Barbecue Master Road Trips to Missouri to Meet the Winter Grillers at Roaring River Resort

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Roaring River Resort in Cassville, Misouri
Last week I went up to Roaring River Resort in Cassville, Missouri. The owners, Lon and Syndi, had invited the Winter Grillers up for a first annual gathering of the grillers – or the chance to meet our imaginary grilling buddies. We joked about that, because we’ve all been friends but online for several years.

Winter Grillin was a group at a web site, but the group branched off to a private space on Facebook Winter Grillin a while back for more features and options. I’m part of the early and tight group and was likely one of the first to sign up in 2009. One of the members left a message on my blog saying I might enjoy the space, and I sure have.

Winter Grillin does involve a lot of talk about grilling and barbecue, but we also grew to know each other on a personal level. The group was “there” when my son rescued a fellow teen from drowning, and I didn’t know if either boy made it out of the river for 20 minutes. They’ve seen my boys get Eagle Scout and graduate high school and now the oldest one graduating from college (and along on this journey to Missouri). I won’t share everyone else’s business, but we’ve all been there for the good and bad times for years now.


Syndi and Lon - Couldn't Ask for Nicer People
Lon has always been like the heartbeat of the group, coming up with fun ideas that helped us all bond. He set up a mailing trade off, and we mailed his pet penguin, Burr, around from member to member and included barbecue gifts and other fun things to the next person along the mailing trip.

Lon and Syndi came up for the idea to have a meet up, and they offered space to everyone at Roaring River Resort. That’s a long way from here, but I was determined to put that on my calendar. I first planned to fly, but my older son said he could drive out with me, so we decided to make it a road trip.



Took the Scenic Route - Glad We Gassed Up on the HighwayGoole maps sent us by the scenic route. I think we went five hours without seeing a motel . . . when we were looking for one (Well . . . we did see one with three police cars - which did not look safe at all). The map route also indicated 14 hours, and it was more like 17 or 18, so I think Google does not factor in bathroom, gas, and food breaks.

That’s okay though, because I got to spend a lot of time with my son who will likely move off to work and have a family, and a mother/son trip would not be likely to happen again anytime soon.


Barbecue Master and Son Road Trip - What FunWe arrived at Roaring River Resort which reminded me of earlier days. The feel is small town friendly and retro in a good way. After chain motels where we were just a room key number, it was delightful to arrive at a place that felt like visiting relatives (the ones we like). Everything was super clean, and Lon and Syndi treated everyone like family rather than just faceless drones.

My son and I had a kitchenette room, so we could prep for grilling. They have standard rooms, the kitchenette rooms, cabins, and RV spaces. The prices are very reasonable. I had to look those up, but we sure paid more for generic motel rooms with basically just beds.




My Winter Grillin' Buddies - Even Better In Real Life Than Online
I didn’t know what it would be like meeting my Winter Grillin’ friends in person, but it was even better than I could have hoped for. They were like their personalities online – but even bigger, bolder, and warmer.



Grilled Trout - Cassville, Missouri
Lon, Syndi, Greg, and Debbie (Greg and Debbie live closer) rocked the grills the first night with fresh trout. This was after Lon had us put together grills in a speed contest. My son got stuck in last place, because I just had to take photos and was not much help. I don’t think he wants me for a partner if he goes again (-:



Raul Can Rock the Grill and the Music
After we ate, Raul entertained us. He’d brought his guitar. We all knew he played with Soul Driver, but we didn’t know how good he was in person. Very impressive. There’s nothing like live music after a great grilled meal.

The next day, Lon and Syndi took us all out on the pontoon boat. That was a blast, and I must say that the Ozarks are absolutely beautiful. Syndi taught me the dock trick (which I won’t explain). And, they showed us this great spot where you could climb up the cliff with a rope and jump in the lake.


Really Now. It Did Not Look This High From Down Below.
I thought cliff diving would be grand fun, so even though I’d not thought to wear my swimming suit, I jumped in, scaled the cliff by rope, and then chickened out when I saw how far it was to the water (looked like a mile from up high). Greg was glad I did not jump, so he made sure I got down the rope without killing myself.


Caleb Takes the Plunge Off the Cliff in the Ozark Mountains
My son, of course, did jump from the cliff. Ah. To be young.




Greg and Marv Getting the Smoked Ribs Ready to Hit the Plates
We had a rib off after the boat ride. Marv does competition barbecue, so he headed that up in Lon’s really cool pig shaped smoker. We had several rubs and some sauce on the ribs. I did my Dizzy Pig rub with Nephew’s Cherry Potle sauce.


Oh Yes - Chrystal Nailed Her Tri Tip
Chrystal grilled up a tri tip while the ribs were smoking. I’d never had that before, and I was hooked from the first bite. That was too tender and juicy to even describe. I also loved her Mom’s cowboy beans which was a recipe handed down in the family. Those were some fabulous beans. She emailed the recipe afterwards (thanks).



Chrystal's Mom's Cowboy Beans - Family Recipe
I took on appetizers, because I’m known for home grilling and easy recipes that taste great but don’t take a lot of time and work. Everyone seemed to enjoy the sausages in the wok and cheese grilled on the grates on my PK grill which I hauled from North Carolina. There were no leftovers, and Syndi hit the grilled cheese after I left, so I think that was a hit. I think she will need her very own grill now.

We all traded our barbecue secrets and carried in grilling gifts to share around. We ended up overloading Raul’s suitcase, since he flew in. I’m glad I drove even if it was a long haul, but I had to repack twice, since a pick up truck won’t hold as much as I thought.


Winter Grillin' Crew at Roaring River Resort in Missouri
That was my wild, wonderful summer adventure – a trip to Roaring River Resort to hang out with my online grilling and barbecue buddies. I was excited about going, and it turned out to be even more fun than I had even hoped. The Winter Grillers are the best  . . . online and in person.

Schwan's Grill Pack - Excellent Quality and Yummy

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Two Grill Wok Night with Schwan's BBQ Foods
Brandi contacted me on behalf of Schwan's Foods to see if I'd do a honest taste test and review. What she didn't know was that I graduated with a guy who drove a Schwan's truck and remebered that the company had some great foods. Of course, that was a LONG time back, so you just never know how a company fares over the years. In any case, I was game to try out Schwan's again to see.

First, I was surprised at how many foods Schwan's has geared toward grillers now. They even include the directions for grilling. Before, you could, of course, put their foods on the grill, but you'd have to figure out frozen/unfrozen on the grill and times and things like that.

Schwan's sent a big box which came by UPS, so I don't think we have a truck out on our route now. I know I've not seen one here in years - since my high school friend opened up a landscaping business.

I called the boys in to see what they'd like to try out. The beefs tips caught their eyes, and the youngest loves asparagus (though usually the mushy canned type - go figure).


Schwan's Beef Tips for Kabobs
The Schwan's beef sirloin steak tips came boxed for kabobs including the kabob sticks and directions. I could have made some beautiful kabobs, but I must confess to finding it tedious to string kabobs and turn them all the time to ensure even grilling. My solution to that is what I call deconstructed kabobs. You can call me a genius or lazy - either works.

What I did was season the kabobs with some Steak Splash out of Canada (can use Italian dressing or any favorite marinade) and with lemon pepper as you can see below.


Schwan's Beef Tips - Seasoned Up
The meat looked beautiful. It was bright red and had some marbling but not any fat blobs. No trim up needed. These are just right out of the Schwan's box.

I sprayed a little non-stick spray in my wok grilling basket and poured in the beef tips. They made a nice sizzle and colored up well. After around 8 minutes, I added the onions and green peppers. Beef really needs more grill time than those vegetables, so I start the meat and then add when the meat is about 1/4 to 1/2 done (depending on the heat on my grill).


Beef Tips Sizzling Away on the Grill with Green Peppers and Onions
Then, it was time for the Schwan's asparagus spears, but again they are easier to handle in a grill wok. I got a second wok for Christmas, so I woked the asparagus right beside the meat and covered the entire PK grill.

The aspargus went in frozen (and my Facebook friends thought I had fresh asparagus - should I tell them it's frozen?). I brushed it with some Garlic Gold (olive oil - my favorite) and just grilled until it had some grilled color. This took around 10 minutes - a little less than on the box directions (but my fire was pretty hot by this time).



It All Comes Down to the Taste - How Did Schwan's Do?
I was very impressed with the Schwan's grilling foods (and we still have some to test out and share).

First, the food was packed well and looked good. Brownie points for that. But, I've had some products sent that did look great but did not taste that great.

The meat (and our fresh veggies) which I ate with a knife and fork and the boys made into wraps with burrito wraps was moist and very flavorful. Some tips are kind of tough and fatty. Not these. In fact, I'd say the Schwan's are as good of beef tips as I've grilled out. Tasted like good restaurant quality. No leftovers though. Bummer on that. The boys put a hurting on the beef. Thumbs up - for sure on the kabob pack (even if I did not kabob them).

As far as the asparagus, I lived on a farm with a fresh bed. So, I spent a couple of summers eating tons of asparagus but not anytime recently. It's kind of hard to find around here. I'd never thought to get frozen asparagus and wasn't sure what I'd think of that.

If I'd not grilled the asparagus myself, someone could have pulled these off on me as fresh. The color was perfect, and the flavor was spot on. As I said, my grilling friends on FB thought I'd picked up fresh asparagus. It's grilled the same, so either one is fine (as I found with this pack). I'd not hesitate to buy Schwan's asparagus again. It really was excellent.

If you live in a Schwan's area, ask your Schwan's guy or girl about the grilling products. They really are high quality, and the directions for success are right on the box if you need them, or you can think outside the box as I did here.

Great dinner and Schwan's goes on my recommend list.

A. Thomas Steaks Now Sold Through Sperry's of Nashville

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A. Thomas Steaks - Now Available for Home Grillers
Natalie emailed to let me know that Sperry's of Nashville now offers their signature steaks from A. Thomas for delivery. We were down through Nashville this summer, and I wish I'd known about Sperry's then. It looks like a wonderful place to eat, and I have them on my list when I get back down that way. In the meantime, Natalie said that she could send out one of the new home packs if I'd like to try them and and let readers know honestly what I think.

Some people think all meat is created equal. This is not true and especially for cuts like steak. Of course, you've got a difference with round versus rib eye. But, there are quality differences in the same cut as well.

Sperry's used A. Thomas black Angus meats and partnered with the meat company and Mattingly Foods to offer these steaks for delivery purchase.

The gift pack I received was the A. Thomas Favorite which includes 6 center cut fillets and 4 center cut strips. The fillets run 4 ounces and the strips 6 ounces. No bones. Hardly any fat. Well marbled.

I had those steaks on my mind when they came in and I saw how pretty they were. The guys were out and about, so I had to wait a couple of days to fire up the barbecue grill - the PK grill in this case.


A. Thomas Steaks from Sperry's on the Portable Kitchen Grill
When everyone made it back home, I fired up the grill and put the strips on. They looked beautiful and smelled great.

 
It did not take long to grill the steaks off to a medium rare to medium. That's good, because the guys were starving as usual.


It was also getting dark, and I don't have good outside lights. So the sun was setting just as I pulled the strip steaks off the grill.

We sat down to enjoy our strip steaks, and WOW . . . this meat just melted. I can't say that I've ever had a better steak. It was obvious that this was premium meat. It just had that umph of flavor as well as being super tender.

Sperry's A. Thomas gift pack steaks are expensive, but they are a cut above. If you want a really special meal at home or want to treat your favorite home griller, this is certainly meat to remember.



 

Goo Gone Passion Project - Do You Have What It Takes?

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Goo Gone - Love the Grilling Version of Goo Gone
If you follow Barbecue Master or my Facebook page, then you may recall that I was part of the Goo Gone Passion Project. Now, you have a shot at being part of the Passion Project (really cool and fun - and details later).

Background on My Goo Gone Passion Experience
I think I was in the test group. I got an email asking if Goo Gone could send me something a little messed up. I'd just fix it up and blog about it.

Blogging is not my day job. I do that for fun. But, I try to work in people who take the time to send a personal email. In this case, I do know, use, and love the Goo Gone products. But, this is a grilling and barbecue blog. So, I said I'd help out IF it was barbecue related. I've not sold out, and I don't plan to. This blog is for the readers.

I was assured that the problem item would be in my passion area, so I said that I'd be OK with getting something of interest to my grilling and barbecue readers. I thought I'd be getting a sticky grill grate or pot - something like that. No problem. I like to help out when someone has a good product. I'm thinking a little something in a mailing bag. I often do small batch rubs or sauces just because I like to try new things and share.

Imagine my shock when a Weber Smokey Mountain Bullet (22.5 inch - the big one) was delivered to my back porch. I thought it must be a neighbor's order. But, no, my name was on there. The Goo Gone folks had smoked on the unit (sausages I think), and after I cleaned it up with Goo Gone, the premium Weber Bullet looked brand new - for real.

And, I can tell you that the smoker (our favorite now) gets a work out here. And, I can also say that Goo Gone Grill Spray really does make clean up so much easier.

So, What's Your Passion?
I wanted to update now, because Goo Gone is now taking entries for others who would like to work on a Passion Project. Maybe your passion is grilling, but you may be a weekend or holiday griller and have another passion. That's fine, because Goo Gone is not a barbecue project. It's about what you love and how Goo Gone might work for your area.

You can enter the Goo Gone Passion Project on Facebook. Again, it doesn't have to be grill or barbecue related, although I can tell you that you should try out the Goo Gone Grill Cleaner. It works great as I found out last year.

If you enter or if you are selected, let me know. I sure enjoyed being a part of the project and still can't believe they sent a smoker rather than a little grill tool or something. I also enjoyed reading the other Goo Gone Passion stories. They span all kinds of interest areas.

Kilimanjaro Seasoning and Jerk Sauce on Country Pork Ribs

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Kimimanjaro Foods - Berbere Seasoning and Jerk Sauce
We enjoy experimenting with different flavors at my house, so when Rhonda from Kilimanjaro Foods asked if we'd like to try out some products that are American made but capture the flavor of Africa, that sounded like it would be interesting.

Rhonda sent a pack of Berbere seasoning and a jar of Jerk Sauce. We don't have these products here at the grocery or restaurants, but I've seen jerk chicken. I thought about doing jerk chicken, but the product information said these products were good on all types of meats and even vegetables.

The Berbere seasoning is an Ethiopian inspiration. It had a pretty color, clearly had pepper flakes, and it smelled good with quite a bit of heat. I decided to sprinkle that lightly on some country cut pork ribs (which are not actually ribs).

After the ribs had smoked close to done on a Traeger smoker, I lathered on some of the jerk sauce. I know that typically a jerk sauce is very spicy, but this one was billed and labeled as mild.

The ribs looked great - darker than with most traditional American barbecue products. The smell was really good as well. I posted a photo on Facebook, and my friends there were impressed with how the ribs looked.

The real test is the taste - of course.

The flavor of the Kilimanjaro products was excellent. They have a different flavor which made the grill smoked ribs very tasty. The Berbere was spicy just as it smelled. My heat eating family members were here, so that worked out great. I'd go easy on it to start with, because it does have a kick. The jerk sauce was mild as stated. I think it's a good introduction to jerk and would work for any family. It was flavorful with some kick but not really a hot kick.

Here are the country ribs, and they did turn out as yummy as they look.


Jerk Ribs with Kilimanjaro Products

The importance of Grains

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A lot of nutritionists suggest the presence of grains in daily nutrition. Why? The reckon is their prominent contribution of vitamins and minerals to our body. You don't have to take a procedure in macroBiotics to fully understand their composition, but insight some of their basic benefits will allow you to good appreciate their value and help you in incorporating them into some of the dishes you prepare every day.

The importance of Grains

Rice
Rice is one of the staple foods consumed in most parts of the world. The best type of rice is whole grain which is unrefined, as this allows for the holding of more nutrients. Whole grain rice is rich in B group vitamins, protein, sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium phosphorus and silicon.

Oats
This grain provides perfect nutrients to voice wholesome conditions to our nervous law and tissues. It contains as much protein as wheat and a larger amount of fat and calcium. It is rich in carbohydrates, phosphorous iron vitamin B and vitamin E. It also contains iodine, copper and silicon. Due to their high fiber content, oats are a perfect match in diets for people with high cholesterol or triglycerides and cardiovascular problems.

Organic+Rice+Cereal

Barley
This grain is well known as a food that reinforces the body. It contains natural sugar, protein, iron, calcium, vitamin B and gluten. Its taste makes it potential to couple in soups, stews and other similar dishes. Being a grain that is de facto digested, it is often recommend for both the sick and children. The cooking of barley water is useful for ailments in the bladder and kidney and can also me used as a mild laxative.

Rye
Rye is a cereal rich in vitamin E so it is recommended to improve the heart muscles and the reproductive system. It contains minerals like magnesium, silicon, phosphorus and unsaturated fatty acids. If you want to lose weight eat rye bread instead of wheat because it contains fewer fat and has a greater filling effect.

Sesame
Sesame is grown in hot and dry environments. Its main producers and exporters are India, China and Sudan. It contains fatty oils, protein and starch that make it a very nutritious grain. Also some of its components supply antioxidant properties useful to the body.

Wheat
Of all the grains, this is the most used to make bakery products in general. It contains needful amino acids, minerals vitamins B, C and E and unsaturated fatty acids. It contains calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, zinc and cobalt. To gather its benefits eat whole wheat instead of the processed one.

>The importance of Grains

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Dr Oz Natural Colon Cleanse recipe - efficient Diet Plans Revealed!

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Dr, Mehmet Oz is a sublime celebrity Fitness specialist and cardiologist. He frequents shows like Oprah and in fact, he helped her articulate her weight. In many shows, he talked about the point of colon cleansing to allembracing health. He discussed the point of a colon that functions in attaining a slimmer and healthier body. In fact, he has been quoted when he said, "If the colon is healthy, the mind is happy".

Dr Oz Natural Colon Cleanse recipe - efficient Diet Plans Revealed!

Let us find out about his effective Natural Colon Cleanse recipe that made a believer out of Oprah. Why use the natural way to cleanse? This is because this diet is rich in antioxidants that are able to improve the body's immunity. It is also effective in getting rid of harmful toxins and improve the body's digestive tract.

Let us try Dr Oz's specialist Cleanse which is a natural colon cleanse recipe. You will need:

Organic+Recipe

2-tbs. natural lemon juice
2-tbs. Maple syrup
Small number of cayenne pepper
10-oz. Water

Drink this for about 30-40 days to cleanse the colon. This is otherwise known as Lemonade Diet and was used by Beyoncé.

Another cleansing recipe is the Green Drink Recipe that is so easy to do at home. It includes the following:

Celery stalk
2 medium-sized apple (chopped)
Natural lemon juice
Diced cucumber
1 cup spinach
Half-cup chopped parsley
Pilled ginger (small)

Blend all things with ice cubes. You may also add fruits or vegetables to vary the recipe like a banana, carrot or mango. You will not only enjoy the benefits of cleaning your intestines, but you also get the added benefit of obtaining vitamins from natural sources.

These are just two cheap recipes that you can do at home. Cleansing the intestines is important, but it need not be expensive. By doing these recipes, you can expect cleaner and healthier colon.

>Dr Oz Natural Colon Cleanse recipe - efficient Diet Plans Revealed!

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