***giveaway closed***200th Post: Product Review & Giveaway ~ Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ

I am so excited to be posting my 200th post!  To celebrate, I'm sharing a product review of a great local business as well as a giveaway!  Continue reading for more details! 

Joe and I love BBQ sauces and dry rubs.  For a while, we were always coming home from the grocery store, gourmet shop, farmers' market, etc. with new sauces to try.  It got to the point that we had at least a  year's worth of BBQ sauce in our apartment.  When we moved, we promised to finish what we had in the pantry before we bought new sauces! 

The past few months, I've been making my own bbq sauce.  Amazingly, we were out of sauce on a night that I planned barbecue chicken for dinner.  I found a recipe in a cook book and tweaked it a bit.  Now, I try to keep a batch of my homemade sauce in the fridge at all times. 

Even though I make my own bbq sauce, it's always fun for us to try a new brand that we find at the store or hear about from a friend. 

Recently, we had the chance to sample some Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ products.  The nice people at Butch's BBQ sent us a bottle of the Mild Smack Your Lips BBQ Sauce.  And also a jar of the Mild Magic Dust Dry Rub.

We tried the Mild Magic Dust Dry Rub first.  I put Joe to work and had him grill up some pork chops for dinner last week while I boiled some potatoes.  Before heading out to the back yard, he simply rubbed some of the seasoning on both sides of the pork.  Once he walked out the back door to grill the chops, I stopped paying attention.  Grilling is his job!  And if I'm getting a break from having to make dinner (or even just break from preparing part of dinner), I'm not going to interfere!  (Click here to order.) ***

Next, we sampled the Mild Smack Your Lips BBQ Sauce. Again, I left the grilling to Joe! He threw a few pieces of boneless chicken breast on the grill while I prepared some Easy Peasy Pasta (recipe to be posted soon). This time, Joe grilled the chicken first, then just before it was finished he brushed some of the sauce on both sides. (Click here to order.) ***

***Note: I am not being compensated in any way if you choose to order.  I'm simply making it easy for you by providing links to the BBQ Essentials Section of the website, should you decide to order.***

We really enjoyed both of the products and consider Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ products to be "right up there" with our long-time favorite sauces and dry rubs!  Joe liked the Magic Dust Dry Rub so much that he used it on his buttered potatoes instead of salt and pepper! And I can't wait to use the BBQ sauce in my Barbecue Chicken Salad recipe in place of my homemade sauce!

Keep in mind, we did not use these products to their fullest potential and we still really think they are great!  But if you want to use the barbecue sauce and dry rub as intended, then check out the recipes posted on the website including Butch's Barbecue Pulled Pork. 

  
Have you heard of Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ?  No?  Let me fill you in! 

Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ has won over 600 awards, both national and international.  Including Best Ribs in a Throwdown! With Bobby Flay on the Food Network! 

I became familiar with Butch Lupinetti and his company while watching the  repeat episode of Throwdown!  My cousin was visiting for the weekend and was so excited to see her former employer on the show!  (Turns out, a few of my cousins had worked for Butch in the past.) Since that weekend, I've seen the episode several times and each time I was pulled in by what his wife calls his "larger than life personality".

Butch was born and raised on a farm in Pemberton, NJ.  That is where he learned how to harvest and cook a pig.  In the 60s and 70s, he toured with a rock band, opened a country western bar and in the late 80s he began entering in bbq competitions. 

He created a traveling barbecue pit that not only included a 10 foot rotisserie oven, but could hold 600 lbs of meat!  And by 1990, he started Butch's Smack Your Lips Barbecue in Mount Laurel.  There's even a Smack Your Lips BBQ Cookbook and other fun merchandise available on the website.

Locals can also find Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ at the Wells Fargo Center (formerly the Wachovia Center) in Philadelphia.  Their booth opens 2 hours before any sports event or show scheduled at the Wells Fargo Center! 

Very recently, Butch passed away while vacationing with his family.  I've been in touch with his wife, Lynne, and she tells me that they were devastated by his sudden passing and that they "are committed to keeping the business going as a viable entity, as a tribute to the passion Butch had for BBQ." 

She also shared with me one of Butch's favorite sayings and wanted me to share it with you as a reminder to not rush the cooking process:   

"Cook it low, cook it slow, serve no swine before it's time"

Lynne also tells me that they will be updating the website to include Butch's most recent project:  an instructional DVD that will guide you through the cooking process of ribs, pork, brisket and chicken.  The instructional DVD will be available for purchase in about 30 days! 

A scholarship fund has been started in memory of Butch Lupinetti and has "topped $5,000 in donations". His family hopes that "a worthy student will use the scholarship to advance their cooking skills and become a master of culinary taste." 

Donations to the Butch Lupinetti Scholarship Fund may be made by sending your contributions to the Burlington County College Foundation for the Culinary Program, the Enterprise Center at BCC, 300 College Circle, Suite 256 in Mount Laurel.


Now on to the giveaway information! 

Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ 

invites you to become a pitmaster in your own backyard! 

Three Under the Oak Tree readers will recieve:

a bottle of Mild Smack Your Lips BBQ Sauce

and

a jar of Mild Magic Dust Dry Rub

Here's how you enter:   

Mandatory entry:

• 
  
  Visit the Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ website and leave a comment here telling me something you learned from visiting the site.  (1 entry)

I know I already provided a lot of information from the website, but hey, just go check it out!   

Additional entries: 

• 
  
  Like Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ on FaceBook and let them know that Under the Big Oak Tree sent you!  (1 entry) 
• 
  
  Like our page on Facebook and mention this giveaway on your wall, linking back to this post.  (2 entries)
• 
  
  Follow this blog publicly with Google Friend Connect.  (1 entry)
• 
  
  Follow @TheBigOakTree on Twitter (button on the sidebar) and tweet this giveaway.  (1 entry)  
• 
  
  Blog about this giveaway (linking back to this post) and provide URL to your post in a comment.  (2 entries)  

 Please note:

• You can earn up to 8 entries for your chance to win!
• Additional entries are valid only if the mandatory entry is completed.
• Each entry requires a separate comment. Leave 2 comments for tasks that earn 2 entries.
• Please include your email address with each entry.
• Giveaway open to US and Canada residents only. 
• Giveaway ends on Sunday, September 26th, 2010 at 10:00 pm EST.
• Winners will be selected via random.org and contacted by email.
• Winners will have 48 hours to respond to claim prizes!

Disclosure:  I was not compensated in any way to do this review.  Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ provided me with 2 non-returnable products for my family to sample and review as well as the products provided for this giveaway.  The opinions stated in this review are honest and my own.