Heffys BBQ Co. WINS 1st Place for All-Natural Hot and 2nd Place for Product Packaging AT WORLD’S MOST COMPETITIVE FIERY FOODS CONTEST!

The 2012 Scovie Awards judging panel of top culinary experts honored Heffys BBQ Co. with our second 1st place award in the last 3 years.  Well put it right next to the other 1st Place Award in the All-Natural Hot award from 2009.

The competition was particularly fierce for the 2012 awards, with product entries up 177 over 2011. In all, 161 companies entered 792 products for a chance at Scovie glory. Dave DeWitt, founder of the Scovie Awards and National Fiery Foods and Barbecue Show said entries came from 38 states and four countries including Australia, Sweden, Canada and the United States.

DeWitt, the “Pope of Peppers,” was pleased with the variety and quality of the entries. “It’s thrilling to see more entries than ever in our sixteenth year of the Scovie Awards. I’m always impressed by the creative new ideas and delicious ways people showcase fiery foods,” DeWitt said.

Guests can sample and buy Scovie Award-winning products at the upcoming 2012 National Fiery Foods & Barbecue Show (March 2-4, 2012) at Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Vendors from across the country will be in attendance. For more information please visit:www.fieryfoodsshow.com, there is a good chance you might just see the boys from Heffys there too.

The Scovie Awards is an annual competition created by Dave DeWitt that recognizes the top fiery foods products in the world. The awards were named after the Scoville scale, a measurement of the spicy heat of a chile pepper. It is one of the most competitive blind tasted food competitions. Hundred of products are entered and go through rigorous tastings to receive the top honors. The Scovie Awards take place annually in the month of October. For more information, visit www.scovieawards.com.

Heffys Meatloaf (by The Hef)

Admit it, you’ve had meat loaf at some point in your life.  Ok maybe you didn’t immediately fall in love this American staple but like any red blooded American you liked it.  Here’s a way to re-discover mom’s favorite go-to recipe…with a twist that just might get this back on your regular rotation.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs. of 93% lean ground beef
• ¼ tsp of basil
• 1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 3 slices of bread (toasted and cut up into ¼ inch squares)
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbls butter
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbls brown sugar
• 1 tsp chili powder
• ½ cup HEFFYS All Natural Original

Preparation:

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the Heffys and mix well with your hands (we use gloves but hey thats the kind of guys we are); ensuring that all of the spices are mixed thoroughly.

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.  Form the hamburger mixture into the pan and top with the ½ cup of Heffys All-Natural Original.  Bake for 90 minutes, ensure that it is done by using a meat thermometer; should read 160 to 180.  For a less spicy version; exclude the cayenne pepper and chili powder.

Enjoy with the family or some friends.

HEFFYS Bacon wrapped BBQ Shrimp (by The Hef)

Summer time is the best time of the year in my opinion.  There are so many events going on and with that comes some of the best food of the season.  We just went camping this weekend and we were all exchanging foods with our friends.  I decided to try a recipe that was something new for me and it turned out great!  Just follow the steps below and get ready for a great BBQ meal!

Ingredients:

1-½ cups HEFFYS All Natural Sweet Mesquite BBQ sauce.
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pound peeled and deveined shrimp
½ pound pepper bacon (or preferred bacon)

Preparation:

Cut slices of bacon in half. Cook bacon half way (should not be crisp). Combine Heffys Sweet Mesquite BBQ  Sauce, lemon juice and garlic powder (pour half of mixture into separate bowl for use later). Dip shrimp into half of sauce to thoroughly coat.

Wrap each piece of shrimp with ½ piece of bacon. Place on skewer (leave small space between pieces). Place on greased hot grill, basting with remaining sauce mixture. Grill for approximately 4 to 6 minutes (depending on size of shrimp).

That’s right Heffys BBQ Co. has launched our All-Natural & Gluten Free line of BBQ Sauces.

Over 2 years ago we began looking at all-natural vs. organic vs. gluten free and everything else that was taking shape in the specialty food market.  Honestly what our customers wanted the most was All-Natural and Gluten Free so that’s what we made…it only took us a year to get it up to our crazy standards.

People have asked us…Why did you switch?  The short answer is we want to make a product that sacrifices nothing, is made with the best ingredients and gives back in some real ways.  So it took some time.

Take a look at our ingredient list for our new All-Natural Original….go ahead we want you to.  There’s more where that came from.

Many of our Heffys Select Retailers are in the process of selling off older inventory to make room for the new sauce.

If you are a retailer and want to carry Heffys in your store or need to re-order head over to our RETAILER RESOURCES section.  Or if you want to snag some sauce for the house, we invite you to BUY NOW “Oh-Natural” style.

Are you a social wannabe and a foodie? Love BBQ and having a good time?

The Heffys Social Internship could be for you!

We Want:  Social Media & Communications Intern

Why: Because we need someone to work under the supervision of our CEO on various projects related to implementing and managing Heffys BBQ Co. Social & Communications Strategy.

Here are some deets:

-Assists with managing our Facebook Fan Page & Twitter Accounts

-Help create an overall strategy for how Heffys relates in social circles

-Researches new uses and aids in recruitment efforts to gain members

-Aid in “viral events” creation

-Creates an appropriate schedule for partners to follow and maintain

Sound Interesting?

Read more about it and apply HERE >>

Ingredients:
1 ½ lbs. of 93% lean ground beef
¼ tsp of basil
1 Tbls Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp onion powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
3 slices of bread (toasted and cut up into ¼ inch squares)
1 large egg
1 Tbls butter
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Tbls brown sugar
1 tsp chili powder
½ cup HEFFYS All Natural Original

Preparation:
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the Heffys and mix well with your hands; ensuring that all of the spices are mixed thoroughly. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Form the hamburger mixture into the pan and top with the ½ cup of Heffys All Natural Original. Bake for 90 minutes, ensure that it is done by using a meat thermometer; should read > 160. For a less spicy version; exclude the cayenne pepper and chili powder.

Enjoy!

You know we do a lot of dreaming at Heffys.  We love to talk about how things will be in 2 years, 5 years, or even 10.  We have been doing life together as friends for more than 15 years, so sometimes these dreams have been around for awhile.  A few years ago while dreaming we started asking questions…. what if kinds of questions.

•What if…. we sold Heffys for like 40 million dollars?
•What if…. we made an Organic or All-Natural Sauce?
•What if…. Heffys was always made in small batches?
•What if…. Heffys helped change the world?
•What if…. people could get Heffys all over the US?

What if…?

Well, asking questions like these lead us to really start working on some of them.  We wanted to share some with you.

What if we sold Heffys for like 40 million dollars? –While this sounds cool, we think we would like to own and operate our business for years to come.  Maybe forever.  We make you this promise….We will always make it personal. We vow to have fun, be real, and to always be passionate about our customers and our products.

What if Heffys was always made in small batches? –We’ll never set out to be the biggest, just the best. So thats what we are going to do.  We have now trademarked a way of making great BBQ Sauce.  We call it Micro-Crafted© . We make all of our products in small batches; taking extra care to produce the best possible taste for you — just like we have always done for our friends and family.  We taste test every batch!  These are just some of the things we believe make a difference in what you taste out of every glorious glass bottle of Heffys.

What if we made an Organic or All-Natural Sauce? –It took us over a year to get it right but in a few short weeks you will be able to order Heffys All- Natural Sauces.  All the taste you have come to love, without all the high-fructose and non-natural stuff that gets in the way.  We are super excited, this has really been a labor of love.  Want to get a sneak preview of our new label?  Like us on Facebook and see it there!

What if Heffys helped change the world? –We take this to heart….thats why it’s part of our everyday business to give back to the community by employing Special Olympic Athletes.  They lovingly hand label each and every bottle of Heffys.  It’s one of the ways we feel like Heffys is changing the world for the better.

We will keep dreaming, keep asking what if.  But we would love to hear more from you too.  Feel free to drop us a line and tell us a little more about what you think about our what if’s.

What you need:

Ready made pizza crust

2 chicken breasts

1/2 lb bacon

8oz fresh mozzarella cheese

5-6 fresh basil leaves

1 cup Heffys Sweet Mesquite bbq sauce

Directions:

Fire up your grill and cook up your chicken and bacon.  Lower your grill down to low and if you have a pizza stone, put it on your grill to get it heated up (if you don’t have a pizza stone you can just put your pizza directly on the grill but it is very easy to burn your crust that way…so, maybe ask for a pizza stone for your birthday  Cut/break up your chicken and bacon into bite size pieces, Chiffonade the basil and cut the fresh mozzarella into 1/4 inch slices.  Now it’s time to assemble your delicious pizza…place your crust on your stone and spread about half a cup of Heffys BBQ Sauce on top.  Spread the chicken and bacon evenly over the crust then apply the fresh basil and then the mozzarella on top.  Finally drizzle on the remaining Heffys BBQ Sauce and close the lid of your grill until your cheese is all melted.

That’s it, Cut and enjoy!  If you have had a chance to make this pizza and have added some other ingredients to it, please leave comments so we can all try your additions

Download HERE >>

Around the Heffys family, the iPhone is the phone of choice.  So we thought it would be a good idea to help out those of you that got a new iPhone with a little starter guide so you can hit the ground running.

Jason’s Top 5 iPhone apps:

1. Bible (free)- It’s the #1 ranked and rated app for reading and sharing the Bible with over 60k 5 star ratings.

2. Pandora (free)- Pandora Radio is your own free personalized radio now available to stream music on your iPhone or iPad.

3. RunKeeper (free, paid version available) -RunKeeper uses the GPS technology found in the iPhone to track your fitness activity, giving you comparable results to an expensive GPS watch at a fraction of the cost.

4. Netflix (free) – Get Netflix on your iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch. Just download this free app and you can instantly watch TV shows & movies streaming from Netflix.

5. Instagram (free) – Instagram is an amazingly fun & simple life-sharing app for your iPhone. Snap photos wherever you go to show the world what’s going on in your life.

Bonus: If you have a gmail account and want push email, contacts and calendar…head here to learn how to set that up  http://www.google.com/mobile/sync/

Got any apps you think should be on my Top 5?  Leave your favorites in the comments

JD

We all have a list, chances are if you are like us, you are scurrying around trying to check off one more item from that list very soon.  Perhaps we can help.  At Heffys, we love local.  Yeah that means we try to buy local when we can, and we support local as much as possible.  Here are a few of our “local” favorites:

Roasterie Coffee – Danny O’Neill, our new friend runs a sweet company in KC called The Roasterie. They make fantastic air roasted coffees, roasted right when you order.  Great group of people doing good.  We like their Bean Baron and Kansas City Blends.  Also, watch for our own Heffys #212 Blend coming soon! (Kansas City)

Chocolate Malts – Ryan and Sarah Zink, started this business just a few months ago.  They infuse Scotch into artisan crafted chocolates.  Sweet deal!  We love both alcohol and chocolate around our offices.  Ryan has been a good friend for several years, really cool to see him and Sarah making a go of it. (Wichita, KS)

Mama Dida’s Salsa and Nut Mixes – Dida rocks out some super fresh salsas and one of our favorite sweet and spicy nut mixes.  Plus she’s super cool. (Kansas City)

Art’s & Mary’s – Our boy Jeff at Art’s & Mary’s has some fantastic kettle style potato chips.  Take it from us, we have had a few.  Their Jalepeno or classic Salt & Vinegar are our favs and nothing like ordinary potato chips. (Cheny, KS…hint it’s close to Wichita)

Enjoy our suggestions and don’t forget to love your locals.