Smoke'n Dudes BBQ Blog

This one has never been served in the restaurant(It’s a bit too pricy for our menu), but it is tasty none the less. It is a different flavor than BBQ enthusiasts are used to so it will add some variety to your repertoire. Recently Bobby Flay prepared something very similar on Iron Chef(if I’m not mistaken he used either Buffalo or Bison instead of Beef)

Chocolate Spiced Beef Tenderloin w/Red Wine & Chocolate Chili Steak Sauce

All of the spices can be adjusted to taste.

Spice Rub:
2tbs Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2tbs Brown Sugar
1tbs Kosher Salt
1tbs Garlic Salt
2tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1tsp Cumin
1/2tsp Ground Mustard
1/2tsp Chili Powder
1/2tsp Allspice

Mix All Ingredients Well

Sauce:

1 Celery Stalk (finely chopped)
1 Small Carrot (finely chopped)
1-2 Clove(s) Garlic (minced)
1/2 Cup Chopped Shallots
2 Cups Red Wine
2 Cups Beef Broth
2 tbs Tomato Paste
1 Bay Leaf
1 sprig thyme(optional)
1 tbs Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/2tsp Chili Powder
2tsp Olive Oil

Make sauce at least a day in advance.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, carrot and celery and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the wine and broth and stir in the tomato paste. Add the bay leaf and thyme and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Stir in the cocoa and chili powder. Let sit over night and slowly bring it up to temperature when ready to use.

Liberally smother 1 1/2 – 2 lb tenderloin roast with chocolate spice rub. Grill on all sides just until browned. Remove from grill and wrap roast in tin foil. Return to grill and roast until desired doneness. Medium Rare = 140 degrees F.

Johnny Cash was one of the most imposing and influential figures in post-World War II country music. With his deep, resonant baritone and spare, percussive guitar, he had a basic, distinctive sound. Cash didn’t sound like Nashville, nor did he sound like honky tonk or rock & roll. He created his own subgenre, falling somewhere between folk, rock & roll, and country. He was one of country music’s biggest stars of the ’50s and ’60s, scoring well over 100 hit singles.

Cash was always making up his own songs as a child but didn’t start to take it seriously until he bought his first guitar while serving in the
Air Force in 1950. In 1955 he auditioned for Sam Phillips at Sun Records as a gospel singer, but was rejected. Shortly after he returned with a country repertoire and his career took off immediately.

He was a constant presence on the music charts all the way through to the mid ’70s. His popular peak came began in 1968 with the release of Live At Folsom Prison and ended in 1971 with the cancellation of “The Johnny Cash Show” which ran for three seasons on ABC. Years of drug abuse began to take its toll on the quality of his work and he saw a decline of chart appearances.

Throughout the eighties he was practically a non-entity, with his only notable work being collaborations with Waylon Jennings and Carl Perkins and the country supergroup The Highwaymen, which consisted of Cash, Jennings, Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

In 1993 Johnny signed with American Records and began recording albums with Rick Rubin as producer. While never blockbusters this series of records, known as The American Recordings, revived his career and introduced him to a younger audience.

On May 15, 2003 his beloved wife, June Carter Cash died of complications following heart surgery. Four months later Johnny cash gave up his battle with diabetes. In 2005 his legacy was compounded by a multiple Oscar nominated biopic starring Jaoquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.

Johnny Cash holds 11 spots on the Smoke’n Dudes playlist spanning his entire career:

Cry,Cry,Cry – w/Elvis Costello
Folsom Prison Blues
Get Rhythm
God’s Gonna Cut You Down
I Still Miss Someone
I Walk The Line
I Won’t Back Down
In My Life
Ring of Fire
Rusty Cage
Solitary Man

Plus he appears with the Highwaymen whose entire 3rd album “The Road Goes On Forever” is in the rotation.

Buy Johnny Cash CDs at Amazon

Thanks to the folks at MHC Productions and Let’s Dance Philadelphia for putting this together for us.

Here’s an old promotional video we made a while ago. We took it off the website when we opened Bellmawr, but I think it’s worth revisiting. Enjoy!

Bellmawr is now operating under Winter Hours

Wed-Thurs 11am-8pm

Fri-Sat. 11am-9pm

Sun 12noon-8pm

Closed Mon & Tues

Bensalem’s hours remain unchanged.

We call it a soup but it’s more like a bisque, but either way it’s a tasty winter treat and is very popular at Smoke’n Dudes.
With the holidays coming up prepare it yourself and impress your family.

Bill’s Famous Butternut Squash Soup

2 Butternut Squash
2 Acorn Squash
Peeled, seeded and small diced
2 oz. Butter
½ c Brown Sugar
1 Roasted Peppers (small diced)
2.5 quarts Chicken Stock
3 cups Heavy Cream
¼ Cup Sherry
Salt & Pepper to taste
3 tbs Corn Starch

Sautee squash in butter. Add 2 cups of chicken stock. Cook until squash is tender. Add brown sugar, and roasted pepper. Mash squash and add remained of chicken stock. Bring to boil and thicken with cornstarch. Add cream and sherry. Bring to boil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 10-12

The music that is played inside Smoke’n Dudes BBQ Co. earns us almost as many comments and compliments as the food does. We pride ourselves in this as it is a well thought out mix of blues, country, southern and classic rock that is intended to be interesting and accessible while completing the barbecue experience.

Since we frequently get asked about various songs and artists on our playlist (yes, the same music plays at both locations) we decided to try out a music spotlight feature.

Today we feature the great Skip James.

Nehemiah “Skip” James is among the earliest and most influential Delta bluesmen to record.

In 1931 he won a recording deal with Paramount Records. The 18 songs he recorded that year were released to poor reception initially, as the Depression was in full swing. James gave up on music at this point and disappeared for nearly 30 years completely unaware that his music was influencing generations of bluesmen from Robert Johnson, who reworked Skip’s “22-20 Blues” into his own 32-20 Blues” to Eric Clapton who recorded “I’m So Glad” on the first Cream album.

In 1964 the organizers of the Newport Folk Festival found Skip James in poor health in a hospital in Tunica, Mississippi and coaxed him back into the spotlight where he enjoyed a taste of the success that alluded him three decades earlier.

There are 4 Skip James songs on rotation at Smoke’n Dudes – “Careless Love” “Devil Got My Woman” “Hardtime Killing Floor Blues” and”Good Road Camp Blues” all taken from his later sessions in the 1960s. In addition we also play Chris Thomas King’s version of “Hard Time Killing Floor” which will be recognized by film buffs who’ve seen O Brother Where Art Thou