Month: May 2007

I just remembered, a decision was taken, mainly by me but with just as much enthusiasm by my drunken mates, that the theme for this years season will be redneck country hicks. Mainly because we are going to be smoking so much stuff (no, not drugs) and roasting a whole pig and drinking lots of Bourbon we decided that we should use a Southern US dress code. This means cut down dungarees and straw hats for the guys and plenty of gingham and kerchief neck ties for the women. Hats are optional but the music will be American blues.

The following year, if any of us are still left, we are going for the Hawaiin them. Food will be pigs and pineapple, Mailbu and the dress codes will be grass skirts and garlands for the women, nothing else mind except for come hither smiles and maybe some Channel No 5, and garish shirts and long shorts for the guys. Obviously this seemed like a great idea when we were all three sheets to the wind and it remains to be seen if we pull it off or not but keep a look out for new photos in the gallery.

Cook em Dano……

Hi again, I know I sometimes bang the drum for the “Save the planet” mob, but after my smoker arrived, I knew I would not be able to power it with gas. I went to my local hardware store and priced up some charcoal which is something I have not done for a long time. It was with some sadness that I discovered that sustainable charcoal from managed copse’s is something like three times the cost of charcoal that does not. This caused something of a panic as it was then down to conscience over costs and my pockets are not very deep. I wish I could afford to be “green” but the charcoal has completely priced me out of it and any credentials I may have had have now been blown away by my lack of resources to be “green”. Anyway until I become a man of means I shall continue to use charcoal at a price I can afford.

On the plus side a delivery wagon turned up on my doorstep this morning with my grillslinger. For more details please go to this site, http://www.grillslinger.com , if only to see what I am on about and no I am not endorsing this product but it looks so cool I just had to have one. After trying it on and adjusting the belt for comfort I drew the speed tongs out of the holster and practised pulling the knife and the speed pro burger turner out of the holsters. Only time will tell if this thing really works and is of some use or is more of a novelty. As usual I will keep you lot informed with regular updates and details but I must admit that with a decent leather hat I could honestly say “Move over John  Wayne“. ………

 

 

 

Sunday morning arrived and with the sunshine cracking the flags I sparked up the new Brinkman smoker. Its only small but for the amount of meat I intended to cook I figured it would do the job. I had previously marinaded some ribs in “Kansas City Sloppy Rib dry rub”. I had also marinaded a pork shoulder in some “Jakes Boss Barbecue Rub”. To compliment the dry rubs I took some of the rib rub and placed it in a pan alonside come cider, bourbon and liquid smoke and boiled it til it was runny, I did the same with the pork rub but ommitted the Bourbon.

At 11am I lit the smoker and filled the water tray and placed some wood chips in it and waited for the smoker to come up to temperature. This took nearly an hour and it was noon before any meat entered the compartments in the smoker. One of the design flaws with the Brinkman is that there is only one door into the cooking compartment and this only allows you access to top up the fuel grate. To baste any of the meat you need to remove the lid and take out whatever food is in the top cooking rack and then remove the rack to get at any food on the lower rack. While this does not require any huge physical effort it does mean that a lot of heat is lost while the lid is off. The meat took some five hours to cook and then it was quite rare, safe to eat but too rare for some of the people who had called around for a demonstration and a taste test. Another side effect of a smoker is you have to have understanding neighbours. It does what it says on the tin, it produces smoke, lots of it.

Bearing this in mind a larger smoker is required with easier access to the food and one that doe not lose as much jeat when you open the cooking compartment for testing and basting. I have decided that this particular smoker will only be used occasionally as it is too slow and small for large gatherings. I have also noticed I have not seen any of my neighbours on either side since I lit it on Sunday morning. It looks like while I have been smoking they have been smouldering. I will have to ask them around to the next one.