Going to have the privilege to cook for group of 30-40 fine gentlemen.

As some may know I am a retired NYC firefighter. I retired early due to circumstances stemming from my direct involvement with a bad day for us. I absolutely HATE drawing attention to it because of a certain h word that always gets thrown out then.

Anyway a buddy of mine that's still on the job and is in Rescue 4 is involved heavily in an organization called heart 911. Their site is www.heart911.org.

They respond to disasters and rebuild homes and buildings of importance all around the world. They've gone to Haiti, Puerto Rico, all over. They have built brand new homes in a weeks time for veterans and gravely injured first responders. They really are an amazing bunch of guys.

Well this morning my buddy called and offered me the opportunity to help build a 30X30 extension on a veterans facility building with them on the 26th, 27th and 28th about an hour and 40 minutes from the house.

Unfortunately I have my rehearsal dinner on the 27th but I said I was available on the other days to do something. They're packing up on the 28th so really the only day I could contribute is on the 26th.

Turns out it's the perfect night. October 26th was the day that the men from Rescue 4 that perished that day were found together and their remains recovered.

So, I'll be smoking 2 butts for pulled pork, a loin, a brisket and probably 7 racks of spares. I'm going to have to figure out a Mac and cheese recipe to make on the smoker and a bean recipe. Any good non proprietary recipe recommendations that you dont mind giving out to feed to these guys would be appreciated.

That should be plenty to feed a pack of 30-40 hungry exhausted firemen and cops.

So the 26th will be an evening of some hopefully great q and a few beers in honor of the anniversary of the brothers being brought home.

Glad to be a part of it. Of course I'll be helping carry some stuff when I can leave the Shirley for a few. They have a trailer pit on site of where they're staying but I wouldn't know the quirks so I'll be bringing my Shirley of course.

smokin'hoogie said:

Jimmy

When you see Johnny Viola, tell him "The Prick CPA" sends his regards!! JV and I see each other a couple times a year in fact we where just fishing together in upstate NY in August. I've had the honor to crack a few beers and eat some Q with him. Great dude to hang with!!! We've talked about his organization and the amazing things these guys do for Vets and other people in need.

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I'll be sure to tell him lol.

TuscaloosaQ said:

Jimmy thx for the sacrifices you have made and the giving spirit you have in you.... tell all those guys I appreciate each and everyone of them and all they do.... lord knows there was a lot of good men and women lost on that horrific day.... we should never forget..... thx and God bless..... I'm going to give you a call soon......

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Thanks Paul. Cool. Look forward to talking to you.

pjtexas1 said:

Sounds like a great time plus you get to cook for some guys that really deserve it.
Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

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Exactly. Will be good to be around them.

qnbiker said:

It's great that you can support these guys while doing something you love. I know it will be a satisfying day.

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Thanks. It sure will be. As long as I don't screw up the ribs :laugh:

wihint said:

-Thank you Brother I was at the Pentagon on 9/11 and feel lucky to have served with those who run towards fire/gun fire.

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Thanks man.

benniesdad said:

Sounds like a great event. My wife and I do a BBQ for about that many people once a month for a ministry we support. I make baked beans every time. All I do is take two of the gallon cans of Bush's Baked Beans and drain them in a colander. I put the beans in a large warming table tray. I blister and roast three large green bell peppers and grill slabs from two large red onions on the grill. Dice those up and add them to the beans along with bacon, ham or pulled pork that I have available. I then take some of my vinegar based BBQ sauce and add it to the beans. I mix everything up and cover them with foil and throw them in a 325 oven for 45 minutes. Easy to do and always gets plenty of compliments.

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Cool, thanks. I'll give an a try and make sure I get them to turn out right in a small batch, then do a full size for the guys.

PatAttack said:

Good thing you're doing there, Jimmy!!

Give this recipe a shot.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/over-the-rainbow-mac-and-cheese-3101319

I use it but always add more cheese and maybe a half a block of cream cheese. Comes out pretty tasty! Paul also has a mac n' cheese recipe on here somewhere. I think it's called Sweetie Pie's Mac N' Cheese. It, too is delicious. I'll see if I can find it...

Found it: http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-237349.html

Good luck with the cook, Brother.

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Thanks so much Pat!! And thanks for the recipes.

I'm also going to make cornbread. Gonna do a tray of sweet and a tray of savory.

Looking forward to feeding them.

I'll be sure to hopefully get some pics of the day as well as the evening. They're going to have a small bonfire so it'll be q and then beers by firelight.

OEF5 said:

PM sent with my smoke bean recipe.

Great thing you are doing sir, if we had the salute and American flag emojis you would get a double dose.

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Got it, thanks. You deserve more flag emojis than I. Thank you for your service.

BillN said:

Enjoy the day and thanks for your service.

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Thank you Bill.

PatAttack said:

Don't forget about Keri's Hog Apple beans and Wampus' Baked Beans!!

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Wampus's look awesome for sure. Haven't looked up keris yet.

Big George's BBQ said:

Wampus BB are awesome
Thank you for what you are doing There will be some very happy people there and that is good

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Thanks George. I got the easy part, they're building a structure lol.

jasonjax said:

This is the same guy that GAVE me his seat to Myron Mixon's class.

Thanks for being THAT kind of guy, Jim.

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Thanks Jason. You're that type of guy too. You didn't have to send that nice gift but you did.

Time to try a couple of test batches. Going to make some sweet cornbread, a 1/2 batch of wampus's beans and a 1/2 batch of OEF5's batch as well as a mac and cheese recipe. Not just to taste but to see how the Mac will reheat. I really like the sound of those 2 recipes of beans, a MAC and the sweet cornbread recipes I found.

Thanks for the reccomendations everyone.


I don't want to be hammered the day of trying to do a bunch if I could prepare before hand. They do have a few guys for logistics there but for construction. I don't trust them to be on the same page bbq wise so it's time to do some prepping.