Maine may not be prime BBQ territory, but DennyMike has made it his mission to show that the Pine Tree State can produce quality "Q". DennyMike fell in love with Texas style BBQ in the 1970s and went on to expand his love and knowledge of "Q" in the subsequent years.

In 2002, he turned his love of "Q" into Denny Mike's Smokehouse BBQ & Deli. Though DennyMike's features several different styles of BBQ, Texas "Q" is still the emphasis. In addition to the restaurant, DennyMike also produces a wide variety of all natural,  small batch sauces and spice rubs.

BBQ was a prominant feature during our recent trip to Michigan. I used the vacation as an oppurtunity to test several new products on a variety of people. During the trip, I used three of DennyMike's signature spice blends.

On day one of our trip, we smoked chicken thighs with mesquite wood. I used DennyMike's Chick Magnet rub for all of the chicken. The Southwestern flavor blend, combined with the mesquite wood smoke gave the chicken a bold, authentic Texas flavor profile. It seemed to go over well with the host of Michiganders we were feeding.

Later that week, the family gathered for a low country shrimp boil. We loaded a 60 Qt. pot with corn, potatoes, smoked sausage and a mixed bag of seafood. We used DennyMike's Fintastic seafood seasoning (combined with Old Bay) in the boil. I also seasoned the food with the Fintastic blend after pouring onto the table. Fintastic is a salt and citrus blend that works well with almost any seafood. It was excellent on the shrimp and even added good flavor to the corn and potatoes.

DennyMike's Pixie Dust also came in handy when it came time to smoke pork ribs. I prefer a sweet rub for pork ribs so I combined the Pixie Dust with brown sugar and seasoned the ribs generously. Pixie Dust is mild, all purpose blend with a lower salt content than many BBQ rubs. It worked nicely when paired with the brown sugar as I prefer not to use much salt in my rib rubs. Pixie dust doesn't have a bold enough flavor to stand up to flavorfull meat cuts or sauces, but would work well as a flavor enhancer for chicken or vegetables.

For additional information about DennyMike's (including how to order their products) click the title of this review. Be sure to also check the "Product Reviews" page to see how DennyMike's rated.