Tarheel Catering; Smoke, Beef and Rain on a Saturday Night.

So, a couple Saturday nights ago, Kevin from Tarheel Catering and a few of us got together up in Albemarle at Uwharrie Vineyards. Tarheel Catering is a catering company based in Statesville, NC and his company's specialty it charcoal cooking done right. No propane, no briquettes, just real hard wood coals on a HUGE custom-made drum-style grill. Pretty impressive set-up.

I'd answered an ad I saw on Craigslist to pick up a few extra bucks. As with most of the people in the cheffing biz, we're struggling to make ends meet and need a little more money these days. Kevin and I talked over the phone a few times and hit it off right away. Great guy and I appreciated the chance to help out!

But, we earned our money that night, for sure. Check out what happened:

The event was a wine club dinner for over 180 people. We had a little "weather" to say the least. It was day two of a four day rain storm that just wouldn't let up. And, to make matters worse, it was WINDY as SHIT! Before I was to assume the grilling position, I helped make the salads. Simple spring mix salad with the usual fixin's of grape tomatoes, onion, cucumbers and a hoola-hoop sized ring of green bell pepper to tie it all together.

Then, after a quick chop of some red potatoes, Kevin's wife put them in the oven (she's not pictured) with a little chopped red onion, garlic and some spices.

He had put up a huge tent over the grilling area to keep us dry and keep the wind off of us. The wind was whipping bad. We both thought that the tent was going to blow away like Dorothy's house! But, small problem with that setup is that, although we were dry and semi-wind-free, we were becoming a couple of smoked sausages, lol! My hat and sweatshirt STILL smell like a camp fire. I finally had to open up a wall to let in some air.

Kevin had a great idea to knock these 180 steaks out fast. He covered 2 8-foot prep tables in plastic sheeting and layed the steaks out, oiled them, seasoned them, and we then threw them on the grill. We fit about 60 steaks on at a time. After they were done to Kevin's liking, we placed them in a Cambro hot box to keep them warm for service.

We had a great time, people were pleased and I met another colleague to write in my blog about.

Thanks Kevin!