I was uber-excited, it being my first barbecue of the season and all. Of course the date I chose for it had to be right smack in the middle of a horribly chill bout of weather, along with below freezing temperatures overnight. Fortunately, in the end I defeated the vile and corrupt Lord Jack Frost with my Kingston Charcoal Claymore enchanted with all things Fire and Brimstonish... What the hell am I talking about? I think what I'm trying to say is that I was able to successfully smoke my meat despite temperatures in the upper-20s. Yeah, that was it.
Mama Juju showed up with some lovely Pistachio Chili Chocolate Bark that I swore could've walked right off the cover of Bon Apetit magazine. Just look at this stuff:
And it tasted just as good as it looked. Me likey pistachios. I made the mistake of giving my guests the impression that I was short in the dessert department and before I knew it my kitchen counter was covered. My sister-in-law made a fruit pizza with a sugar cookie crust...
...My neighbor D made an INSANE Chocolate Tuxedo Cake...
She actually runs her own little cake baking operation. Click through for more information. Here's a shot of the sexy layers...
Notice the brownies my friend J made in the foreground and in the background the German Chocolate Cake from Geresbecks my dad brought because Friday was my grandpop's birthday. Happy birthday Hooka Looka! The white box contained Mama Juju's chocolate creations. Even though the pistachio is pretty strong, my favorite is still the pretzel peanut.
Alright, enough sweets. Let's get to the meat of this post (I think I've used that joke before, and, yep, still not funny.) Now I must apologize because when I get into hosting mode I neglect my camera so I lament the skimpy amount of hot steamy meat footage. Feast on these:
The butts spent about 22.5 hours on the smoker and the ribs were on for about 11.5. Yes, that is a long time, and, yes, I am a damn dedicated barbecuer.
Those are two racks of spares trimmed St. Louis style, trimmings on top. And here I am pulling my pork:
Notice me sporting my shirt from this little adventure? Yeah, that's right, I represent!
Sorry it's a little blurry, you can chalk that up to my wife's photography skills.
I thought the pork was some of the best I've done, the ribs were a little salty, which I found quite strange since I used my usual rub. I may have accidentally added to much salt when I threw it together, but apparently our friends A and C seemed to enjoy them:
I also made my usual sides: Creole Potato Salad, Mexican Slaw, and without a doubt my best batch of Hog Apple Baked Beans yet. All these recipes are going in the vault, as one day I hope to open my own little beer 'n barbecue joint. One day...
It was a long day to say the least, and as the night was winding down all I had to do was look at our kids to see that it was time to call it a night:
And so our party came to a close and it was a damn good one if I do say so myself. I would've shed a tear if I weren't half-shitcanned.
Micro--out.
4 comments:
I had a blast as always! Friends, food, and shitcannedness. Who's idea was it to play drinking games with craft beer? Good times ...
ok, I'm regretting not being there now.....
Had a great time! Yours was the fancy-pansyiest bbq at which I've had the pleasure of stuffing my face, to be sure. And I was sufficiently hung over for most of Sunday as well. Oh well, small price to pay :)
Thank you for the kind words, J. Your brownies were actually really freakin' good, I got the last one!
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