This was our second year of attending the Grillmaster Festival at Columbus’ North Market, so we weren’t sure exactly what to expect. Would it be the same deal as last year, or something entirely different. The truth was that it was a little in between. As usual, though, CaJohn’s Fiery Foods was front and center in the grilling area showing how best to make some great BBQ vittles. As you can see above, CaJohn held court for a while making his Carolina Style Slow Cooked Pulled Pork.

Steve also had his time in the spotlight, doing his version of Raspberry BBQ scallops. (All recipes to be published at the end of this post.)

Steve didn’t play to the crowd quite as much as John did, but truth be known…it was a really hot day and we had two cranky toddlers who kept our attention away from the action for some of the time. He wasted no time in getting those scallops on their way to BBQ nirvana.

We wanted to include the picture that had both sauces that were used in the cooking, but the Orange Chipotle Carolina Style BBQ sauce didn’t make it into this view of the stage. The Raspberry one was quite good, though.

You can see the scallops grilling above, and the cooking of those were the only issue with anything we tried that day. Now we’ve never cooked scallops on our own grill, but those have to be tough to tell just exactly how done they are. We thought the ones we tried could have used another minute or two on the grill, as they were a little squishy in the middle. Great-tasting with the Raspberry BBQ sauce, but a little squishy. Each to his/her own, we suppose.

So, another day at the market and in the books. We had some great BBQ food, plowed our way through the usual good stuff we like at the North Market, and then took our beleagured children back home. While we were nearly as tired as they were, we think they got the better nap afterwards. Enjoy the recipes!!

Carolina Style Slow Cooked Pulled Pork

4-5 lbs. pork shoulder
24 oz. dark beer
CaJohns Gourmet Orange Chipotle Seasoning (rub)
2 bottles CaJohns Orange Chipotle Caroline BBQ Sauce

Generously rub the pork shoulder with the Orange Chipotle Seasoning. Place the pork shoulder into a large roasting pan on a cake cooling rack and cover with a vented lid. Pour the beer into the pan from the corner carefully as to not wash off the rub. Place in an oven that has been heated to 200 degrees F. Cook overnight for at least 8 hours.

Remove from the oven and with two forks, shred the meat. Apply the BBQ sauce. Place into a wire grilling basket and place basket on the hot grill. While tossing the meat, spring with more BBQ sauce. Be careful not to cook for too long or you will dry out the meat. You just want to add a grilled flavor and slight char to the pork. Remove from the grilling basket and sprinkle again with the BBQ sauce. Serve on grilled buns or French bread topped with Creole Slaw (see below).

Creole Slaw

2 pounds classic slaw mixture
1 jar slaw dressing
1/2 cup CaJohns Gourmet Creole Seasoning

Mix Creole Seasoning into the dressing and place into the refrigerator for 15 minutes. Combine dressing and slaw mixture into a large bowl and return to the refrigerator. Chill for 15 minutes and serve.

Raspberry BBQ Scallops

6-8 fresh sea scallops – rinsed and dried
3 tbsp. CaJohns Chile Lime Seasoning
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 bag prepared baby greens
1 bottle CaJohns Raspberry Vodka New-Mex BBQ sauce
1 can mandarin oranges

Mix CaJohns Gourmet Lime Seasoning and sugar in a small bowl. Dredge both sides of scallops in Chile Lime-sugar mixture. Grill scallops over high heat on both sides to desired doneness. Spread some of the baby greens on a small plate. Place the grilled scallops on top of the greens with mandarin oranges. Drizzle the scallops with the Raspberry Vodka New-Mex BBQ sauce and serve.

The new BBQ sauces used in the recipes above aren’t yet on the CaJohns website, so you may have to call and ask about them in person.