(A Guest Post by Rick Hellewell, Web Guy)

I’m just a guy doing web sites, this one included. But you can’t help being influenced by all of the great BBQ posts around here. So, it was with much humbleness that I attempted my first batch of MOINK Balls.

I don’t have any fancy equipment.  In fact, there might be some serious BBQ types that would look with disdain on my humble propane-powered gas grill, even if it is a Char-Broil “Commercial Series” grill with four burners and a side burner. They might say that you can’t do “true BBQ” on a gas grill.

But, I did it anyway. On Father’s Day, I did my best.

I prepared the MOINK Balls according to Larry’s recipe. A full package of pre-cooked beef meatballs (about 60 of them), wrapped in a half-slice of thick-cut smoked bacon from the local grocery store. I sprinkled them with some McCormick’s Pork Rub, and placed them on bamboo skewers in a foil pan. The result looked like this:

Skewered MOINK Balls, ready for the grill

While the MOINK Balls rested a bit, I fired up the gas grill, getting the temperature to settle in about 250 degrees. I had some mesquite wood chips (from the local ACE Hardware store) in a smaller foil pan that had previously been soaked in water for about an hour, then drained. I put that on the left side of the grill under the hot gas burners for about a half-hour.

After the wood chips got warm and toasty (but not smoking yet), I put the foil pan of MOINK Balls on the right side of the grill, over the un-lit burners (only the single left burner — the one for the wood chips — is lit). This is how it looked:

MOINK Balls and Wood Chips on the Grill

I shut the lid, and let things cook for about 2 1/2 hours. I made sure the temperature stayed around 250 degrees. While the MOINK Balls were cooking, I prepared the raspberry preserves glaze — about a cup of raspberry preserves, 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, and some garlic cloves, well mixed, then heated on the stove in a pan until everything was nice and liquidy.

After the 2 1/2 hours of smoking/grilling, I took the MOINK Ball skewers off the foil pan and put them directly on the grill, again away from the heat. I brushed both sides with the raspberry preserves glaze, and let that cook in for about 10-12 minutes. By that time, my daughters and their husbands, along with the five grandkids, were ready to try them. They looked like this:

MOINK Balls - Grilled, Smoked and Glazed

The result? Everyone liked them. In fact, everybody had at least three, and some had more. And all agreed that we should repeat the experiment.

So, there’s this web guys’ humble attempt at smoking MOINK Balls. Not bad for a first try.

Next time, I think that I’ll put the wood chips over a bit higher heat for a bit longer so that they will start smoking sooner. (This time, the chips didn’t start smoking until about halfway through the cooking time.) And I’ll change the recipe a bit: I’m going to sprinkle the rub over the meatballs before wrapping them with bacon. I think that will let the bacon juices ‘soak’ the rub into the meatballs.

I may also use less vinegar (or maybe some olive oil) in the raspberry glaze, to make the raspberry flavor a bit more pronounced.

And, even though I just have a gas grill, there is more smoking in my future.

I received lots of entries for the Mug Root Beer Brew-B-Que Contest.   All, in some way tugged at my heart.

Each of the winners below will receive a Mug Root Beer cooler with Mug Root Beer and all the fixings to make the Brew-B-Que Sauce.

Thank you all for making this a most special Father’s Day.

As much as I wish everyone could have won.  I had to select five.  Here are the winners

I’d like to nominate my dad for your Brew-B-Q Father’s Day contest. First of all, because he is the best dad in the world, and second of all because he loves to BBQ. My dad adopted my older sister and me when we were 9 and ten years old. He has been the most awesome dad and taught us a lot. Both of my parents loved to cook but my dad’s favorite thing has always been when he can get his grill out and cook up something delicious. Our Thanksgiving tradition has always included dad grilling the turkey. He stands out there no matter what the weather and always grills the turkey perfectly. My dad can really grill anything. My mom passed away in 2004 and my dad has taken over the majority of the cooking ever since. He got married again, but seems to enjoy cooking so he continues to prepare a lot of the meals. I always look forward to summer because it means dad is going to get the grill out. My dad’s beer braised BBQ ribs are amazing and can make even the pickiest eaters happy. My dad not only makes amazing BBQ, he teaches his daughters every step. Some of my favorite memories with my dad are working in the kitchen with him as he comes up with his amazing sauces (the family favorite is one he calls “Fantazmo” sauce), and then going out to the grill and watching him work. — Joann S.

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This year has been a hard year for my dad. In February, I (his twenty-seven year old daughter) awoke to find myself very ill and my eyesight severely distorted, a condition that my dad is, unfortunately, all too familiar with. I ended up spending ten days in the hospital, during which my dad never left my side. He was there when I was diagnosed with a rare condition—essentially, a virus had permanently destroyed pieces of my vision. My dad can relate in a way few other people can—he was hit by a drunk driver twenty-five years ago and has slowly lost the ability to control his left eye due to damage he sustained in the accident. However, this hasn’t stopped Dad from working on his “special projects.” One year, it was to create the perfect apple pie (Mom and I called him “Martha Stewart” behind his back). Last year, his goal was to create the perfect BBQ sauce. He failed miserably, but I used it anyway out of pity. This has been an incredibly difficult year for both my dad and me, and spending some time together trying out the fail-proof BBQ recipe would provide a great escape for us. — Amanda V.

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“ There are four of us and only one amazing story of a great man, our father, Mark S.  Together we wrote one story and submitted it by each of our email addresses of 100 words each as our father taught us to be positive, always do the right thing and look for a solution to the problem”. We read the rules and so we submit to you one story divided individually because he really is worth it! What an amazing group of kids, all adopted thru the State of Florida nearly 16yrs ago. They all have the same birth mother but different birth fathers whom they do not know making this a truly feel good story, even if he is not a winner or they are disqualified for their efforts, whom ever is reading this will be sure to have a smile and be grateful to the men who raised them.
Best Regards, Tj S. ( ma, mom, mommie and momma ), depending on which child your speaking to.

Dear Sir,
(Letisia submits)
Our father is 38 yrs old and he is our hero even in illness. About a year ago our daddy although not of military status was delivering a hazardous material to the Army, it leaked unknown to him and he was exposed to the material by breathing in a fume that literally changed his life forever all in just a few short breaths. He now has short term memory loss and a seizure disorder that causes him to forget everything in his day unless it is something significant, unusual behaviors, lots of pain, gets lost in conversation because it is gone so quickly but wakes up every morning with a smile and I love you even though some days after an “episode” he doesn’t know where he is and reverts back to a memory of when he was

(Robert Submits)
16 and really thinks that he is late for curfew and is going to be grounded, he remembers my mom because they have been together since they were 12 but she’s the girlfriend, not the wife and ofcourse at the age of 16 he had no children so he asks “who are these people” refering to us kids. From the exposure he had 3 strokes and wasn’t expected to make it and although he has gotten better and is able to walk, talk and function he has a long road ahead of him, this is as good as it gets. It is like dealing with someone who has had a stroke who also has Alzheimer’s. Basically we lost everything when our dad became ill, our home, our pets, our vehicles and our minds trying to cope with what was life changing

(Niki submits)
for us all but because of him we now know why we were the chosen few out of a foster care system that was sad and lonely. He gave us something that only a real dad could do, he gave us a forever home and the foundation to build our lives so that even when without him, mind, body or soul we have our family. You see its not about the vehicles, the home or toys we once had or the family vacations we’d like to take or how easy it was to purchase the things we wanted; it’s the foundation that was built with a selfless smile
and dedication to form the foundation that allows us to move forward when things aren’t so great and to
appreciate the priceless things that you do have. We understand that nice things come with a price and

(Chyenne submits)
sometimes you pay the price with your own well being at the cost of making others comfortable no matter what your dreams or future plans were. So even though our daddy may only remember this for a short time we hope that on this day it will be significant enough for him to know (long term) that we are most grateful to be chosen by him and that we will reinforce the foundation with love, honor and respect for you never know at what time something will be taken from you, thank goodness for us it was only material things and not our hero. A good man who loves and is dedicated to his family, who is trustworthy, wise, oh so funny, who loves Nascar and grillin out as much as he does our momma and who isn’t afraid of anything other than cold water and always lets you know that you are loved. He’d be proud of us if we just sent in a crayon drawing but we know he is well worth a few hundred words and we hope you think so too. We love you daddy. — The S’s

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I would like to nominate myself. I’m dad to my two boys (Zach 12 and Gabe 6)who love to help out when its time to BBQ! I have a full time job and work part-time making up for the lack of a second income during the summertime. My wife works at a private grade school and summers are tough on pocketbook. Whenever I get free time its usually spent with the boys BBQ-ing. Gabe loves to spritz the meat! I’ll email the pic of him doing such. — Gary K.

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I wanted to nominate my dad! He is phenomenal! He works so hard for his family. Not only has he served as a police officer, he is a cancer survivor who still works more than full time to provide for his family, and help my husband & I provide for our children, one of which is disabled. My dad has always stuck by my side, and he always lets my momma know how much he loves her. He ROCKS at makin’ bar-b-q, whether its a few racks O ribs, or 26 oz. Ribeyes, or when he slow cooked 8 briskets all on his own for a wedding, hes got it goin on! I have never seen a man who watches more bar b q shows on food network! I think his dream would be to go up against Bobby Flay! I know he would be thrilled to have a Frosty Root Beer! — Elizabeth J.

(THIS CONTEST WAS FOR FATHER”S DAY 2009)

MUG Root Beer knows 40 percent of dads have received a Father’s Day gift that wasn’t on their wish list.  This year, MUG Root Beer is reinventing the Father’s Day tradition with Dad’s favorite past time-a frosty brew and ingredients for spending time with family and friends outdoors. I have received five MUG Root Beer “Brew-B-Q” Gift Packs.  The gift pack contains a cooler, 2 liters of MUG Root Beer and all the ingredients to make their special Southern Brew-B-Q Sauce recipe

Does your dad deserve to win a “Brew-B-Q” Gift pack?  Or maybe your husband?  If you’d like to nominate someone, send an email to to bbqgrail@earthlink.net (or you can use the comment box below) and tell me why “dad” deserves to win.  Remember, this is a Father’s Day contest so it has to be about dad, the kids and BBQ.  You can include a picture if you’d like.  (If you send me a picture, you are giving me permission to publish!)  All entries will be posted on the BBQ Grail blog.  Winner’s will be decided by me and announced here on Father’s Day.  You’ll receive an email if you win, requesting your address.

The picture says it all…