Harpoon Championships of New England Barbecue- Windsor, VT

Okay friends, throw out all my old blog posts and forget everything you think you know about barbecue.....now prepare yourselves for the BBQ experience of a lifetime:

The Harpoon Brewery Championship of New England Barbecue! I'll be honest, I'm worried I won't be able to accurately convey how amazing this event was, but I promise to do my best.

This event, held annually at the Harpoon brewery in Windsor Vermont, brings together barbecue establishments from all over the country to compete for the New England Barbecue Champion. It combines barbecue, beer, and bands into a tastefully done festival, that leaves you appreciating both the food and the brews. What could make this better you ask? It happens to take place the last weekend in July, which is my birthday weekend! It was a perfect storm of events that lead to one of the best birthdays in the book.

When attending a barbecue festival, it's extremely important to remember you can't go it alone. There's no way you can eat all that food yourself. I would guess there were close to 40(maybe more) vendors. This leads me to my first BBQ Fest Tip #1: Assemble a worthy team.

From the left Ben, Julie, Mum, Myself, Carl, Jen.

 

 That fine looking group of people consists of my bother-in-law, my sister, my mother, and two of our great friends Carl and Jen! Together, we work well. It's simple, we love food and drinks. Throughout the festival we were all able to sample the staples of BBQ; chicken, pork, brisket, ribs, mac and cheese, slaw, and even beef fat fries. Being at a brewery it's a given that beer was also an enjoyable part of the day. I highly recommend the Big Squeeze Shandy, which is perfect if you love grapefruit, and like lighter, refreshing beers.








BBQ Fest Tip #2: Have a plan. You're going to be overwhelmed from all the delicious smells and sights all around. Who could blame you? You're only human. Which is why making a plan is important. Shortly after arriving, we decided to do a walk through to get the lay of the land and find the places that stood out to us. We limited ourselves to one item from each main BBQ category before we'd be able to go back for repeats. We also made it a rule to try and avoid the local places, so we could experience food from vendors we normally wouldn't be able to easily visit.

I think I've built it up enough, which means it's time to talk about what we're all here for, the food!!!





BBQ Pulled Pork Quesadilla- From Vermont Maple BBQ in Randolph, VT. This place was an exception to the 'No Locals' rule, mainly because we tried going there a few weeks before but they had been closed.  The quesadilla was meant to ease us gradually into the serious eats. It was a great starter. Tender pulled pork in their signature maple bbq sauce, melted between two flour tortillas with generous amounts of cheese. The only issue I had with this was the amount of oil that came off the cheese and the meat. Very greasy to eat, but as you can see, I barely had time to take a picture before all the pieces were gone. It went fast. We also got a side order of slaw from them, which was tasty. It had raisins in it, which was delightful.







 





Beef Fat French Fries- From The Four Drummies BBQ in Vermont. I'm not 100% sure where this place was from. I don't think they have an actual restaurant you can go it, it might just be some guys going around to festivals and selling bbq. These fries were delish! Fried in, you guessed it, beef fat! They were then topped with a garlic aioli and then sprinkled heavily with parmesan and parsley(as well as secret spices). Cooked perfectly, crisp and soft. Very rich with bold flavors. This was my mom's favorite part of the day, she's still talking about them.







The Chicken Legs- From The BBQ Guru in Warminster PA. These were the hidden gem of the festival. So incredibly tender and moist. Fell off the bone. They also happened to be the biggest chicken legs I've ever seen....like, could they have been mutant chickens? The skin was just crisped enough and spiced with a zesty kick! Almost tasted like it could have had a little Chinese 5-spice action going on. These were a favorite of the whole gang. I hope they come back next summer.

The Ribs- From Handsome Devil BBQ in Wallkill, NY. Oh my! These ribs! These were the biggest ribs I may ever see on this tour of barbecue. So much meat. They were amazing. St. Louis style, with minimal sauce, because it really didn't need it. They needed to be bitten off the bone, but came off super easily. I personally prefer having to 'work' a bit to get the meat off, rather then just fall off cleanly. It just doesn't reward the same as you eat.

 

The Hot Mess- Also From Handsome Devil BBQ in Wallkill, NY. When purchasing our ribs there was another item on the board that caught everyone's attention 'The Hot Mess'. Let me break this down for you. You start off with thick cut slabs of tender brisket. On top of that, spoon a generous amount of creamy mac and cheese. Now finish it off with meaty chunks of pulled pork on top, and there you have The Hot Mess. This place doesn't mess around, they know exactly what they're doing. everything we had was delicious. The meats were meaty, yet so tender and full of flavor. Nothing required bbq sauce, but the sauce paired delightfully so. We immediately started planning a trip down to NY to eat again at this place.

 You gotta respect The Hot Mess.




















 

We did get three other items at different places. A pulled pork sammie, a brisket sammie, and an order of burnt ends(which weren't as common as I would have liked). Don't get me wrong they were all delicious, but didn't stand out quite as much as what I've already talked about, which is why I chose not to get in depth about them. Just remember this was the best of the best!! (Also, I've chosen to only refer to sandwiches as 'sammies' from now on).

BBQ Fest Tip #3: Take advantage of the offerings. You need to get as much as you can out of a festival like this. We all became 'Friends of Harpoon' which got us $5 off admission to the event. Plus Harpoon was offering Beer University classes for free. We attended one all about IPAs and another which paired different beers with different cheeses. Free knowledge. Free beers. Free cheeses. You can't go wrong.











This fest that harpoon put on was amazing! So worth it! I'll leave you with my final BBQ Fest Tip #4: Cleanse your palate. You need something refreshing and light to wash everything down with. Beer, you might ask? No...this....








Maple soft serve ice cream!! It was so good! If you've had my pumpkin whoopie pies with the maple cream cheese filling, imagine that filling only frozen and creamier. This was the perfect way to end the day at Harpoon.












I urge everyone to look at your 2015 calendars and save the last weekend in July for a trip to VT. 

Back Behind Restaurant & BBQ- Killington VT

When researching barbecue restaurants to visit, I found a quite a few in Vermont. Lucky for me, my sister Julie and her husband Ben live there! My trip to see them last weekend involved supper out at the Back Behind Restaurant. If you've ever skied Killington, you might be familiar with this interesting place. It's about 5 minutes from the entrance to the mountain. The experience as a whole can only be described as weird. We arrived there for an early dinner, maybe 4ish, and the restaurant was littered with only a few other patrons. We wanted to eat outside on the patio, and were allowed, but after hesitation from the staff(we later had to move inside because of rain). When ordering drinks it almost felt like we were being interrogated by the server, who asked us each how old we were, and stated that we 'all looked so young'. It was an odd exchange. The wait between ordering drinks and then ordering meals was quite lengthy, perhaps 20 minutes. It never got crazy crowded, but had a decent dinner rush that the servers didn't seem prepared for. We witnessed a lot of running back and forth by the staff, almost as if they had never been open before and didn't know what they were doing.



THE FOOD: Something to be aware of about Julie, Ben and myself, is that we love food! Anytime we're together there's either a delicious meal being prepared/eaten, or we're talking about delicious food to be prepared/eaten. That being said, we knew how to order so we would each get to sample a little of everything. We ordered two apps, the jalapeno poppers and the hickory smoked salmon. We also ordered the back behind sampler which included baby back and St. Louis ribs, brisket, chicken thigh, and pulled pork. It also came with french fries and mixed vegetables, cole slaw, and bread with honey butter. We had everything come out together, all at once.


The Poppers- WOAH! These were incredible! Not at all what you'd expect from a jalapeno popper. Each jalapeno was stuffed with their homemade pulled pork and a cream cheese mixture. The jalapeno was then wrapped in bacon(you read that right...BACON) and then the whole thing was smoked! Julie and Ben thought they were too spicy, which I disagreed with, because they were perfect. It was one of those foods that makes you angry as you eat it. It's just so good that you hate yourself for having never had them before. These are a must have, if you ever visit the Back Behind.




The Hickory Smoked Salmon- ALSO WOAH! Let me break it down for you...You start with smoked salmon, layer it with an herbed cream cheese, mesclun greens, capers, red onion, tomato, now place that all on a homemade crostini. It was perfectly delicious. Similar to lox except smoked salmon instead of salt cured. Side note to self: Make lox at home.








Bread and Cole Slaw- So the bread and slaw came as a first course before anything else. The bread was sliced french bread, served with a honey butter. In my opinion the bread was simply a vessel to transport as much of that butter as possible into my mouth. Compound butters are so simple and easy to make, yet they class up the whole meal 100%. I love them. The cole slaw was very traditional, and reminded me of Mojo's slaw, including the overpowering celery flavor present. What it lacked in flavor, it made up in the way it was presented. It came served in a tiny crock with a small pair of tongs. Very dainty and cute!






Back Behind Sampler- The main event! I definitely appreciate how most bbq places offer combination, or sample plates, so you can try a little of everything. It makes it very blogger friendly. I'll start from the bottom and work my way to the best parts.

Chicken Thigh- I didn't know it was possible to over cook a chicken thigh. If any readers feel the same, you should visit the Back Behind to be proven wrong. Too harsh? Maybe, but seriously, it's easy to cook chicken thighs. No one enjoys a hard brick with bbq sauce on it.

Brisket- Unfortunately, this fell short for me. It was a bit tough, and didn't have much flavor, except for the sauce.

(From the left, pork, St. Louis, baby back, chicken thigh, brisket)

The Ribs- We all agreed, were amazing. So tender and juicy. Fell right off the bone. The sauce was also delicious. Tomato based with a honey sweetness to it. The baby back outshined the St. Louis by just a smidge. I could see this place going through tons of ribs during ski season. It'd make the perfect after ski snack.

The Pulled Pork- 'Started from the bottom, now we're here'! This pulled pork was awesome. It was the best pork I've had so far this summer. It was super tender. It literally melted in your mouth. Had the perfect amount of sauce. Shredded into small niblets of deliciousness. I'm not sure if Ben and Julie felt as strongly as I did about it, but I loved it.

The Back Behind was an unusual experience to say the least, but the food was great. The service was odd, with uncomfortably long waiting times between server check ups. I have a feeling this place probably runs smoother during the winter when they have extra staff on hand. If you're in Killington and need to load up on calories after skiing all day, check this place out. It's worth the trip, even if you go just for the poppers.

Mojo's- Portsmouth NH

My second stop on the Great New England BBQ Tour (Name still pending) was Mojo's BBQ Grill and Tavern. It's surprising that I had never been here before because I live so close to Portsmouth. I ended up there with my mother on a whim, after having to cancel our annual trip down to Foxboro MA for the Finish at the 50 race. They're located in a small plaza, down a side street in the area of the Hannaford. Inside, it gives off a strong country vibe, not particularly my style, but it fits with the bbq theme I suppose. They have checkered tablecloths and very patriotic decorations hanging throughout the dining room, as country music plays in the background. We both started with the Cadillac 'Rita', which was delicious. A classic margarita, with a twist of grand marnier and fresh citrus. Goes down very easily!


My mom ordered the 1/2 chicken meal with 'ma's' potato salad and veggie of the day(broccoli). All meals came with cornbread, which should just be law in barbecue world...everyone's wants cornbread right?

1/2 Chicken- I only tried a couple bites of it, but what I had was great! It was very juicy, not overcooked. Coated in their 'Arkansawce', which is their bbq sauce, tomato based with vinegar and some type of sweetness, maybe brown sugar. Came with a breast/wing and thigh/leg. The size we both agreed was small. Size-wise, it reminded us of a rotisserie chicken you would buy at a supermarket, nothing grander. That being said, the flavor was there and my mom very much enjoyed it. The potato salad was a very traditional potato salad, red potatos, onion, mayo, seasonings. It was nicely done. Broccoli was also good, not just steamed, but had some seasoning action as well.






I ordered a combo meal of 1/4 rack of ribs with brisket. For my sides, cole slaw and mac and cheese.










Ribs- St. Louis style. Average sized. They fell off the bone so easily. It had a thin, burnt crust, which I enjoyed. Made the meat very crispy with an interesting mouth-feel. Tender meat, not extremely juicy. Had a lot of sauce on them. I liked the sauce for the most part, but there was too much of it and it was too thick. I prefer when a place sauces something minimally and then provides extra sauce to add yourself. Otherwise, it's hard to get the true meaty flavor. Not very fatty, which made them feel more sustaining to eat.






Brisket- 1/4lb of meat with the combo. Cut into slabs, but then broken apart into piece further. I was a little disappointed with it as a whole. Not very tender, a little dried out. Tasted like stew meat, tough and plain. It had the sauce on it, and I think that's the only part I enjoyed about it. Nothing special. No real crust on it either which was surprising.





Mac and Cheese-SO good! Corkscrew pasta, lot's of cheese. There was a good size portion of it too. Very melty! I only thing I think would improve it would be a bread crumb topping.

Cole Slaw- Very traditional slaw. Mayo based with vinegar. It was alright. The more I ate it, it had a very strong celery flavor, something I didn't like at all! I couldn't get it out of my palate once I realized what it was.

Cornbread- It was good cornbread. It didn't look or taste homemade, but it was tasty. Very moist with a cakey sweetness to it. I'll remark again how much I appreciate it being included in the meal.

Overall, Mojo's was a good experience. The service was great, even though we were charged for a tequila upgrade we hadn't ordered(later taken off the bill). Fun atmosphere for the downsouth country fanatic in all of us. I wouldn't rush back, but they have a huge menu with a ton of delicious sounding options.