News

Pat's Rib Place Opens 7/31/2009

Donna Johnson — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:25:56 GMT

From the Waukesha Freeman, July 31, 2009Waukesha becoming a place for ribsIt’s a family affair at new Southern-cooking restaurant on Sunset DriveBy Tanisha Shabazz Special to The Freeman

WAUKESHA – Memories of family gatherings, grilling and Southern food led Alisha Hayes on a journey to open a family restaurant. “It started out as a simple conversation while watching the Food Network with my husband,” Hayes said.

After a few years of contemplation, 2009 seemed like the best time to bring their conversation to life. Hayes’ late mother, Patricia Lee Lloyd, would have been 50 this year.

“I wanted to do something to commemorate my mother,” Hayes said. It is in memory of Hayes’ mother that Pat’s Rib Place, 151 E. Sunset Drive, will host its grand opening today.

Hayes said her mother was family oriented, hostess to many gatherings and always cooking. She remembers spending a lot of time in the kitchen with Pat. “Every single person who left her house left full. When people think about Pat they identify her with food,” Hayes said.

The idea of opening a restaurant was years in the making, with a bond that began in 1999 between Alisha’s mother and husband. She said they developed a bond outside on the grill and that is where the recipe sharing began.

“Mom wanted to open a bakery and I used to tell her to do something with her ribs,” Hayes said. “She passed away before she was able to do that.”

Pat’s Rib Place will feature buffalo wings, smoked or fried turkey wings, catfish, perch, fried pies and, of course, ribs. The restaurant will have spare ribs, beef ribs and baby back ribs.

“It really is Southern-style cooking,” Hayes said.

Pat’s Rib Place is a family effort with the help of Alisha’s husband, Tydus Hayes, and her 10-year-old daughter, Trinity Hayes. Trinity is proud of her family and most excited for the pies. “It’s fun to cook,” Trinity Hayes said. “I can fill the pies and help with the dough.”

Alisha Hayes said her daughter assisted in the preparation of making the pies and considers Trinity to be the restaurant’s best form of word-of-mouth marketing. “I am proud that my family owns a business and I tell all of my friends at school,” Trinity Hayes said.

Though it took a few years of research and preparation, Alicia Hayes knew from the beginning that a rib restaurant was a good idea and that Waukesha would be home to the new establishment.

“My mom used a wet-batter rib recipe, different from most recipes that use rubs,” Alisha Hayes said. “And the pie recipes are my grandmother’s originals.”

Alisha is an alumni of Carroll University, loves the family-oriented community and feels like everyone knows someone in Waukesha. She also likes that Waukesha has several family owned businesses.

“I love the community, I love Waukesha,” Alisha Hayes said. “I love to feed people and am ready to give them a taste of something different.”

Cookshack FEC300 Is Fully Mobile!

Donna Johnson — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:36:46 GMT

It’s a dilemma faced by many barbecue restaurants and caterers: How to get that big pit into the building. And once you get it in there, you can’t move it out for off-site jobs or cook-offs.

The new Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack Model FEC300, with a 300 lb. capacity, solves that problem. The 100% wood burning pit is 49.25” wide and 80.5” tall and will roll right through a double door. It’s trailer mountable and can go where the jobs are.

“We know that most people are working in existing buildings and how impossible it is to move big pits in and out, so we came up with this solution. By placing two of the FEC300’s side by side with left and right facing doors, the restaurateur has a 600 lb. capacity without tearing out part of the building,” says Ed “Fast Eddy” Maurin, inventor of the FEC line of 100% wood burning smokers and championship barbecue cook.

Kansas City Meat Processor Praises FEC300 as Economical

Bichelmeyer Meats has been a Kansas City meat institution since 1890, and have been using FEC100’s since they bought an original model from Eddy in the late 1990’s. They recently added the first FEC300 made for sale to their arsenal of smokers, and they are enthusiastic about the results. Says Matt Bichelmeyer, “The FEC300 is great, in it we do the meats that we’ve always produced, but we now can do them better. It produces a nicer product in color, tenderness and taste. We do Slim Jims, Beef Jerky, and 12 kinds of Sausage in it, as well as smoked pork loin and pork chops. It’s proved to be a very valuable piece of equipment. It’s actually put more money in our pocket, especially when you look at the cost of fuel. The cost of burning gas vs burning pellets has been unreal. It’s much more economical to smoke with the pellet burners.

Put It On A Trailer And Take It On The Road!

Cookshack’s competition and catering customers have made the FEC line of custom trailer configurations their choice for moving their smokers from place to place. The FEC300 is no exception. In addition to the usual trailer features, the FEC300 trailer has room for an optional 65x12x12” Delta toolbox. The toolbox will easily hold two 20 lb. bags of wood pellets, three 5 lb. jars of Cookshack barbecue spices, and a gallon of Cookshack barbecue sauce, with room left over for other supplies for the caterer or competitor.

The FEC300 has five rotating rotisserie racks, with three removable shelves per rack. Shelves can be configured for slabs of ribs or larger cuts of meat by removing one or more shelves.

Meets or Exceeds Air Quality Standards

As urban areas crack down on smoke, the FEC line continues to gain in popularity because of the smokers’ ability to add perfect smoke flavor to meats without putting a large volume of smoke in the air. The food grade heat-compressed wood pellets used by the FEC smokers produce a clean smoke that gives excellent flavor and meets standards imposed by health departments.

Fast Eddy’s Smokers Take Teams to the Winners Circle

Like its big brothers Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack Models FEC100, FEC500, and FEC750, the FEC300 turns out a superior product. Just look at the winners on the competition circuit. Two of the reigning world champion teams cooked on a Fast Eddy’s to win. Team cancersuckschicago.com took Grand Champion at the prestigious Jack Daniels contest in 2006, and Hot Knots, cooking for the first time on an FEC100, walked off with the World’s Grand Championship at the 2007 Houston Livestock World Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Britain’s Mad Cow team won the 2004 Jack Daniels Grand Championship cooking on an FEC.

Where to See the FEC300

The first public showing of the FEC300 is scheduled for the National Restaurant Association Restaurant Hotel-Motel Show held in McCormick Place, Chicago, IL,
May 19, 2007 - May 22, 2007, Cookshack exhibit booth #1585. Inventor Ed "Fast Eddy" Maurin will be on site as will Cookshack CEO Stuart Powell, National Sales Manager John Shiflet, and Frank Terranova, MCFE, of Johnson & Wales University.

The FEC300 will appear during the summer at the Texas Restaurant Assocation trade show in June and the Florida Restaurant Assocation trade show in August. Call 1-800-423-0698 for details.

Smokin' Al's Ranked #1 Barbecue Restaurant on Long Island

associatedcontent.com — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:46:02 GMT

Smokin' Al's Famous BBQ Joint was rated Long Island's #1 BBQ restaurant by Zagat's for 2 years in a row. They are famous for their exceptional slow cooked meats, smoked and flavorful, the way you expect it. The menu is priced reasonably, so it is always busy. Weekends are the busiest though. ...

Read the rest of the story here. Visit Smokin' Al's web site or visit Smokin' Al's:

Smokin' Al's Famous BBQ Joint
19 W. Main St.
(between 4th & 5th Aves.)
Bay Shore, NY
Phone: 631-206-3000

Fast Eddy Appears on Food Network's Glutton for Punishment

Donna Johnson — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:43:01 GMT

PONCA CITY, OKLAHOMA, USA – April 25, 2007 When Bob Blumer, the Surreal Gourmet, needed a mentor to prepare him to cook at the American Royal Barbecue Cookoff, he chose Ed "Fast Eddy" Maurin, inventor of a line of championship barbecue smokers and winner of dozens of competitions.

Maurin was a great choice for the project. He has the trophies to prove it. After 15 years of establishing a reputation as a winner on the circuit, he devotes his time to helping teams improve their performance and promoting the Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack product line.

Says Maurin, "I taught Bob the four basic food groups: Brisket, chicken, pork butts, and pork ribs." The two went shopping for seasonings at the Herb Company in Kansas City, and to Bichlemeyer's Meats for contest meat.

We can't tell you the results, you'll have to watch the program. Get the schedule at www.gluttonforpunishment.tv and set your DVR.

Ed Maurin has appeared on the United States Barbecue Championship on the Food Network; Chris Lilly’s Barbecue All-Star Showdown; Championship Barbecue Series on VERSUS network. He has appeared on the DIY network. He is available for television appearances and can be reached at 1-800-423-0698.

Forty Eager Barbecuers Attend Fast Eddy's Championship Barbecue Cooking Class

Donna Johnson — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:44:28 GMT

Forty more people have been unleashed on the barbecue world with a unique set of barbecue cooking skills.

Participants in the Fast Eddy's Championship Barbecue Cooking Class held at Cookshack's facility in Ponca City, OK, April 21, 2007 watched demonstrations and received individual hands-on help from the two champions teaching the class, Ed Maurin and Paul Schatte.(GM of Head Country Barbecue Products). Both of these professional competitors have won dozens of championships using their own unique cooking styles, which are carefully demonstrated to the class.

Students came from as far away as the Phillipines to learn how to smoke-cook barbecue for cook-offs, restaurants, catering operations, and backyard 'queing.

The format of the class takes students through the four KCBS categories of ribs, chicken, brisket, and pork butts. Following a demonstration of each meat by Maurin and Schatte, class participants prepare their own meat and smoke it in the Fast Eddy's by Cookshack smokers on hand.

Three of the reigning world's barbecue champions attended the class before winning their championships.

Robert Waddell, Habitual Smokers, 2006 American Royal Open
Scott Johnson, cancersuckschicago.com, 2006 Jack Daniels Invitational Bar-B-Q Contest
Randy Pauly, Hot Knots Barbecue Team, 2007 Houston Livestock Show World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest

Each particpant receives everything needed to prepare and cook everything demonstrated, including a wide variety of sauces and seasonings, a commemorative apron, and a notebook, all in a canvas tote bag.

Register early for the next class by e-mailing Cayley Armstrong or calling her at 1-800-423-0698. There is always a waiting list, so sign up as soon as you can.

Another World Champion Barbecue Team Cooks on FEC100

Donna Johnson — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 16:39:05 GMT

Randy Pauly had never cooked on an FEC before the 2007 Houston Livestock Show World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest, and he walked off with the Grand Championship. He says it's because FECs are so easy to use.

Prevailing over 400+ teams, Randy Pauly’s Hot Knots Cooking Team went home as the Grand Champion of the Houston event, February 22 – 24, 2007. Smoking on two fresh-out-of-the box Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack smokers, team memebers Pauly, Mike Thompson, Tim Butler, and Bill Millroy had never fired up an FEC before, but were still able to get the results needed to walk away with the big prize.

“The main benefit of using an FEC in competition is not having to baby-sit it. I watched it the first 4 hours to see what the degree difference would be. It never went more than 2 degrees above or below what we set it at, which I was very impressed with. It’s awesome that I can put in product and get consistent turn out every time. With an offset, there is a big window where that product quality can fall, but with the FEC it’s consistent,” said Pauly.

Pauly attended the Fast Eddy’s Championship Cooking Class in December, 2006. The class provided him the information he needed to decide that an FEC100 was the pit that he wanted, and he placed his order for 2 FEC’s before leaving Ponca City, OK, where the class is held. The smokers arrived 3 weeks before the contest.

“It was truly worth the wait. I was stoked, so excited. I opened up the boxes to make sure everything was there, but didn’t have time to play with it, so I left them alone.”

Pauly did not fully unpack the smokers before heading to the contest. Turn-ins were on Saturday, and on Thursday he unboxed the smokers at his cooking site to get them seasoned before cooking his contest meat. Never having operated an FEC before, Randy had decided to dedicate 1 hour to reading the operators manual before even firing the pit up.

“I grab the envelope where the manual is supposed to be, open it up, and there’s no manual. I have no clue what I’m supposed to do, but I had kept hearing how easy these were to operate. I had seen Eddy the night before and asked him what I needed to know about firing it up, and he told me the basics. All I had to go by were Eddy’s tips, but I thought 'how hard could it possibly be? I’ll figure it out.' I also knew I could call Stuart (Powell, Cookshack CEO) in the morning and he’d do whatever needed to be done if what I did didn’t work.”

Pauly got the FECs fired up, did a test run, and got to know the basic format of the operating system. “We ran a test run, and it purrs like a kitten. We set it how we wanted it to cook, made a mix of pellets we thought would work and let it go. It cooked a little quicker than the offset did, but that’s no problem, because that’s more sleep time.”

The team turned in ribs that they were very happy with. Those ribs got them into the finals, and their final entry “coasted us home” to Grand Champion.

“We were going blind with it, but the FEC’s turned out a beautiful product. We were very pleased with the results, and we were really excited about our win. Now we’re heading to the Jack (Daniel's Invitational Barbecue) with 2 FEC100’s. The opportunity to go to the Jack is one of the major reasons we were gunning for this win. There is no better victory than the opportunity to cook at the Jack, and that is what this gets us.”

cancersuckschicago.comTeam Wins the Jack Daniels Invitational BBQ Contest

Donna Johnson — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:21:44 GMT

Scott Johnson of team cancersuckschicago.com stepped up to claim the title of Grand Champion of the Jack Daniels Invitational Barbecue Contest on October 28, 2006, after judges declared his team’s ‘que to be the best in the contest. Getting called to claim a prize at a barbecue contest is not a new experience for Johnson. Winning the Jack Daniels was a culmination of a successful 2006 season, which included 6th place in chicken at the American Royal.

The team's winnings are donated for cancer research. Johnson lost his wife to cancer in 2003, and his father died of the disease on October 27, 2006.

In 2004, Rick & Jackie Weight, cooking as Mad Cows BBQ, won both international and overall Grand Champion at the prestigious “Jack”, cooking on a Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack smoker.

Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack smokers are used by professional barbecue contest cooks. At the 2006 American Royal Invitational, 4 of the top ten teams cooked on Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack smokers. The smokers are the invention of Ed “Fast Eddy” Maurin of Kansas City. Maurin is a successful competition cook himself, with hundreds of trophies earned over the past 15 years on the circuit. Maurin can be seen on the Versus channel’s “Barbeque Championship Series”, airing on Sunday nights during October and November.

Cookshack Barbecue Equipment

Cookshack manufactures smoker ovens for commercial, home, and competition use under the brand names of Cookshack and Fast Eddy’s by Cookshack. Cookshack has an industry-wide reputation for its high quality products and exceptional customer service. The company has been in business for over 40 years and ships its products worldwide. Cookshack is privately held and is located in Oklahoma. Made in the USA.

For an image of the winning team, visit:
http://www.kcbs.us/articles/images/JD_2006_Grand.jpg

Resources
www.cookshack.com
Cookshack Barbecue Forum
www.cancersuckschicago.com