Today was a MUCH better day (Birthday do-over)

So yeah.  Today was a MUCH better day.  Even though I had to sit through meetings all day, I did not have a squeaky chair.  Not only that but we got an extended lunch break and even stopped 2 hours early today!

Besides that, I got to FLY in a freakin' BIPLANE today.  No kidding!  http://biplaneairtours.com/

I went up and the tour guide flew me around for about 15 minutes.  He gave me the chance to fly the plane and bank left and right.  He also had me climb some but I ended up stalling the plane and he took control again.  I kept hearing him say to keep going...keep going.  In hindsight, I think he wanted to stall the plane.  He then executed some tight turns, steep climbs, and some banking maneuvers.  I had a BLAST!

Then, I ended up going to that seafood place that I wanted to visit yesterday.  This time, I was coming from the opposite direction from the traffic and was able to cross over the bridge very easily.  I was able to sit on the pier with some very good food and watch the water flow downstream.  Very nice indeed!

I have to say, this was a good day.

Oy Vey, What a way to spend a birthday!

I had to attend meetings this week that are scheduled to last all day. Today, they started at 9 AM. We broke for lunch at 12:15 PM and then were back at it around 1:30 PM. We finished up at around 4:45 PM. The whole time I was sitting in a squeaky chair trying not to move at all so as to not disturb the meetings taking place in a small conference room. This resulted in a long day for me and with all that sitting still, my rear end was hurting. That's not a very fun way to spend my birthday.

On top of that, I decided I would try to go to a seafood restaurant that I've enjoyed on a previous visit. But, to get there, I have to travel over a bridge. I'll know next time not to try to cross this bridge at 6 PM on a work day. And, I'll know next time not to try to cross this bridge at 7 PM on a work day.

I got stuck in traffic at 6 PM and waited for about 30 minutes. After I noticed that the cars were moving at a snail's pace, I decided that the restaurant was not worth it and decided to make a left turn. I turned left and traveled down this road until I came to a small historic town center. I thought "Hey, What the heck. I'll check this place out. Maybe it has a good restaurant." Nope!

I walked into two restaurants but neither appealed to my tastes this day. The first was a pub and I thought it seemed like a good spot since the parking lot was packed. But, when I walked inside, I noticed there was a party in the restaurant. So, this couldn't be an indicator of how good their food was.  However, nothing on the menu struck me as something I would want to eat today. So, I walked out. Then, I walked around the small town square and found another seemingly cozy spot. But, I had my mind set on eating over the water on a pier. Thus, I got back in my car and decided to try to cross that bridge once more.

I arrived back to the bridge at 7 PM...surely enough time for the work day traffic to clear out. Nope! Oh well, I guess this just isn't my day to eat there. I ended up eating at Applebee's and getting Dunkin Donuts afterwards. Maybe donuts will save the day!

In all honesty, I am truly a blessed individual. I am content in my life and only want to follow after Jesus. Even with a day like this, I realize just how precious it is to be living a life knowing Him.

BGE, Pork Ribs, 3-2-1...excellent!

Today I made some excellent BBQ pork ribs with the Big Green Egg. My last BBQ blog post indicated I would attempt pulled pork next but my family talked me into making ribs.

I am so impressed with the BGE and how it can keep a steady temperature for hours on end without adjustments.  I have to say that this cooking device is making a huge difference in the way my BBQ comes out.

I also learned a new technique for cooking pork ribs.  It is called the 3-2-1 method.  Basically, you get the BGE up to 225ºF and then cook the ribs uncovered meat side up for 3 hours.  Then, you take the ribs off, cover them in foil, and cook meat side down for 2 hours.  Last, you uncover the ribs again and cook meat side up for 1 hour.  This method was very easy and produced tender and flavorful ribs.  Next time, I'll need to follow a 3-1-1 method though because some of the ribs were falling off the bone and the BBQ experts consider this to be overdone.

To prep the ribs, first I removed the membrane off the bone side.  If you don't do this, the ribs won't shrink off the bone like they're supposed to do.  Next, I smeared yellow mustard on them so that the dry rub would stick to the ribs.  I covered each side of the ribs in McCormick Grill Mates Pork Rub and put them in the refrigerator overnight to let the spices penetrate the meat.

Ribs smeared and rubbed

I then prepared the BGE by adding lump charcoal, pecan wood, apple wood, and getting it up to temperature.  I set up the BGE for indirect heating with the plate setter and added a water drip pan on top.  I found out that the pork slabs were a little big to fit on the BGE cooking grate nicely so I used a rib rack to stand them upright.  Now, it was time to just sit back and wait for 3 hours.

Ribs on BGE ready to cook

After the 3 hours had elapsed, I popped open the BGE and took out the ribs to wrap in foil.

Ribs on BGE after 3 hours of cook

In the foil, I put down a sprinkling of brown sugar, molasses, butter, and apple juice.  I put the meat side of the ribs right onto the mixture, wrapped them up, and put them back on the BGE with the meat side facing down.  This essentially steams the ribs and makes them more tender.  After the 2 hours had elapsed, I unwrapped them from the foil and put them back on the grill meat side up.

Last part of 3-2-1 method with sauce applied

I noticed some of the bones were falling out so I didn't let it go the whole hour for the last part of the 3-2-1 method.  I mopped Dreamland BBQ sauce on them and let the stay on the BGE for about 15 minutes.  After that, I took them off and let them rest a while before cutting them up and serving them.

Only a few ribs remain from our feeding session!

I don't know if the 3-2-1 method of cooking ribs would win any serious BBQ competitions but I am now an avid fan of this method.  I'll certainly use a version of this again in the future.

Circus parade, let's march in a parade

This last Sunday, I decided to stay home from church because my daughter was feeling a little under the weather.  My wife and I both thought that it would be best to keep our daughter home but we also struggled with the decision since our church was starting a new sermon series called Momentum.  We left the decision up to our daughter and she decided to stay home with me.

Since she was sick, I was trying to think of something fun to do that she and I both would enjoy.  I certainly didn't have the will power to play dollhouse that day and she is a little young to play board games.  Then, I had a good idea that I thought we would both enjoy.  Why don't we dress up like clowns and have a circus parade!  After all, I feel that I can play dress up if I can be a clown instead of a princess!

So, we proceeded to put decorative makeup on our faces with help from my wife's makeup box.  I put some white base on my daughter's face and used a black makeup pencil to draw out some designs on her cheeks and nose.  She used the black makeup pencil to draw some designs on my face as well.  Now, we were ready for our parade.

We lined up all of her stuffed animals and started marching around the living room while singing "Circus parade! Let's march in a parade!"  We both fully enjoyed this new game.

After my wife returned home from church, she was surprised to see that we both had makeup on our faces and we were marching around as clowns.  I can imagine she was surprised for several reasons but she also thought it was very cute to see her daughter having fun dressed up as a clown.  It was only later that we discovered that there was a spiritual significance to this event.

As it turns out, the pastor of our church had the congregation march around the sanctuary that day as a spiritual sign that we were to move forward with momentum.  My wife was lifting me up and saying to God how much she wished that I would have been there.  God told her at the time that I was with her spiritually and she trusted that this was the case.

So, she was marching around the church at the same time I was marching around at home.  I find it so interesting that God would have had us both marching at the same time.  My wife told me that when she saw us marching at home, God told her "See.  I told you so." in reference to me marching with her spiritually.  He also told her "Who do you think gave him the idea?"  I think it is so wonderful when God orchestrates these kind of events in our lives.

Smoked BBQ Chicken on BGE

I ended up purchasing a large Big Green Egg two weeks ago and was finally able to use it last weekend for the first time.  It took me a weekend just to assemble the grill and I had to go out and buy a torque wrench to finish the job.  Those were the most detailed instructions I have seen from a consumer product!

Since I am supposed to cook at lower temperatures for the first few cooks on the BGE to let the adhesives cure, I decided to try smoked BBQ chicken.  Chicken is one of the easier meats to smoke and I thought it would be a good starting point for the new grill.  I have smoked pulled pork, pork ribs, beef brisket, and chicken in the past with my offset smoker so the process is not new to me.

I started by soaking the chickens in a brine overnight so that they would retain moisture during the cook.  The brine that I used was 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of brown sugar, 1 cup of salt, and a little bit of the McCormick Grill Mates Chicken Rub.  I submerged the chickens in this solution and placed it in the refrigerator for the night.

I started the fire in the morning and I was pleasantly surprised by how the BGE was able to come up to temperature quickly.  I added some pecan wood to the fire and watched as it smoked.  I checked the gasket to see if there was a good seal and there was no smoke escaping anywhere around it.  This made me feel real good to know that I assembled the BGE the right way.  I followed the dollar bill test and that helped me get the gasket touching all the way around.  I was very happy to see that no smoke was leaking!

While the BGE was getting to the cooking temperature, I took the chickens out of the brine, washed them off with water, dried off the excess water, added rub all the way around, and placed them on upright chicken stands for the grill.  Now, I was ready to add them to the BGE.  I added a drip pan to the grill which contained water, apple juice, an onion, and some celery.

From previous experiences with my offset smoker, I was expecting to have to monitor the temperature of the grill and make constant adjustments.  That was certainly not the case with the BGE.  I think I adjusted the damper once or twice during the cook but that had more to do with me being obsessive about it rather than actually needing to adjust it.  I was also expecting the cook would take about 6 hours to complete.  With my offset smoker, I would usually have to take the chickens off and finish cooking them in the oven.  I did not have to do this with the BGE.  It only took 3 ½ hours at 300ºF.

I occasionally spritzed the chickens with apple juice during the cook.  I took them off the grill when the thigh meat reached 170ºF.  I also took them off the upright cookers and let them rest for 30 minutes before cutting them up.  This rest period is so that the juices will not run out when you start cutting up the birds.

This chicken was very moist and delicious.  It was the best chicken I have ever cooked on the grill.  And, we also had extra for making chicken pot pie.

I am very pleased with the large BGE.  I cut off the air flow after the cook and noticed that only half of the charcoal was burnt.  I can reuse the remaining charcoal in the fire box for my next cook.  I would usually go through about ¾ of a bag of charcoal with my offset smoker and I couldn't save any of the charcoal that remained in the fire box after the meat was done.

So, not only is the BGE a great grill for cooking, it is also more efficient with fuel usage.  I'm now wondering why it took me so long to buy one of these grills.

Next up:  Pulled Pork