It's been two years!

I can't believe it's been two years since Daren and I opened the doors to Colorado BBQ Outfitters! No saying is more accurate than "time flies when you are having fun". 

We have experienced so much over the last two years and have also learned a lot as well. I think my favorite has been the classes and the discussions with customers. Sometimes people just come in and talk for awhile. I learn so much and can sometimes share some of my BBQ wisdom and experience with them. 

Daren and I have decided to renew our lease for another 2 years in our location. Our smaller size offers some challenges for us but I have faith we will overcome that and make the store the best ever in the next two years as well as many more years to come. 

I especially want to take this time to thank all of those that helped us over the last two years. Family and friends have been so nice and gracious enough to donate items to the store, their time, and other resources that we simply could not have functioned without.  I am thinking we will have a private bbq party for those that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to sometime next month. :) 

I look forward to the next two years and many years after that. 

Dan

Colorado BBQ Outfitters

Spring is close!

I really need to rename this blog to Dan's not-so-monthly blog instead of Dan's not-so-weekly blog!

Although Spring isn't officially here yet, it sure feels like it.

The birds are chirping each morning and the weather is getting nicer and nicer. I even have weeds starting to come up in the front yard!

Having lived in Alaska and Michigan for most of my childhood, I have paid my dues with winter weather. Not a fan at all. It doesn't stop me from smoking or grilling my favorite foods but I sure do prefer the warm weather.

Soon we will be putting away our winter coats and getting out the flip flops, shorts and tank tops! (Just make sure you have some sort of clothing on so you don't look like this guy...)

This time of year is usually when the "seasonal" bbqer's start to pull out their gas grills, etc. And that means checking basic maintenance and doing some cleaning. 

When it comes to grills and smokers, do NOT clean the smoke build up on the inside. That is called a "seasoned" grill or smoker. However, you do want to clean out the ash and larger debris that may accumulate. You gas grillers out there will want to make sure your burners are all clean. You will want to clean out any accumulated grease as that can lead to a fire hazard. 

Cleaning the outside of your grill or smoker is easy with Citrusafe. We carry this product at the store as it is non-flammable, non-toxic, biodegradable and phosphate free. Yet it still cuts through the dirt. 

for those of you that use propane, it is extremely important to check all of your valves, connectors and hoses for any leaks. Here is a great link to an article that gives some tips: Grill Maintenance

Sit back, enjoy the sounds, smells and beauty of Spring and keep on smoking and grilling! 

Dan MacDonald

Colorado BBQ Outfitters

719-465-1041

Small business rewards

Last week I was sitting here at the store and a gentleman came in with a Scottish accent. His name is Ken.

We got to talking and it turns out he has a BBQ business back in Scotland. Since my ancestry is from there and it's always been my dream to go visit someday, of course I was fascinated about his story.

Turns out he flies to Colorado Springs on business every few months. He googled barbeque supply while here and lo and behold found Colorado BBQ Outfitters.

His business entails making pulled pork and then selling it to food trucks in the area who get a pretty penny there to sell pulled pork sandwiches. Right in the middle of the UK! (He lives on the border of England and Scotland. Here is a map showing where he is located)

We talked for about an hour about all things barbecue. I was even able to give him a few tips to make his life easier when it comes to smoking meat. We exchanged emails and a friendship began. When I told Ken that is my dream to visit Scotland to see my family's ancestral castle, he immediately told me what to expect and even invited me to stay with him if I ever get over that way.

I emailed him a few days ago and he replied this morning with his website which is Highlands Smoke. he also sent me this delicious photo of his pork shoulders smoking.

Very cool to not only meet someone from the UK; but, someone who has some culture overlap between our two homes.

When people ask me if I like owning my own retail store, this is an example of why I reply; "Yes, very much".

Dan MacDonald
Colorado BBQ Outfitters

Advertising and sanity

As a small business retailer one of the most important aspects of the business is figuring out how to let your customers know you are there.

Truth is, you can offer the cure for cancer for free in your store but if no one knows you have it, then it doesn't matter. So the challenge is, how do you let your customers know?

Of course if you have an endless supply of cash, you can just take out a commercial during the Super Bowl. If you have the cash to do that, you probably don't even need to advertise!

Most small businesses have a very limited budget for advertising. Which means, what little budget you do have, you want the impact of whatever you choose to big significant. Unfortunately, without a crystal ball, one probably wouldn't know which way works best.

Daren and I have tried print media (coupons in local newsprint), signage, flyers, those little signs you see near intersections around town, and hand shake partnering with other businesses. It can be a challenge to get the biggest impact for the lowest cost. This is referred to as Guerrilla Marketing. spending very little for a huge impact. Here are some examples:

Proctor and Gamble received permission from the City of New York to paint their iconic Mr. Clean image on one of the crosswalks in the city.

A study showed that thousands of people a day cross over that crosswalk; so, in turn, saw that image. It was so strange that people would go into work or back home and mention what they saw. Anytime you can get people to talk about your product, it's generally a win.

Daren and I have been brainstorming different ideas for Guerrilla Marketing this year and welcome any and all ideas or experiences that you might have seen that left an impact on your as a consumer.

Maybe Daren and I should try something like this:

Dan MacDonald

Colorado BBQ Outfitters

2014... an exciting year!

I know I haven't done a blog in some time. One of my resolutions this year is to try and blog more often!

Well, here we are in another year. 2014! The first few years of any small business is the hardest and requires the most patient. Daren and I have been fortunate enough to have such a great customer base and we have fun with what we do which makes a big difference. We can't thank all of our customers enough for the past two years being successful.

We have some exciting things happening this year for us. First of all, we will be bringing in new products to the store. We pride ourselves in trying to offer products that cannot be found just anywhere and that make your bbq experience so much easier. Now that we have been in business almost two years we feel we know better what our customers are looking for and need. We will phase some products out and bring some new ones in.

Daren and I have also discussed doing more demos and offering more samples during the summer season. Our traffic during our first two seasons didn't necessarily warrant our being able to offer this but now we feel this summer we will be able to explore more sampling during the weekend. This means demo'ing our grills and/or smokers as well which will be exciting for us.

We look forward to this new year's challenges and successes as we enter into it. We also look forward to seeing our regular customer base as well as making new friends in the store this year!

Dan
Colorado BBQ Outfitters

Brrr... it's cold!!

The temperature at the time I sit and type this is zero degrees! Reminds me of the few years I lived up in Alaska. Brrrrr.

However, the cold does not need to stop you from using your grill or smoker. In fact, more people smoke during the winter season than summer.

The challenge is keeping your smoker to hold it's temperature during these very cold days and nights. Unless you have an expensive smoker chances are you are going to lose heat or go through your heat resource faster. Here are a few ways to help with this:

1. A welder's blanket. Yes, many grill companies make insulation blankets for their products but they tend to be expensive. Sure, they look nice but who cares. It's purpose it to insulate your smoker, not win a beauty pageant. There are a few that exist. The cheapest is a fiberglass blanket. They can run anywhere from $19.99 up to over a hundred dollars. Harbor Freight has them very cheap HERE. Just make sure the blanket does not have asbestos in it. Some say stay away from fiberglass but I have not seen hard evidence to that. I only recommend using the blanket for low and slow cooks. I do warn against cotton treated flame retardant blankets as the retardant can "cook off" over time and the blanket could catch fire. Also, washing them could wash the retardant off. There is a brand called Tillman that is made of thermofelt. Here is the LINK. Some people will cut them up and install them in pieces on the smoker.

2. Gaskets. There are gasket products on the market (we carry some at the store) that will allow you to seal up gaps and such on your grill and/or smoker. These can by cut to size and run around the edge of your smoker lid/door. Some are self adhesive and some use the high temp adhesive.

3. Fire bricks. These will retain heat and help keep the temperature more stable.

4. Aluminum foil. Some claim that simply lining the inside of your smoker with heavy duty aluminum foil will help hold heat in the smoker and keep the heat more stable as well.

None of the above mentioned ideas are really that expensive and will save you a ton on fuel over the winter.

Stay warm everyone and happy smoking!

Dan

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know it's been awhile since I have posted a blog and I apologize. The good news is that Daren and I have had our hands full at the store with classes and pre-holiday sales!

Whew, what a day at the store today. Very busy and have had a chance to talk to many customers about the upcoming holidays; especially Thanksgiving this Thursday! It's that time of year to reflect on everything we are thankful for whether it be good health, family, fortune, or whatever you can appreciate in your life. I know I am very thankful for having the business, such a great business partner and wonderful family and friends. I would say my health but at my age, that can go at any time! :)

So many of our customers smoke their turkeys for the holidays. One question that we get asked quite a bit this time of year is what type of wood works best around the holidays. By far our most popular wood is apple. Apple wood works great with pork and poultry; especially poultry. Mix apple and pecan and you have, in my opinion, the perfect smoked wood combination for smoking a turkey for Thanksgiving. Really any kind of wood works as long as you enjoy it. Many people enjoy maple or cherry which can be more robust flavors. About the only wood that might be different for turkey is mesquite. That is a stronger and harder wood. You either like it or you don't. 

As far as smoking a turkey, as simple as roasting a turkey. My favorite video on smoking a turkey is this one:  

  It is based on the recommendations of Meathead on the Amazing Ribs website. Very simple to do. Really the only difference is not to fill the cavity of the bird when you smoke it to allow the heat to penetrate the middle evenly. 

However you decide to cook your turkey (just please be careful if you decide to deep fry your turkey as that is by far the most dangerous), we here at CBO want everyone to have a safe and joyous Thanksgiving!

As a reminder, we will have a Black Friday sale the day after Thanksgiving. Come on down to stock up on some of your favorite items at great prices! 

Dan