Sorry, been pretty poor about updating this blog.
To get everyone up to speed... Sunday, March 14, has a brisket cook planned with 'shrooms, beans, and slaw. When I booked it, it was supposed to be 63 degrees out. Now 3 feet of snow, potentially. With that somewhat dreadful news, we are playing it by ear for Sunday. I don't mind cooking in the snow, but this amount will hinder pick-ups and me dragging my smoker outdoors. A lot can change, obviously, between now and then, so hopefully we can get this cook off the ground and everyone can pick up their orders safely. I'll make the call probably Friday, and let everyone know via the three aforementioned platforms. If we have to cancel, I'll obviously refund anyone who has already pre-donated. As far as a reschedule--maybe two weekends from Sunday. Going crappie fishing in Missouri that following weekend, so you know... Thanks an immense amount--you guys are fantastic...through snow, through Covid, through me crappie fishing. See you soon.
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First off, thanks to everyone who reached out this year inquiring about Thanksgiving barbecue. I had a ton of turkey requests, some ribs, and even some chicken. Unfortunately, I will not be smoking this Thanksgiving. With rapid spikes in Covid-19, I've been reluctant to cook for everyone lately. That, along with the fact that I ditched my old fridge and haven't picked out a new one yet (turkeys take up a TON of fridge space for thawing and brining) and also the fam and I thought this would be a good year to take off and just enjoy the holiday before (hopefully) things really pick up next year. Hope you all understand.
Additional update....(drumroll)...a new menu item! I'm pretty jazzed to add Magic Shells to my menu. I've been messing around with a mac & cheese recipe for years now--fancy cheeses, non-fancy cheeses, "cheeses", macaroni, penne', rigatoni, pulled pork, brisket, sausage...you name it. Finally, I decided on a recipe that I've been using for years and never considered offering to the masses. It's essentially my version of Hamburger Helper. Sounds great, huh? Yeah, the little animated white glove dude has nothing to do with this recipe, although he did inspire me to create my own version back in my single, one bedroom apartment days. I bought a box of Hamburger Helper and dug it. I dug it so much so that I started buying different flavors. Then the guilt set in. "I can't eat this." So I started making my own with different spices and noodles, then I'd make a bechamel and turn it into a cheese sauce. Pour that gold all over the noodles and meat--dang. So, the version I'm offering is shells (duh), a flavorful ground beef mixture in a modest amount, and a cheddar cheese sauce (not in a modest amount) mixed in. The noodles cook in the meat mixture along with onions, garlic, and spices for a full flavor, then drenched with sauce and more shredded cheese to top it. This dish is not smoked, as my wife and I decided that we prefer some of our side dishes non-smoked to give your pallet a breather in between bites of ribs & brisket. So even if you're not in the mood to taste hickory smoke and meat, grab a pint of Magic Shells and indulge. I have sporks. Additional, additional update... Both styles of Earl Todd Barbecue t-shirts are still available, and they make magnificent stocking stuffers! The Elvis (all sizes and colors available) and the Regular (limited sizes and colors) are $20 and $15 respectively ($5 shipping). I dearly appreciate your continued support, and look forward to actually becoming a little bit more of a "BBQ Joint" in some sort of capacity next year. Happy Turkey Day, friends. Been a while since we've had any driveway barbecue, huh? Well, let's take care of that.
Friday, October 30th I'll be cooking up some spooky Halloween driveway spare ribs. These sons-a-b's are smoked for five hours, and within that five hours they are spritzed, basted, and then wrapped for a short time to achieve a certain tenderness that I prefer. When you pick them up, they'll be in their foil cocoon, so bring a cookie sheet to transport them to your home. Should be ready around 3pm. $20 donation gets you a full slab with a side of sauce. This will more than likely be the final driveway cook until Thanksgiving, at which point I'll possibly be doing turkeys again (if I get a new fridge by then) or possibly whole briskets. So keep that in mind for November. And also don't forget about t-shirts! Both styles--the Regular and the Elvis are still available in limited sizes & colors ($15 and $20 respectively, $5 shipping). As always, thanks for your support during this weird time. Hopefully next year we can make this a regular thing and barbecue and hang out every week! Take care, Earl Say, what's the good word? Glad to hear it.
As you may have noticed, Earl Todd Barbecue has new t-shirts in! Yep, The Elvis. If you have zero idea what this shirt means, Elvis--fat, bloated, Vegas, Kung Fu, sweaty, white jump suit-wearing Elvis--wore a gold necklace with TCB and a lightning bolt. TCB, of course, stands for Taking Care of Business. ETB, well, I've had some incorrect guesses that I can't share here. But it's Earl Todd Barbecue. Dummy. So, with that, I introduce The Elvis. It will complement The Regular t-shirt well, as it's offered in the same color schemes (black/white, red/white. Sizes small-3xl). $20 flat rate will get you any size shirt...and add 5 bucks if you need it shipped. A special thanks to a few of my cohorts for getting this mama up and running; Jason Bright, Bryan Foster, and Mr. Travis Liebig. Thank you, fellas. Thankyouverymuch. ETB Regular shirts are still available in limited sizes/colors. $15--$20 shipped for those darlin's. Just email--I still can't afford ecommerce. Thanks again! And sorry for the wrinkles. -Earl Just a reminder that I'll be doing pulled pork sammiches tomorrow in the ETB driveway. These suckers have a ton of pulled pork (with lots of tasty bark, made with my own rub), sweet & tangy coleslaw, pickled red onions, and homemade sauce, all on a big-ass Hawaiian role. Or platter it without the bun...don't make no difference to me. Eight bucks for either one.
Good chance there will be two little kids with a lemonade stand, as well. I think they're charging a buck a glass. Sounds like highway robbery to me, but I guess we'll see how good the lemonade is first. Ruby even mentioned a tip jar..... So swing by around 5pm for some pork and lemonade. And don't worry, I'll have a mask, gloves, and apron on. And that's it. Oh yeah, more fun news: New t-shirts are right around the bend! This one is called The Elvis. That's all I'll tell you for now. You can still buy an ETB Regular shirt for $18 (sizes are limited)...and I ship, so it doesn't matter where the hell you are! Just email or message me if you're interested. Look under "Product" on this here website to see it. Thanks gang! Looking forward to hanging out tomorrow! -Earl Another loaded smoker full of spare ribs. A beautiful thing. You guys kick butt for ordering more than I can fit in that thing--thank you.
And now that beef prices are down, I can cook a little brisket for you'ins. and not have to charge $42/lb. Keep an eye out, 'cause I may do another cook this week. Maybe brisket or pulled pork. Sammich option.. Not sure.. At any rate, I like cookin' and I'm happy that you like eatin'. Love my customers! -Earl Hey, do you or anyone you know have a place of business or otherwise in the Broomfield/Erie/Lafayette/etc areas that would benefit from a barbecue food trailer being on the premises?
This years' farmer's markets and pop-ups didn't happen because of that dang Covid, but moving forward, the grandios plan is to be set-up at one location for the most part. One location for prepping, cooking, and serving. A parking lot or grassy knoll of your business maybe? A place where a small prep/serving trailer and smoker could be operational three days or so out of the week. Storing it there would be ideal, but not a deal breaker. Think about it. Let me know. And I'm not ready quite yet--still have to figure out the trailer. Cart before the horse, yes. But might as well put it out there.. Other than that, just knocking out some driveway BBQ for my lovely loyalists. I'm terrible at updating this blog, so be sure to check FB or IG for whens and wheres (wheres will be my driveway...der). I'll be out of town for most of July, unfortunately, so obviously no barbecue for Colorado then. Maybe Nebraska and Missouri, though. Just not as much. Once again--thanks so much for keeping me busy and donating to the cause. The cause of gue. You guys are the best. --ET ps--the Z-Man's turned out great! But I kept them to myself! Hey gang. Hope everyone's hanging in there. Not a lot's changed since last post. Not with ETB, not with the Covid, and not with the world. Well, I suppose things are gradually starting to open back up--not positive that's for the best, but not my call.
I've officially pulled out of any and all markets that were still a possibility for this season, which is no surprise. Even the markets that are still trudging on are very limited on what they can provide vendors and customers alike, so it's best to sit this one out. One thing that ETB is doing, is cooking every other week or so. No pop-ups or catering or anything, just cooking for neighbors and friends in the driveway. Menu prices do not apply, as this is strictly on a donation-only basis. If you feel like throwing in a few bucks to cover meat costs and such, it's much appreciated, but not necessary. I just want to cook, and people need to eat. Last week we had a rib party, as 12 slabs went on the smoker and everyone gorged that evening. Next up, I'm planning on brisket--but more specifically, my variation of Oklahoma Joe's Z-Man sammich. That's sliced brisket, provolone, sauce, and an onion ring on a fancy bun. Doesn't sound like much, but it works. And it's good. So swing on by and grab a bite. I'll update on when I'm cooking via Instagram and Facebook. And if you know of a frontline worker, be it in the medical field, retail, food, or otherwise...get them a sammich. They deserve it. Hope you're all well. See you soon. Well shit. This last month has been unforeseen, to say the least.
We all know the impact this pandemic has had on the economy--small businesses especially. But with support and a touch of luck, your favorite small business will be back and (hopefully) thriving before you know it. Earl Todd Barbecue is no different. We've certainly been affected by the happenings--but lucky for us, we are actually too small to take a serious blow below the belt. We're on hiatus right now, clearly due to the supply and demand on food, functions in which we participate in, and other closures and uncertainties surrounding our market. It sucks right now, but good news is we'll be able bounce back as soon as life allows us to. Although there will be no catering, pop-ups, or markets in the immidiate future, we are working on providing meals for hospital frontline workers and such. And to all of you who are in that category...thanks a ton. Seriously. This pause in plans has allowed me to appreciate the support of all of you. We had big plans this summer, and it's a bummer they won't pan out. But during this weird downtime, I'm going to do my best to get the food and smoke dialed in, and take time to be grateful for the small following we've grown. More to come, most certainly. Please, relax...pour yourselves a cocktail, help one another out, support the small guys, listen to great music, cook great food every night, try not to kill your family, and keep on truckin'. Love you guys. See you soon. First time out, pulled pork sliders are on the house. -earl Well sonofagun, the Chiefs won! What a fun game--makes me miss living in KC..
We had a pretty good-sized party at our place, complete with bouncy castle, whisky, and of course barbecue. Bouncy castle was for the kids--whisky for us. Barbecue was for all. We sauced up some St. Louis style spare ribs and also a little pulled pork. Friends brought delicious potato salad, grilled stuffed peppers, Action Dip, healthy veggies & hummus, and spicy coleslaw. It was a fine bounty. The YETI was chock full of cold beer and hickory & apple wood smoke filled the air. Didn't hurt that it was 70 degrees outside. But the game....the GAME! Amazing. Of course it was a come-from-behind victory...wouldn't expect anything less. Well, that's probably the last big off-season event for ETB for little while. I sincerely appreciate everyone's orders over the past two games--it was clearly good luck. We'll be out of town for V-Day (sorry if you'd planned on getting your gal a slab of ribs to say 'I love you'), as well as St. Patty's weekend, so let's regroup for spring training. In the meantime, if you have any personal events that would be better with smoked meats, give me a holler. Oh yeah, Easter hams are right around the corner, too! And keep in mind, you'll be able to find us all summer long at the Erie, Colorado Farmer's Market (most) every Thursday afternoon and at the Louisville, Colorado Farmer's Market (most) every Saturday morning! I'll have more info on dates and menu the closer we get to awesome weather. Thanks again, everyone! |
AuthorI am Earl. And I cook barbecue. Categories |