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Green Leaf BBQ is officially open for business in Livermore California. Our new shop is part of Livermore’s historic “Blacksmith Square”. The Brick building offers a great courtyard for our BBQ classes and events. Our neighbors offer local botique wine tasting, olive oil tasting and a tapas style restaurant for anybody visiting the Square. The weather here is great for a backyard BBQ – offering true wine country climate with warm days and cool evenings.
Our shop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturdays from 10:30 am to 7:00 pm.
As always we feature and specialize in The Big Green Egg line of BBQ Smokers. We also carry Green Mountain Grills, Traeger Grills, Weber Grills, and other products from Lodge, OXO, Victorinox/Foschner, Wicked Good and many custom BBQ Spices, Rubs and Sauces from the professional competition circuit that simply are not available in other stores.
Check back for our BBQ Class and event schedule.
Consider this a hearty welcome to our shop – oh, and we’re pet friendly too
Come in for a visit!
Green Leaf BBQ Shop
21 South Livermore Ave.
Livermore CA 94550
(925) 449-2135
I first met Chris Minnes, the GM of the stylish and hip 968 Park Hotel during a stay at the hotel several months ago. Chris and his staff are on the cutting edge of the hospitality market. If you’re tired of typical “Hotel Speak” and policies – this crew has the market cornered. Don’t get me wrong – they are true professionals and take their jobs seriously – they are just really creative and fun in the process.
Carrie and I shared coffee with Chris one morning in the lobby bar, made chiefly with recycled lumber and decor, hatching a plan to link up one day for an event. We were both Eco-aware businesses that were doing right by the environment in our individual pursuits…why wouldn’t we put something fun together and create an event for locals and guests to enjoy…it just made sense.
October 17th began with the Traeger Pellet BBQ’s slow smoking Tri-Tip, French Cut St. Louis Spare Ribs and Chicken Thighs on a skewer. Zucchini, Mushrooms and Pineapples were prepared or stuffed with a secret blend of goodness – all of the food was cooked outdoors on the BBQ.
The 968 Park Hotel wine bar, stocked with a nice selection of wines from the local region was set up and managed by Mike, the always affable member of the 968 Park Hotel crew. He poured all evening without a break – I think he was having more fun than the guests. People were checking in from all over the county and sharing in the festivities, excited to see what was going on. Many couples that were headed out for a dinner reservation, canceled their plans and stayed to sample the BBQ and sip the wine.
Each of the BBQ foods was designed to eat while holding a glass of wine – and either complimented what was being poured or cleanse the pallet so other wines could be tasted subjectively.
Green Leaf BBQ is proud to have helped 968 Park Hotel create this event. I’m sure that you’ll see us working together in the future. Please visit the hotel website at www.968parkhotel.com to book your next stay in the Tahoe area. They offer a wonderful array of massages in an Eco-friendly environment that will please the most discerning client.
Santa Maria BBQ
Many have heard about our BBQ Competition on November 14, 2009. We are still taking enrollment for the contest at www.greenleafbbq.com for any interested individual or team.
This contest is open to all with no fuel restrictions – bring your best skills and grills to win a trophy and some cash.
Competitors will be using Traeger Grills, Big Green Eggs, Drum Smokers, Gas Grills, and perhaps even a few Weber kettle or WSM smoking all day.
If you’re interested in learning to BBQ or smoke meats, this is the place to visit and ask questions.
Our BBQ shop will be open during the competition, offering special deals on Big Green Egg, Traeger & Weber products in addition to our great line-up of BBQ rubs and sauces. Check out our website to shop early in our online store.
Here are the details:
Who: Professional and Amateur BBQ Enthusiasts and Teams
What: Three (3) Meat Contest – Tri- Tip, Pork Spare Ribs, Chicken Thighs
Where: Green Leaf BBQ Parking lot: 2054 Canal Drive, Turlock CA 95380
When: Saturday November 14, 2009 Set-up begins at 6:00 am Turn-Ins begin at 2 pm – Awards to follow
Signups: Email Tim at: oakpit@rocketmail.com – Please write “BBQ Team Sign-up” in the subject line.
You can also stop by or call our store @ 209-668-2452
Fees: $50.00 per meat category or $125.00 for all 3 categories
Prizes: $100.00 CASH per meat category & notoriety and publication on our website plus other great prizes being added weekly.
*No Fuel Restrictions – Charcoal, Gas, Pellet, Electric or Wood Allowed.
Thanks to all teams that have already committed to joining us!
-Tim
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- Nice looking Game Hen
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- Cornish Game Hens on a Traeger
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- BBQ Cornish Game Hens
Carrie & I were shopping the other day – grocery shopping – our favorite pastime. We were trying to decide what to have for dinners in the week ahead. Understanding that we are in the BBQ industry, we typically choose an assortment of meats that might either provide a learning experience, or perhaps fresh material to share. Cornish Game Hens came up last night, and indeed – produced something to share.
Most folks LOVE BBQ Chicken, in one or more of it’s many forms. We serve lots of BBQ Chicken to clients and make many of recommendations to customers looking for a new way to prepare it. One complaint we’ve heard often,” The chicken breasts are just too big” or “We cooked a whole chicken and now we have to store the leftovers – that never get eaten.”
Cornish Game Hens don’t have any of those problems. One hen, split in Half will comfortably feed two people with no leftovers. Even better “SpatchCock” (or a hen with the back cut out and butterflied), but straight hen halves are wonderful.
Here are the Basics of what we did:
Frozen Game Hens – cut in half just like a chicken. One half per person is the appropriate portion.
- I tossed (3) Halves in a 2 gallon Zip Lock bag & poured a “Mojo Criollo” Marinade – this is a wonderful citrus based marinade that is traditional in Cuban or Mexican cooking.
- Let the hens soak in the marinade for (4) hours – that’s all the time I had in order to get them cooked on time. Let them soak longer if you can.
- Get a BBQ or Smoker set up with some BBQ Smoke Wood and plan for “Indirect” heat; adjusting your temps to the 250 Degree range. When the temperature stabilizes, put the hens on the BBQ. I add a water pan to the grill if I am worried about moisture – this is just a metal bread pan filled 2/3 with water & set on the same side as the hens. The pan will steam and add humidity to the cooking chamber. This can be done on ANY BBQ.
- I lay the hens on the BBQ grate – setting the thickest (breast) side of the hen towards the fire – I don’t like burnt wing and leg tips.
- Let the hens cook for 20 minutes – shake on a mellow BBQ rub once the skin has started to sweat a bit. I used D-Dog’s Maple Rub – very complimentary to poultry.
- An hour later, baste on some olive or canola oil, balsamic vinegar & honey mixture that you’ve prepared in the house…this will dilute & emulsify the dry rub that was applied earlier. The color will really come out and begin to look glossy.
- Another hour into the cook, your hens should have been on the BBQ for about 2 1/2 hours now – baste with a final BBQ sauce or glaze. Mine was simple sugar, mint, sage & a touch of brown mustard – all mixed together nicely prior to painting the hens…you can use a bottled sauce at this point too…
- Things should be VERY close to done – ensure now that the BBQ doesn’t get much hotter than the 250 degrees we’ve talked about – that sugar will burn if it does.
- The hens will be done now – and can be pulled off the BBQ. I like to put mine under a foil tent on a platter or other type of “steamer” – this allows the hens to rest while other parts of the meal are finished off.
- Enjoy those nice Cornish Game Hens – they should be super juicy & tangy sweet.
We used a Traeger Pellet Grill for this recipe, you can easily replicate this on a Charcoal or Gas grill. The Traeger Pellet Grill is easy & low maintenance – we recommend them.
Thanks for checking out our BBQ blog – I try to come up with stuff that anybody can try with success – We have many of the items mentioned in our online BBQ shop at: www.greenleafbbq.com
Best of luck,
Tim
I saw this video and thought I’d pass it along. In case you haven’t noticed, I like to focus on techniques that create sound fundamentals. I’m aware that in order to get great BBQ, many additional techniques are advised that can only be applied when the fundamentals have been established. We’ll be adding a few of those expert tricks along the way to truly make great Q.
Notice that this guy uses a Weber WSM to cook these ribs. If a person is using a different style of BBQ, Like a Traeger, Big Green Egg, Horizon Offset or a Gasser etc…keep in mind that the attainable temps may be different and should be accounted for in overall cook time.
Oh yeah, don’t depend on your charcoals flavor – add wood chunks or chips to your BBQ to give it a unique flavor & use a fire starter chimney or paper to light that BBQ — Please no lighter fluid.
Green Leaf BBQ is excited to present a new online store – we’re even MORE excited to add more unique product. We’ve tried hard to locate quality spices and sauces. We carry complete lines of Weber, Traeger & Big Green Egg.
Visit us when you’re looking for an addition to your BBQ repertoire. We’re adding products every week so check to see what’s new. Store: http://stores.greenleafbbq.com/StoreFront.bok or website: www.greenleafbbq.com
Remember that our store is client driven — if you’d like to see something here, make a suggestion & we’ll try to make it happen.
Thanks!
Saturday August 1st, We present a Backyard style BBQ competition. Anyone interested in late sign-ups, call (209) 668-2452 and get more info. Also, please visit our website at www.greenleafbbq.com
The contest will feature pork ribs – you decide how best to season and BBQ them. Set up begins at 7:30 am and judging begins at 4:00pm. Join us if you can!
We are a small business that wanted to take a fresh approach to the old ways of backyard cooking. You won’t find gas grills, paper plates, plastic forks or lighter fluid in our store. We carry specialty barbecues and smokers that are friendly for our mother earth. Our selection of gourmet sauces, spices and rubs come from award winning locals all over the country.
We are constantly on the lookout for new recipes, products, techniques and new experiences. Monthly events will take place at our store to teach the basic skills in barbecue preparation, cooking, and to just meet new friends. Check out our calendar of events for current demos and classes.
Ask us about our drop-off barbecue catering services….coming soon.
WSM - BBQ Smoker
Green Leaf BBQ Shop - Gourmet BBQ Products 