eye.com

We recently went camping at Mount Nebo state park in Arkansas during Memorial Day weekend. It’s a beautiful park nested on the top of a mountain that overlooks the Arkansas River delta with a breathtaking 360-degree view. The plans were to hike as much as possible in two days and to prepare every meal on the camp fire. Everything else in between was up for grabs. We ended up having a wonderful time with great hiking, awesome food, beautiful sunsets and amazing scenery. The highlight of the trip, however, ended up being a slow-cooked vegan chili I made on the camp fire.

My girlfriend is a big fan of vegan dishes so I searched online for a chili recipe that we could both enjoy. Normally I use this recipe that is heavily loaded with meat and heat but I had to compromise with another hunger. I modified a recipe I found and picked up all the ingredients at Whole Foods. Not only would the chili be vegan, it would also be 100% organic. My brother got me a cast iron dutch oven for Christmas last year, which was envisioned for the purpose of making chili. I have competed in chili cook-offs in the past using the wrong equipment and this big pot is going to be my key to taking home trophies. Both the recipe and dutch oven would be new experiences for me on top of Mount Nebo. 

As we were checking in at the office on our first morning, we looked through the gift shop and saw a familiar label on a jar of salsa. What we found was Redd-Eye Brand Black Bean & Corn salsa which is a blend I have never had, made by one of my favorite salsa/hot sauce manufacturers.  It was really cool seeing their products for sale all the way up on the top of this mountain. After falling in love with their Smokey Orange Habanero salsa in the past, I grabbed a jar of this new creation. I then noticed that they had some Redd-Eye Brand hot sauces. I added a bottle of their Dragon’s Fury XXX Hot Sauce to the purchase and mentally made plans to try this back at home soon. I brought some hot sauce for the trip but wasn’t going to use any in the chili. I felt as if the jalapenos and spices would be ok sources for heat, considering we were hiking the next morning and the park only had one public bathroom. My curiosity about the new sauce got the better of me in the end. 

I put the chili on in the afternoon and let it cook for about 4 hours. We snacked on the awesome black bean & corn salsa while the chili simmered. I grilled burgers as well so we had plenty to eat. The pot of chili was huge so we would have leftovers to take back with us. Upon the first tastes of the chili, we were blown away with the flavor. The heat was perfect and was actually on the hot side just a tad without any hot sauce. The fresh jalapenos gave it a great kick. Knowing that I had this new sauce within reach was too much to handle so I opened up the bottle and put a nice dab in my bowl. Dragon’s Fury XXX is made with a blend of vinegar, spices, rum and ghost peppers. It gave the chili awesome, additional flavors that went well toether. The heat of the sauce wasn’t as powerful as I was expecting having burnt my mouth on their habanero salsa before. The lack of a massive heat was balanced well with the good, all-natural flavor of the sauce’s remaining ingredients. In summary, the sauce gave the bowl of chili a unique taste without making me sweat. I have since used the sauce back at home on several other dishes which gave me similar experiences as the chili: Unique flavors without a massive punch to the mouth. I believe Redd-Eye Brand did a good job of blending the heat and sweet to present a different style of sauce that’s good on just about anything. I have been told by Redd-Eye Brand that they sell their sauces at Whole Foods in Memphis which is where I first found their salsa. So go there, or Mount Nebo, and live the Redd-Eye Brand experience yourself!

Arizona Burning

The Wing Shack

759 N Claiborne Ave

New Orleans, LA 70116

On Easter weekend, my girlfriend and I went on a short vacation to New Orleans. We stayed at a fantastic guest house on the north side of the French Quarter which gave us walking access to any cuisine we could imagine. In the 4 days we were there, we had a lot of ups and downs as far as the meals we chose to eat. Some places didn’t live up to the hype and we actually had better dishes of the type back home in Memphis. Even some seafood establishments were not ones that I would return to nor suggest to anyone. On our second night, we had a late-night craving for some wings. I got on Urbanspoon and found an establishment about 4 blocks north of us in the Seventh Ward. Being tourists and all, I decided that walking to the Seventh Ward late on a Saturday night wasn’t the brightest idea so we settled on a pizza from an awesome local bar across the street from the house. I never got over the craving so our quest for wings would continue the following day.

We walked around the entire French Quarter on Easter Sunday, asking several people where to get some good wings. It seemed like a tall order from the lack of feedback we were receiving. I found this quite strange being in the land of soul food. After many failed attempts, we ended up walking all the way back toward our guest house and to the Seventh Ward. There we found The Wing Shack.

The Wing Shack is just that: a shack that sells wings. It’s a small, yellow building incorrectly labeled “Wing Snack” on its sign, and is located about a mile north of the French Quarter. A wing’s throw away from I-10, it’s a take-out place that has windows inside and outside. Inside is where you place your order and they appear to be strict about that. This is where a huge menu hangs on the wall, listing all their 20 flavors. The selections were fairly random so we asked for assistance. I was under the impression that a wing called “5 pepper” would burn my mouth. The lady working on the other side kindly explained that their hottest wings are called “Arizona”. We placed an order for a split 20-piece of hot and Arizona. We then made our way to the outside window where we struck up conversations with some of the locals who said we found the honey hole for wings in NOLA. After less than 10 minutes, our order was ready and we were about to find out if they were right.

We decided to park ourselves under I-10 on a concrete ledge that circled one of many overpass pillars. I went in for the kill and was instantly impressed with the size and tenderness of the wings. The flavor of the sauce was incredible. Nothing tasted too powerful like many I have had in the past with too much pepper or extracts. These tasted as fresh as I’ve ever had. I had some of the hot as well and they were just as good but without the full kick. I had a good sweat going upon completion and I then wished I would have ordered some “ghetto punch” to cool off the burn. I noticed while licking my fingers that we weren’t the only ones who have sat at this pillar, enjoying Wing Shack’s glory. Chicken bones littered the concrete and that gave us a good chuckle.

We started making our way back to the guest house when my girlfriend noticed an open bar. On Easter Sunday, we were having a hard time finding anything open outside of the Quarter so we poked our heads inside this establishment. Here we sat and had a few beers with some of the nicest people I have ever met on my journeys. The local NOLA folks took great care of their Memphis neighbors during our stay which will result in many more returns to the great city. During those times, I have no doubt we will visit The Wing Shack again.