MeatHenge

Rogue Wordless Wednesday !!!

2010-08-18T22:52:50Z

Wordless Wednesday, yer doin' it wrong. Not only am I not on "The List", am using words.

Still here, still kicking, should have stopped by and let ya'll know I was "On Holiday". This means I'm a lazy ass and haven't been cooking much. The boys and I have spent most of our summer in front a computer screen, or plinking cans with a BB gun of some ilk. We're doing okay, school starts next week. We can hardly wait.

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

xo, Biggles

ps - Thems is slow, hickory grilled chicken breasts. Slow cause they gots no skin and no bacon. Gotta take it slow, they were so darned juicy!

Sumo Grub - Berkeley California

2010-07-27T22:43:38Z

Last week Chilebrown of Madmeat Genius offered up a new place in Berkeley for some tempura fare, he mentioned Tempura Cheese Pizza. Yup, it's like that.

He and Ms. Goofy (his wife) stopped by at noon on Saturday to haul my lazy ass out of the house and on a food adventure. I figured downtown Berkeley, noon, on a Saturday would be something of a snarl for traffic & parking. Traffic caused us to hit the back streets, but parking was right around the corner. We entered!

Sumo Grub is nice, clean, cute and had a handful of tables for in-house dining. The menu to the left was done on a chalk board, it was laid out well, very legible. Under burgers they have their 1/4 lb Angus beef and something called, "Vegan Meat", I thought that was very cool. The woman running the front was exceptionally kind, helpful and cheery. The best part though? Is that they have a backyard for outside seating! It was awesome! Loved it.

The prices are exceptionally affordable, probably due to the location directly across the street from Berkeley High. So, ordering a bunch of goodies is of no concern for those of us that haven't attended such a school for 30+ years. I ordered a cheese burger with onion rings, tempura mac & cheese and bottled water.

I really liked the onion rings, but the burger fell short. The poor beef patty was cooked beyond its life expectancy. But after meeting the owner and chef, I'm sure he's working out the kinks and won't hold that against him. I was the one that ordered a burger in an Asianny restaurant. Other than that, the bun was absolutely stellar along with the lettuce, and the green fleckled sauce stuff.

Here's a shot of Chilebrown's Chicken, Apple Sausage Tempura.

Here's the Tempura Mac & Cheese. I'm a hard core mac and cheese guy, if it ain't a home made southern mac & cheese, I'm not interested. I should be reviewing on its own merit, but I can't.

When we were nearly done with our lunch, Chilebrown got up and ordered us a Tempura Heart Attack for dessert, it serves 3? This would be Tempura Oreos, Twinkies and ice cream.

I really liked the Oreos and the ice cream, the Twinkies were good. The owner really knows how to Tempura anything. This was the piece of resistance, what really tied it all together. The bread crumbs varied from item to item.

To sum it all up, Sumo Grub really shines in a few areas and I will go back to try some more dishes that compliment his skills.

Sumo Grub
2235 Milvia Street, at Kittridge
Open Monday through Saturday from 11am until "The freaks come out"
Closed on Sunday

xo, Biggles

Hickory Grilled Chicken Breasts - Chicken Pr0n

2010-07-23T01:55:02Z

Nothing more here than love, grilled hickory love. It's more about the grilled chicken pr0n than anything else. Love you all!

xo, Biggles

Mesquite Grilled Cheese Burgers

2010-07-21T01:16:51Z

I've always felt that more often that not, less is more. Tonight was another lesson that proves my point, it was outstanding.

All I ask is get out there and do it.

Meathenge has spoken.

xo, Biggles

What's on your grill or smoker right now?

2010-07-11T20:21:32Z

The membrane has been removed, entire rack rubbed with kosher salt, marinating. Cooker is nearly ready, great smells. What you gots?

xo, Biggles

Editor's Update (next morning):

Fired up the new cooker last night and smoked these babies! Removed membrane, rubbed with Kosher salt, smoked with hickory. Juicy! Click on the picture if you so choose.

Wordless Thursday

2010-07-08T15:12:54Z

Nope, it was better than what you're thinking.

xo, Biggles

Way Out West BBQ Championship in Stockton California

2010-06-28T23:56:13Z

Woo hoo !!! This coming Saturday is another semi-local BBQ Championship coming up where me, Chilebrown and his wife get to spend the late morning and early afternoon judging que. It's a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event and we're KCBS sanctioned BBQ judges.

Everyone needs to come out and spend the day, it's never a day for just watching people cook. There's tons of other vendors and events wrapped around the cooking. It's a family situation always and enjoyed by small, tall, short, fat or skinny. Come out and spend the day at the Way Out West BBQ Championship in Stockton California.

You heard it here first at Meathenge, we'll be there judging and enjoying.

xo, Biggles

Just for fun, on a Thursday evening, smoked pork ribs.

2010-06-25T01:40:30Z

Biggles having some fun today, is all.

Blind Melon - No Rain

Ooooo-oo-oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watching the puddles gather rain

And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
And speak my point of view
But it's not sane, it's not sane

I just want someone to say to me no, oh, oh, oh
I'll always be there when you wake, yea-ah
You know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I don't understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there's no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it's a great escape
Escape......escape......escape......

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
You don't like my point of view
You think that I'm insane
It's not sane, It's not sane

I just want someone to say to me no, oh, oh, oh
I'll always be there when you wake, yea-ah
You know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I'll have it made

And I'll have it made
And I'll have it made, oh
Lord no no
You know I'm really gonna, really gonna have it made
You know I'll have it made
Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh

What fun! Love you all, Biggles signing off.

Pissy Wednesday - One is a flavor, one is a bear.

2010-06-23T14:30:50Z

The English language and I have been at war since the beginning, it's a love & hate thing. I'm one of those word snobs (I didn't say I was good at it) and really try my best to make sure I use the correct their, they're & there. See my point? I would never say the whether is turning cold early this year or I'm knot going! On the other hand, I don't like rules. So, the outcome can sometimes turn in to a mess. A fun mess, but a mess all the same.

Well, I've had enough! There's a great, huge and quite large faux pas going on right under our noses and it's making me crazy. The poopetrators do it every day. This would be misspelling one, specific, little word. One version is a flavor and one is a bear.

Can anyone guess what this little word might be? I'll count to ten, 1 2 3 4 6 ... .Uh listen folks, the word is smoky. Smoky flavors !!! The word Smokey is either Smokey Bear or a slang term for a police officer. You don't get smokey flavors from your smoker !!! GAHHHHHHHHHHH. (Picture Biggles swatting the air and stamping his boots).

Quidit.

Pissy Man has left the building.

ps - I smoked an 11 pound turkey last night in the new outdoor cooker I'm about to review.

xo, Biggles

Meathenge Lab's Moldy Update

2010-06-17T23:09:34Z

Yeah !!! Some of you may remember late last year I was going through some real hell with moisture problems here at the lab, mostly my bedroom. In 1 month I ended up having to gut and scrub my bedroom for mold twice, moisture content out of this world.

This has been an ongoing problem for years, but it has been getting progressively worse. I didn't have the money or the skills to install a French Drain. I made do with dehumidifiers in several rooms of the house with a mobile hygrometer to see how things progressed day and night. Even with the balmy weather and dry winds, I'd have to start the dehumidifier in my bedroom at 3am and shut it down at 6am. In 2 to 3 days, I would collect 1/2 gallon of water. Just so you know, that's a lot. Heavy moisture in, around and under a home is not a good thing, it's bad. Real bad. It'll destroy a foundation before you can raise a child.

After months and months of saving, I finally got enough pennies to have a French Drain installed along with a sump pump. I live on the flat lands and gravity flow is of no help here. Today the most awesome group of guys started digging. I found Manuel's company on google a year ago locally for Richmond California and he's turned out to be the most responsible, skilled and able guy I've met in a long time. The trench is not only dug perfectly & properly, but it's smoothed out as though they were Aztec Gods.

As with previous jobs, I have no doubt that within a few days that Meathenge Labs will be moisture free for years to come. I can finally decorate my bedroom and install clutter as I see fit without worry of moisture that transforms to mold. Ain't it great? Now I can spend more time sleeping, napping and cooking.

Jaripeo Landscape
Manuel Jasso, owner
New lawns, Fences, Trees, Concrete, Drain Systems, Hauling, Retaining Walls, Stump removal, Sprinkler Systems, probably more.
License #876389, References available
510 620 0998 Office

xo, Biggles

wordless tuesday

2010-06-16T02:24:24Z

Yeah, like I'm not supposed to use words, nor am I supposed to post it on a Tuesday. Ah well. Applewood smoked/grilled beef burgers with a slice of Tillamook Cheddar on the top to melt.

xo, Biggles

Do you have any idea what's the life span of meat?

2010-06-15T21:23:07Z

Rarely do I post anything that points to something cool or interesting on the web, figure you got that taken care of by now. But this is so great, and I just know you haven't read it already, I had to stop by immediately to give you the scoop.

It's a short story by Terry Bisson and I've only known about it for less than 10 minutes. It's so good (and short, that's good for you Twitter Heads), I couldn't resist

Terry Bisson
They're Made out of Meat.

xo, Biggles

Meathenge turns 7 years old!

2010-06-09T17:00:58Z

That's right, snoozy little Meathenge turned 7 years old on May 29th 2010! Pretty cool, eh?

Not much going on at the Lab these days, obviously. The boys are getting out of school for the summer this week, so hopefully will be able to get back to grilling and smoking my brains out. I have been sent a fancy outdoor cooker for review and have been using it quite a bit. The chicken breast you see above was rubbed with kosher salt, then smoked. So juicy, so tender.

Other than that, boring. So, celebrate with me and hoist a strip of bacon to thine mouth. Happy Birthday Meathenge!

xo, Biggles

The Biggles Method

2010-06-01T00:26:20Z

Smoke your goodies, over halfway. Load the firebox up, then let it go for a few hours.

Hooyah !!!!

Boilerhouse Restaurant - Richmond CA

2010-05-30T22:10:54Z

A week ago or so Meathead's mother came to town and my sister Kallisti offered up the Boilerhouse as a nice, new destination restaurant to visit. It's only a few minutes from either of us and neither of us had been, it was time.

The Boilerhouse is located at the old Ford Motorplant that was producing vehicles back in the '50s, very industrial. It's out near the harbor and the Bay Trail ends right at their front door. You have to drive out near Pt. Richmond, then head out and actually be checked in by a guard at the gate.

At first glance we were all impressed they'd kept and worked with such an industrialized area and old buildings. The place isn't huge and the day we were there they were hosting a high school graduation. It all worked seamlessly. While it does seem somewhat upscale, it's more inviting than that. A seating for 7 was easily dealt with, the servers were well groomed and attentive. The menu simple, pointed towards burgers. Burgers!

Ground beef from Niman Ranch and hand patted, cooked to your specification.

I got the Texas burger cooked medium raw. Gently packed with home fried red onions, bread roll was soft yet chewy. My father got the Jalapeno burger, said to be as awesome as well.

All of us ordered drinks and burgers, all were satisfied. The Boilerhouse really succeeds to down scale a great meal in a wondrous atmosphere of old industrial manufacturing. It's going to be tough for them to bring business their way considering where they are, which is why I wanted to stop by and let you know this is a place worth visiting!

The restaurant opens up directly on to the harbor, marina and the bay. The view is epic, go now! Just to let you know how awesome it was, as we finished our meal the disco version of Star Wars emptied in to the audio system, everyone got dreamy eyed and fell in to a trance.

Go now, go soon. The Boilerhouse in Richmond.

xo, Biggles