17th Street BBQ

Here are the details for whole hog catering from 17th Street. We’ve taken this show on the road all over the midwest and even to New York City. Book your event today. We’d love to help you go whole hog!

Here’s a little sneak peek behind the scenes of our April Business of Barbecue™ class. We produce this sold-out class each April.
Our catering director, Becky Streuter, sets the stage with beautifully arranged displays and lots of delicious food.

From serving the meals to mingling with the participants and answering questions, it’s an all-hands-on-deck affair with several 1-7 pit crew members helping out.

We focus on prepping and cooking ribs, chicken, brisket, and pork, with an emphasis on cooking and holding for restaurant production.

Our pork steaks are one of our most popular menu items and one of the favorite meats we prep and cook during the class.

We spend a great deal of time gathered around the pits, talking wood, timing, and the mechanics of our Ole Hickory Pits.

Our kitchen crew is always feeding us delicious treats during the class. These mason jar strawberry cheesecakes and banana puddings were awesome.

In addition to food prep, we discuss a variety of business topics including branding, marketing, PR, vending, and financials.

Class notes are like GOLD.

Of course, there is a lot of sampling. Pacing is key!

We’re proud to have incubated dozens of new barbecue restaurants around the world and to have worked with existing pitmasters who want fresh ideas and an opportunity to see behind the scenes at 17th Street.

We’ll be conducting a Catering Master Class in November, the Whole Hog Extravaganza/Brisket Bonanza/BBQ MBA in January 2015, and Business of Barbecue in April 2015. Please be in touch if you’d like to register.

Our major OnCue class sponsor is Townsend Spice & Supply, blenders of our famous Magic Dust dry rub. They blend spices for many of the top barbecue restaurants, as well as other restaurants in the country, and we use their fresh, high-quality kitchen spices as well. Please consider them for all of your spice needs! We are grateful for their continued financial support of our events.

The One-7 features our friends, partners, and people whom we admire, and provides a little insight into their worlds.

Photo © Ken Goodman Photography

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too! 

Our mail-order barbecue was featured in the Wall Street Journal over Memorial Day Weekend, and we’ve been busy shipping all over the country! Our thoughtful customers are stocking their own freezer, as well as sending barbecue to friends, to their vacation homes, for hostess gifts and family reunions, as a comforting sympathy gesture, and more.

Click here to order or call Samantha in our office at 618-684-8902 during business hours. Please note that we ship food Monday through Thursday. For special requests and Saturday delivery, please give us a call!

Thanks again to the Wall Street Journal for featuring us!

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too! 

Last summer, we got a call from the wardrobe director for the movie TAMMY, starring Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, and Kathy Bates. The movie is produced by Ben Falcone, Melissa’s husband. Melissa and Ben have several ties to Southern Illinois – see the fun facts and links at the end of this post.

The wardrobe director came across our website while researching and she loved the photo {above} of some of our t-shirts hanging above the bar. She wanted to consider one for Melissa’s character, Tammy, to wear during the movie. We sent one of each of our shirts and baseball caps for review, and they ended up ordering three different shirts in specific colors. We had no idea if any would make it into the movie.

Fast forward to this past February. I glanced at my phone and there were multiple missed calls and a message from a California number. Before I could even return the call, the phone rang again. It was from a production editor in Burbank who said, “Hello … this might sound a bit strange, but I’m sitting in an editing bay, working on a trailer for a new movie called TAMMY. Have you heard of it? Melissa McCarthy is wearing one of your t-shirts. It’s awesome and I need one!”

He described the shirt. It’s one that the fabulously talented Matt Price, from Arthur Agency, designed for our staff to wear at a wingfest. We didn’t have any left and never even offered them for sale.

“You’d better order some,” the guy said. “They are gonna sell!”

I kept searching for a trailer of the show where she’s wearing the shirt, but all of the trailers show her wearing a t-shirt with a bear and the word “Mahalo.” An extended trailer was released at the end of June. But still no t-shirt.

The movie opened July 2 and, sure enough, there are several nods to Southern Illinois. Those who live in Murphysboro will notice that the street on which she lives looks very much like it could be Pine Street or Elm Street, with the Craftsman-style bungalows so prevalent in Murphysboro. As Tammy and her grandmother, Susan Sarandon, leave town, it looks as though they’re driving over the bridge on Old Route 13, over the Big Muddy River. There’s a flash of a sign that says “Leaving Murphysboro.”

In the scene depicting a fictitious barbecue restaurant in Louisville, Kentucky, there’s a bottle of Blueberry Blonde, by Big Muddy Brewing, on one of the tables. And in a motel scene, there it is: Tammy, wearing our shirt.

We’ve already received so many inquiries and Silkworm, producer of all of our apparel, is printing more now. You can order them by clicking here. They’ll ship the week of 7/14/2014 and they will also be available in the restaurants.

Thanks so much, Melissa, Ben, and the TAMMY production crew! Love the nod to Southern Illinois and to your roots. This is huge for our restaurant and for our town. We are grateful!

Fun facts:
• The show was filmed in and around Wilmington, North Carolina. Many movies and television shows are filmed in that area.
• Ben Falcone is from Carbondale and his parents traveled to Los Angeles for the TAMMY premiere.
• Melissa McCarthy attended Southern Illinois University for one semester; Ben graduated from the University of Illinois.
• Melissa is from Plainfield, Illinois. While she and Ben both have Illinois roots, they actually met at Groundlings, the legendary LA performing group. Read more about them in this article.

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too! 

Would you like to appear on our new show and learn about the Business of Barbecue™ from Mike, Amy, and the 1-7 crew? We’re looking for all kinds of people – from starry-eyed dreamers and chefs who’d like to learn about smoke to couples starting a business together and seasoned professionals looking for a few new tips and tricks. Email amy at 17bbq dot come and tell us about yourself and why you’d like to be part of the fun. The show will be filmed in Murphysboro and you must be available for several days at the end of July. We can promise a ton of fun and lots of learning!

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too! 

BBQ Pit Wars: Kingsford Invitational is airing on Destination America June 21 from 10-11 p.m. ET. The cast and crew will be live tweeting during the broadcast; tweet along with us, using the #BestInBBQ hashtag.

We filmed this show back on Veteran’s Day weekend aboard the USS Intrepid, a majestic and patriotic setting. During a break, we watched the USS New York dock; quite an emotional sight.

Part of the Kingsford festivities included recognition for the Folds of Honor organization. This organization provides scholarships and other types of assistance to families of those killed in action.

Shannon McGovern from Current masterfully organized this event, along with help from the outstanding Current team.

The all-star line-up of barbecue teams were: Cool Smoke, Sweet Swine o’ Mine, Pork and Mindy, Queology, 3Eyz, Pellet Envy, Across the Track, and Iowa Smokey D’s.

I was honored to be a judge, alongside Brad Orrison, Douglas Rodriguez, Melissa Cookston, and Ed Mitchell …

… and Chris Lilly masterfully hosted the show.

Judging is serious business, with a $50,000 winner-take-all prize on the line.

SPOILER ALERT:  Custom star-spangled grills were used for the One-Bite Challenge …

… won by Tuffy Stone  with his perfectly seasoned and cooked steak.

THE Pitmaster Ed Mitchell showing off his singular style.

Brad Orrison and his million-dollar smile.

Sweet Swine O’ Mine’s whole hog smoking away.

Tuffy Stone giving his Jambo a good polish.

Mark Lambert pulling some cheek meat.

Pork and Mindy working the sound bites.

It was a pretty brisk November day, so teams hurriedly turned in their entries so the food would stay as hot as possible.

Shiggin’. Mark Lambert listens intently as the judges discuss the Sweet Swine O’ Mine entry.

Tune in tonight on Destination America at 10 p.m. ET to see who’s crowned the Grand Champion!

Photos © Virginia Devlin of Current. 

 I’ve been writing about the Mike Mills quips, lessons, and adages as I’ve been working on our new book. Here’s a sneak peek:

“I’m listening more carefully and trying to make sure my own children are absorbing the lessons he taught me: People are people. There’s no one better than you, and you are no better than anyone else. Be careful how you act, someone is always watching. No matter how well you do, you still have to play in the same sandbox with all of the same people. You can’t soar with the eagles if you’re out hootin’ with the owls all night. It’s easier to change the flavor of a hick’ry nut than to change the flavor of bologna. And life is most definitely too short for a half-rack. That, you can interpret any way you want.” 

Happy Father’s Day to all of the incredible men whom I’m blessed to call my friends. Love you, Daddy!

 Photo © Ken Goodman Photography 

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too! 

Our Smoked Amber Ale, created and brewed for us by Big Muddy Brewing in Murphysboro, is now available in 22 oz. bottles in liquor stores across Illinois and select states. Brewed with hops smoked over cherry wood, this beer was created to complement barbecue.

There’s also a distributor in New Jersey, so if you have a barbecue restaurant and you’re interested in carrying our beer, Big Muddy Brewmaster Chuck Sthurenbug can arrange that.

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too! 

 I’m posting most of our travels and adventures on Instagram these days. The rich visuals without the incessant political, religious, and nonsense Facebook posts makes for a more pleasant scrolling experience. I have a whole new set of Instagram “friends” and these are few of my favorites.

David Hale Smith is a literary agent who lives in Dallas. He posts about barbecue, books, tacos, and his travels. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. 

Gray Malin travels the globe and stages beautiful aerial photographs. You can buy his work online. I am coveting some of the Antarctica and Italy prints. Follow him on Instagram. 

My barbecue friends will love the gorgeous pictures of heritage hogs and farm life posted by Travis Hood. Follow him on Instagram. 

Sarah Smith makes great metal word art, perfect for restaurants. Love her jewelry, too. Follow her on Instagram.

Such the bon vivant. Love his cooking and lifestyle. I know we’d be IRL friends. Follow him on Instagram.

Follow our adventures in real time on Instagram and Twitter.
See lots of entertaining and barbecue ideas on our Pinterest boards.
And we post fun things on Facebook, too!