Jucy Lucy

The Jucy Lucy, or Juicy Lucy, originated in Minneapolis. In it's pristine form, it's two hamburger patties with cheese stuffed inside. When cooked the cheese is molten and oozes out when you bite in. Variants use other ingredients, such as jalapenos or onions, instead of or with the cheese. So the The Jucy Lucy is a stuffed hamburger.

Left: Ready for the top patty. Right: Ready for the grill.

Today we decided to make our own Jucy Lucies (Lucys? Lucy's? Whatever). We started off with ground beef and added Worcestershire sauce, Cajun seasoning, and onion powder to make the patties.  Then we stacked some New York extra sharp cheese on the bottom patty and sealed the deal with another one on top.

After cooking on the grill with some pecan chips smoking for added flavor we built the hamburgers on toasted buns smeared with spicy brown mustard. I prefer onion rolls and put the lettuce, onion, and tomato on the bottom. A healthy squirt of ketchup on top added the finishing touch.

Grilled Lobster Tail Po' Boy

So I had a couple of lobster tails laying around this weekend and wondered what to do with them. Obviously the grill would be in play, but I've grilled lobster tails before. I wanted to mix it up a bit.

So I looked around the spice cabinet and saw some Cajun spice shake begging to be used (really, it called to me). So, Cajun seasoning, shellfish... Po' Boy!

The po' boy is New Orleans' unique take on the hoagie. According to Wikipedia, it's usually made with roast beef or fried seafood. The seafood variant typically has a remoulade sauce. Well, I wasn't planning on cranking up the fryer this weekend, so I opted to grill the lobster tails. Tradition be damned.

I made a tangy remoulade (except I used roasted garlic instead of raw) and mixed some more of the roasted garlic with melted butter to baste the lobster tails. I recommend using Zatarain's Creole Mustard in the remoulade. It has a great spicy flavor and the whole mustard seeds give it great texture.

So I brushed the lobster tails with the melted garlic butter, tossed on some Cajun seasoning, and grilled them for about five minutes per side (until the flesh was opaque). Since I was planning to cut them up for a sandwich I didn't care about keeping the shells intact for plating. Which was a good thing since the shells did not cooperate with me when I was getting the tails ready for the grill.

While the tails were cooking I tossed half an lemon on the grill to cook also. A little canola oil helps the lemon get those nice grill marks. Cooking a lemon this way really releases the juice and adds a little smokiness. Grill your lemons whenever you can.

Finally the lobster was done, the lemon was just charred enough, and the remoulade had rested long enough in the fridge. Time to assemble the po' boy. I used an Italian style roll (I know, not traditional). I spread a healthy portion of the remoulade on both halves, added shredded lettuce and red cabbage, then piled on the lobster. I finished the po' boy with a couple of tomato slices and a quick squeeze from the grilled lemon.

End result? A great sandwich you'd be proud to serve your guests. But you'd prefer to keep it all for yourself.

What's that? Lobster's too expensive? Use grilled shrimp instead. It's great both ways.

Garbage Pizza

Garbage Pizza fresh from the oven.

So I was trying to think of something to do with the really thick cut bacon I got on Father's Day. Then it hit me: Garbage pizza!

Garbage pizza is everything but the kitchen sink. Basically you throw anything and everything you want on the pizza, cover it in cheese, then bake it.

For this, I used a store bought boboli crust as the base. I covered it with a thick layer of tomato sauce with sausage, onion, and peppers. Then a layer of thick cut pepperoni, sliced smoked ham, and then the bacon.

Now that's some thick bacon!

The bacon was almost a quarter inch thick and each slice was over twelve inches long. I sliced three strips of bacon into chunks then cooked them until they were almost crispy.

I may have tasted a few pieces along the way. Quality control.

After these went on the pizza I added the veggies: Sliced onions, green bell peppers, and mushrooms.

Finally, a heapin' helpin' of shredded mozzarella topped it off.

After thirteen minutes in the oven at 450° the garbage pizza was ready. The first slice was excellent.

Ready to eat.

Waiting for the cheese.

And before you say it, yes I know this wasn't cooked on a grill or a smoker. I promise the next time I make pizza I'll use the grill.

Father's Day 2012

My people know what to get me for Father's Day.

That's an Oregon Scientific Remote Meat Thermometer on the left and really thick cut bacon from the Eastern Market butcher in Washington, DC on the right.

Actually I got the remote thermometer a week early so I could use it with the incredibly good brisket I made that weekend. I used it again this weekend when I made pulled pork to die for (more on that later). The only complaint I have about the thermometer is one that the Amazon reviewers have made: You have to reset both the transmitter and receiver every time you turn them on to get them to link up. And the instructions aren't clear on that. Other than that, works great.

Now, the bacon. I am thinking about what I can do with it. I have many recipes that call for thick cut bacon so this will be a challenge. But you know it will be good. And I'm open to suggestions.

Stay tuned.

Brisket! In the Smoker!

Go to Texas and ask for BBQ, you'll get brisket. This chest muscle from the cow is cooked low and slow for hours. Done right it practically melts in your mouth. This is my version.

I started with a seven pound flat cut. I cut off a small piece to cook separately so it could go in the baked beans later. Along with bacon. But that's another post.

The morning after.

The night before, I trimmed most of the fat off and applied my rub. This was based on Amazing Ribs' Big Bad Beef Rub, but I add freshly toasted and ground coriander. And maybe one or two other things. Then several injections of low sodium beef stock and the brisket was ready to be wrapped and refrigerated for the night. I also put some hickory, mesquite, and pecan wood chunks in water to soak for the next day.

Restaurant Review: TC's Bar-B-Que

Awhile back I wrote about my favorite BBQ restaurant, Cotten's in Jacksonville, FL. At the time I noted that the owners had changed and some of the long-time staff (Ms. Lucille!) had moved on to their own place. I finally got a chance to visit TC's Bar-B-Que a week or so ago. It was worth the wait.

I like hole-in-the wall BBQ joints, and TC's fits the bill perfectly. It's basically a long counter with four tables in front. Ragged cafeteria chairs provide the only seating. At the time, the unisex restroom was out of order, but they opened it when one of my lunchmates asked.

But the real test is how does the food taste? Ms. Lucille has the recipe for Cotten's classic mustard-based sauce and it's just as good here as there. The ribs I had on the rib sandwich plate were St. Louis cut, but I'm told they have full size spareribs also. I can say the the rib plate was exactly what I was expecting: Three juicy ribs between two slices of white bread, with a salad and fries on the side. The salad had their homemade dressing and it was excellent.

While we were eating several people came in to pick up take out. And TC's is the place all the city officials and police left Cotten's to eat lunch at. You can't get much higher recommendations than that.

Ms. Lucille doesn't run the day to day business anymore but her presence is felt. TC's is definitely the place to go for BBQ in Jacksonville.

I may have a new favorite BBQ joint.

TC's Bar-B-Que
1269 Edgewood Ave W
Jacksonville, FL 32208
(904) 765-9945

TC's on Yelp. TC's on Google+.

Bacon Wrapped Saltines

A while back I mentioned Larry Gaian's (of the BBQ Grail) experiment in wrapping bacon around saltine crackers. This is what happened when I did it.

Prep is easy. Wrap each cracker with half a strip of bacon. I used center cut but you can use whatever kind you like. The bacon won't go completely around the cracker so just be sure the ends are tucked in underneath. They'll stay in place when everything's cooked.

Then I sprinkled some of my favorite pork rub on top. I use Meathead's Memphis Dust Rub recipe. Here's a handy tip. I usually have a problem with brown sugar clumping when I try to mix the spices together. I put it all in a blender and give it a few pulses. This mixes it well and you end up with a finer rub. The better to get into the meat, I say. If you use coarse salt (kosher or sea salt -- and you should) just add it after you blend the other spices.

Then the crackers went on the hot grill, set up for indirect cooking. Larry Gaian cooked his for about 20 minutes. I kept an eye on mine and after about 12 minutes they were starting to get done. So I put some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce on them and let them go for a few more minutes. After a total cook time of 15 minutes the bacon wrapped saltines were done.

How did they turn out? Just look at the pictures. These make great appetizers and don't take much effort to make.

Do try this at home.

Meatzapalooza 2012

This Memorial Day weekend we hosted what I called Meatzapalooza 2012. On the menu was some of what you expect, hamburgers and hot dogs, and some of what you don't expect, the infamous bacon explosion and a traditional low country boil. I think some veggies made a token appearance but, really, who cares? It's all about the meat.

I had a couple of other items planned but we got so busy I put them off. Don't worry, you'll read about them soon enough.

Speaking of busy, the only picture I got was of the smoker cooking the bacon explosion. Yes, that is the same smoker as the one in my blog header. I recently sanded and repainted it, and restained the wood handles and shelf slats. Looks pretty good, doesn't it?

I've written about how I made my first bacon explosion, so I won't go into the details again. I will say I used a bit too much Italian sausage (just a bit, really!) and the bacon weave wouldn't quite cover the sausage roll. So I had to slap some more slices of bacon over the gaps to make it complete. Think of it as bacon spackle. I assembled the bacon explosion several hours ahead of time. Everything had time to set up and so it all held together when I put it in the smoker. Besides, how bad can be it be if you have to add more bacon? To anything?

The low country boil was pretty basic. Baby red potatoes, corn, smoked sausage, and shrimp in a pot with Old Bay seasoning and Zatarian's Crab Boil. Basic, but great flavors.

Both the bacon explosion and the low country boil were hits this year. I bet they will be again next year.

Self Protection

I probably won't make too many political posts here, but I just want to say:

An armed society is a polite society.

Smoked Holiday Ham

Smoked ham and beans -- Is that a slice of bacon, too?

Ham is traditional for Easter, so I smoked a ham and baked beans today. For the ham I followed the procedure detailed on howtobbqright.com, with a minor tweak: I used a spiral cut ham to start with. Mainly because I'm lazy and wanted to make it easier to serve when the ham was done.

There are a couple of risks using a spiral cut rather than an uncut ham. The first is that it might fall apart during the smoking process. The second is that it might come out too dry when it's done. Fortunately neither of these happened today. You do have to be careful moving the ham on and off the smoker grate. The bottom slices will tend to peel off.

The basic ingredients

The first thing you do with the ham is throw away the glaze packet that come with it. You'll make your own soon enough. To prepare the ham, rub it with honey dijon mustard and lightly coat it with brown sugar. Then it goes in a 225° smoker for two hours. I used applewood chunks with some random mesquite and hickory thrown in. After two hours spritz it with pineapple juice, wrap it in foil, and continue to cook it for another hour.

After two hours in the smoker

After the third hour open the foil and put more brown sugar on the ham  and spray with more pineapple juice. This will make the glaze. Cook for another hour. After a total of four hours cooking time take it out and let it rest for about thirty minutes.

For the beans I used the recipe for barbecues beans I found at BBQ Recipes Cookbook. Again, I made a couple of minor tweaks I'll explain in a moment. I started with drained Bush's Original Baked Beans as the base. Then I added Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce, paprika, and dry mustard.

Tweak #1: The recipe calls for honey but I substituted brown sugar today (I'm out of honey -- an oversite). 

Tweak #2: It also calls for onion and green pepper. Instead of adding them raw I sauteed them in olive oil first to soften them up. I should have cooked the pepper a little longer since it was still a bit too crunchy when the beans were done.

Beans, done.

Finally I topped the mixture with bacon slices and it went in the smoker for about an hour and a half, uncovered. I wanted the beans to be ready when the ham was done resting, so I put them in the smoker after it had been cooking for three hours. And I added more wood to make them smoky.

Is that the face of Jesus in the center of the ham?

The ham practically fell apart when it was done. I have no idea how those sweet potato chunks got in the picture.

Surf and Turf, Part Deux

I do like my surf and turf. This week instead of lobster I grilled black tiger shrimp to go with the rib-eye.

I used the Grilled Prawns in Garlic and Chile Oil recipe from Fish & Shellfish, Grilled & Smoked.

Basically you infuse olive oil with crushed red peppers and garlic, then use it to baste the shrimp while they cook and as a dipping sauce afterwards.

While tiger shrimp are an invasive species in the Gulf of Mexico, the ones I used were imported from southeast Asia.

What salt to use, when

Do you use table salt, kosher salt, or sea salt? What about pickling salt or pretzel salt? Do you know the difference?

The Virtual Weber Bullet has a good post on the various types of salt and when to use them. They advise against using iodized salt because some people claim it causes an off taste. So much for when it rains, it pours.

Two tips I think are very useful: Don't use fancy or gourmet salts (like sea salt) for BBQ rubs. Sea salt is best as a finishing seasoning.

Second, not all salt is equal, literally:

"Table salt weighs about 10 ounces per cup, while kosher salt weighs 5-8 ounces per cup, depending on the brand. If using kosher salt in a brine, you must use more than a cup to achieve the same salt flavor you would get from a cup of table salt."

One cup of table salt = 1.5 cups Morton Kosher Salt = 2 cups Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt.

This means if you want to use kosher salt in a recipe that calls for regular salt, you need to adjust the quantity based on weight not volume. If the recipe specifies kosher salt then use the exact amount.

All About Salt via Lifehacker.

Surf and Turf

After my close encounter with the Unknown Spider, I grilled a couple of lobster tails and a rib-eye.

The steak was pretty straightforward. A little canola oil and then Golden Toad's Prime Steak Rub on both sides and it was ready for the grill. I won that rub, along with a selection of Golden Toad's sauces, in one of BBQ Sauce Reviews' Friday giveaways.

I used Steven Raichlen's Grilled Lobster with Basil Butter recipe from The Barbecue! Bible for the tails. This is pretty easy to prepare. Melted butter, coarsely chopped basil, salt, pepper, and lime juice is all it takes. You grill the lobster about 7 minutes per side. When you grill lobster the shell becomes very brittle so be careful when you handle it.

An excellent end to the weekend.

What Kind of Spider is This?

This fellow was sitting on the deck when I went out this afternoon to grill. He has really cool markings on the back. I think he might be an orb spider but I'm not sure.

Underside of spider.

I think he's camera shy.

UPDATED 4/2/12: It's a furrow orb weaver spider.

Pappy's BBQ Sauce!

A friend recently went to St. Louis. he visited Pappy's Smokehouse and really liked the ribs and sauces. Since he knows how much I like BBQ he brought back one of each of their sauces for me.

Pappy's Sweet Baby Jane BBQ Sauce is named in honor of the owner's granddaughter. This one Annie is  really wanting to try.

Holly's Hot Sauce is a Texas style hot sauce.

Pappy's Original is a classic tangy sauce with a pepper kick.

I haven't had a chance to try these yet, but I am looking forward to the tasting!

IED Chili

Today was wet and chilly. I didn't feel like firing up the grill or smoker so I made a batch of my award winning IED Chili. Yes, I said award winning. This recipe won first place in a company chili cook-off. And yes, those are beans you see in there, three different kinds in fact. I don't want to hear anything from you no-bean chili purists. I cook for taste, not abstract ideals.

Start to finish it takes about five hours but it's worth every minute of it. And it gives me a chance to bring out my ginormous cast iron Dutch oven.

I start out with three pounds of pink slime, er, ground beef and brown it in the pot. Then I add in some chopped onion and peppers (usually jalapeno and serrano peppers) and cook them until they're soft. Then in goes my special chili spice mixture, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies,  a bottle of beer, and a few other things. Then I cover it and let it cook for three to four hours.

I add beans the last hour (in this case red kidney beans, black beans, and pinto beans). I take the lid off for the last half hour or so to let it cook down a bit.

This chili is great hot out of the pot but it tastes even better the next day.

My First Guest Post!

Brian Henderson over at BBQ Sauce Reviews has been after me to write a guest post on his blog for awhile. My Saint Patrick's Day corned beef was a perfect opportunity. Go check out Traditional St. Patrick's Day. With Fire. right now. It's all about my smoked corned beef with grill cabbage and potatoes.

I considered titling it "The Interrupted Brisket" for reasons which will be obvious when you read it.

"This is the kind of spontaneous publicity - your name in print - that makes people. I'm in print! Things are going to start happening to me now." Navin R. Johnson

Chili! Why not?

The weather doesn't look good for outdoor cooking this weekend. So I'm thinking I'll do my award winning IED Chili instead. Stay tuned!

Poll Results: How Many Grills and/or Smokers Do You Have?

The results are in. Drum rolll...

So, 50% of respondents claim to have four or more grills/smokers. The other 50% have three, no more, no less.

What this really tells me is that I need to have more than six votes in a poll to learn anything.

I'll have a new poll up in a few days.

Saint Patrick's Day and the Day After

Here's what I did on Saint Patrick's Day.

It's smoked corned beef with grilled cabbage and grilled potatoes. There will be more on this soon.

And what do you make the next day? After a great deal of thought I decided on a Reuben with homemade Russian dressing. The grilled cabbage is a good substitute for sauerkraut.

Baconized Beer Butt Chicken

How do you make beer butt chicken -- or any chicken --  even better? Add bacon! It's really simple. Just slip slices of bacon under the skin then season and cook the way you normally do.

The bacon fat renders into the chicken meat, keeping it moist and adding flavor. The bacon itself "becomes one" with the skin. Everyone knows the skin is the best part. Baconized chicken skin amps it up to 11.

 I usually make beer butt chicken with Cavender's Greek Seasoning. Always rinse the chicken with cold water and pat dry first. Add the bacon under the skin, then brush with melted butter (unsalted) and rub in the Greek seasoning.

The shy four pounder on the left took about an hour to cook on indirect heat.

You can just barely see the bacon under the skin on the finished product. For the most part the bacon cooks into the skin and you can't really tell them apart.

Bottom line: Bacon makes everything better. Except maybe chicken livers.

Poll: How Many Grills and/or Smokers do you have?

I just added a new poll to the sidebar on the right. Tell us how many grills and or smokers you have. Leave a comment with the details on this post!

Poll closes at 1:00 PM on March 20th.

Triple Treat

Behold the incredible, the amazing, the delicious Triple Treat.

It's pulled pork, Black Forest smoked ham, and peppered bacon with Mad Dog Chipotle BBQ Sauce on a toasted onion roll. With dill pickles on the side.

A word about the bacon. I oven baked the bacon (baked bacon!) after covering it with fresh cracked pepper. I use a cookie pan with a non stick drying rack.

Put the bacon slices on the rack and coat with fresh cracked pepper. The more pepper the better. Bake on the center rack in a 400 degree preheated oven for about 10 minutes. Watch closely because the bacon can over cook and burn. Put aluminum foil in the pan for easier cleanup (although you should be able to rinse out the bacon grease with hot water).

A big shout out to Bobby K's Roadside Cafe for inspiring this creation.

And a big thanks to BBQ Sauce Reviews for introducing me to Mad Dog BBQ sauces!

Water Volcano

 It's silly I know. But I just had to record this when I was making the brine for some corned beef.

How to butcher a pig

This is good to know.

Via BBQ Junkie.

Pork Chops on the Grill

Today was a good day to grill bone-in pork chops.

I used my standard pork rub and brushed the chops with a melted butter and lemon juice and garlic sauce. And smoke: hickory, mesquite, and apple wood smoke.

The pic is a little out of focus but the chops were right on.

Some Things Even Bacon Can't Help

The BBQ Grail discovers even bacon can't make chicken livers taste good.

Recipe: Jacked Jerk Chicken

This recipe is based on Diana's Kitchen's version of Jamaican jerk chicken. But it's jacked up with a ghost pepper.

Ingredients

• 1 T ground allspice
• 1 T dried thyme
• 1 1/2 t cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 t freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 t ground sage
• 3/4 t ground nutmeg
• 3/4 t ground cinnamon
• 2 T garlic powder
• 1 T sugar

• 1/2 C olive oil
• 1/4 C soy sauce
• 3/4 C white vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• 1/2 C orange juice
• 1 lime juice

• 1 habanero, finely chopped
• 1 ghost pepper, finely chopped
• 3 green onions, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 4 - 6 chicken breast (not chopped)

Directions

1. Combine the spices in a bowl.
2. With a wire whisk, slowly add the liquids to the spices.
3. Add the peppers and onions and mix well.
4. Add the chicken breasts and marinate for at least an hour.
5. When ready to cook, preheat the grill to high.
6. Cook the chicken breasts until done, turning as needed and brush with the marinade.
7. Bring the leftover marinade to a boil and let simmer for about 10 minutes. You want it to cook long enough to kill any bad germs (salmonella) before you reuse it. Serve the marinade on the side as a dipping sauce.

Comments
The original recipe from Diana's Kitchen did not include the ghost pepper. If you're afraid of ghosts but want a really flavorful  jerk chicken with a little bite leave it out. But the ghost pepper adds more than just a ratchet on the heat. Ghost peppers have a unique flavor profile that really enhances any dish. Especially jerks.

Hot Peppers May Kill Cancer

BBC News reports on research that indicates the component in peppers that makes them spicy, capsaicin, may kill cancer cells. At least in petri dishes.

Apparently capsaicin attacks the mitochondria in cancer cells but doesn't affect normal cells (the main function of mitochondria is to produce energy for cells). Researchers tested it in cultures of lung cancer and pancreatic cancer cells.

While the research doesn't indicate that eating spicy food will cure or prevent cancer, it couldn't hurt. Relatively speaking.

That reminds me. It's time to plant my Ghost Pepper and Trinidad Moruga Scorpion seeds. [Link]

App Review: Omaha Steaks Steak Time

Here's the situation: You have several folks over for steaks on the grill. Each one of them likes a different cut and doneness. How do you make sure all the steaks are ready at the same time? Sure, you know to start the steaks sentenced to being well done before the medium and rare steaks, but how do you time it so they all are done together?

Enter Omaha Steak's free Android app Steak Time.

Steak Time is basically a multi-timer application that allows you to create separate custom timers for each steak you are cooking. The timers tell you when to put the steak on the grill, when to flip them, and when they are all done. This is what makes Steak Time so helpful. Each steak is staggered based on total cooking time so all of them are done at the same time.

And Steak Time plays a jaunty tune to let you know when the steaks are ready.

More on how to use Steak Time when you grill, and its other features after the jump.

Recipe: Chipotle Spice Rubbed Beer Butt Chicken

A few months back I picked up a cookbooklet at the grocery store checkout line. It's called Cooking with Beer and promises "More than 50 simple recipes!" Chipotle Spice Rubbed Beer Butt Chicken is one of them.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 to 4 pounds), rinsed and patted dry
• 1 can (12 ounces) beer

Directions

1. Prepare grill for indirect grilling. Grease grid.
2. Combine sugar, paprika, cumin, salt, garlic powder, chili powder and chipotle pepper in a small bowl, or pulse in blender for thorough mixing. Gently loosen skin of chicken over breast, legs and thighs. Rub spice mixture under and over skin and inside cavity. Drink one fourth of beer. Position chicken on grilling stand with beer can (pictured).
3. Place chicken on prepared grid. Cover and cook 1 1/2 hours or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
4. Remove chicken from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. Remove chicken from stand and carve. Discard can.

Comments

Not bad. I recommend increasing the chipotle pepper in the rub for a spicier result. Use hickory, misquite and apple wood chips when cooking.

Recipe from Cooking With Beer. I can't find a direct link to the book, but the publisher is Publications International, Ltd. 

Half Smokes

If you live in or visit Washington, DC, you can't help but notice the street vendors. And the main item on most of their menus is the half smoke. According to Wikipedia, the half smoke is a half beef, half pork smoked sausage, bigger in diameter and spicier than a hot dog. The etymology of the name is uncertain but the most common explanation is its half-and-half meet composition. It's served on a bun, often with spicy mustard and sauteed onions. You can also get it with chili.

I simmer my half smokes in a good beer for about 15 minutes (like cooking with wine, don't cook with a beer you wouldn't drink), then finish them off on the grill. I cook several slices of bacon, then saute the onions in the same pan. Spread spicy mustard on a toasted potato roll, add the half smoke, then top with the onions and crumbled bacon. Enjoy.

Half smokes are packed in natural casing so they give you a nice pop when you bite into them. The next time you visit Washington be sure to try a half smoke.

Restaurant Review: Cotten's Bar-B-Que

Ask ten people at random what their favorite BBQ joint is and you'll get ten different answers. Ask ten people in Jacksonville, Florida, the same question and nine of them will tell you Cotten's Bar-B-Que on the corner of East 16th and North Main. The tenth person won't be from Jax.

Fred Cotten's Bar-B-Que has been a Jacksonville fixture for decades (founded in 1944). Growing up, my family ate there all the time. They still do. And I make a point of going there for lunch at least once every time I visit. In it's heyday, you could find city officials, including the mayor, and police eating lunch just about any day of the week. You can't get much better recommendations than having the police as frequent diners.

Cotten's features pork ribs and pulled pork sandwiches, smothered in their secret recipe mustard and vinegar sauce. Our favorite is the rib sandwich plate. It includes about a third of a rack of ribs between white bread slices, with straight cut french fries and a small salad. The salad features Cotten's unique dressing, similar to thousand island. Somehow those ribs on the right were cleaned off before I had a chance to take a picture. Oops.

Cotten's is small and serves up everything on Styrofoam plates with plastic utensils, but that just adds to the experience.

As I understand it, after Fred Cotten passed on the restaurant was run by his long time employee, Ms. Lucille (it was still owned by members of the Cotten family). She always had a smile and good conversation. I remember one time in the 90s I went to the counter to order some sauce to take back with me. "You know, I came all the way from Atlanta for this BBQ sauce," I told her. Ms. Lucille laughed and said, "If you came all that way then I'll give you a bottle free!" She also warned me to keep it refrigerated "because Mr. Cotten, he gave me the recipe before he died but he didn't say how long it'd keep!"

Since then I've always had the image of Fred Cotten on his deathbed, giving out the ingredients between gasps until finally, "...and it will keep for... arrgh!" RIP, Mr. Cotten.

Unfortunately, all has not gone well for Cotten's in this century. A new owner, Billy C (pictured on the left with long time cook Johnny),  bought it in 2000. He has renamed it Billy C's Fred Cotten Bar-B-Q and added more items to the menu. Since then business seems to have been on the decline. The politicians and police have moved on to an even smaller BBQ joint opened by Ms. Lucille and her sister Ernestine in 2002 called TC's. I'll review that when I get a chance.

In spite of the recent changes, Cotten's is still the best BBQ place I've ever eaten at. If you get a chance try their rib sandwich plate with sweet tea. You won't regret it.