Bigmista's Barbecue

Ghetto BBQ Lunch

May 7th, 2013

If you have ever been on the other side of broke (no money), then you now Top Ramen is the broke man’s go to meal. Since I was just a shade above broke, I would always added scrambled eggs to mine. Didn’t matter the flavor. Anyway, Neil is gone and I’m hungry. I thought there was chicken in the fridge but no such luck. Since I know Neil always keeps Top Ramen around for me (mostly because I’m a lazy cook now) I figured oh well, noodles and eggs. When I reached for the eggs, I saw some pulled pork Neil had set aside for one of his buddies at U-Haul.

I started to switch to the pulled pork but I didn’t know what to eat it with. Then I started eating cold pulled pork while I scrambled my eggs and boiled my noodles. Oh SNAP! I’m gonna put this pulled pork on my noodles. Therefore, I have created what I now call Ghetto BBQ Lunch. Later y’all.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

Practice Competition Chicken

April 3rd, 2013

If you’re going to compete in anything, you have to practice. That includes BBQ competitions. Mrs. Mista is truly sick of bbq chicken right now but I have to keep practicing to get it right. Here are some pics of my latest barbecue chicken practice. What do you think?

Practice BBQ Chicken Group 1 - Bigmista's Barbecue Catering

Practice BBQ Chicken Group 2 - Bigmista's Barbecue catering

Practice BBQ Chicken Group 2 - Bigmista's Barbecue Catering

Bite through skin!

I am really excited about this new method for competition because it means no more scraping chicken skin!!!!
If you compete, you know what a relief that is!

By the way…it was damned tasty!

Leave a comment to let me know what you think and please share with your friends!

Enjoy!

Bigmista

John K. Fitzgerald liked this post

Posted in Barbecue, Chicken | 8 Comments »

I Yam what I Yam – Daniel Fast Recipe

January 27th, 2013

Ok folks this is a quick on as we are in the last days of our fast. I found it was hard doing a recipe a day because we had lots of leftovers. We also like some of the recipes so we went back and made them again.

Anyway this is a quick recipe for skillet fried yams.

Skillet fried Yams – Daniel Fast Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Jumbo Yams peeled and cubed.

1 onion, rough chopped (I like big pieces)

1 bell pepper, rough chopped

2 tbsp Olive oil

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp cinnamon

Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium high heat. Add the yams, onion and bell pepper. Stir occasionally. Cook until the yams are starting to brown and are fork tender. Sprinkle with salt and cinnamon. Give them a final stir to scrape the botom and distribute the seasonings. Sit down and eat!

Here is a quick tip: If you are a soda junkie (don’t act like it’s just me) you should try drinking flavored mineral water. Not the kid with the sweeteners in it that just make it clear diet soda. Get mineral water that has a hint of fruit flavor with out the added chemicals. This is my favorite right now.

Mixed Berry Mineral water from Trader Joe’s

I get my bubbles and some flavor without it being soda. Check it out.

As always Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. And feel free to share this with your friends.

Enjoy!

Bigmista

Posted in Bigmista, easy, Main Dishes, Side Dishes | No Comments »

6 BBQ pics from the Farmers Markets this weekend.

January 21st, 2013

Hey folks!

Just wanted to share some of the pics from the Farmers Markets this weekend. Mrs. Mista and I both made it out and enjoyed reconnecting with some of our favorite customers and well as meeting some new ones. Really a great weekend!

Here is some of our Pastrami from the Saturday Torrance Farmers Market:

Pastrami from Bigmista’s Barbecue

Don’t you want some of this Pastrami?

These are some of our beautiful BBQ Ribs, smoked to perfection for the Atwater Village Farmers Market.

Beautiful BBQ Ribs

Don’t you love the color of these BBQ ribs?

You want this, don’t you?

We also had new friend stop by for some BBQ. Actor John Cho stopped by to get his grub on. Thanks John!

Actor John Cho stopped by for some Bigmista’s Barbecue!

We’d love to hear what you think about these pics. Please leave a comment here or send us a message on Facebook or Twitter. And feel free to share this with your friends.

Enjoy!

Bigmista

Kevin Sandridge liked this post

Posted in Barbecue, Bigmista, Main Dishes | 2 Comments »

Alright. OK. You win! I replaced the meat. – Daniel Fast recipe

January 18th, 2013

Potatoes with Soy Chorizo – Bigmista’s Daniel Fast Recipe

I was cruising along in my Daniel Fast minding my own business. I was eating potatoes, beans, mushrooms and lots of veggies. And I was, for lack of a better word, content.

Then someone said, “Why don’t you try some Soy Chorizo?”

I said, “No thanks. I like meat. You can’t replace meat with soy.”

Then I was in the grocery store and someone said, “Have you tried this Soy Chorizo? It’s really good!”

I said, “Nope. Not interested. I’m a meat guy.”

Then, out of the blue, Mrs. Mista shows up with a package of Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo.

OK God, I get the hint.

So this morning, I gave it a try. I started off by chopping some potatoes, bell pepper and onion, and tossing them in a hot skillet coated with Olive oil. I let them cook for a while, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes started to brown. I added salt & pepper to the potatoes and dropped in the crumbled bits of chorizo. I let that cook for a wile until the chorizo started to brown. Next I added 1/4 of water and covered until the potatoes softened.

I must admit I was pleasantly surprised! This was a really good meal. The chorizo was spicy and flavorful. I really could not tell it from the real thing. I hope you all give this a try. It might have been the best meal I’ve had on the Daniel Fast so far.

Bigmista’s Potatoes with Soy Chorizo – Daniel Fast

AS always, please leave a comment below to let me know what you think and share this with your friends.

Enjoy!

Bigmista

Posted in breakfast, easy, fresh, Quick Dishes | 4 Comments »

Confessions of a dipper – Daniel Fast tips

January 14th, 2013

I confess. I am a snacker.

And when I snack, I like to dip. I am a really big dipper. (Insert nerdy astronomy joke here.)

Anyway, one of my struggles on this 21-day Daniel Fast is finding something with which to dip.(My grammar teacher would be so proud that I didn’t end that sentence with a preposition.) Corn chips? Out. Tortilla chips? Out. Ruffles? Out. Wheat thins? Out. Pita Bread? Out. Even the humble Saltine? *sniff* Out.

So what was I to do? How would I eat my hummus? How could a savor my salsa? How would I partake of my peanut butter? Would I be relegated to dipping with *shudder* vegetables?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo…

I was determined to find something to dip with that wasn’t fried and didn’t have any milk products or enriched white flour. A daunting task indeed. But I scoured the shelves of the local markets and read every label I could find until I came up with three alternatives to fit the criteria of the fast. Here they are:

Triscuits, Special K Potato Crisps, Triscuits with Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil

Both of the Triscuits have the same texture but the have totally different flavors. The original has an almost sweet quality about it. You get the full flavor of the wheat. It’s like shredded wheat but more organized. I lliked this on best with some natural peanut butter. No, not Jif or Skippy. Read your Labels.

The Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuit was the one that had the best flavor of the three. You can tell the used some quality Olive oil and the pepper taste is pronounced but not over powering. This paired best with my chunky olive hummus from Trader Joe’s but I would eat these by themselves even if I wasn’t fasting.

The Special K Potato Crisps are made from potatoes and brown rice flour. They taste like a potato chip but they are sturdier. They stood up well to salsa and they were my favorite with that dip. Be sure to get the Sea Salt flavor because the other flavors have either milk products or hydrolyzed yeast protein stuff.

Original Triscuit, Special K Potato Crisps, Triscuit with Cracked pepper and Olive Oil

I can rest a little easier now that I know I can take a quick dip whenever I need to. Rats, there goes that preposition.

Please leave a comment to let me know what you think and feel free to share this with your friends.

Enjoy!

Bigmista

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Meatless Chile Verde – Daniel Fast Recipe

January 13th, 2013

Today’s recipe is a meatless Chili Verde or Green Chili. I started making Chili Verde a couple of weeks before we actually started the Daniel Fast so I pretty much had the recipe down. The challenge was coming up with something to replace the meat and still have the Chili stick to your ribs.

I narrowed it down to potatoes or mushrooms. I asked Mrs. Mista which I should use but she said if it wasn’t meat she didn’t care. She also told me to feed her and leave her alone. She’s still adjusting to the fast. Don’t tell I said so. Please.

Anyway, I asked a friend who isn’t fasting what she thought and she said, “Why can’t you use both?”

BRILLIANT!

So here is the recipe for my meatless Chili Verde. First I put 2 lbs. of tomatillos cut in half in a roasting dish along with 4 seeded jalapenos, 2 seeded anaheim chiles and 1 seeded pasilla chile. I put these in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour to concentrate the flavors.

Roasted tomatillos and chiles for Chile Verde

Next I put the tomatillos and chiles in the blender along with 1/2 of a chopped onion, 1 tablespoon of minced garlic and a handful of cilantro and blended until it was smooth. Then I put it in a large pot along with a cup of chicken broth. (Use low sodium so you can adjust the salt to your taste.) Set the stove to medium low heat and let it simmer.

Simmering goodness

In the meantime, peel 2 medium sized potatoes, cut them into chunks and boil them until they are fork tender. And cut two portabella mushrooms into the same size chunks.

Portabella Mushrooms

Once the potatoes are ready, put the potatoes and the mushrooms in the chili.

Add the taters and shrooms.

Finally, add salt, pepper and garlic powder and give it a stir. Let it simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve it up and eat!

Tasty Chile Verde! Bigmista style!

Note: If you don’t want potatoes, take them out and serve it over some brown rice.

Enjoy!

Bigmista

David Childers, Jeff Brinker liked this post

Posted in fresh, Main Dishes, Soup | 5 Comments »

MMMM…Taters!! Simple Daniel Fast Meal

January 12th, 2013

I don’t always have time to do a lot of cooking. Sometimes I come in from work and just want something quick and filling. However, since we can’t have anything processed or deep fried during the Daniel Fast, a burger and fries are out. So here is what I came up with yesterday. “Baked” Potatoes!

“Baked” Potatoes for Daniel Fast

I took regular Russet potatoes and pricked them all over with a fork. Then I tossed them in the microwave on the “Potato” setting. 10 minutes later I took them out, split them open and sprinkled them with seasoning salt. Next, I added some of my favorite salsa (check the label for sugar) and a dollop of non fat Greek Yogurt. A fast and easy meal that was quite filling.

Note: There were two potatoes before I took the picture. The other one mysteriously disappeared…

As always, thanks for stopping by! Please leave a note to let me know you were here and feel free to share this post with your friends!

Enjoy!

Bigmista

David Subia liked this post

Posted in easy, Main Dishes, yogurt | 2 Comments »

Pasta with Portabella Mushrooms and Spinach – Daniel Fast

January 10th, 2013

Whole Wheat Pasta with Portabella Mushrooms and Spinach

My church, Light & Life West, is participating in corporate consecration. One part of this is the congregation committing to a 21-day Daniel Fast. For those of you who are not familiar with the Daniel Fast, we basically don’t eat meat, sugar, caffeine or most dairy for the entire fast. Knowing that I am a barbecue man, you can guess that this is especially difficult for me, because I deal with meat everyday (and Lord knows it smells good).

My challenge will be to come up with recipes that will be tasty, healthy and comply to the rules of the fast. No small feat.

I will share the recipes that I come up with here on my blog so check back frequently .

My first recipe whole wheat spaghetti with portabella mushrooms and spinach. This is a very fresh tasting dish and I think you will be surprised by how easy it is.

Ingredients:

1 box (1lb.) of whole wheat spaghetti
1 red onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 large portabella mushrooms (renove stems and cut into bite-sized chunks)
2 cups of fresh spinach
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp + 1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
4 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:
Prepare pasta as directed on Package. Drain and return to the pot.

In a large skillet, pour in 2 tbsp. of EVOO over medium heat. Add the onions and bell pepper. Cook until they are translucent (almost see through), stirring frequently.

Add the mushrooms, spinach and garlic to the skillet. Cook until the mushrooms soften and the spinach wilts. This should be 2-3 minutes. Keep stirring!

Add 2 tbsp. each of Kosher Salt, Black Pepper and Italian Seasoning. Also add the balsamic vinegar and the tomatoes. Stir enough to mix well and warm up the tomatoes.

Pour everything in the skillet into the pot with the pasta. Add the rest of the EVOO and toss.

Serve and eat!

Daniel Fast Pasta with Mushrooms, Spinach and tomatoes

Please leave me a comment below to let me know what you think. You can also comment on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

Enjoy!

Bigmista

Posted in easy, fresh, Main Dishes | 3 Comments »

Breakfast Bowl – Bigmista Style

December 1st, 2012

And you thought all I did was BBQ!

I brought home a few goodies from the Farmers Market yesterday (a benefit of working there) and decided to try something a little different for breakfast. Rainy days just bring out the creativity in me. So here’s how I did it:

First I grabbed a nice brioche from Bread Bar,

Brioche from Bread Bar

I cut the top of it off and scooped out some of the inside. Then I drizzled it with butter and toasted it to bolster its structural integrity (How about that? Big words!)