July 20th Firefighter fundraiser

This week I just want to reach out to everyone and request help with a fundraiser that Colorado BBQ Outfitters will be involved in on July 20th.

One of our neighboring businesses (Three Tigers Martial Arts) reached out to Daren and I to see if we want to be involved.

The event will consist of setting up an area (either in front of Three Tigers or in front of the shopping center across York from us) where people can come down and either donate items that the firefighters will then donate to the victims of the Black Forest Fire or proceeds will go to help thank the firefighters themselves.

My thought is to have us make some pulled pork and sell pulled pork sandwiches and then donate all the proceeds to the fund. Colorado BBQ Outfitters will provide the grills, pellets, rubs and sauces and will be looking to either our friends or local grocers to donate the meat (pork shoulders), plates, napkins, forks, etc.

If you think you can help in any way possible, please contact either Daren or myself. This is chance to help not only victims of the fire but the firefighters as well.

The Colorado Springs Fire Department will have one of the fire trucks there for the public to check out.

Please help any way you can.

We can be reached at the store at 719-465-1041, or email at info@719bbq.com, or hit us up on Facebook on our page.

Dan MacDonald
Colorado BBQ Outfitters
6850 N. Academy Blvd
Colorado Springs, Co. 80918
719-465-1041

BBQ Safety

In lieu of the recent wildfire tragedy I thought it would be appropriate to discuss grilling and barbecuing safely.

First of all I want to make clear that you CAN grill and barbeque even with the current fire ban. You can only do so at a private residence and you still must use common sense.

You CANNOT grill or barbecue at most parks, open spaces, National Forests, etc. The safety of your back patio is perfectly legal in Colorado Springs city limits. Unincorporated El Paso County does have a ban on charcoal only but they informed us they are not enforcing it as long as, again, you use common sense.

One of the reasons Colorado BBQ Outfitters sells wood pellet grills is the fact they are the most safest of all grills on the market. Wood pellet grills; even though they burn pellets, do so in a fire pot that is safe inside the grill. There are no embers that can get outside the grill. Charcoal offers some danger with regard to hot coals that can be fall out of the grill onto wood decks, dry grass, etc. Wood pellet grills do not offer any chance of the fire getting outside of the grill as it is contained in a fire pot that is covered by a heat deflector which is then covered by a drip tray. They only disperse heat which is done through the top of the grill. Never have anything flammable hanging over a grill while it is hot. Below is a diagram of how a wood pellet grill works. Notice the fire pot is safely contained well within the confines of the grill itself.

Gas grills offer some challenge with safety as they have an open flame of course. You should always check your gas grill for gas leaks making sure all the connections are tight. Make sure any rubber hoses are not showing signs of wear. Double check all connections and that your propane tank has not expired. Yes, propane tanks do have expiration dates on them. Always keep your burners unclogged and well cleaned. Never, ever let grease or drippings collect in the grill. Not only will this ruin the taste of what you cook on your grill is can cause flare ups and once melted can drip down out of the grill. If your gas grill comes with a drip cup, make sure it is cleaned regularly. Always turn all knobs to off when done grilling and turn the gass off from the propane tank. The Hearth, Patio, and Barbecue Association (HPBA) has a great website on gas grill safety... http://www.hpba.org/consumers/barbecue/gas-grill-safety/

Charcoal grills offer a challenge given the way you must get the charcoal lit. We here in the BBQ community never, ever encourage the use of petroleum based products like lighter fluid. One, it is dangerous and two is ruins the taste of your food. (I know the HPBA site I will share talks about using lighter fluid. Ignore it.) Never, ever, ever put lighter fluid on already lit coals!!! There are plenty of other products that are safer to use when lighting charcoal. Charcoal chimney starters, electric charcoal starters, products like Quicklights are just some of them. All require the use of common sense. Make sure you are not lighting charcoal in the wind. It will blow embers that can start fires in dry condition. Always let charcoal completely cool before dumping out the ash and always dump the ash in a non-combustible container after soaking thoroughly with water. Tips for safe charcoal grilling: http://www.hpba.org/consumers/barbecue/charcoal-grill-safety

Again, wood pellet grills do not offer any of the dangers mentioned above. Turn it on, set the temperature and let it go. My only recommendation is to use a GFI plug for the grill. Since they are electrical, do not use them in a rainstorm so the electrical components can get wet.

Never attempt to grill in a non-ventilated area such as a garage or inside. Know your grill. Read the owner's manual! I know you men out there are thinking yeah right but do it! Make sure your grill will not fall over once lit. Keeping a fire extinguisher handy is important. (Yes, it's time to get those fire extinguishers checked by the way) Never try and move a grill that is hot. Another great resource from the HPBA site is the grilling fact sheet: http://static.hpba.org/fileadmin/factsheets/product/FS_SafeBBQ.pdf

In the event you are grilling on a wood deck or on the ground with dry material, I highly recommend a good grill mat. These are made of noncombustible material and are placed under the grill. I also recommend a good pair of leather or heat resistant silicone gloves when working around a hot grill.

Remember, YOU ARE ALLOWED TO GRILL AT YOUR HOME!!! Just please be safe and enjoy the fruits of your barbecuing labor!

Colorado BBQ Outfitters always wants you to enjoy this favorite past time but please be safe when doing so.

Dan

Big Box Stores Versus Specialty shops

Occasionally, I have a customer come in and point out that Home Depot or Lowe's carry grills and smokers cheaper than we have them.

I have an answer for that and would love to share that philosophy.

First of all, the big box stores operate on volume profit. This means they sell a ton of something for a lower profit margin (lower price). The more they sell, the more they make. The cheaper they can buy the product and sell a bunch of them, the more they make.

Unfortunately, in order to purchase their products cheaply they usually purchase their product overseas where products are made with very low quality. Again, the thought is just sell a bunch. If it breaks down in a year;  no worries, the customer will just come back and buy another. They also do not usually offer good warranties on their products due to their lower quality. If you are lucky you will get a year tops but most are about 90 days. They figure if it works 90 days, you are good.

Secondly, they make up some of their costs by charging assembly fees meaning they charge to put it together for you. Or, you can just load the box up and fight through the instructions putting it together yourself hoping it works. So now you have purchased something for a price not realizing in order to take it home assembled you need to pay more!

Thirdly and lastly, if you have a question or an issue with your product, who are you going to talk to? Are you going to ask the lady who they assigned that day to that department? Pretty sure she won't be an expert. Who do you call? Their headquarters? The manufacturer of the product? They just tell you to contact the store. Good luck on that one.

A small business specialty store MUST offer these services in  order to complete with those big box stores. Yes, our grills might be a bit more than what you can buy at Home Deport or Lowe's BUT they are much better constructed, most are actually made here in our own country, and will actually last.

Smaller specialty stores such as Colorado BBQ Outfitters will assemble your product for you and test it to make sure what you are taking home works 100%. Should something go wrong, you know who to call. We will answer your questions or offer suggestions. Colorado BBQ Outfitters will even on some occasions go out to your house and fix whatever is wrong. Any warranty issues will be taken care of by us.

Oh, and by the way, the warranty on our grills compared to the big box stores are much longer. In some cases up to 20 years!! Specialty stores such as ours will take care of any warranty work for you in the slim chance you will need it. Will Home Depot or Lowe's do that for you? Most likely, no.

The owners of small specialty stores love talking about their business and products. It is their livelihood compared to the employee of a big box store making minimum wage. Use them for their expertise.

We here at CBO assembled, at no cost to our customers and test each and every one of our grills and smokers.

So basically for the cost of one premium coffee at Starbucks a day you can receive special treatment now and in the future from a specialty store. If you are looking for cheap, inexpensive product with little to no support, then the big box stores are for you! However, if you are looking for hands on service, great conversation and constant support, come visit us at Colorado BBQ Outfitters or any of your locally owned specialty stores.

Dan

BBQ classes

As we come into the "bbq season" (I say that referring to the novice barbecuer), I realize that we need to hold more barbeque classes here at Colorado BBQ Outfitters. My intent with this week's blog is to type out my class goal and follow through with it!

Many customers have come in asking when we are going to hold more detailed or specific classes such as how to smoke briskets, ribs, chickens, and so on.

I am excited to put a class for these topics together but at the same time very nervous! Our classes are so much fun but I always get stressed out wondering how the class will go or if my samples taste good. I don't know why I do as each class the feedback has been very positive for both the class and the food. :)

My initial thought is to add a BRP (brisket, rib and pork or "burp") class as those are the most commonly barbecued meat. From there I can branch out to chicken, fish, turkey, and maybe; dare I say,  healthy choice class for veggies, etc.

I have already put together a holiday (turkey, roast, ham) class as well as a jerky class. Can't wait to get those up and running.

For those of you that have been waiting for more classes, I promise not to disappoint soon. It is my number one priority. They will not last as long as the 2 - 2 1/2 hour BBQ 101 class and will be more detailed and offer open discussion about how to smoke or bbq the various types of foods.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention our National BBQ Month in May and Father's Day promotions that we have going on at the store...

Watch for our Market Treasury coupon coming out in the next week to a mailbox near you. We are also running a Living Social ad for our class starting the 25th of May so keep an eye out for that as well. Our in-store promotions include sales on sauces including a free Air Force Academy sauce if you buy $15 worth of regular priced sauce. Our bbq bucks are going strong. You get a $10 bbq buck for every $50 you spend. The bbq buck can be used on any $30 purchase which gives you 30% off!!!

Come on down and visit us.

Dan MacDonald
Colorado BBQ Outfitters
6850 N. Academy Blvd
719-465-1041
www.719bbq.com

Running your own business can be rewarding but it certainly has its challenges at times.

I left a 25 year career in corporate america to pursue my dream of having my own business. I believe I prepared myself and did my homework as much as humanly possible.

I researched starting a small business on the internet. I attending a small business start up workshop sponsored and provided by SCORE and was assigned a mentor who helped me determine if I was even cut out for owning a small business.

My partner and I decided to take the leap and created an LLC, again, all online by ourselves.

Now, a year later, I can say the amount I have learned is overwhelming. Tracking inventory, determining what type of inventory sells or what does not, doing the accounting of the business, paying bills, etc, etc.

My partner and I compliment each other very well as he is the creative "think out of the box" type and I am the analytic numbers guy.

Daren and I both are willing to learn. We both don't do things just because we should. We do them because it makes sense most of the time.

We debated holding classes at our store last year. There was so much we didn't know. We felt like we had to be experts to do it. There is no such thing as an expert when it comes to BBQ. There are a thousand ways to get the same result. We received so much support from our family and friends.

We held our first class late last year and both had a blast doing it. Not to mention the benefit to the store as well! We still continue to hold the classes and have refined them over time. We have received very positive feedback on the laid back atmosphere of the class and humor Daren and I through into the class. (Having samples at the end of class doesn't hurt either!)

Interested in learning about barbecuing? Know someone who enjoys barbequing but needs some help? Give us a call and sign up for one of our classes. They are a lot of fun and I guarantee you will learn something.

Come on down to the store at 6850 N. Academy Blvd (northeast corner of York and Academy) or call us at 719-465-1041 for more information.

Look for our Living Social half off class deal beginning May 25th!!!

Dan

How to BBQ the lazy man's way

Many people ask me as the owner of a BBQ supply store how do I have to patience and whatnot to make good barbecue. 

I simply explain to them that making barbeque isn't hard if you have the right gadgets! It doesn't hurt to be a male as we guys like our toys. 

First, I bbq on a wood pellet grill. These are the latest in bbq technology. You plug them in, fill the hopper with bbq grade allnatural wood pellets, set the temperature and walk away. The grill does everything else for you. An auger feeds the pellets into a firebox and are ignited by a hot rod  Once the pellets are burning, the control board of the grill tells the auger how fast or slow to go regulating the temperature of the grill. Truly a "set it and forget it" way to cook. 

The next toy on my list is a digital wireless thermometer. You put the insulated probe into your meat and take the wireless control into the house, take a nap on the couch and wait for the alarm to go off once the meat is at the correct internal temperature. They are fully programmable for each type of meat and taste. We carry the Maverick brand at the store. The wireless digital thermometers take all the guess work out of knowing when your meat is ready to take off the grill. 

When it comes time to take your food off the grill, I use either my heavy duty leather gloves to remove hot cookware or grates; or, insulated food gloves to just take the hot food off the grill. No mess or burning your fingerprints off. A good pair of tongs helps moving food as well. 

Grilling or barbecuing at night? No problem. There are magnetic and clamp on led lights now for your grill so you can see what you are doing no matter what time of day you are cooking. 

If you haven't tried pizza from a wood pellet grill, you are missing out. It is just like pizza cooked in a wood fired oven. A good pizza stone makes barbecuing pizza super easy. 

Starting your hardwood lump charcoal with lighter fluid is a cardinal sin. Chimney starters are the way to go for this job. You put your charcoal in the chimney, stuff some paper under the starter, light it and in about 10 minutes you have hot coals to pour in your grill. You can make it even easier and start your charcoal using Primo Quicklights. All natural, they strike like a match and burn long enough to get a good set of coal white hot. 

I could go on and on about all the different gadgets one can use to make awesome bbq. 

Come on down to Colorado BBQ Outfitters at 6850 N. Academy Blvd Colorado Springs to see what we offer to make grilling and barbequing a piece of cake. Or piece of steak in our case. 

 The beauty of BBQing is that is can be so simple. 

Although I love to BBQ, I can barely boil water in the kitchen so I stick to BBQing. J

As I have mentioned in the past, the key to BBQing is to be able to maintain a constant temperature in your grill. 

First thing you need to do with any grill no matter if it's gas, charcoal, electric or wood pellet is see how the grill keeps its temperature. You can do that be placing a thermometer inside the grill and running your grill at various temps. Colorado BBQ Outfitters has all the necessary equipment to do this! Thermometers can range from the remote digital probe types to the less expensive analog type. I must caution that the analog thermometers have been known to fluctuate anywhere from 30 to 50 degrees F off depending on the type you have. I would most definitely recommend a digital thermometer for accuracy. 

Let the temperature sit at least 15 minutes when checking it. I suggest checking all settings on your grill: low, medium, and high. Some grills offer a smoke setting as well. Write down your findings of each test. I also recommend doing this test in both warm and cold weather as weather temp has a huge impact on your grill temp. 

Once you run your test you are ready to work with your grill more accurately. If your grill can carry a CONSTANT temperature of 180 to 225 degrees F, you are able to smoke anything with that grill. This applies more so to gas grills. Charcoal can be controlled by simply not adding more fuel (charcoal). Electric smokers tend to hold temps much better. Wood pellet grills are just a matter of knowing which temp you get from which setting on your dial. 

Gas grills will get very hot if on high so no need to be concerned about how hot they will get. Same with charcoal as you control the fuel and therefore the heat. Wood pellet grills will range on high anywhere from 450 to over 700 degrees F. You only need that type of heat to sear meat or cook a pizza. Otherwise, that high is not necessary. 

If you grill will not stay at a constant temp or you cannot get your temperature high as you would like, here are a few things you can do:

1. Leave the lid closed. This seems like common sense but many people like to see their food as it cooks. Don't. 

2. Check your grill for too much air flow. Cracks, welds that have come apart, holes, etc. are what you want to stay away from. Anything that will cause cold air to get in and effect the grill temperature. If you have a charcoal grill they will come with vents. Wide open for hotter and closed for lower temps is the rule. 

3. If you have looked for holes, etc and cannot find any then you have a grill design issue. One way to alleviate this is to insulate your grill with a cover. You can spend upwards of $200 to $300 for custom fit insulated grill covers OR  you can simply purchase a welders blanket. They are much, much cheaper and work fantastic. They aren't the prettiest but you just bungee cord it on and you are good to go. The are perfect for winter months. 

4. Buy a new grill! :) 

Winter months are great for smoking food on the grill. It is very easy! 

Next blog I will share some simple grill/BBQ recipes.