Monday, February 07, 2011

New England BBQ and Catering Visit

Finally made it up to New England BBQ and Catering this past week. Steve Farrin of I Smell Smoke and Brendan Burek of Transformer BBQ opened the place in Canton, Massachusetts a few months ago. It is a great spot, with a large commercial kitchen and a store, where they are selling BBQ supplies. There are things for both the competition cook and backyard amateur, rubs, sauces, Wicked Good charcoal, wood chunks, etc.

Steve and Brendan are doing a little of everything in this new venture; catering, take out, supplies, cooking classes. I look forward to visiting often to load up on supplies as needed this season.

Meanwhile, I mailed out the first application of the season today, for the Snowshoe grilling challenge. I really like the Snowshoe, it is the perfect way to shake off the dust after a long, cold New England winter. Last year, we were reserve grand champions of the Snowshoe, which meant a lot to me. All of the big teams from the region cook the Snowshoe, and doing well is a good way to build momentum for the year.

The Snowshoe categories are strip steak, pork tenderloin, sausage fatty and chef's choice. While I haven't done any "official" Snowshoe practice, I have a pretty good idea what I will be cooking.

As far as the rest of the year goes, well, it's all pretty much in the air. The goal is to cook Grilling on the Bay and Rochester, vend at Norwich, organize Cape Cod, cook New Hampshire, cook Harpoon. The rest is up in the air.