Team Dizzy Pig Takes Grand Champion at Harpoon!

Grand Champions!

Windsor, VT

The Dizzy Pig barbecue team had such a great time last year that we applied to cook the HarpoonBBQ Championships of New England once again! Fortunately, we were accepted into this specialcontest where there are always more teams applying than are accepted. As one of the fewcontests where teams are expected to vend, it is always a ton of work to prepare for. It’s also agreat reason to have plenty of help around, and we had the dream team hard at work! Theweather turned out great, except for a thorough dumping as the skies opened up on Sundaymorning.

A view of the brewery and competitors area

A snapshot illustrating the impressive results!

Perfect 180 chicken wings!!

Saturday brought a ton of people to the DizzyPig camp. We served up ribs, competitionbrisket and pork sandwiches, and french friesseasoned with Dizzy Pig! Meanwhile, turn­inswent smoothly, and the team turned in somegreat boxes. Chris cooked a $250 Waygubrisket which is more than he has ever paid for apiece of meat. It came out awesome, and afterturning in the box, we thought brisket was ourbest category turn in of the day!! Fast forward toawards…brisket was our worst score, coming in17th place. On a normal day, that score for ourbrisket would have been a hugedisappointment. But this day, it didn’t matter!Getting calls in all three of the othercategories…1st Chicken, 7th Ribs, 2nd Porkwas enough to propel Dizzy Pig to their 14thGrand Championship! Congratulations toSmokin Hoggz on a very close finish for Reserve Grand!! It was close…in fact just over 1/10th of apoint separated us.

Sunday was another good day for teamDizzy in the Harpoon Summer Sizzlergrilling contest! We started off the awardsgetting a call for chicken wings, 1st placewith our first perfect score of 180 ever.The butterflies started rolling, and for amoment we thought we may have achance at being one of the severalteams that have won both days atHarpoon. Our 5th place in Chef’s Choicegot us 176 points, and on top of the 180for chicken, we were well under way. Butour Sausage and Shrimp entries justdidn’t wow the judges like we expected.

When it was said and done, Dizzy Pig was 5th overall! Big congrats to Q Haven for taking it allhome!! A great time was had by all up at Harpoon, and we’ll be back next year!

Chris and the team pose with the trophies for a job well done!

For the official recap on the Dizzy Pig website including more cool pictures from Vermont, clickhere!

The Teres Major (a.k.a ‘petit tenderloin’ or ‘shoulder tender’) steakbefore trimming

Teres Major trimmed and grilled with some roasted corn on the cob!

Dizzy Tip ­ Three Economical Cuts of Beef Restaurants KnowAbout ­ And You Should Too!By Mike Kerslake, Qfan Co­founder Dizzy Pig BBQ and chef

With the cost of virtually all proteins going up dramatically, it isimperative for restaurants to be aware of any and all products thatthey can introduce to their customers that are not only economical,but are versatile and, ultimately, extremely tasty.

At the bistro were I work, we are constantly on the lookout for meat items that fit this bill in order tokeep a healthy bottom line and a constant stream of satisfied customers. With beef prices beingparticularly volatile lately, it’s been a battle to find cuts that measure up for both the restaurant’sbottom line and customer satisfaction. Three cuts that have hit the mark for us have been the FlatIron Steak, Teres Major steak and Beef Cheeks.

The flat iron steak would probably be the cut that has made the biggest inroads with retailpurchasers, and the one you’re most likely to already be aware of, with it now being offered inmany butcher shops and quality grocery outlets. It’s cut from the chuck shoulder area of the beef,and for general use, is cut into steaks (yielding 4 per carcass), that are 8­12 oz in size and, yes,are shaped like an old fashion flat iron. Because they need to be trimmed in such a way as toremove a seam of gristle that runs between each 2 lb roast cut, the steaks are limited in thicknessto about 3/4 inch. However, don’t let the limitation of size per portion hesitate you in trying one out;these are rich, beefy flavored steaks that have tested just as highly for tenderness as the less­worked, much milder beef tenderloin. Simply refrain from overcooking (medium at most), as theyare quite lean and will become dry and unyielding if taken much beyond 150°F.

The next cut I want to talkabout is one that was new tome up until about a year agowhen I was introduced to it byone of our bistro’s foodsuppliers. It’s not only becomea staple on our Feature menu,but also on the Big Green Eggat home, as my wife hasrecently declared, “I wouldn’tmind if you never broughthome any other kind of steakagain!” Pretty high praise for arelatively unknown cut. Let meintroduce you to the TeresMajor (aka ‘petit tenderloin’ or‘shoulder tender’) steak.Looking very much like the

beef version of a pork tenderloin in shape and size (8oz­1 lb), this steak is a ‘neighbor’ of the flatiron, laying just beneath it within the chuck shoulder. It comes with a layer of silverskin and someother extraneous fat and membrane, but minimal knife work tidies these up quite quickly.Drawbacks to the steak are minimal, but do include the need for trimming before using, the sametemperature sensitivity as the flat iron, and the fact that the cut is tapered, which may lead touneven cooking (we cut center portions for consistent 8 oz steaks, then use the tapered trim forsteak sandwiches on our lunch menu); at home we just cook the entire piece as steaks, with nodramatically noticeable loss in overall quality).

The last of the 3 beef cuts Iwould like to introduce you to,is/are beef cheeks. Somepeople may be apt to shyaway from the idea ofcooking with beef cheeks, butonce you’ve tried this rich,unctuous cut of meat, you willnot refrain again fromcooking, and savoring it, timeand time again. Beef cheeksare just what you think theyare; cut from the jowl of thecow, these can be a bit of achore to trim down to the grainy fleshed medallion of meat of the finished product, but once you’vedone several, (or viewed one of the many YouTube tutorials on the subject), you’ll be a pro atgetting these ready to cook. At the bistro, we’ve done these as a fall/winter offering, braised in arich red wine and beef stock with root vegetables and served over creamy polenta (we are anItalian themed bistro). These are fantastic served this way, and could be ‘kicked up a notch’ with apre­smoke with pecan or cherry before braising…. Just remembering these treats from lastfall/winter has me almost wishing for the summer season to end (almost! But not quite…).

The EGGs are humming along as Chris discusses technique

Chris carving up a couple spatchcocked birds!

I’m hesitant to quote a price on what you can obtain these cuts for, as market conditions and yourparticular location will play a big role in availability and cost of these 3 items. However, I canprobably safely say that if/when you locate a source for flat iron steaks, teres major steaks and/orbeef cheeks, you will be thrilled with the dinners you serve as a result. As a bit of a guide, if youattempt to purchase these items, particularly the flat iron and the teres major, a quality butchershop/grocery store may have an easier time recognizing the cut you are seeking if you mentionthe NAMP (North American Meat Processors) identification number that is used throughout NorthAmerica to make cut identification easier. The flat iron steak is identified by the i.d. #114D and theteres major is #114F. I certainly hope you do as your local restaurant is doing, and seek outeconomical cuts with great yields and enthusiastic thumbs up from consumers; you’ll bepleasantly surprised by the flavor, and the money you saved.

New EGGers Class Another Huge Success

A full crowd was on hand and listening attentively!

Dizzcovery Class, Getting the Most out of your Big Green Egg is aSuccess with Over 40 Students!

DizzyFest always spawns ahost of new Big Green Eggowners and our June eventwas no different. Over 50EGGs were sold and cookedon during our biggest andbest DizzyFest to date andthat led to having a lot ofnew bright eyed and eager­to­learn EGG owners. As aresult, here at Dizzy Pig wealways have an EGG classwithin weeks after DizzyFestto teach those and other new or intermediate EGG owners how to cook on their new cooker andshorten the learning curve.

Our July class had over 40 participants andthis group was an eager bunch, full of greatenthusiasm matched only by their greatquestions. Dizzy Pig owner Chris Capell whohas been cooking on EGGs for over 15 yearshad a variety of dishes prepared as well asdifferent set ups and techniques scheduled forthe 4 hour, fast­paced learning session.Among the lessons Chris taught were how tocook direct over the charcoal, indirect, multi­level set ups, how to cook spatchcock chicken,never dry chicken breasts, veggies in theperforated grill wok, how to set up and finishpork butts and brisket, and how to make yourown lunch meat with beef roasts that will makeyour kids the envy of the lunchroom.

The class was a huge success and we made a lot of new friends. We look forward to our nextDizzyFest on November 8th later this year. And, talk of adding a December new EGGers class hasbeen rumored around the Dizzy Pig water cooler, so stay tuned! We hope to see you soon at aDizzy Pig class or event soon!

DizzyFest 7, Registration Now Open!

Registration is now open for Tasters for DizzyFest 7 November 8th, 2014. DizzyFest 6 sold out, sodon't delay and wait until the last minute. Unfortunately, we have to cap ticket sales to ensure asafe environment for everyone, so get your tickets early. Cook spots reservations will be open verysoon, so keep checking back on the DizzyFest 7 page on the Dizzy Pig website.

We're excited to bring you all the cool events that made DizzyFest 6 the biggest and bestDizzyFest to date, AND a few new cool things that you won't want to miss. We will again have ourcooking throwdown challenge to see if two new competitors can knock off our current championsMike & Karen Beer. The cooks get into the competition to as they'll be serving up some greatsamples for the crowd with a chance to win great prizes for putting out the best sample of the day.

The XXL EGG is Here!

Reserve your XXL today!

DizzyFest 7 and Dizzy Pig will be the first EGGfest and Big Green Egg dealer to be featuring theXXL EGG as a demo EGG sold at a discount. We'll have a handful of 40th Anniversary Ed FisherLimited Edition XXL EGGs to sell, but when they go, we can't get any more for a while! Come seethe XXL cooked on during DizzyFest and take one home, reserve yours today!

Dizzy Pig Sponsored Team Feature ­ Pepper Monkey BBQ

Joel and Erin Matteson make up the competition team Pepper Monkey BBQ and have beencompeting since 2010 on the KCBS circuit. Both serving in Iraq where they met, they shared theirpassion of great food and interesting ingredients in the most interesting of places while eatingmilitary MREs (meals ready to eat) and finding every opportunity to locate and sample the localfare. You can read about their culinary experiences and see some mouth watering pictures ontheir blog as well as their Facebook page.

Erin and Joel Matteson of Pepper Monkey show off their awards at arecent contest in Bel Air!

Pepper Monkey has hadtremendous success on thecompetition barbecue trailrecording numerous top 10 andtop 5 finishes overall and in thefour meat categories. Theirhighest overall finish to date isa Reserve GrandChampionship at Smokin' onthe Bay in Tracy's Landing, MDin 2012. Joel and Erin are alsoregulars at DizzyFest, wowingthe crowd with some amazingculinary delights. You can readmore about Pepper MonkeyBBQ here on our website.

Dizzy Pig's Affiliation with Big Green Egg® Spurs a Line ofSeasonings Coined Dizzy Gourmet®"Did you know Dizzy Pig produces a line of seasonings for our friends at Big Green Egg? They areall unique blends created with the same quality and freshness that Dizzy Pig is known for, and inbig bottles that will season over 60 pounds of food. Get 'em at your BGE dealer. Find your dealerhere.

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