Changes are a foot at Jake's.

All over the past year or so we've been working on lots of new products, a new website, new markets and a host of exciting changes.  First of all we've finally changed our business name from Jake's Barbeque Sauce and Seasonings Company to Jake's Famous Foods, LLC.  This was the most significant change from a professional point of view.  Following that change was the consolidation of all of our labeling into one uniform format.  Gone are the days of our initial block type lettering.  That block lettering has been replaced by smoother curved lines with more of a mainstream appeal.  In addition we added a series of new products from our Memphis BBQ Sauce to our amazingly popular Chipotle Mayo, Sriracha Ketchup, Maple Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Santa Maria Style Dry Rub and immensely popular California Chicken Rub.  Right now we are in the final stages of completion and introduction of a new line of (SFR) Sugar Free Dry Rubs suited to the sensitive and aging markets which may be more apt to be concerned with foods that are healthier and less sugar driven.

In addition to new products we've updated our website from jakesbbqsauce.com to jakesfamousfoods.com.  This was a major change requiring the conversion of all of the materials outlining our products and all of the marketing tools.  Our old site has been added to the redirect list aimed at www.jakesfamousfoods.com.  Just recently we completely a responsive update to our site making it more adaptive to cell phone and ipad traffic.  Along with these changes we enlisted a new online campaign through Bing and Google to make our products more publicly aware.  Regarding our business we've added new locations to distribute our products as well as the addition of a new co-packer.  These changes as you may have imagined have taken a considerable amount of time and our blogs have suffered.  We look forward toward providing more support to our blogs and toward making our customers aware of the new and exciting changes within Jake's Famous Foods.

We hope you will join us on our blog as well as our website at www.jakesfamousfoods.com.  Send any comments our way and we'll assist you any way we can .

Thank you,

Jake

How Do Grill Vents Work? Should They Be Opened Or Closed?

For years now I've been asked over an over about the vents on grills and how best to use them.  So much so that I've decided to place a post on what the vents are for and whether they should be opened or closed during grilling.  See our website for even for details as well as access to our great line up of products Jake's BBQ Sauces and Condiments. 

When cooking your most famous bbq meal managing air circulation is extremely important in keeping the charcoals burning. Even the largest pieces of food can be cooked just the way you like, because you control the fire temperature by opening and closing the top and bottom vents. If the food is cooking too fast, lower the heat by closing the vents a bit. To raise the heat, open the vents to let in more air. While preheating the grill, keep the bottom vents open to help start the fire. Many charcoal grills are equipped with a lever that can be pushed to sweep the bottom vents clear of ashes, which should be done occasionally throughout the cooking period. When you're finished cooking, close the vents completely to snuff out the fire (do not pour water into the grill).

With a gas grill, leave the lid closed at all times in order to maintain temperature. Gas grills work best with the lid closed during cooking, so that the heat circulates around the food. 

Keep in mind that a windy day will make a charcoal grill a bit hotter (because it will oxygenate the coals), while a gas grill will run slightly cooler. Choosing a location that's sheltered from strong winds can help maintain grill temperature.

When cooking when is the best time to open the grill vents?  Typically, the grill vents should be opened soon after the lid has been removed and the charcoals have reached their desired cooking temperature.  Opening the vents allows air circulation which draws air through the bottom vents of the grill across the coals onto the meat and with heat rising upward through the top of the barbecue.  With meats that are thicker and that require more time you want to sustain the heat levels necessary to cook the meat.  A good idea is to leave the vents open between 1/4 and 1/2 of their total opening area. This will provide a reasonable amount of air necessary to retain the charcoals while they cook the meat without burning through the coals too quickly.  For meats that can be grilled quickly and thus require a higher amount of heat open the vents wide open keeping in mind that charcoal will be burned at a higher rate and may require additional charcoal if more items are to be cooked later.  

Always check to see that the vents are open on the bottom and top of the grill when using charcoal.  If using gas keep the vents open just after lighting the grill then adjust the vents downward once the grill reaches desired temperature.  

Mastering the vents can be done in 1-2 grill sessions but once you figure it out you'll find out how much fun it can be to perfectly adjust the vents for just the right grilling temperature.   

Making a Great 4th Of July With Excellent BBQ Recipes

The 4^th of July is a special time for these United States.  And while we’re gathering with our friends and family we want to make sure that we thank all those who placed themselves in harm’s way for our freedoms.  So take a second to thank our fallen and also be sure to thank the military on this day. 

In addition to thanking our military we’ve put together a couple of honest to goodness recipes that almost any weekend barbecuer can use to make their day special.  We’ve laid down our easiest rib recipe along with a great chicken recipe and of course an easy to make drink recipe.  For over 100 additional recipes see our website at www.jakesbbqsauce.com and go directly to the recipes section.

Recipes:

Lee’s Lazy Man BBQ Rib Recipe:

This is a simple recipe for cooking barbecue ribs.  The best part is that it works every time and doesn't take much effort at all. All you need is a stove that can cook at 425 degrees, country style bbq baby back ribs, and about 4-1/2 hours of cooking time.  Once everything is cooking I prepare potato salad and cut corn as sides.

Ingredients:

Start with Country Style BBQ Pork Ribs and follow these steps.

Clean and trim off any excess fat if necessary.

Peel off the thin membrane on the back of the ribs.

Generously sprinkle on some of Jake's Tri-Tip Rub Barbecue Seasoning 

Cover and let sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

Place rib in deep well cooking pan big enough to fit all the ribs.

Place pan in oven and let the ribs cook for 1 hour.

Then turn oven down to 325 degrees and let cook for 2-1/2 hours.

Remove from the oven and brush with Jake's BBQ Southern Style Original , Texas Medium or Really Hot BBQ Sauce whichever you desire.

Turn the oven up to 350 degrees.

Place the BBQ ribs back in the oven for 30 more minutes. 

Remove from the oven, let sit for 2 minutes

Serve.

Barbecued Chicken Thighs

A simple barbecue chicken recipe that is can be used again and again......

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Jake's Mild -Original Barbecue Sauce  

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon salt

Remove chicken skin, if desired. In a small mixing bowl combine paprika, turmeric, and salt; rub over the chicken.

Grill barbecue chicken on an uncovered grill directly over medium coals for 20 minutes. Turn chicken; grill for 15 to 20 minutes more or until barbecue chicken is tender and no longer pink. (Or, place barbecue chicken on the unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 5 to 6 inches from the heat for 28 to 32 minutes, turning once.) Brush with Jake's Mild Barbecue sauce during the last 5 minutes of grilling or broiling. 

Serve.

Add Ons:   Thread chunks of red sweet pepper, barbecue corn on the cob, and zucchini on skewers for a quick partner to grill with the barbecue chicken thighs.

This barbecue chicken thigh recipe will be a barbecue recipe that will delight your family and fellow barbecue chicken recipe grill thighs lovers everywhere.

Recipe: Cranberry Iced Tea

4 Cups of Cranberry Juice

1 Cup of Pomegranate Juice

2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

8 Cups of Sweetened Tea

2 Lemons Juiced

2 Limes Juiced

10 Fresh mint leaves

Take the lemon and lime juices with the brown sugar and mix together thoroughly. Add a few slices of mint leaves to the juices. Afterward add the sweet tea, pomegranate juice and cranberry juice and mix well.

Pour into container and chill or serve over ice and garnish with fresh mint.

Serve.

5 Practical Tips for The Barbecue and Smoker

Over the past few months since the introduction of our Smoker and UDS (Ugly Drum Smoker) units we’ve collected information which we believe will be useful to anyone that is new to Barbecue and Smoking.  This is a short post so we’ll get right to the action.

1.  Preparation is key.  When beginning the process or readying your smoker and the meat you’ll use you’ll want to plan the area for preparation, the area for meat storage and the area in which you’ll get the job done. If space is at a premium then this step is critical to your success.
2. We can’t say enough about safety around the smoker.  When we started our series we advocated starting the chimney starter with charcoal.  After the charcoal was ready one would dump the lit charcoal on top of the charcoal basket after making a small well for the lit charcoal to reside.  One would then lift the basket placing it in the UDS very gingerly while making sure not to come in contact with the hot coals.  Well, we know that most would not be as careful as we are about the process so we’ve changed our stance on handling the basket.  The firestarter is fine when started on a metal surface over concrete.  As for the charcoal basket, we now advocate pouring the lit charcoals over the basket after it has been inserted and positioned in the UDS.  This will ensure maximum safety while reducing any potential for burning. 
3. Use only Non-self ignitable charcoal.  That’s a mouthful but essentially you want to have charcoal that does not carry its own lighter fluid.  Charcoal with lighter fluid will burn too fast causing overcooking of your meats.  This type of charcoal also makes it very difficult to manage heat.  Choose standard non-self ignitable charcoal when purchasing.
4.  Have a good set of heat resistant gloves handy when using the smoker.  If you use the hanging method for meats which we love then you’ll want to make sure that you’re able to get the meat off the hooks when necessary.  If you overcook the meats or they simply shrink around the hooks, separating the meat from the hooks can be an issue.  Gloves will protect you against the heat of the smoker and will assist you in the meat removal process. 
5.  A table as simple as it seems is a big help when smoking meats.  The process of smoking requires a number of steps and somewhere to hold things while you check on the meat, examine the temperature, add more coals and so on.  A small 3 X 5 table will ultimately make your job easier and less tiresome.  

Of course we can’t end this discussion without mentioning the use of a great barbecue seasoning rub or bbq marinade as well as time for preparation.  A good seasoning such as Jake’s will break down the muscle fibers of the meat allowing the seasonings to do their job of marinating.  The same goes for bbq marinades, should you use them?….Of course. 

For more tips and suggestions on using your UDS or barbecue be sure to check back often.  Or simply go to our website at www.jakesbbqsauce.com for homemade bbq sauce recipes as well as dry rub recipes. 

5 Practical Tips for The Barbecue and Smoker

Red Top Smoker Grill

With the onset of warmer weather comes the blooming of the flowers, the tweeting of birds and the obvious hints of sunny days ahead.  And as predictable as these signs are, so are the signs of barbecue season.  But wait, there’s a new old wave that’s coming through this season.  And that wave is the rise of the USD (Ugly Smoker Drum), or plainly enough smoking in barrels with removable tops.  Now Jake’s has been smoking meats for generations and we’ve been building smokers for the better part of 40 years but recently we decided to begin selling what we make so often.  While all that’s good and fine what’s been missing for most is the practical uses of these USD units. Many can tell you how to build one or what to expect and even where to buy the parts but there just seems to be a shortage of easy to use, convenient recipes and instructions for cooking.  So, to get you on your way I’ve included one of our easiest smoking recipes, smoked barbecue ribs.  In this recipe I take you from the front door to the back porch and ultimately to the table with these step by step instructions.  Keep in mind smoking meats is wonderful but takes time and planning.  One should begin the planning process at least a day in advance of the smoking to get things perfect.  When the smoking begins try to dedicate at least 6 hours to the entire process.  While you’re not standing around staring at the barrel for 6 hours, you are in fact monitoring the process for that period of time.  So, let’s get started. 

Smoking Jake’s Barbecue Ribs:

There are many ways to smoke ribs making them succulent, sweet tasty and full with a natural smoky flavor. This method uses a water smoker which not only delivers the richness of smoke but adds additional juiciness to the ribs through the use of water.  The process cleans up nicely and the results are fantastic. Because we are using a USD we will focus on the use of charcoal and the components necessary to make that work. If you have a smoker with a heat element or gas system you can still achieve the smokiness that you desire. Most of these steps translate directly to your preferred method. 

Preparatory steps:

-Assumptions:  We’re going to assume that you’ll either be smoking the ribs on a Saturday or Sunday.  That would mean that either on Friday or Saturday you’re going to have all the necessary materials at your disposal to ensure that things go well on the DOS (Day of Smoke).  In addition to the USD we’re going to assume that you have some way of hanging meat in suspension over the charcoal as it’s cooking either by hooks or by some other hanging method.  We’ll also assume that you’re going to be eating your meal on the DOS in the afternoon of either day.

Ingredients:

1 USD (Ugly Smoker Drum)

1 Standard Bag of Regular or Non-Matchlight® Charcoal**

1 Rack of Ribs (at least 13 bones in a standard rack)

1 pan/dish to carry at least 1 Quart of Water

4 Tablespoons of Jake’s Tri Tip, Steak and Rib Rub (All Natural)

4 Tablespoons of Standard Yellow Table Mustard

2 Cups of Wood Chips (Hickory, Alder, Cherry whatever you prefer)

1 Roll of Foil Wrap Aluminum

1 Chimney Fire starter

Rib Rubs
Seasoning pork or beef ribs beforehand enhances the flavor when the ribs are finally cooked.  The best Dry Rub Rib mixture will allow the meat to marinate evenly throughout the ribs.  Since Jake’s makes and sells it very own  Tri-Tip, Steak and Rib Rub this is an easy one for us.  But if you don’t have a dry rub there are a couple of ways we can remedy this.  One, you can simply go to our website atwww.jakesfamousfoods.com and order your dry rub using code: 1707200910 at checkout which will give you a 10% discount.  Or you can go to our website atwww.jakesfamousfoods.com and search for a copy of one of our open source recipes for dry rubs that we have available free for any site visitor.  Just type in “dry rub recipe” in the search box and you’ll be taken to the web page listing the recipes.
  
Before applying the dry rub you’ll need to clean your ribs.  Take the ribs if they’re pork and simply use a paper towel and your fingers to remove as much of the white membrane on the backside of the ribs.  This membrane barrier when removed allows you to deliver more flavors from the dry rub directly to the meat. After cleaning pat the ribs dry with a paper towel to remove any excess water moisture.  Lay down a long piece of aluminum foil enough to wrap the ribs in when completed.  Following the foil lay the ribs on top of the foil.  Coat the rib with the yellow mustard on both sides of the meat.  If you used your hands to coat the meat you must thoroughly clean your hands to prepare for the next step.  Follow the mustard with the dry rub coating both sides thoroughly.  When done coating cover the ribs with the foil wrap.  Seal as much of the ribs as possible with the wrap.  Now, take the ribs and place them in your refrigerator where they will rest overnight.  The combination of dry rub and mustard will help tenderize the meat and make it juicier when cooked. 

Next Day DOS: 

Since you’ll need at least 6 hours of smoke time it’s a good idea to get the grill ready by 9 AM.  We’ll assume that you’ll have all the items and ingredients you need and that you’ll light the fire at 9 AM.  First position your USD so that you will be upwind from the unit.  Remember it will be smoking most of the day so ensuring that you’re not in the smokes’ crossfire will run favorably in your direction especially if you have a few sensitive family members or a testy neighbor. 

Remove the charcoal basket from the USD and fill with Regular Non- Matchlight®  charcoal.  Place the basket back into the USD and ensure that the vents which provide air to the unit are about half way open. Take a handful of smoke chips and place them onto the charcoal.  Also, take the soaked chips and split them into two piles. Do not discard the water from the chips as we will use this later in the process.  Take each pile and wrap them in aluminum foil.  Tear a hole in the foil to allow smoke to rise from the foil.  Take the packets and place on the outer edges of the charcoal.  Take enough of the charcoal left to fill the Chimney fire starter.  Take a couple of strips of newspaper and ball them up.  After balling or wading them up place them under the starter.  The starter should be placed on a stone or metal surface.  Remember this unit will get hot, ensure that it is not placed anywhere that kids or adults may accidently come in contact with the unit.  Also, ensure that the unit is not placed in doors when starting or on any surface that might catch fire.  These steps are critical to your health and safety, do not take them lightly.   Once the fire starter is placed take either a match, lighter or barbecue lighter and light the paper underneath the chimney starter.  Within moments you’ll see the smoke from the burning paper rise up through the charcoal.  The intense heat of the flame against the bottom charcoals feed by the open vents of the starter will allow the charcoal to begin burning and will ultimately act to start the fire on the surrounding charcoals. 

**Charcoal: Note, we recommend using non-matchlight® charcoal.  This use will allow the charcoal to burn naturally.  If you use matchlight® or similar then all the charcoal will light as one unit which converts your smoker from a smoker to a grill.  Since we’re attempting to smoker and not grill this would be detrimental to our process.  Now, you can use a few matchlight® briquettes at the bottom of the chimney starter if you’re having trouble getting the first started.  Beyond, using matchlight® in the chimney starter I would hold it aside for the days in which you intend to grill and not smoke.

Once the Chimney starter is going let it burn for at least 10 minutes.  The objective is to get about half or more the charcoals lighted without having them burn white all the way.  This will help start the fire in the charcoal basket when transferred.  After the charcoals have reached their desired burn level use a heat protective glove or towel around the handle of the chimney to pick the unit up and dump the charcoals onto the charcoal basket.  When dumping the charcoals keep in mind there may be sparks for the charcoal or embers which may float around.  Be aware of the wind temperature and the area in which you are transferring the coals so as not to send sparks onto dry grass or brush.  Dump the coals over the center of the charcoal basket.  While the charcoals settle they will come in contact with the existing charcoals which will catch fire and begin to smolder.  As the heat builds you will begin to see smoke rise from the wood chip packets.  Once this the packets are smoking take a metal container or bowl and fill it with the water from the chips that were soaked.  Place the metal container on top of the charcoals directly in the center.  Make sure the container is level and keep in mind as the charcoals burn they will reduce in size causing the dish to change position.  Don’t let the dish shift too much because it may spill causing the water to cover the bottom on the smoker. If the water comes in contact with the smoker it may put your fire out.  A good way to determine something is wrong is by monitoring the temperature gauge.  If there is a dramatic drop in temperature then you know something is wrong and should be attended to. 

Options for water smoking include wine, juices or even beer. No matter the liquid or liquid combination you choose to smoke with, first soak your wood chips in this liquid. Depending on the flavor you want, you can vary the type of chips used. Alder, Mesquite and hickory are three of the most popular. Soak the wood chips for no less that 1 hour.  After soaking the chips, use the same liquid which will be poured in the water pan and used for the smoking process.

Once the charcoal is set remove your ribs from their foil and insert the hooks to hang the meat.  Transfer the meat to the smoker and hang.  Place the lid on the unit carefully and monitor the temperature.  A good smoking temperature is 200 degrees.  A great smoking temperature is closer to 250 degrees.  The best way to manage the amount of heat is through the movement of the air vent.  Adjusting the vent either open or close will deliver more or less air to the burning charcoals.  More air equals faster burn and of course less air means slower burn and longer cooking.  If you are cooking pork always be aware of the temperatures necessary to full cook the meat.  The temperature must be high enough to move the meat out of the know danger range to kill bacteria and allow meat to cook.  If the meat stays in the danger range too long one can get sick or ill.  Having your smoker at 250 will ensure that bacteria and illness never become a problem. 

Ongoing

It is a good idea to take at least one additional cup of smoking chips and have them soaked and ready for use.  After every 2 hours you should check on the water in the dish and also the wood chips.  If you need more water carefully pour more into the container without spilling or turning it over.  If you need more chips simply take a small handful and sprinkle them over the burning charcoals.  You may not need more charcoals but if you see them burning awful fast do two things, first close the vent door a bit to slow the burn process, second, prepare more charcoal by filling the chimney starter.  Once the charcoal reaches its desired temperature fill the charcoal basket as necessary.  When filling the basket watch for charcoal dust spray as the charcoals land on the ones beneath.  If you have a large enough access door fill the basket from the access door. 

Monitor the temperature and allow the smoke to perform its magic.  Once the meat is cooked add barbecue sauce after removing the ribs from the smoking process.

Slice the meat accordingly and plate with condiments, salsa, garlic bread and other items. 

Things to Avoid

Things to avoid are smoking on windy days or in areas where the smoke will drift causing irritation to neighbors or family members.  

One key issue that can't be repeated enough is heat management.  Keep the doors closed unless absolutely necessary.  Remember, open doors mean heat loss which means longer cooking periods which can also make meat tough.  Manage heat to improve the overall end result. 

If you follow all these steps your ribs should turn our perfectly, just remove, cut, and serve.

How To Keep Food Warm When Transporting

Video will teach you the best methods for keeping food warm during transport. Click http://jakesbbqsauce.com for more information.

How To Keep Food Warm When Transporting

Video will teach you the best methods for keeping food warm during transport. Click http://jakesbbqsauce.com for more information.

Bringing Europe Into The Barbecue Union

We've been off the blog circuit for the past few weeks as we've been focusing on introducing our products to Europe.  We officially kicked off our European tour with travel to Norway where we presented our premium line of Jake's Barbecue Sauce, Dry Rubs and Marinades.  This event was many months in the planning stage focused on taking full advantage of Norway's very limited summer period which amounts to approximately 10 weeks.  Our key entry location Jacobs Markets.  Jacobs is a very high quality market and grocery targeting superior service and support for its customer base.  The market specializes in delicacies we don't normally see in the United States with things such as alligator, buffalo, wild game and including whale meat along with their standard offerings. 

We focused on a two day event just outside the front entrance to the market with a long flat grill chocked full of burning white oak charcoal.  Our faire, country style cut pork ribs, ground beef burgers and Norwegian sausages. 

The crowds were amazing as lines formed around the market. Sales of Jake's Barbecue Sauce moved at a brisk pace simply by way of the extra barbecue emphasis. 

The second day saw even more people come out for the event as well as purchase Jake's fine barbecue sauces.  While there we had the opportunity to talk with customers, chefs, store managers and more.  We also shared our recipes and the great American experience of Barbecue.  Our Burgers were mixed with Jake's Barbecue Sauce, Jake's Dry Rubs and ground beef.  The ribs were marinated in Jake's Barbecue Sauce and sprinkled with our Tri-Tip, Steak and Rib Rub.  The sausages were a wonderful blend of Jake's dry rubs, ground meat, curry and cheese, a really wonderful taste. 

Following the outside barbecue we brought our operations into the market where we met with customers and discussed ways to Barbecue especially in areas where the weather isn't always the best.  As well we discussed distinct barbecue styles, methods and recipes.  The photo at the right is an image of one of the shelves holding Jake's Barbecue sauce.   Note, the pricing of items is a fair bit higher than prices in the United States.  With conversion rates a small 8 oz jar of Jake's BBQ sauce is effectively $8.00 which goes along with their outrageous $10.00 a gallon gasoline.  Now we clearly understand why Europeans prefer their sauces in small containers...simply cost.

In the coming months we plan to visit more European countries and further extend our support for the European market as we truly work to Bring Europe Into The Barbecue Union.

Jake