tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-176629952024-03-07T12:07:28.890-06:00Half a Pica of UselessnessThe internet is full of uselessness. Me too.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.comBlogger1454125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-41506924056787800652010-08-05T21:34:00.003-05:002010-08-05T21:36:56.243-05:00New digsThings have been growing a bit stale 'round here. I've decided to make the move to Tumblr. <br /><br />You can find me at <a href="http://altleftarrow.tumblr.com/">Alt + Left Arrow</a>. There's not much there yet, but I am very fond of how Tumblr works so there will be stuff.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-12821760863402148142010-08-05T06:37:00.002-05:002010-08-05T06:52:09.330-05:00If you can't stand the heat...Don't move to Memphis. <br /><br />I have been to some awfully hot places on this planet and this summer in Memphis is ranked right up with the hottest. Our heat index hit 130 the other day. That kind of heat is just hard to fathom. How do you even contemplate doing anything outside in that kind of heat? I remember training for football season this time of year when I was in junior high - I would call child protective services on someone who wanted to make kids train outside in this weather. We got ourselves a miserable heat wave and who knows when it's going to end?<br /><br />However, about this time last year (middle of July, actually), our AC broke. And it was down for several days. We had to replace the entire unit, inside and out. It took time to get everthing installed and there were complications after that. Although them temps were 20 degrees cooler last summer, those few days made things plenty miserable. <br /><br />So, even though my AC struggles to keep my house in the low 80s during the peak heat of the day, it's a blessing to have it. But my next house will have two units :)Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-54932163563473840912010-08-03T10:26:00.002-05:002010-08-05T05:49:18.874-05:00The drive-time beat-downI used to be able to drive forever. Between J-Mom and me, we could have driven New York to LA in one continuous burst of tandem driving. But times have changed.<br /><br />This past weekend we drove from Memphis to my parents’ home in north-central Louisiana then to Dallas and then back home to Memphis. It’s been a while since I’ve done that kind of driving and it was tough. Tougher than I thought it would be. <br /><br />Daughter Number 1 and The Boy had been staying with my parents for the past couple of weeks. They had a great time, but were very ready to come home. After picking up the kids, we jutted out a bit further west to Dallas to visit some friends who moved from Memphis a little while ago.<br /><br />Our visit there was nice. It had been a very long time since I’d last been in Dallas – though technically we were in a suburb – I was pretty impressed at their traffic management. Sure, there’s still gridlock, but for a city its size, Dallas does pretty well. DN1 said that the area we were driving into reminder her of Phoenix, but with trees. I think it was a pretty apt description.<br /><br />We debated a bit over what to do with our time Sunday. There was some discussion about going to Six Flags, but rational thought won out. It was too hot, it would have been too crowded and a couple of the crew were not feeling 100 percent well. Instead we went <a href="http://www.goingbonkers.com/">here</a>. Fantastic way to spend some time on a hot day.<br /><br />Otherwise, a lot of time was spent watching shark-related programming and resting. J-Mom and her gal-pal got to spend a lot of time catching up and that made the trip all the more worthwhile. <br /><br />Up to this point, we all doing pretty well (other than a few sniffles and a couple of oncoming colds), but the drive home was brutal. Next time, and there will be a next time, we’ll have to have some time between driving in and driving out.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-67053708686531788952010-07-28T07:01:00.001-05:002010-07-28T07:09:34.655-05:00SmileI saw this at <a href="http://linkiest.com/">Linkiest</a>:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/smiles/index.shtml">Can you spot the fake smiles?</a><br /><br /><strong>My Results</strong><br />You got 14 out of 20 correct <br /><br />It's not as easy as it sounds.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-89328829272203362162010-07-26T08:06:00.000-05:002010-07-26T08:08:13.200-05:00Someone’s gotta do itSorry for the break in service, but I just haven’t had much to talk about. Everything’s either been kind of the same old-same old or just too depressing. <br /><br />On the same old front, things have been quiet around here. My parents took Daughter Number 1 and the boy with them back to Louisiana for a couple of weeks. We go to pick them up this coming weekend. It’s amazing how quiet the house gets when you only have one of three roaming around.<br /><br />This Saturday I volunteered at a certified barbecue judging class. I’ve been judging for the Kansas City Barbeque Society since earlier this year and it’s a lot of fun to be involved in this kind of stuff. It was a full class. There were 36 wannabe CBJs and the event organizer had to turn away about 12 more because we simply didn’t have and more room. These classes are great because you not only learn about the KCBS standards for barbecue, you get to go through what is essentially a mini-judging. The organizers provide samples of the four meat categories – chicken, ribs, pulled pork, brisket – and they’re presented to the students like they would be at a real contest. It’s a bit more laid back, but very similar. <br /><br />There is a contest coming up here in September that is part of the local International Goat Days Festival. I really wish I was clever enough to do something with all that information, but there it is. The local township has a goat fest, we’ve got a sanctioned barbecue contest as part of it and I can’t even find something funny to say about that. Goes to show my state of mind, I guess.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-8693897534920359362010-07-15T07:55:00.005-05:002010-07-15T09:39:08.331-05:00Happy 5th, Bo!My youngest turns 5 today! Five years packed full of moves, growth, change, craziness and barbecue.<br /><br />Bo is a source of constant joy. He has a wonderful sense of humor and is always interested in making people laugh.<br /><br />Below the fold here are a few things I've posted here about or inspired by my son. Happy birthday, boy.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br /><strong>Sept. 10, 2008<br /><br />He's bugging me to customize his tricycle</strong><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizc_5aV3aIrGn17QpiJAElnrkkaZS48gdsKZsz3991Bs6Qy-EM_g1n4lfe4U_ak9p1uyV06BfcY-TdRhgL_6n4r0DUk9wdgGNOH_3BlslJRERHwyBh0KhIETjhOhUxpBBJHdIH0g/s1600-h/S6300958.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5244529931025752562" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizc_5aV3aIrGn17QpiJAElnrkkaZS48gdsKZsz3991Bs6Qy-EM_g1n4lfe4U_ak9p1uyV06BfcY-TdRhgL_6n4r0DUk9wdgGNOH_3BlslJRERHwyBh0KhIETjhOhUxpBBJHdIH0g/s320/S6300958.JPG" border="0" /></a><br />That's completely untrue. He's upgraded to a bike recently. I just liked the biker gang image.<br /><br />I guess I should explain. Bo's been potty training. He gets a sticker every time he does #1. He gets a tattoo for every #2. As you can see, he's been a busy boy.<br /><br />He had another incentive. We bought him a Transformer and he had to go #2 ten times to earn it. He got his toy this morning.<br /><br /><strong>July 13, 2007<br /><br />Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy</strong><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMe4Qc70tZh5hTLdQhL38fudeQiOnjBMmgqj7SLZAFUEt6H27Sd7_67ljL0cE_qGQJYwy0DaDWORAQGE5_k7AmneClStB1MwuvpBmi8t90rMta3cJkJ_2A2YRe9XBtUa0RhGkK3g/s1600-h/Little+black+beret.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086494585444318690" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMe4Qc70tZh5hTLdQhL38fudeQiOnjBMmgqj7SLZAFUEt6H27Sd7_67ljL0cE_qGQJYwy0DaDWORAQGE5_k7AmneClStB1MwuvpBmi8t90rMta3cJkJ_2A2YRe9XBtUa0RhGkK3g/s200/Little+black+beret.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />Packing sucks.<br /><br />Sometimes, though, you run across an item that makes you pause for a minute.<br /><br />Here's the most beautiful boy in the world wearing his dad's old beret.<br /><br />His will probably be green.<br /><br /><strong>April 21, 2006<br /><br />The headbutt</strong><br /><br />I'm telling you, little boys are fun. And they make you contemplate things you never thought you would. My 9-month-old boy had me thinking, this morning, about the headbutt.<br /><br />The kind of wild abandon with which my little boy approaches life makes me realize that only a boy could have invented the headbutt. Let me explain:<br /><br />I have, on occasion, seen my girls headbutt. But it has only been because of an accident or because they have exhausted every other option available and to smack someone with their head is their only recourse. In their younger days, they might have lost some neck control or something and accidentally smacked you, but would never do it on purpose. I mean, that crap hurts!<br /><br />But my boy, God love him, seems to think that the large blunt object sittin on his shoulders is a perfect offensive weapon. When play fighting/tickling with my girls, he will try and get involved and will launch his head at his sisters.<br /><br />I can only pray for his future.<br /><strong><br />March 30, 2006<br /><br />The difference sublime </strong><br /><br />You know, there's nothing like an infant to make throw the differences between men and women into sharp relief. You know, I don't mean to sound divisive, but there are more differences between the genders than anatomy.<br /><br />Case in point: Both of my daughters, as infants, explored like most babies do. However, there was a sense of caution to everything they did. You could almost see the gears tick as they approached something, "Is this going to hurt me? Can I pull myself up on this?" And if they tried something, and it didn't work, they usually didn't try and do it again.<br /><br />Flash forward to present day. My boy, God love him, approaches everything he does with reckless abandon. I understand that there are probably plenty of infant boys that don't have a daredevil spirit, but I do know that a boy will do the same thing, over and over and over and over, expecting to get different results than the first time.<br /><br />It is with all this set up that I explain the main difference between my daughters and my son. At 8 months old, my boy has learned how to crawl down from things like ottomans and couches. My daughters never really wanted to do this, on purpose anyway. The huge difference is that my boy, while slowing his descent by holding on to the edge of the ottoman or couch, breaks his fall with his head.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-4391790072628555832010-07-14T14:58:00.001-05:002010-07-14T14:59:31.755-05:00Hitting deleteI had a nice, long post worked up where I was talking about hobbies and the energies we pour into them and I just had to select all-delete. Too whiny. Too scattered. Too … <br /><br />Whatever.<br /><br />In lieu of any enlightening content, here’s a thing:<br /><br /><!-- Begin I Write Like Badge --><br /><div style="overflow:auto;border:2px solid #ddd;font:20px/1.2 Arial,sans-serif;width:380px;padding:5px; background:#F7F7F7; color:#555"><img src="http://s.iwl.me/w.png" style="float:right" width="120"><div style="padding:20px; border-bottom:1px solid #eee; text-shadow:#fff 0 1px"> I write like<br><a href="http://iwl.me/w/c3e0655f" style="font-size:30px;color:#698B22;text-decoration:none">Vladimir Nabokov</a></div><p style="font-size:11px; text-align:center; color:#888"><em>I Write Like</em> by Mémoires, <a href="http://www.codingrobots.com/memoires/" style="color:#888">Mac journal software</a>. <a href="http://iwl.me" style="color:#333; background:#FFFFE0"><b>Analyze your writing!</b></a></p></div><br /><!-- End I Write Like Badge --><br /><br /><a href="http://iwl.me/s/c3e0655f">You too can try it!</a><br /><br />Of course, I ran through the thing a bunch of times with a bunch of different posts. Dan Brown popped up a few times (and I almost jumped out a window) , Stephen King a few times, Chuck Palahniuk several times, H.P. Lovecraft a couple and William Shakespeare once (right). So, I’m a very uneven writer. Tell me something new.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-43471290277558660692010-07-07T07:24:00.002-05:002010-07-07T07:26:00.411-05:00It really wasn’t that bad<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsmBBL5k7jH1zNeWHvxoYRmiycD1K97AscL6NkqbtvLlBXHFzlS1HO-K0dn9HENo3UVD-uvzlUVyEmBMB8XG0fF7jIkyIQ53Tmpp-LsfAekPwcn4-kg2KVZr0fW3B3B24rpItag/s1600/last-airbender-movie.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcsmBBL5k7jH1zNeWHvxoYRmiycD1K97AscL6NkqbtvLlBXHFzlS1HO-K0dn9HENo3UVD-uvzlUVyEmBMB8XG0fF7jIkyIQ53Tmpp-LsfAekPwcn4-kg2KVZr0fW3B3B24rpItag/s320/last-airbender-movie.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5491139294638400114" /></a>I took Daughter Number 1 and a couple of her gal pals to see The Last Airbender last night. Avatar: The Last Airbender is her absolute favorite program on TV. I didn’t know that much about it, but was pretty interested based on the previews I’d seen at movies and on TV, but then it started getting crucified by reviewers. It has an 8% fresh rating on Rottentomatoes; for some perspective, Twilight: Eclipse has a 53% rating, Signs (Perhaps Shyamalan’s dumbest film ever) has a 74% rating. Obviously some people just don’t know what the hell they’re talking about.<br /><br />Anyway, the plot’s not all that important. It is suffice to say that a young boy has a great destiny and a great power and is going on a great journey. Beyond that, there are lots of big fight scenes, action sequences and special effects. It this a good movie? Well, not really, but it’s not bad either. It’s a popcorn flick and as such it really gets a bit more leeway in my estimation. Also, it’s a popcorn flick geared toward younger audiences based on a kid’s cartoon. I just really don’t understand why so many reviewers feel the need to pile on all this hate. Let’s take another perspective shot – Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel has a 20% fresh rating. Come on! Again, The Last Airbender is no high-minded fare, but it’s better than animated chipmunks.<br /><br />My final analysis is to wait for video. It’s really not worth seeing in the theater. Oh, by the way, we saw it in 2D – after Alice in Wonderland I refuse to see any live-action film in 3D until convinced it really does something for the film – and it came off just fine.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-55772991110135114472010-07-01T05:42:00.001-05:002010-07-01T05:42:50.898-05:00Best therapist ever<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/APwfZYO1di4&hl=en_US&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/APwfZYO1di4&hl=en_US&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-20668797265054978652010-06-30T07:01:00.002-05:002010-06-30T07:13:46.035-05:00To have a new post<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96q54qiCko2BWcNU76El1eOxIULzct5kI0uLgPPn3UIVo4aWlistvvMHD6augqRboZs98f2H_WWxrIDDeKOw68oSjqITJ3fPYsofFKVd0y3H4eUIZc-Dp9c6opQLfQjcx6MSxmA/s1600/DW+logo+2.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488536826261911538" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 162px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj96q54qiCko2BWcNU76El1eOxIULzct5kI0uLgPPn3UIVo4aWlistvvMHD6augqRboZs98f2H_WWxrIDDeKOw68oSjqITJ3fPYsofFKVd0y3H4eUIZc-Dp9c6opQLfQjcx6MSxmA/s320/DW+logo+2.jpg" border="0" /></a>I've been neglecting ye olde blog, here for about a week, so I guess I need to put something up here. It's so much easier to post stuff on Facebook ... sigh<br /><br />The last of our company left Saturday. We drove them out to Little Rock to catch their flight. Next time we're gonna have to get folks to fly into Memphis! Little Rock's not too bad a drive, but it is three hours, one-way. Enough whining. We had a good time with all the family and they are already missed.<br /><br />I have a link of the day: <a href="http://io9.com/5575898/johnny-depp-playing-the-doctor-in-a-big%20screen-doctor-who-movie">Johnny Depp is rumored to play the title role in a rumored Doctor Who movie.</a> In a way, I'm happy that there's enough interest for a movie to be made, but I really don't <i>want</i> a movie to be made. I mean, why? Why do it (other than the obvious money reasons)? The series is great and rather cinematic. However, it would be nice to see the Doctor in action on the big screen, and I'm sure Johnny Depp would do well. <br /><br />The biggest problem with the proposed film is that Russell T. Davies may write the screenplay. Expect a movie full of hope and promise that ultimately leaves you feeling bitter and unsatisfied.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-47700816425127301092010-06-24T07:37:00.002-05:002010-06-24T07:42:29.232-05:00Uncanny valley and botox<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LlZOqzfKGKawFIQOjqOPLlypzTZEwqm_wAvu7G6kjXWr5FIsRU-1xXFm5jzNU1El2FV7TyCZCbSEfQPsfkAGCNeXrYMcivA6L6to4L38bcxbQ5350GqD5YwrGNSOVzOOKn2BnQ/s1600/Katy_unmasked.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7LlZOqzfKGKawFIQOjqOPLlypzTZEwqm_wAvu7G6kjXWr5FIsRU-1xXFm5jzNU1El2FV7TyCZCbSEfQPsfkAGCNeXrYMcivA6L6to4L38bcxbQ5350GqD5YwrGNSOVzOOKn2BnQ/s320/Katy_unmasked.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486319597624578562" /></a>The other day, my wife, sister-in-law and I were talking about plastic surgery and how unreal a lot of people are beginning to look because of botox and the like. We discussed how that unreality kind of inspires an unconscious revulsion in some people – admittedly, this is not a universal reaction, but I would argue there are enough to make the statement valid. Thinking along those lines, I was reminded of the theory of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley">Uncanny Valley.</a><br /><br />Please take a moment to check out the link – it’s a quick read – but, basically, the Uncanny Valley theory deals with robotics and animation. It postulates that when robots and animation look *almost* like humans, it inspires revulsion. <a href="http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/UncannyValley">TV Tropes has a good section with some practical examples.</a> Thinking in terms of animation, there’s a reason why animators cartoon-up their products. Think about the movie the Polar Express or the CGI in Beowulf – they were both *realistic* but still not quite right. For a lot of people, this was a huge turn off.<br /><br />Now, to take this a step further and into the realm of plastic surgery, think about stars who have been accused of using botox (or <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&source=hp&q=bad+botox&aq=f&aqi=g10&aql=f&oq=&gs_rfai=C-BX_zksjTPbgAqPuzATv7fXRCgAAAKoEBU_QUoNy">Google</a>). The Wiki Uncanny Valley link has this to say about the phenomenon as it pertains to what they call transhumanism:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">According to writer Jamais Cascio, a similar "uncanny valley" effect could show up when humans begin modifying themselves with transhuman enhancements (cf. body modification), which aim to improve the abilities of the human body beyond what would normally be possible, be it eyesight, muscle strength, or cognition.[29] So long as these enhancements remain within a perceived norm of human behavior, a negative reaction is unlikely, but once individuals supplant normal human variety, revulsion can be expected. However, according to this theory, once such technologies gain further distance from human norms, "transhuman" individuals would cease to be judged on human levels and instead be regarded as separate entities altogether (this point is what has been dubbed "posthuman"), and it is here that acceptance would rise once again out of the uncanny valley.[29] Another example comes from "pageant retouching" photos, especially of children, which some[30] find disturbingly doll-like.</span></blockquote><br />The TV Tropes link specifically mentions botox in their categories of where to find examples of the Uncanny Valley:<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;">Botox (or any plastic surgery disasters for that matter) tends to send a real flesh and blood person sliding into the Uncanny Valley. Examples: Dolly Parton, Joan Rivers, Dr. Frederick Brandt (who is a client to his own products).<br />- Collagen injections make some vict... er, patients have faces bloated like someone with a shellfish allergy at an all-you-can-eat shrimp bar.<br />- You've seen nothing. <a href="http://img.listal.com/image/698782/500full-marijke-helwegen.jpg">Say "Hi" to Marijke Helwegen</a>, a walking advertisement for plastic surgery.</span></blockquote><br />All this to basically say that I’m fascinated by all of this. It makes perfect sense to me and it explains exactly why you can look at a photo of a recently botoxed film or TV star and think they look great, but feel quite put off when you see a video of them. Because that’s another part of the theory – the uneasiness is far more extreme in motion than in stills.<br /><br />Again, I’m not really going anywhere with this. Just thought it was interesting.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-7983229817759996692010-06-22T15:19:00.003-05:002010-06-22T15:52:37.551-05:00Michael Yon still isn't rightThere are those who are calling the <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/17390/119236">Rollng Stone article on Gen. McChrystal</a> proof that everything Yon has been saying the past several months has been true. Maybe Yon called it on McChrystal, I think the jury's still out on that, but maybe. A Blackfive author has <a href="http://www.blackfive.net/main/2010/06/looks-like-yon-was-right.html">come out in support of Yon</a> and U.S. Report has gone as far as <a href="http://www.theusreport.com/the-us-report/2010/6/22/michael-yons-criticism-of-mcchrystal-deemed-prophetic.html">calling Yon "prophetic."</a> Again, maybe he was right about McChrystal. However my beefs with Yon (<a href="http://halfapica.blogspot.com/2010/04/michael-yon-and-milbloggers-growing.html">here</a> and <a href="http://halfapica.blogspot.com/2010/06/opsec-michael-yon-and-stfu.html">here</a>) have nothing to do with his feelings about McChrystal and everything to do with his presentation of himself, his professionalism (the lack thereof) and the fact that he will not legitimately debate any point but rather launches attacks and slings expletives at those who would dare question him.<br /><br />Take a moment to check out this audio clip from the G. Gordon Liddy show featuring Yon and Blackfive's Uncle Jimbo: <a href="http://feeds.radioamerica.org/loudwater/ggl/000002561_000_000000006.mp3">LINK</a>. Does Yon actually <i><b>say</b></i> anything here? <br /><br />I must again say that I have been a fan of Yon for a very long time and it pained me greatly when he started launching all these attacks against the "crazy monkeys," etc. I would so like to see him go back to reporting, letting us know what the guys on the ground think. He needs to get his voice out of the story. And just one bit of advice for him: If it seems like the world is out to get you, maybe you need to think about why.<br /><br /><b>UPDATE:</b> OK, maybe they had a little to do with his feelings about McChrystal, but it was more about the way he presented them than how he actually felt. One day he was praising McChrystal as brilliant, the next day (after losing his embed) he's criticizing him and the "crazy monkeys."Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-1462707331584767092010-06-22T11:34:00.002-05:002010-06-22T11:39:05.827-05:00Findings on the Square<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCauQIuOjdmUAjv-6KkmnkkcWyHdiYJan9K3-qDSzAfNq4A_x_Ubj0hACsS-yOjP1EibO0cAxmn9HrIBj2Df3gaxOTp4IoVAnQkH31omuiZGtwLN8fcfDVsaQeSskEHpw3e-14zg/s1600/MtnView.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCauQIuOjdmUAjv-6KkmnkkcWyHdiYJan9K3-qDSzAfNq4A_x_Ubj0hACsS-yOjP1EibO0cAxmn9HrIBj2Df3gaxOTp4IoVAnQkH31omuiZGtwLN8fcfDVsaQeSskEHpw3e-14zg/s320/MtnView.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485638436924949122" /></a>I spent the majority of this past Saturday in Mountain View, AR. I had never been there before and it is quite a lovely little town. I was there for a barbecue contest, but what really captivated me was their old-timey town square. I wish I had gotten a better picture of the square, but all the barbecue teams were set up around it and I didn’t really have a good shot. This pic of one of the square’s main drags kind of gives you an idea of what’s going on there – all the little, eclectic shops right in a row. <br /><br />After the judges’ check-in, there is usually an hour or so to kill before the competition starts. That’s usually spent shooting shit with your fellow judges or walking around and seeing what teams are competing (though we’re not allowed to fraternize with teams on judge day until after judging), but this time, with so many cool shops offered, I decided to walk around and see what there was to see.<br /><br />There were a lot of flea market style stores masquerading as “woodworking,” “general store,” and “military surplus.” In the military surplus store I stumbled upon something I’ve been kind of craving for a while – old school cast iron pans. Anyone who has bought cast-iron cookware recently is familiar with the texture of modern pans. It has a rough, pebble-blasted texture that is nothing like the smooth finish of pans our grandmothers used. So, to find some old Griswold pans (stacks of them!) in this store was quite the find. Better than having found them was the price. I picked up a 10-inch skillet and almost dropped it on my foot when I saw they only wanted $22 for it. <br /><br />Now, did I buy any? Of course not. I pretty much had gas money for the day and couldn’t really see myself spending the money for something I don’t really *need*, but, man, it was hard not to. <br /><br />Sometimes window shopping has to suffice. But there will be future trips to Mountain View. <a href="http://www.blanchardcavetours.com/">Blanchard Springs Caverns is</a> only 15 miles north of the town. It’s only a three-hour drive, so that’s a perfect family trip on a long weekend. Caverns and cast iron sounds pretty cool to me.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-62523997616878925472010-06-16T07:40:00.002-05:002010-06-16T07:59:07.515-05:00I've got companyThe mother-in-law and sister-in-law arrived Saturday and are staying two weeks. The brother-in-law and my three nephews arrived yesterday. <br /><br />My house is exceeding max capacity.<br /><br />It's cool though because we don't get to see everyone very often. It's been a year since we got to see MIL and SIL, about that long for BIL and longer since I've seen my nephews (tehcnically, I haven't seen them this time yet either, they got in after I went to bed last night). <br /><br />The next few days should be quite interesting.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-83385361335853313562010-06-14T09:16:00.002-05:002010-06-14T09:20:16.717-05:00Happy 235th US Army<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEink7tp-TzJ1R5VjYo5pKz14xrSvJoO6DZ69trs7SqejFZZF8YG6KzH0xdqbSTS4jEPQfZtiME2LQnsZ5NJYafpx9fgjfkfewA4yctLCcCxqTYWLP4BuaTPYbnMm3czksgtWVb98A/s1600/US+Army.bmp"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 242px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEink7tp-TzJ1R5VjYo5pKz14xrSvJoO6DZ69trs7SqejFZZF8YG6KzH0xdqbSTS4jEPQfZtiME2LQnsZ5NJYafpx9fgjfkfewA4yctLCcCxqTYWLP4BuaTPYbnMm3czksgtWVb98A/s320/US+Army.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482633515131314962" /></a><br /><br />I am proud of my 9 years out of that 235. I miss a lot of things about it. And there are a lot of things I most certainly do not miss. What's weird is that a lot of the things I find myself missing now are things that, at the time, sucked the most.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-19869117095197189412010-06-14T08:56:00.002-05:002010-06-14T09:05:55.644-05:00OPSEC, Michael Yon and STFU<a href="http://www.blackfive.net/main/2010/06/michael-yon-proudly-violating-opsec.html">Uncle Jimbo at BLACKFIVE has yet another piece up concerning Michael Yon.</a><br /><br />Please go read it, but for those of you who don't Yon received an email from a troop in Afghanistan who completely violated OPSEC by telling Yon all of the flaws in the security at the FOB where he is posted. Yon, rather than informing the chain of command, goes and posts it for the world to see on his HIGHLY-TRAFFICKED website and Facebook pages. <br /><br />Now, for whatever reason, OPSEC tightened. Did Yon's post have anything to do with that? Who knows? But the truth is that this might embolden other troops out there to attempt the same thing. Or worse. And eventually this is going to bite us in the ass. <br /><br />I’ve got personal ties to both fronts of this war, but OPSEC doesn’t only matter when someone you know has their neck on the live. It should always matter. <br /><br />The soldier out there in the sand knows better and Yon should damn well know better too. Yon continually beats up McChrystal and Army PAOs for being kicked off embeds. Well, after publishing crap like this it doesn’t surprise me one little bit. Hopefully Yon never finds his way back onto the battle field. Dude went from being one of the greatest voices for our forces in the war to being a huge liability.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-34002024890070835702010-06-14T08:16:00.004-05:002010-06-14T08:52:44.146-05:00The trials of barbecue judge<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbQPubLGJRjz9IQRt7jK_jzMEom-AR3X48I5Eqc-WakZj1RSF5LwloP-0p6ZLZIUJfyoAzxjO6CmjpCxtzMNUP63IzMFCrTpL4J3EcqYnWlT6oFDlNTDj7fcz3u3rBQ7EFwCndg/s1600/Nesbit+01.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 244px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhbQPubLGJRjz9IQRt7jK_jzMEom-AR3X48I5Eqc-WakZj1RSF5LwloP-0p6ZLZIUJfyoAzxjO6CmjpCxtzMNUP63IzMFCrTpL4J3EcqYnWlT6oFDlNTDj7fcz3u3rBQ7EFwCndg/s320/Nesbit+01.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482622832826738194" /></a><br />Barbecue contest number four took me to Nesbit, MS, on Saturday for the 2nd Annual Desoto Shrine BBQ contest. It was a lovely area and the Shriners have quite the compound out there. The contest was part of a larger event - the Shriners had a car and tractor show and a concert for the evening. I didn't stay for any of that - just the barbecue - but I got to see some nice cars and cool, old tractors. <br /><br />It was kind of intimidating to be honest. The Shriners' compound was, as my choice of the word "compound" implies, a fenced-in area with several buildings. There were a lot of bikers helping control the influx of vehicles. Once parked though, they had tractors pulling trailors of hay bales giving rides to the back of the compound where there was a little pond where they held the contest. It was within walking distance of the parking lot, a good walk, but still a reasonable one, but the heat was so extreme that the ride was welcome. Temps were in the mid-90s Saturday with a heat index making the "feels like" temperture soar to the mid-100s. Fortunately our judging was inside where the AC was kicking.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs63bysn83bUdd0E_mPQVdQgmYCvdi67KV5NZxTN5uWT9s8BZo69o6w0vquumRkwKgsr4azszXhC-KXGTLGswNadXbs9WR67_kwT4aOfjaVuf729j19J8yNydIN4Wkyfok2GBZw/s1600/Nesbit+02.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZs63bysn83bUdd0E_mPQVdQgmYCvdi67KV5NZxTN5uWT9s8BZo69o6w0vquumRkwKgsr4azszXhC-KXGTLGswNadXbs9WR67_kwT4aOfjaVuf729j19J8yNydIN4Wkyfok2GBZw/s320/Nesbit+02.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5482622958155860114" /></a><br />We're not allowed to photograph any of the entries, so this is as close to that as I can get. My judging plate, scoring slip, pencil and water - all the essentials - are ready to go. Unfortunately, the fact that this was still a young event was pretty evident. There were a few experienced teams out there, but my table didn't seem to get any of their entries (except maybe for the pork category). Overall the entries we judged weren't as good, on average, as my previous three competitions. But none were as bad as the worst I've had, either. <br /><br />According to the contest reps, this was the first year the event was sanctioned by KCBS, so I guess it's to be expected that the majority of teams were going to be newer to the competition circuit. The event itself was very well organized and went off without a hitch on our end of things. I plan to judge the event again next year. Hopefully it will pull some teams away from some of the other nearby events that go on the same weekend. This has a superior prize purse to some of them. We'll have to wait and see.<br /><br />Next weekend - Mountain View, AR.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-63645703444942887182010-06-10T09:29:00.003-05:002010-06-10T09:39:51.200-05:00Plug and a postThe plug: Hey, check out the snazzy new poll I posted today in my sidebar. Let me know what you use to cook out with.<br /><br />The post: Earlier J-Mom called me to let me know that my son, yet again, was being cute.<br /><br />Some background - The Boy has never approached playing with toys quite the same way I did as a youth. He's always thought of playing with toys as "making movies." He'd set everything up and play with them, but he wasn't "playing" he was shooting his movie. At first, he wondered why he couldn't see them on TV, but has since come to realize that he has to shoot them with a camera, etc.<br /><br />Over the past couple of days, he's gotten very interested in the concept of making real movies. He wants to make a movie that pits his hero - All Powers Man (who he portrays), against the villain - some kind of guy who freezes things (portrayed by me, apparently). He was talking to J-Mom about the costume - see, All Powers Man cycles through his powers by punching a button on his costume.<br /><br />He's four years old, people. OK, almost five. But still.<br /><br />Is this what a budding filmmaker looks like? If so, it’s pretty freaking cool in my estimation. I think we’ll be breaking out the Flip cam over the course of the next few weeks and see what we can do with it. I have some video editing software too, so we may even be able to add some special effects!<br /><br />I think we’re going to have a lot of fun with this.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-32030224207343778872010-06-09T12:02:00.011-05:002010-06-09T12:31:50.930-05:00Making better barbecue part 4Having covered some of the essentials in cookers and cooking (<a href="http://halfapica.blogspot.com/2010/06/making-better-barbecue-pt-1.html">Part 1</a>, <a href="http://halfapica.blogspot.com/2010/06/making-better-barbecue-pt-2.html">Part 2,</a> and <a href="http://halfapica.blogspot.com/2010/06/making-better-barbecue-pt-3.html">Part 3</a>), I thought I’d cover some outdoor cooking accessories that, while not necessarily essential, make outdoor cooking easier. <br /><br />You have a cooker. You have meat, rub, sauces, etc. You’re ready to get your barbecue on! And, well, that’s pretty much true. But what I’m about to list are some items some pitmasters consider indispensible while some are just nice to have.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><strong>Chimney Starter</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbofHBAzxYgpq_MMQiuOMp-mhAAtrxvQ6pm7nQtsBn1P4ozkmZtHArB14P_SP54F6gKRdVluEfOIvKNN6BNKXrvqc1vcfwP0FEFcuTVFmo3HTFdf9LiZlhLlCksbAfol2AK9zbMw/s1600/chimney+starter.bmp"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbofHBAzxYgpq_MMQiuOMp-mhAAtrxvQ6pm7nQtsBn1P4ozkmZtHArB14P_SP54F6gKRdVluEfOIvKNN6BNKXrvqc1vcfwP0FEFcuTVFmo3HTFdf9LiZlhLlCksbAfol2AK9zbMw/s320/chimney+starter.bmp" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480820639352552274" /></a><br />While I’ve spent many years using that demon juice – lighter fluid – I’ve repented and come back from the dark side. There is no more important an item outside of cooker, meat and fuel, than a chimney. You should buy this along with your cooker and if you already have a grill or smoker, you should go out and buy one now and give up that lighter fluid right now! It’s amazing the difference you’ll realize in the taste of your meat. If you’ve been using lighter fluid for some time, the best thing to do would be to get yourself some Greased Lightning or Simple Green and clean out your grill. Coat it lightly with some vegetable or canola oil and get a good, high-heat fire going and burn it out. It’ll be like starting over and you’ll get most if not all of that old lighter-fluid buildup out before starting anew with your chimney. <br /><br /><strong>Barbecue tongs</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcjA5XdvMKpriSlqIZpnRtXjdUBflUHlpkXuenKwGRvB0b2fxWD-70mnrpB6KIskvQXF7L2tWswA8h1XjWwVljQYlIWdsyvjcVf1TUN8Wg03gC1A198KQ6kjuOBWmb0KqPO5M0Q/s1600/tongs.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPcjA5XdvMKpriSlqIZpnRtXjdUBflUHlpkXuenKwGRvB0b2fxWD-70mnrpB6KIskvQXF7L2tWswA8h1XjWwVljQYlIWdsyvjcVf1TUN8Wg03gC1A198KQ6kjuOBWmb0KqPO5M0Q/s320/tongs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480821024960215762" /></a><br />The next thing I think of when I think of a “must have” barbecue tool is my set of tongs. This seems like a no-brainer – how else are you going to tend to your smoked products? – but you need to think about some things when buying your tongs. You don’t want to just buy the first set you see on sale at Target or whatever. If you’re cooking pork butts and briskets, you’re dealing with big hunks o’ meat between 8 and 16 pounds. You need to make sure that 1) Your tongs can support that kind of weight, 2) They can open wide enough and get a good enough grip on that Boston Butt you’re spending 12-plus hours preparing. <br /><br /><strong>Heavy-duty foil</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHm6UPlM0w29hO7Tc7gEeJ1O6c0dtGI0M4S831GOixjdgHhzJRVw8yIl7h2oOyrc0ebjNYZygRrpzXTAXzI-dk5Tyh0vTnakXWlGkN7BgN5DjuxSaVf1nAsa8V3JuRraZB1RdPQ/s1600/heavy+duty+foil.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 139px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikHm6UPlM0w29hO7Tc7gEeJ1O6c0dtGI0M4S831GOixjdgHhzJRVw8yIl7h2oOyrc0ebjNYZygRrpzXTAXzI-dk5Tyh0vTnakXWlGkN7BgN5DjuxSaVf1nAsa8V3JuRraZB1RdPQ/s320/heavy+duty+foil.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480821458227793554" /></a><br />Foil is the duct tape of outdoor cooking. I use heavy-duty foil for so many things. I wrap ribs, butts and briskets to help capture moisture and increase tenderness after the meat’s cooked for a few hours. I wrap meat to rest it after a cook (which, by the way, you should always do). I use foil to help dampen air flow in my grill. I use it to wrap my water pan in high-heat smokes. If you can think of something you want to add to your cooker, chances are you can kludge it with foil until you figure out a better way. <br /><br /><strong>Chef's knife</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRkjkiTdobR4qX3yXh5khOKlK3d5lhs-pnD1mO5ZyEd3mzXIURPZLGuOq2ARq0B54SyFhVtpAzFgv3DFak05I_UmqX4sFEOoLe9CONAc6jtBF_CXpoNsq8mpIKoQuT-EEAL0sXA/s1600/chef+knife.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRkjkiTdobR4qX3yXh5khOKlK3d5lhs-pnD1mO5ZyEd3mzXIURPZLGuOq2ARq0B54SyFhVtpAzFgv3DFak05I_UmqX4sFEOoLe9CONAc6jtBF_CXpoNsq8mpIKoQuT-EEAL0sXA/s320/chef+knife.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480827691913861858" /></a><br />A good chef's knife is an invaluable tool for preparing your products for the grill. From removing the membrane from your ribs or slicing up your veggies, one really good knife will quickly earn its keep. I'm not knife expert, but we have a couple of five-inch Pampered Chef utility knives that are priceless. I've read that you can't go wrong with Wusthof or Henckels. What I do know is that you certainly get what you pay for in a good knife.<br /><br /><strong>Instant-read thermometer</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSb_K0hcv1Udg6Wpb86ZMm34zPVotfJweAE2H00AhLxOiNN_vqmM9WzwEq2oMa3W4HNMiQ-OQFegVNeHiU627_0qcHKyCHOz4SnFXV16CCcEr3qZuPaKxv93Q2dtlrYna3A1qxFg/s1600/Thermapen.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 258px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSb_K0hcv1Udg6Wpb86ZMm34zPVotfJweAE2H00AhLxOiNN_vqmM9WzwEq2oMa3W4HNMiQ-OQFegVNeHiU627_0qcHKyCHOz4SnFXV16CCcEr3qZuPaKxv93Q2dtlrYna3A1qxFg/s320/Thermapen.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480821796581673842" /></a><br />There are tons of quick-read standard or digital thermometers out there. Some are good, some are bad, but the absolute best product – according to its users FWTW – is the Thermapen. You will pay a motha-flipping premium for it though. While your Kitchenaid or similar portable therm may set you back $20 or so, that Thermapen is going to cost your $100 or better. Do you really need a three-second read time (or better)? That’s up to you. I will say, for long cooks, the longer you take that lid off, the more time you add to your cook. But I don’t own a Thermapen; my $20 digital thermometer works just fine. <br /><br /><strong>Remote thermometer</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTE-gP9AA8rSNqCKAWpR3JWlU4ebLoMiz_OCxvpSv4ZQA2IQ-OZ1loCkwqn-5qngTCgMrtqCmQRNhd-NKYydsWdX3J2jI2p9KVyQZC8E2TNAR2ALtPzvvyCL_RMjo5nqqbJGboxw/s1600/et73.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 238px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTE-gP9AA8rSNqCKAWpR3JWlU4ebLoMiz_OCxvpSv4ZQA2IQ-OZ1loCkwqn-5qngTCgMrtqCmQRNhd-NKYydsWdX3J2jI2p9KVyQZC8E2TNAR2ALtPzvvyCL_RMjo5nqqbJGboxw/s320/et73.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480822373738684210" /></a><br />Remote thermometers are awesome. For a really long cook (anything longer than 5 or 6 hours in my book) they’re a Godsend. They allow you to monitor the temps of your meat or cooker (or both) while you’re inside relaxing. When I ordered my WSM, I ordered <a href=" http://www.amazon.com/Weber-6438-Professional-Grade-Barbecue-Thermometer/dp/B000WEONU2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1276096853&sr=1-1">this Weber remote thermometer</a> at the same time because the site I ordered from had a good sale on it. Had I done a little more research before hand, though, I would have ordered the Maverick ET-73. The Weber only allows me to monitor one meat and it has presets – it is similar to another Maverick’s product – their ET-7. The Maverick ET-73 allows you to monitor a meat and cooker temps or two meats and is fully programmable. The remote therm is not a necessity, but, man, it sure is nice.<br /><br /><strong>Welding gloves</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSPceHV9iU9gGzCGhv3L8VzXoBdjSYfk-UdJt3rYPx2cXou48afWdt_Q3jPZ-I0XFgomILiEI7jMN6_cxhVC3poGxGQXI4HTaWBqx-GtSzw5BAUJXx1ESPdybSBNoL-S_J07gnQ/s1600/welding+gloves.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXSPceHV9iU9gGzCGhv3L8VzXoBdjSYfk-UdJt3rYPx2cXou48afWdt_Q3jPZ-I0XFgomILiEI7jMN6_cxhVC3poGxGQXI4HTaWBqx-GtSzw5BAUJXx1ESPdybSBNoL-S_J07gnQ/s320/welding+gloves.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480822925774646482" /></a><br />You can go spend a premium price for a set of specialized barbecue mitts that are cumbersome and make it very difficult to manipulate your tools or cooker, OR you can spend far less money and get a pair of welding gloves that do the same job and give you the full mobility of a five-fingered glove. My barbecue mitt predates my getting this sage advice, so I hope I preempt some of y’all.<br /><br /><strong>Meat injector</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyJKv0Ikh9LhAxk9Bizdwp9FPZuo6OWktgd8jKGhgyAobM7m_UhV5Egg9BYsAqCNPTXW8oQ9bxliGILKtgoBJscn2gdQ5hGaL7jbRlAM-OngXOMXwJw-LR_-ZITWzfyNVjwOqEw/s1600/Weston+injector.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyJKv0Ikh9LhAxk9Bizdwp9FPZuo6OWktgd8jKGhgyAobM7m_UhV5Egg9BYsAqCNPTXW8oQ9bxliGILKtgoBJscn2gdQ5hGaL7jbRlAM-OngXOMXwJw-LR_-ZITWzfyNVjwOqEw/s320/Weston+injector.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480823110917068850" /></a><br />I mentioned in an earlier post about marinades and injections. For big cuts like Boston butts or briskets, a marinade is only going to do some good if you inject it. You can go and spend five bucks at Wallyworld and get one of those cheap, plastic injectors with the flimsy needle. Chances are you’ll use it once and decide it’s not worth it to try again, or you might wind up buying one every Thanksgiving to help out with your turkey. If you really want to get into flavoring your meats and want to inject, you need to consider a higher-quality injector. A four-ounce all-metal injector will run you $20-$25, but you can shoot the moon. There are pump models that have external reservoir tanks and vacuum models that shoot the injection in for you. <br /><br />Have fun looking at and playing with your toys, but the most important thing is to practice!Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-82616007757063186442010-06-07T13:24:00.001-05:002010-06-07T13:26:17.088-05:00One-handed handstand FTW<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2_cwf5OQD2Tid79ASQZr6XQ_hRiLXx4z0ze6uv77EIp1KtkUr2dpAwnNldRv5CHuyTNCuN20e2EJP-h8FPZrM2iY_amKMHLQcvDEQBHnFr8J3ndYExAf0Ep9QVmCjCFfJ5LK6g/s1600/IMG00362-20100607-1232.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 168px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2_cwf5OQD2Tid79ASQZr6XQ_hRiLXx4z0ze6uv77EIp1KtkUr2dpAwnNldRv5CHuyTNCuN20e2EJP-h8FPZrM2iY_amKMHLQcvDEQBHnFr8J3ndYExAf0Ep9QVmCjCFfJ5LK6g/s320/IMG00362-20100607-1232.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480099583371562354" /></a><br /><br />Daughter Number 2 is awesome.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-83269490212473250182010-06-04T13:36:00.002-05:002010-06-04T13:40:11.593-05:00Making better barbecue pt. 3<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOqRA121EFe0GBwr9-p6Ve4cN7lXJeH4N2-UU1vT1JExo8NKhZ751d2QLH6vm8b9hlcF3-4qAf1UQ5yGy8wznM5ha_AwkFQ8C9i74ftzjUVPufRRWAkURT_Akf5gxc5rNxopDCQ/s1600/Rub+mix.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoOqRA121EFe0GBwr9-p6Ve4cN7lXJeH4N2-UU1vT1JExo8NKhZ751d2QLH6vm8b9hlcF3-4qAf1UQ5yGy8wznM5ha_AwkFQ8C9i74ftzjUVPufRRWAkURT_Akf5gxc5rNxopDCQ/s320/Rub+mix.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478989791897853138" /></a>In <a href="http://halfapica.blogspot.com/2010/06/making-better-barbecue-pt-1.html"><b>Part 1</b></a> I talked about the various types of barbecue smokers and some of the pluses and minuses of the different types. <a href="http://halfapica.blogspot.com/2010/06/making-better-barbecue-pt-2.html"><b>In Part 2</b></a> I talked about meat prepping and cooking. In this installment, I want to talk a little about seasoning. In the barbecue world that means rubs and sauces.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Just like finding the right smoker, picking the right meat and cooking it correctly, spicing well enhances your barbecue tremendously. I have mentioned that “less is more” in both parts one and two and that advice is perhaps most important when talking about your rubs and sauces. It’s easy to put too much rub on your meat. It’s easy to drown your meat in sauce. It’s easy to put too many spices together in your rub. It’s easy to add too much of one ingredient or another when making a sauce. It’s best to add slowly, taste often and remember that you can always add more later.<br /><br /><b>Rubs</b><br />If you were to ask 100 Pitmasters what the best rub is, you’re likely to get 1,000 different answers. I think the reason for that is because we all like different spices on different meats, we like different spices at different times and we like variety. There are a wealth of rubs available in stores and online. Here are a few I have tried or want to try:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.corkysbbq.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=67&vmcchk=1&Itemid=55">Corky’s</a><br /><a href="http://www.hogsfly.com/Category.php?category_id=3">Rendezvous</a> (Not terribly fond, but it is unique and makes for a decent change now and then)<br /><a href="http://dancingpigs.com/">Dancing Pig</a><br /><a href="http://www.hawgeyesbbq.com/blueshog/">Blues Hog</a><br /><a href="http://www.striplings.com/barbeque-seasoning.aspx">Striplings</a> (I linked their barbecue seasoning, but their gourmet steak seasoning is amazing, too! I really miss living close to this place.)<br /><a href="http://www.bigbobgibsonbbq.com/">Big Bob Gibson</a> <br /><br />Of course, a lot of the fun of barbecuing at home is making your own rubs. It makes the end product more you own. I live in Memphis, and I think Memphis-style rubs are a wonderful place to start if you want to start making your own rubs. A basic Memphis rub is simple and can be easily tweaked to individual tastes. <br /><br />I found this simple recipe <a href="http://bbq.about.com/od/rubrecipes/r/bl90710b.htm">here</a>:<br />- 2 tablespoons paprika <br />- 1 tablespoon salt <br />- 1 tablespoon onion powder <br />- 1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper <br />- 2 teaspoons cayenne <br /><br />And here’s another I found <a href="http://www.bbqreport.com/archives/barbecue/2005/07/19/recipe-memphis-style-pork-ribs/">here</a>:<br />- 1/4 cup paprika <br />- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar <br />- 2 tablespoons black pepper <br />- 1 tablespoon salt <br />- 1 tablespoon celery salt <br />- 2 teaspoons garlic powder <br />- 2 teaspoons dry mustard <br />- 2 teaspoons cumin <br />- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper <br /><br />I think the amount of cayenne is a little aggressive in the first recipe and the amount of cumin is aggressive in the second. I would reduce the amount to 1 teaspoon in both recipes. This second one is very close to what I make. I don’t use celery salt or dry mustard, but otherwise this is pretty much the flavor profile I shoot for.<br /><br />I have been playing around with fennel and coriander. It’s a work in progress. Fennel gets very strong quickly, but I’m finding it difficult to use enough coriander to get the flavor to come out to my liking. Anyway – the point is, start simple and experiment.<br /><br />There is some debate over the use of sugar in rubs. I like it. Many folks don’t like the sweetness or think the ribs will burn. If you don’t like that much sweetness, I suggest cutting back on the sugar but not removing it entirely because it helps form the bark. If you think your rub will burn, well, it won’t if you’re barbecuing. If you’re grilling, it very well could. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=18492">This link</a> provides a wonderful explanation of one backyard barbecuer’s experimentation on the use of sugar and sweeteners in smoking (as well as some other spices and sauces). What led him to experiment is the knowledge that in candy making, sugar does not burn until it exceeds 350 degrees. Since low and slow barbecue is generally done below 275 degrees, the chances for the sugars to burn are pretty minimal. If you cook ribs on a grill, though, you might have some problems. <br /><br />A final note on making rubs, I am not a spice purist and will more often than not shop for the cheaper price, but I will say that there is something about grinding your own spices. Fresh-ground pepper has a flavor that a bottle of McCormick does not. That said, I have a problem going out and spending tons of money at <a href="http://www.penzeys.com/">Penzeys</a>, so I pick up some peppercorns at Costco. I buy some dried peppers at Walmart. But even going this economy route, there is a flavor difference in those spices. I like Paprika as a base for a rub, but grinding some dried New Mexico or Ancho peppers instead makes quite a difference. Food for thought. <br /><br />Once you have the rub you plan to use, it’s time to season your meat (which doesn’t sound as euphemistically nasty as I first thought). I found the following photo (<a href=" http://backyard-barbeque.blogspot.com/2009/08/smoked-spare-ribs-august-15th-2009.html ">here, check out the entire blog BTW</a>, lots of cool info) which I think perfectly illustrates good application technique:<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-wRPp1C-MR94ik9aAKCGyaQXt33Nw-VvoO4_Mkmc9M63sJI8MBS5UAvTOF9-rSbgJWHts7B2RBq6XsVKu_zOhB9klwomkO_Cs9C_mLAKQ6cOD5iSSCRfyEsHlaop95MabWezaw/s1600/How+to+Apply+Rub+to+Ribs.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 277px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-wRPp1C-MR94ik9aAKCGyaQXt33Nw-VvoO4_Mkmc9M63sJI8MBS5UAvTOF9-rSbgJWHts7B2RBq6XsVKu_zOhB9klwomkO_Cs9C_mLAKQ6cOD5iSSCRfyEsHlaop95MabWezaw/s320/How+to+Apply+Rub+to+Ribs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478989934805467490" /></a><br /><br />I season my ribs similarly. I like to use a light coating of mustard, sprinkle my rub on, wrap the ribs in plastic wrap and put ‘em in the fridge overnight. For butts or brisket, I don’t put any mustard on, I just rub ‘em and wrap ‘em. The amount of rub to use is a bit tricky and relies on a few variables. <br /><br />The first thing to consider is how strong is your rub? If there are a lot of strong flavors like cumin and cayenne, you probably need to use less than if you’re using a rub that’s got a lot of mild flavors. Salt is another ingredient that can quickly become too heavy. Like the instructions in the photo illustration mention, you can leave salt out of your recipes and add it to your taste individually. In my experience, nothing ruins a cook like over-spiced meat. I don’t want to waste those hours of cooking because I stubbed my toe when putting the rub on.<br /><br />The next thing to think about is what kind of meat are you cooking? Chicken needs less strong flavors because it flavors so easily. Pork ribs suck up flavor more easily than beef ribs, or perhaps I should say that the strong beef flavor can handle more spices. A pork butt and brisket can handle more spices still because of their size – the rub-to-meat ration is less on those thick cuts. Start small and build your way up. It helps to remember that you can add some more of that nummy rub after you’ve cooked if you need some more spice.<br /><br /><b>Saucing</b><br />If there are 1,000 answers for every 100 barbecuers concerning rubs, there’s probably double or triple that concerning sauce. The reasoning is similar – people like different things for different reasons. Variety is a big factor, too. <br /><br />For those who like to use sauce (yes, there are many barbecuers who don’t like sauce), I think there are two camps – those who sauce while cooking and those who sauce after completion. There are benefits to both. If you sauce while the meat’s on the grill – you can that nice caramelization which adds more depth of flavor to the rib. The downside of this step is that some sauces are prone to developing a burnt taste even if the sugars aren’t legitimately burnt. That’s why if you do sauce on the smoker, you should limit it to the last hour or less. Saucing on the cooker also increases the risk of making a mess. Saucing after you pull and rest the meat means that you won’t get the same caramelized flavors form the sauce, but you can address a lot of that with your rub. The sauce itself is complementary to the meat, so you’re not trying to make a candy-coated barbecue treat. As for me, I do both. <br /><br />Just like rubs, there are a lot of commercial products available. If you follow the links I provided above for rubs, you’ll see that most also offer sauces. Making your sauce is fun too, but I think it’s a bit more complex than making a rub. While you just throw together some spices to get a good rub, getting a sauce to come out well often involves more than just simmering together liquids and spices.<br /><br />I’ve been experimenting with a lot of sauce recipes the past six months. Some I’ve concocted entirely out of the blue, others I’ve made from recipes I’ve found around and about the innerwebs. I’ve yet to stumble on one that’s made me stop and think, “THAT’S the one!” but I’m trying. What I have found is that starting with a very simple recipe and modifying it to suit your needs seems to be the best way to go. So, following that advice, here’s the best simple barbecue sauce recipe I’ve ever found:<br /><br /><a href=" http://tvwbb.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1980069052/m/2870053653"><b>No. 5 Sauce</b></a><br />- 1 cup ketchup<br />- 1/2 cup cider vinegar<br />- 1/3 cup brown sugar<br />- 1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce<br />- 1 tablespoon rub<br />- Opional but v. good: 1/4 cup meat drippings<br />- Simmer to marry the flavors and thicken as desired.<br />(Recipe by Steve Petrone as posted on the The Virtual Weber Bulletin Board)<br /><br />There are a lot of good things going on in this recipe. It’s very easy to make. It’s both sweet and tangy. It’s very easy to add, subtract, change and modify and still get great results. It’s already your own because the recipe is vague in that “1 TBL rub” ingredient. <br /><br />The first time I made this, it was bit too vinegary for me. So, in future batches I’ve cut the ACV from 1/2 to 1/4 cup. Other additions I’ve tried include honey, apple butter and soy sauce. The “Optional” meat drippings is a necessity in my book, and if you don’t have meat drippings, try a little chicken stock or even a seasoning packet from a package of Ramen.<br /><br />I’ve also tried a couple of recipes from the <a href=" http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuesaucerecipes/tp/10barbecuesauce.htm">About.com BBQ pages.</a> The classic sauce and Kansas City recipes are kind of like No. 5 Sauce in that they’re a good place to start. I am not a vinegar or mustard sauce kind of guy, so I stay away from the recipes that veer that way. My ideal sauce is one that is a little sweet and very savory. I haven’t found it quite yet.<br /><br />Saucing is a simple, quick way to add flavor and moisture to your meat, but be careful with it. If rub is your rifle, sauce is your artillery. Unless you like a little meat with your sauce, go easy.<br /><br /><b>So, what now?</b><br />You’re armed and dangerous pal. You’ve got your cooker, you know a thing or two about meat selection and preparation and you’re ready to start slinging your own sauces. One of my favorite things to do is make micro batches of sauces in-between barbecues. Instead of making a full-serving, I’ll make cup-sized batches to get an idea of how a sauce is going to turn out. So far, I’ve made a heck of a lot and I’ve only really liked maybe a tenth of what I’ve whipped up. <br /><br />So, the big lesson I’m trying to impart throughout all of these tips is to practice. Learn a little technique, get your solid ground and get comfortable cooking things you like to cook. I promise you, as good as that first rack of ribs taste, they’ll be nowhere near as good as the tenth time.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-59308762993373662862010-06-03T21:36:00.007-05:002010-06-03T21:43:28.324-05:00Making better barbecue pt. 2<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgES2VFyGBULdnFvGqiLs2FRfZ3wLlYlvNiQJc_ONeJdZTHpXh_esB6OvpGb-2mVF_leSUoBd1sCJXgQTDodTJLP39nHczqMMsz1V0nJ_ML92JVDRHmvU5qtp5kGDzfBHVzgYORNA/s1600/Pork_Ribs_1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgES2VFyGBULdnFvGqiLs2FRfZ3wLlYlvNiQJc_ONeJdZTHpXh_esB6OvpGb-2mVF_leSUoBd1sCJXgQTDodTJLP39nHczqMMsz1V0nJ_ML92JVDRHmvU5qtp5kGDzfBHVzgYORNA/s320/Pork_Ribs_1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478741999635858674" /></a>This one is about meat. Oh yes. Meat.<br /><br />In Part 1, I covered educating yourself about types of smokers, learning to control your temperatures and practicing. Now, assuming you have a grill/smoker, have good temperature control and/or are ready to practice getting there, today we’re going to cover some basic tips concerning meat preparation and cooking.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />In keeping with my Kansas City Barbeque Society affiliation – I am going to cover the four categories they judge: Chicken, Ribs, Pork and Brisket. I am not going to talk about preparing them for a competition, just some simple tips to make good ‘que.<br /><br />There are some things to keep in mind before you begin preparing your meat and getting ready to cook. I feel I need to reiterate what I said in my prologue. One of the easiest and certainly one of best things you can do to make your barbecue better is to <b>stop using lighter fluid</b>. Lighting coals with a chimney starter or paraffin cubes is a very simple way to make this very effective change to your cooking.<br /><br />The next thing you need to think about is weather. When are you going to cook? How long is it going to take? What’s the weather supposed to be like and will that impact your cooking. I have a small overhang on my patio. I can scootch my smoker or grill under there and cook away, but plenty of folks out there have uncovered cooking areas. Keep this in mind and make sure you don’t cause any fire hazards if you do need to move your cooker under cover.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2VBNyntfsLcIXmwSRgPE-sSukuIyR3V5QTekqkM9SkjIisw2osBD4UeelUfvQdsiz3UqKTR21fvS3TrBU3xJ8sIBe4ZJAwO2G9i3pPv1pT18-BBsw60ZKBIYpyChVNIWwzGL_A/s1600/Gourmetwood+344.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid2VBNyntfsLcIXmwSRgPE-sSukuIyR3V5QTekqkM9SkjIisw2osBD4UeelUfvQdsiz3UqKTR21fvS3TrBU3xJ8sIBe4ZJAwO2G9i3pPv1pT18-BBsw60ZKBIYpyChVNIWwzGL_A/s320/Gourmetwood+344.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478743475334918434" /></a>Give a little thought to what kind of wood you’re going to use to smoke with. I was watching the Food Network last night and on both Good Eats and Unwrapped they referenced some grilling statistics. Something like 3 in 4 homes in the U.S. own grills and more than 50 percent use them year-round. That says a lot about the popularity of outdoor cooking. As we continue to seek out different ways to do the same thing, we seek out obscure and exotic spices and materials. The nationalization of our goods and services went a long way toward normalizing the kinds of goods we find across the nation. It’s true there are still regional specialties, but the majority of products you find can find in a Walmart in Dothan, Alabama, are going to be the same that you’ll find in a Walmart in Bend, Oregon. Let’s not argue the merits or pitfalls of this, rather I bring this up to say that, in general, a cook can now find pretty much the same spices and cooking products just about anywhere in the U.S. It wasn’t that long ago that regions outside the Southwest had a hard time finding mesquite, now it’s everywhere. Anyone who wants to should be able to easily find the following four hardwoods for smoking: Hickory, Mesquite, Apple and Cherry. You may only be able to find chips, you may only find chunks, but these four kinds of wood have become very common.<br /><br />What wood gives you is that deep, rich smoke flavor associated with good barbecue. As a point of reference the four woods I mentioned above will provide you the following flavor profiles:<br />Hickory – A very strong, deep smoke. This is the wood most commonly associated with Southern barbecue. You have to be careful with this because too much hickory can be bitter. Hickory is great with every meat.<br /><br />Mesquite – Provides a distinct, sweet, strong smoke flavor. While many of the fruitwoods have similar flavor profiles and vary in strength, mesquite has a quite different taste. It’s very common in Southwest (particularly Texas and Arizona) barbecue. Mesquite compliments chicken and pork very well, but in the Southwest you’ll find it used on everything. <br /><br />Apple – Lighter and fruitier than hickory, but still leaves a good smoke flavor. It’s a great wood to compliment hickory. By itself, Apple goes well with everything, but pork particularly benefits from a good application of apple.<br /><br />Cherry – Fruiter and lighter still, cherry compliments all meats.<br /><br />Other woods you may have access to and make for good smoke include oak, pecan, alder, maple, and peach. Just about any hardwood or fruitwood can be used. Just don’t use softwoods and particularly avoid pine or cedar. <br /><br />Play around with amounts and combinations. The only wrong way to do it is to use too much. <br /><br />One of the most important things you can do when considering what meat to cook is to give some good thought to where you’re going to buy it from. There’s nothing like developing a good relationship with your nearest butcher. I compare prices between Walmart, Kroger and my meat market and not only does my market often have the better price, they ALWAYS have the better cut of meat.<br /><br />The last thing I want to talk about is restraint. <b>Less is more.</b> This applies to the spices you use on your meats and the amount of wood you smoke with. Start with a little. Go crazy with how you make your rub or whatever, but be careful in how much you put on your meat. You can always add more. You can’t take anything away once it’s there.<br /><br /><b>Chicken</b><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7sV8PiIIcUzi9tdHr7ym8UUJ9KUNGUROQF9hHda2shVtXHQ5lE3aCk1cbnvRP28k_fuyZh0K5CxB5fWLgR1h1vemEkIA9riMIfAJ9ltJ42ci9ZrQcKI23JGK1zMgUDY_tYHhpA/s1600/Beer-Can-Chicken-Cooker-YZ0072-.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy7sV8PiIIcUzi9tdHr7ym8UUJ9KUNGUROQF9hHda2shVtXHQ5lE3aCk1cbnvRP28k_fuyZh0K5CxB5fWLgR1h1vemEkIA9riMIfAJ9ltJ42ci9ZrQcKI23JGK1zMgUDY_tYHhpA/s320/Beer-Can-Chicken-Cooker-YZ0072-.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478742271906407442" /></a>While one of the most common foods on plates around the world, chicken is difficult to smoke or grill. We all know the dangers of underprepared chicken, so cooking thoroughly is a must. But cooking the chicken to doneness while maintaining juicy tenderness is challenging. There are many, many ways to prepare your chicken, but I want to just briefly touch on some generic issues. <br /><br />Smoking is usually done at low temperatures while grilling is normally done at high-heat. Chicken kind of needs some in-between. The basic rule of thumb is to follow baking instructions. So you know that cooking in the 350-degree range is going to yield good results. If you’re cooking individual pieces, you’ll cook for less time than cooking a whole chicken (duh). Personally, I like to cook beer-can style chicken (where a rack of some kind suspends the chicken butt-down and a can of liquid is inserted and provides steam to the bird). Cooking that way, I know I can do a full-sized bird in about 30 minutes at 350. <br /><br />Some tips in preparation – chicken soaks flavor like there’s no tomorrow and it’s easy to overpower the natural flavors. Be careful how much spice you put on. If you leave the skin on, lift it up where you can to season the meat directly. Spices won’t get into the meat through the skin very well. A bird sprinkled with a little lime juice and rubbed with some fresh-cracked pepper is pretty amazing – even more so smoked with some apple wood.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNw1u7dDH1lvap9l99wspxV-vXH7BSet7pWqL1SXPLKkqSxFrHzVlauHiMrnA9nhRdsajgQBaOwrFQQWlAtCX2W9Afm-6IK-bnHVZj2XMY9v7SRoAaQ5zwQJN44lxP3IEtGOZPdA/s1600/Ribs+2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNw1u7dDH1lvap9l99wspxV-vXH7BSet7pWqL1SXPLKkqSxFrHzVlauHiMrnA9nhRdsajgQBaOwrFQQWlAtCX2W9Afm-6IK-bnHVZj2XMY9v7SRoAaQ5zwQJN44lxP3IEtGOZPdA/s320/Ribs+2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478742456655760946" /></a><b>Ribs</b><br />There are probably as many different ways to prepare and cook ribs as there are people cooking them. Add to that the different cuts and styles – spares, St. Louis cut, baby backs, short ribs, rib tips, country-style, etc. – and you can easily see how one person’s idea of ribs can vary greatly from someone else’s. The tips I’m providing here are generally applicable to pork spareribs, but are equally applicable to St. Louis cut and can be easily adapted to baby backs just by cutting the cooking time a little.<br /><br />Ribs can be very flavorful and very tender when cooked properly. They can be bland and tough as sin when they are not. Following a couple of simple steps can improve your ribs tremendously.<br /><br />First, you have to select your ribs. Look for racks with plenty of meat. Also look for ribs with a bit of fat on them. You don’t want there to be fat pockets all over them, but you do want to see some. The fat is going to provide moisture and flavor while cooking.<br /><br />The next thing you have to deal with is the membrane. On the back side of the ribs, there is a thin, tough membrane that covers the ribs. If you want your rub to penetrate into the meat on this side, that membrane needs to be removed or scored. It’s a fairly simple process and if you Google “rib membrane removal” you will find tons of information. However, if you get your ribs from a butcher, you can just have him remove it for you. <br /><br />I like to prep my ribs the day before I cook, but you certainly don’t have to. You should rub them no less than an hour before you cook them, though. This gives it a bit of time to sweat into the meat. Regardless of what anyone tells you, rubs, marinades and the like aren’t going to penetrate far, if at all, into your meat. With a rub, the sweating pulls some of the moisture out of rib and helps create a nice coating that caramelizes and adds a lot of flavor. You can help this process out by coating the ribs with a little mustard first – a very light coat – and sprinkling on your rub. Your ribs can take more spice than chicken, but still be careful. You want a nice, even light coat; you don’t want the rub caked on. If you prepare much in advance, wrap the racks in plastic wrap in put in store in the fridge until about an hour or so before you’ll put them on the smoker.<br /><br />If you do some research into cooking barbecue, you’ll hear the term “Low and Slow” a lot. Generally that means cooking for a long time between 225-240 degrees. While it’s perfectly fine to cook ribs in this range, I’ve found that ribs, spareribs anyway, can handle temps in the 275 range. The outer bark (that nice crusty exterior) is a little crustier and the ribs seem more moist. <br /><br />To ensure jaw-droppingly awesome and consistent results, the best way to cook ribs is to follow the 3-2-1 method. The first time you do this, aim for a 240-250 degree temp range. Once your cooker is at temp, put your ribs on and let them cook for three hours. Don’t lift the lid, don’t mess with them, just make sure your temp stays steady. After three hours, pull your ribs, wrap them in heavy duty foil (you can add a little moisture – apple juice, wine, sauce, whatever – and some brown sugar to add some more flavor) and put them back on the smoker for another two hours. After those two hours, remove the ribs, unwrap them, and put them back on the grill for one final hour. During the final 30 minutes, you can, if you like, brush on some sauce so it will caramelize. <br /><br />This 3-2-1 method will guarantee good results, however, it is a guideline. Some people find that this makes the ribs too tender so they only go with one hour in foil (3-1-1). Some like the two hours in foil, but cut down the initial cook to two hours for a 2-2-1 cook. It’s going to have a lot to do with your individual preferences. I find 3-1-1 is about perfect for me, but my wife likes ‘em a little more tender, so I’m going back to 3-2-1 next time I do spares.<br /><br />Ribs are fun to cook and allow you a decent margin of error. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMrSEopd4AyrvvWj97dXvoSbOhWXFAH74J69OQ1YaoRm7bomwFxNd2WxK2G1XXw3hgmQPPpX2IkLEyUHuMlbw923a5WoMzgbSv0Upd3LWcWpoi7jTt1sYPlPxDdDAkCtx3d-KGw/s1600/pork+butt.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilMrSEopd4AyrvvWj97dXvoSbOhWXFAH74J69OQ1YaoRm7bomwFxNd2WxK2G1XXw3hgmQPPpX2IkLEyUHuMlbw923a5WoMzgbSv0Upd3LWcWpoi7jTt1sYPlPxDdDAkCtx3d-KGw/s320/pork+butt.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478742664862542018" /></a><b>Pork butt</b><br />Blah, blah, it’s not really a butt, blah, it’s a shoulder, blah. The internet, books, articles and Alton Brown have talked about the cut of meat enough. All you need to know is that if you’re cooking pulled pork and you want to cook what the pros do, look for a bone-in Boston Butt. Boneless may be quicker to cook, but something about that bone-in produces better results and there’s nothing quite as satisfying as pulling that bone out barehanded when it’s all done.<br /><br />Choose a butt that has a good fat cap on it and looks like it has some good marbling throughout. These things are going to cook for so long, you need that fat to keep the roast moist through the cook. <br /><br />When you get ready to prepare the butt, you have to decide if you’re going to rub, if you’re going to marinade and whether or not you’re going to inject. I’ve done all three and the only one I always do and am suggesting that you always do is to make sure you apply rub. Not only does this help create tasty and thick bark, it’ll help flavor the entire batch of pulled pork when you go to pull it and start mixing it all together. I personally think a marinade is worthless on a piece of meat this big. Alton Brown’s recipe calls for a 24-hour brine. I haven’t done it, but he suggests doing it because he worries that the butt will not stay moist enough for the entire cook. Well that’s crazy. A Boston Butt has the largest margin of error for success than any other cut of meat you can throw on your smoker. A butt with a good fat cap will stay perfectly moist your entire smoke if you follow some simple steps, but more on that in a minute. The last flavor-enhancement method is injection. The jury is still out on this, IMHO. Pros like Myron Mixon swear by it. It has been said that if you want to win the pork category, you have to inject. Again, I’m not sure about that. I’ve done side-by-side butts where the only difference was one was injected and the other was not and I could not tell which was which. More than any kind of pre-cook liquid, I think a post-cook finishing sauce does much more to enhance flavors, but more on that later, too. <br /><br />So, basically, rub your roast. It really does help.<br /><br />The butt is where the low-and-slow term really applies. These hunks of meat require a nice, long cook at low temps to shine. So make sure your cooker keeps a 225-240 temp range and throw your butt on. It will cook for an hour to an hour-and-half per pound. It is not uncommon to have 20-hour cooks for 8-to-12-pound roasts. When you put your meat on to cook, let it go five-to-six hours without messing with it. Do make sure your smoker is maintaining those steady temps, but leave the meat alone. After that initial five or six hours, you can wrap the butt in heavy-duty foil, or put it in one of those disposable foil pan and cover with foil. This does two things – it protects the meat from drying out and it helps you collect the drippings from the roast which will become important later.<br /><br />Once you get three-quarters of the way through your cook you need to start checking the temperature (for an 8-pound roast, estimate that the earliest you would be done would be 8 hours, so at six hours into your cook). You’re shooting for temps between 195-200 degrees. You need to check your temps hourly. Keep in mind that pork roasts plateau around 170 and can, in fact lose temps as the connective tissues begin to gelatinize. So you could see your 175-degree roast dip to 172 and not rise more than a few degrees for a couple of hours. What’s happening is all the heat energy is being transferred into the gelatinization process. Once that has completed, your butt will begin to rise in temp pretty quickly. That’s why it’s important to stay on top of it.<br /><br />An aside – one of the best devices I ever bought is a remote digital thermometer. It has a temperature probe with a long wire. You stick the probe in the roast and it connects to a sending unit that sits outside the cooker. Inside your nice, climate-controlled home, you have a receiver that tells you what temperature your meat is at. This obviates you from having to check the temp hourly since you’ve got your remote sitting next to you.<br /><br />When your roast hits 180-ish, remove it from the foil. This will ensure that the outside bark crisps up before the cook is done. BE CAREFUL in this step, because all those nummy juices in the foil are going to be put to use. Bring them inside and use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of them in your finishing sauce. Basically, mix that amount of the juices with about 1/2 cup of wine or apple juice or apple cider vinegar or whatever floats your boat. Add about 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and some rub. Bring all that to a boil and simmer for half an hour or so. Or concoct your own combo – but remember to collect those drippings from the roast – it adds so much.<br /><br />Once the roast has reached temp, pull it off the smoker and wrap in foil. You want it rest at least 30 minutes before doing anything to it. It can rest in foil, on the counter for about an hour. If you need to go longer than that, a competition trick is to use a towel-lined cooler. Put a towel in the bottom of your cooler and put your foil-wrapped butt in then put a towel or two on top. I’ve held pork butts up to five hours this way and they were still too hot to touch when I got them out to pull.<br /><br />When you go to pull the roasts – like I just mentioned – the meat is going to be hot. You can use forks or chop when knives, but nothing works as well as getting your hands in there and pulling and mixing the meat. So, a pair of gloves is a nice thing to have for this. A thick pair of disposable latex gloves works OK, but there is food-grade, heavier-duty gloves out there perfect for this very thing. I’ve not yet procured them for myself (I’m stuck with latex right now), but it’s something that’s on my list.<br /><br />As you pull, be conscious of getting pieces of the bark mixed in with the interior, this will help get the smoked flavor better distributed. Once you’ve got everything pulled like you like, it’s time to add some finishing sauce. A good rule of thumb is to add 1/2 tablespoon per cup of meat. Be careful! A little of that sauce goes a long way. You’re just looking to add a little bit of flavor, not overpower the meat. You may also want to throw a little more rub in there. Hey, whatever is your preference.<br /><br />I STRONGLY suggest that you do not add barbecue sauce to the pulled pork. Put your sauce on the side and allow the individuals to add sauce to their liking. Barbecue has a lot of strong flavors and some folks prefer their meat without it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWjSb5d7nEiw1I2XUoUiWiDt8zXFaWVjqU1xgOlvjo9R9XtEIeAyiomq9h7VM0vQz6eKy3HLd0JD3P1ilN7c-GnLeqZzs86B152JVEGYOm-kcFIFTlr_c_Jf64AhTUpk-co8JPw/s1600/Brisket+parts+pointed+out.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWjSb5d7nEiw1I2XUoUiWiDt8zXFaWVjqU1xgOlvjo9R9XtEIeAyiomq9h7VM0vQz6eKy3HLd0JD3P1ilN7c-GnLeqZzs86B152JVEGYOm-kcFIFTlr_c_Jf64AhTUpk-co8JPw/s320/Brisket+parts+pointed+out.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478742878864035298" /></a><b>Brisket</b><br />The last meat on the KCBS competition turn-in is the mother-hunk of beefiness – the brisket. Probably the worst cut of meat on the cow, this huge roast becomes one of the most flavorful, beefy, tender roasts when cooked properly. Unlike the pork butt, there is not a lot of a margin for error on this roast. If you don’t get the meat within a pretty tight temperature range within a pretty tight timeframe, it will be tough or dry or mush. <br /><br />When shopping for brisket, it’s important to realize that there are two main parts to a full-sized brisket – a “flat” which is the thinner, leaner side, and a “point” which is thicker and fattier. If you look at the picture I posted here, the “A” is the flat portion and the “B” is the point. There is a section of fat in between the two and after a long smoke, they are easily separated. <br /><br />Cooking a brisket is considered the more expert level of barbecue. Because there’s not as much margin for error and it requires such a long cook time, many cooks shy away from them until they have more practice. But if you have some tools (a remote thermometer is a VERY handy tool for a brisket cook) and use some technique and some patience, you can produce reasonably consistent results every time.<br /><br />If you want to cook brisket like most competition teams, you’ll need to look for a brisket with the flat and point intact. This, in barbecue and butcher circles is known as a Full Packer. However, if you want to try your luck with a less ambitious cook, you can purchase just the flat portion, but for the purposes of this post, I’m only talking a full packer.<br /><br />As with the pork butt, you want to find a brisket that has the fat cap untrimmed. One side of the brisket will have a solid fat cap across the entirety of the flat and a lot of the point. It’s important to have this intact, but you will be trimming a portion of it off. Your butcher could probably help you out if you ask. When trimming it yourself, you’ll want to leave 1/4-1/2 inch of the cap behind. <br /><br />Preparing the brisket is similar to the pork butt also. You should almost certainly rub it, but think of spices that compliment beef. You may have a rub that works well for both, but often pork rubs are sweeter than ones for beef. Many Texas rubs use a simple salt and pepper mix. There is the marinade and injection debate with briskets too and as with marinade, I don’t think there’s much point for a brisket, however, injections can help the brisket a lot. A simple injection of apple juice can add a ton. <br /><br />Briskets require a well-controlled temperature. They don’t like fluctuations very much. If you get outside your range, which should be 225 – 235, for too long, you can wind up with a dry brisky. Foiling, which in the brisket world is known as the Texas crutch, can help keep this from happening. As with your pork butt, you want to cook the brisket on your smoker for about four to six hours and then foil. The brisket will take one to one-and-a-half hours per pound and you want to look for a target temperature of 190 – 200 degrees, measured in s thick portion of the flat.<br /><br />Ideal brisket is generally judged via slices from the flat. You cut 1/4 – 1/2-inch thick slices. Take the slice in your hand and pull from both sides. The slice should pull apart easily, but offer a little resistance. The brisket should be moist and have a good beef flavor. This is what a brisket consumer is looking for.<br /><br />Now the point is another matter. When you pull the brisket, the flat will be done, but the point probably needs some more time on the grill. Put it back on the smoker and bring it to the same temp. That will help render out some more of the fat in it. While the flat is best sliced, the point is great if you chunk the sides for “burnt ends” and pull the rest.<br /><br /><b>So, what now</b><br />Now you need to go out and find yourself some meat and start practicing. There are a lot of recipes and resources out on the net. Work yourself up a craving for something and then make it. <br /><br />Let me know how it turns out!Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-77037168893387581162010-06-03T15:55:00.002-05:002010-06-03T15:55:59.884-05:00Better barbecueI am working on part two, but it is taking longer than I thought and I've been busy doing real work and getting my teeth scraped. Hopefully I'll have something up tomorrow.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-58822992126209507102010-06-02T09:13:00.009-05:002010-06-02T09:27:55.620-05:00Making better barbecue pt. 1<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyt6ZpSwMKyNJIdE2Rv5no2qek3VioqwYdjnX-vVBYmIOV1ZxXAaaj0FyMs6bIQpPx6XFeDZzG_Lu6vNrpwMILkWm5Mxf-dH8a-dvw_Uak7kPUXFaTmnMdE7aoIO2Q0z2hGSIgw/s1600/memphis-elvis.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdyt6ZpSwMKyNJIdE2Rv5no2qek3VioqwYdjnX-vVBYmIOV1ZxXAaaj0FyMs6bIQpPx6XFeDZzG_Lu6vNrpwMILkWm5Mxf-dH8a-dvw_Uak7kPUXFaTmnMdE7aoIO2Q0z2hGSIgw/s320/memphis-elvis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478179723873431634" /></a>Memorial Day kicks off the summer season in the U.S., and the week after is traditionally heavily focused on grilling and grilling accessories. So I’ve decided to devote this week to barbecue and grilling related posts.<br /><br />Grilling and barbecue is taken pretty seriously here – in the U.S. and in Tennessee. Regardless of the <a href="http://bbq.about.com/od/barbecuehelp/a/aa110197.htm">alleged Caribbean origins</a> of barbecue, the process as we know it today spawned out of the slave culture of the Southern States both as ways to preserve meat and to render tough, cast-off cuts of meat edible. <br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />Before I go much further, I want to get some terminology straight. While different cultures can argue the merits of definitions and etymology, this is what I mean when I say “barbecue”: meat that is cooked with indirect, low heat for a long period of time using some kind of smoke wood to impart smoke flavor. Grilling is cooking meat over a direct source of heat. I accept that there are plenty of variations of terms, but when I use either of them I am only referring to these definitions.<br /><br />There are three steps to producing good barbecue: education, temperature control and practice. You need to understand the differences between the various types of grills and smokers, you need to be able to maintain steady temperatures for long periods of time and you have to practice doing it to learn the particulars of your pit. While you can read plenty of books and scour the internet boards for advice, nothing will make up for practice, and while you may buy the best pit out there, every individual cooker has its own quirks. There’s only one way to learn them.<br /><br /><b>Types of smokers</b> <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA7xAbaRsa5iful2l-yLown3CTllW0ubkbLR6ODNmoHIs5q3q38pYwuHl16IV_T0T-zS4SYBhCZQTDJoo7ftd5zWEDG-2Gndi_5oJ7Tgz0-Tyxqr_TtfTXyT7sCzmwxF9tebF_A/s1600/weber+kettle.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhA7xAbaRsa5iful2l-yLown3CTllW0ubkbLR6ODNmoHIs5q3q38pYwuHl16IV_T0T-zS4SYBhCZQTDJoo7ftd5zWEDG-2Gndi_5oJ7Tgz0-Tyxqr_TtfTXyT7sCzmwxF9tebF_A/s320/weber+kettle.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478179994640385810" /></a><br />This is the Weber kettle grill. This is probably the grill most people think of when they think of a charcoal grill. It was created in 1952 and has been sold constantly since then, with little modification because it is awesome. There is no other style of grill that gives you the same kind of even heat distribution and is as versatile as this grill. While this is primarily meant for direct grilling, with some practice a Weber kettle can also be an effective smoker. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Ma8EG0J5yhUtu2o-4bG6IfXRq2B3dnMz4HZiJnVqIYQ5yrnmFb7-o1Ts1z1zZ0yoexDi0vzT-Qv3VRKq-Y_afFEBcGT9Plt9uKiAF9ES63fKy_dRcagbAP1fidf2198MiJ4dfg/s1600/ECB.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9Ma8EG0J5yhUtu2o-4bG6IfXRq2B3dnMz4HZiJnVqIYQ5yrnmFb7-o1Ts1z1zZ0yoexDi0vzT-Qv3VRKq-Y_afFEBcGT9Plt9uKiAF9ES63fKy_dRcagbAP1fidf2198MiJ4dfg/s320/ECB.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478180345449556498" /></a><br />The bullet-style smoker is the one most people are probably familiar with. It features a heat source in the bottom (which can be charcoal, electric or gas), a water pan above that and usually two cooking grates above the water pan. These cookers are efficient, simple and usually very economical. The downside is that the cheaper models can be very difficult to keep constant temperatures in. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaN01MbjTcVzFcapQlSGAEJdcUmcCQdjeyUjhLCrLghupYJPBRm3CmV6ZvFidKrGw7MYSijzYs5dOmZH1N6AN4EQWbxTDfVdZm_7Xufm-vbtOpi_5Ki8gkgP21fkFIBd4KUNm6QQ/s1600/offset+smoker.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaN01MbjTcVzFcapQlSGAEJdcUmcCQdjeyUjhLCrLghupYJPBRm3CmV6ZvFidKrGw7MYSijzYs5dOmZH1N6AN4EQWbxTDfVdZm_7Xufm-vbtOpi_5Ki8gkgP21fkFIBd4KUNm6QQ/s320/offset+smoker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478180621877492098" /></a><br />This is an offset smoker. The fire is off to the side the cooking chamber is long allowing you to either move your meat closer or further from the heat source or to use the entire cooking space for large amounts of meat (or a whole hog!). This particular offset is a cheaper, introductory model, but many professional barbecuers use variations of this design in their high-end pits. The basic concept of having a separate firebox providing the heat for a large drum is very sound. You have tons of cooking space, and you are able to monitor and make changes to your fire without disturbing your meat. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGzmvLpQbGO67t3lY0X3fcuSAiVAjjB9DCMCBxiZrFEeUsZraBpH1vTGNjgjJvv5U7zvLuJxw668lwdsPzHk41clWiENZKPSgufL5rB2tgcSwo7O9Qutu71i2x5ARJ4ax5kkgrA/s1600/electric+smoker.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGzmvLpQbGO67t3lY0X3fcuSAiVAjjB9DCMCBxiZrFEeUsZraBpH1vTGNjgjJvv5U7zvLuJxw668lwdsPzHk41clWiENZKPSgufL5rB2tgcSwo7O9Qutu71i2x5ARJ4ax5kkgrA/s320/electric+smoker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478180942168549698" /></a><br />This is an electric smoker. These are becoming more common. Most look like small refrigerators and they aren’t much different. They are highly insulated and use a small electric heating source. Most have some kind of tray to feed wood chips or pellets into a tray above the heating source to make the smoke. The benefits of these types of smokers is that they provide an easy way to dial in temperatures and are well-insulated to maintain temps in just about any kind of weather condition. The downside is that their heating elements are notoriously finicky. <br /><br />When you’re choosing your smoker, you have to consider which is best for you. If you want “authentic” barbecue or have aspirations to compete in barbecue events, you need to get a charcoal or wood-fueled smoker. All KCBS and MBN events require that cooks use charcoal or wood fuels only. However, if you live in an apartment, you might not be allowed to use charcoal, so electric or gas may be your only options. Since I am in the land of “authentic barbecue” and I am a certified barbecue judge and it is my preference, I’m only going to talk about charcoal/wood-fueled smokers beyond this point. Gas and electric smokers are either very easy to achieve and maintain temperatures in or offer little or no adjustments anyway.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljKXEko5IBtQVzmhGAAiSG7gMGNx51A3GfW8diR31aGCTirRHwsevYx5GPfF9-T3l4e6Ju5pkjaz7RDSfqlDA4SQfcdISxYis0JgTlAtpn_pdriO_feGRmW3k0rXQmaUvgLhPzg/s1600/bullet+smoker.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhljKXEko5IBtQVzmhGAAiSG7gMGNx51A3GfW8diR31aGCTirRHwsevYx5GPfF9-T3l4e6Ju5pkjaz7RDSfqlDA4SQfcdISxYis0JgTlAtpn_pdriO_feGRmW3k0rXQmaUvgLhPzg/s320/bullet+smoker.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478181604615351954" /></a><br />The Brinkman smoker is, I would hazard to guess, the most common smoker in the U.S. It is either responsible for igniting people’s passions for making good barbecue or for turning them away from cooking it themselves. Known in barbecue circles as the El Cheapo Brinkman, or ECB, the Brinkman’s greatest benefit is its price. For $80 - $90 you can be up and smoking in no time. The downsides are that because they’re made to be inexpensive, they use very thin steel and cut corners in some areas of functionality. This means that it can be very difficult to reach and maintain steady temperatures on an ECB. If you live in a moderate climate and don’t have to worry too much about extreme cold, then you can probably get good results from a Brinkman year-round. Look for the upgraded models that have a separate charcoal bin where the body drum lifts off the bottom (link the one pictured). <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdnM4yPksGI3CJZeU3kC1SmTpiIha7EToOOJOZjeKtK35YdVwKn3UsQyXclFe_An6oa4NJe3aHpf6TR3CZ80WfrYhIJc0vezcmq4HRhMp1aI1WsVsbKQIDREBeTKCF3TGwC97Cg/s1600/Weber_Smokey_Mountain_smokers.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSdnM4yPksGI3CJZeU3kC1SmTpiIha7EToOOJOZjeKtK35YdVwKn3UsQyXclFe_An6oa4NJe3aHpf6TR3CZ80WfrYhIJc0vezcmq4HRhMp1aI1WsVsbKQIDREBeTKCF3TGwC97Cg/s320/Weber_Smokey_Mountain_smokers.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478181837661478978" /></a><br />The next kind of bullet smoker is the Weber Smoky Mountain, or Weber Bullet. Like all of their products, the WSM is very well-constructed. Functionally, the WSM works similarly to a Brinkman – the charcoal is in the bottom, there’s a water pan next and then two cooking grates. But that’s really where the similarities end. The WSM is made of a much higher-gauge steel and is porcelain coated. This means the cooker maintains temperatures longer and with fewer spikes or dips. The WSM also offers air-flow vents along the bottom and top. This allows cookers to “dial-in” temps and keep them rock-steady for hours. Weber offers 18.5-inch and 22.5-inch models. I own an 18.5-inch WSM and I consider it to be one of the best things I’ve ever purchased. I have owned ECBs and to cook for more than five hours you have to dump charcoal in it all the time. With the WSM, I fill it up, put in some lit coals and maintain cooks forever. Honestly, the first brisket I ever cooked on it – the very first cook on my WSM – took about 15 hours. I never put any extra charcoal in it. That’s how awesome this cooker is. The downside is that even though it is made of thicker steel, it is not insulated so it is affected be extremes in weather. Because of the bottom vents, wind is also an issue. But these are easily overcome with some wind breaks or insulation. I’m telling you, for the money, there is no better smoker. Go to a barbecue competition some time and count of the number of WSMs out there. Then look for other brands. While you may find more offsets, you will not find any single brand that outnumbers the WSM. The major fallback of this, as far as competition is concerned, is that the WSM isn’t big enough to do whole hog, so if you’re interested in doing MBN comps, you’ll need something bigger.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTtTEMzoelTrRdlTHdKIhzInTvJPNBFvSbijmvKQbMeiE_MJxLH9u7eUNjGFyMcoAoL8XVRwZNRGaSPY7m-6PAYH3pelJfhqdZ23eN2BJTTrcX0QVthOjt1m2vxhyphenhyphen9kkFNc74pA/s1600/allTheEggs.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 310px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTtTEMzoelTrRdlTHdKIhzInTvJPNBFvSbijmvKQbMeiE_MJxLH9u7eUNjGFyMcoAoL8XVRwZNRGaSPY7m-6PAYH3pelJfhqdZ23eN2BJTTrcX0QVthOjt1m2vxhyphenhyphen9kkFNc74pA/s320/allTheEggs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478182233019623778" /></a><br />Recently, a lot of folks have gotten into a very ancient kind of outdoor cooker – the ceramic/clay cooker. Pictured here is the Big Green Egg Product line, but there are a lot of similar products. There probably isn’t a grill or smoker out there that holds and controls temperature better. The thick ceramic or clay walls hold absorb and hold heat for hours. This means that it takes very little fuel to bring the cooker to your desired temperature and keep it there. Big Green Egg fans are affectionately referred to as “Eggheads” because of the fanaticism their products engender in those who use them. There is good cause. Your fuel usage will go down tremendously. For example, a 12-to-16-hour cook on my WSM will use about half a bag of Kingsford. Folks use lump coal in these kinds of cookers and they use handfuls to get the same length of cooks I get from my WSM. Ceramic/Clay cookers are amazingly immune to temperature spikes – regardless of weather they plug along. The downside is that they’re prohibitively expensive. Eggheads would argue that you get what you pay for, and perhaps they’re right. I’ve also read a lot about these cookers cracking over time. It makes me wary. However, Bubba Keg products makes a steel cooker variation called the Big Steel Keg that is in every functional way just like a Big Green Egg, only its made from high-gauge steel and is cheaper.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-SNXIBNE-gK8zDfEdaAoqHqCJ2hP6fJwc-NAzUnK9f2O5r-Z9oqVYhBVXbAIiR18PMGVG0_cwdw7ZI-gwsy787BANTAkV4WLVeXxuUZKsJkKykBXJJOejeRAf24hX3khjObO2w/s1600/Jambo.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-SNXIBNE-gK8zDfEdaAoqHqCJ2hP6fJwc-NAzUnK9f2O5r-Z9oqVYhBVXbAIiR18PMGVG0_cwdw7ZI-gwsy787BANTAkV4WLVeXxuUZKsJkKykBXJJOejeRAf24hX3khjObO2w/s320/Jambo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5478182462837748050" /></a><br />The high-quality offset smoker pit is pretty much the standard for the professional barbecue pitmaster. This is a Jambo pit which is the kind used by Tuffy Stone from Cool Smoke who was featured on the TLC show <i>BBQ Pitmasters.</i> These pits have very large cooking areas and separate fireboxes, like I mentioned above. The thick gauge steel offers great insulation against even the most extreme weather. These pits are “stick burners.” Instead of using charcoal, they use sticks of hardwood to provide both the heat and the smoke. I have no experience with these high-end models, but when so many winning teams are using them … well, there’s gotta be a reason.<br /><br /><b>Now what?</b><br />So, you’ve chosen your smoker and are ready to cook. Congratulations! Having the right tool for the job is the most important part of process. Next is temperature control. You know that you’re going to have to cook different cuts and kinds of meats and different temps for different periods of time (a future article for sure), but the consistent factor for all cooks is that you have to maintain your temp throughout your cook.<br /><br />We’ll use Boston Butt as a reference. When you mention barbecue in the U.S. the chances are people think of pulled pork. These butts take a long time to barbecue. While pork is considered done between 160-170, you won’t get the amazingly tender pullability until you hit about 200. For a 10-pound roast, this can take more than 15 hours when cooking in the 225-240 degree barbecue range. So you can see when maintaining your temps is important. Dips and spikes will cause uneven cooking. <br /><br />This is where practice comes in. Regardless of which pit your purchase, you’re going to have to use it to know how well it maintains temps over long periods of time. We know from other people’s experiences that ECBs are notorious for being difficult to stabilize temperatures, cheap offsets have similar stability issues, WSMs are generally very good at maintaining temps for several hours, and ceramic cookers are some of the best out there. But you’ll never know how your smoker works until you use it. <br /><br />So, spend some time figuring out which kind of cooker will work best for you. Some people give the advice that you should figure out what you need, then buy the next bigger/better model. That’s sound advice; as soon as you’ve figured out the cooker you’ve bought, you’ll want to move on to the next challenge. Factor that into your decision-making process. If you don’t know how well you’re going to like it and just want to start with an ECB, maybe you should think about shelling out a little more money and buying the better models. <br /><br />In the long-run, it doesn’t matter which kind of cooker you choose. With a little practice you’ll realize that you can make much better barbecue at home than you can get in just about any restaurant and that makes the whole process worth it.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17662995.post-86216094431791830082010-06-02T08:00:00.000-05:002010-06-02T09:53:00.035-05:00Making better barbeque prologueTo help kick off the grilling/barbecue season, I’m going to put up a series of outdoor cooking tips.<br /><br />The first is this: The best, easiest, and MOST IMPORTANT thing you can do is to <b>stop using lighter fluid!</b><br /><br />Buy a chimney starter or use Weber’s lighter cubes. There’s not much worse you can do to your coals than dousing them with that nasty stuff, and this is coming from a recent convert! I didn’t used to think there was much difference until I honestly did some comparisons. You won’t believe how much cleaner your food will taste.Cullenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11668947039713922916noreply@blogger.com3