We now resume this blog, already in progress
OK, so that was my BiL (sister's husband, not wife's brother) on the phone. He is returning from KC, where, I understand it, he was visiting his uncle who, unfortunately, seems to be in the last stages of cancer*.
In lighter news, he was able to run a few errands for me. He scored the last case of Boulevard Brewing's Irish Ale (only brewed for St. Patrick's) which is THE best beer of this sort. FURTHERMORE, he was also able to score some Arrowhead Beef brisket (for a Texas-like BBQ thing I'm planning) and, while we're at it, some Arrowhead Beef "Flatiron" steaks.
And a jar of Gate's Extra Hot BBQ from the restaurant (i.e. w/o 0.1% that potassium benzoate preservative bull$#!+).
So life is good. Now, I must off to Nordstrom & W-S , as there are sales afoot.
-J.
* Those theologically minded, throw in a prayer for "Uncle Bob"
In lighter news, he was able to run a few errands for me. He scored the last case of Boulevard Brewing's Irish Ale (only brewed for St. Patrick's) which is THE best beer of this sort. FURTHERMORE, he was also able to score some Arrowhead Beef brisket (for a Texas-like BBQ thing I'm planning) and, while we're at it, some Arrowhead Beef "Flatiron" steaks.
And a jar of Gate's Extra Hot BBQ from the restaurant (i.e. w/o 0.1% that potassium benzoate preservative bull$#!+).
So life is good. Now, I must off to Nordstrom & W-S , as there are sales afoot.
-J.
* Those theologically minded, throw in a prayer for "Uncle Bob"
Comments
Got a griddle and an El Paso Chile Co. BBQ sauce sampler and silicone basting brushes (all this Badger-talk has me jonesing for BBQ-ed brisket) and some tablecloth/napkin set.
-J.
-J.
We're off to the 'maul'. I'll check out the El Paso Chile Co sampler. I'm partickiler about my barbeque sauces.
Is that Dakota Mahogany I see on your countertops? We had that granite last kitchen. Now I'm ready for somethin' more earthy. Swirly. Lighter.
The brisket gets rubbed with spices and smoked for about a gazillion hours, until it's tender enough to slice juicily but no so much for it to shred. The wood used in the wood holder is a mix of oak & hickory chunks. Sauce on the side. I'll post pictures of the killer smoke ring.
Vickee,
Enjoy it while it lasts!
-J.
But dude. No mesquite? It ain't a TEXAS barbecue without mesquite. Hickory is for Yankee poseurs.
Where I come from, "barbeque" is a synonym for "cook out." And hot dogs and hamburgers are prepared.
What is this "brisket," this "spice rub," and "this sauce on the side" you speak of? Is this Southern for "ground chuck," "salt and pepper," and "ketchup"?
Ovah heah in the southeasternmost corner of the republic, hickory (straight) is the wood of choice. Granted this doesn't make it authentically Texan. However, the fact I haven't a for-real barbecue pit and, instead, have to rely on my Alton Brown-like jury-rig makes the use of mesquite impractical.
Mesquite burns too hot and its smoke is too strong for such a small enclosure. This has the unfortunate effects of 1- making the brisket cook too hot and too fast and thereby drying out, and 2-making it taste like a hunk o' charcoal. Given my circumstances, mesquite is nearly impossible to control.
Hickory cooks cooler and milder in this rig o' mine; although even straight hickory burns too hot for such an enclosed space, it can be successfully "diluted" via the use of oak. So I make do, and risk a small inauthenticity in doing so. Kinda like putting sugar in a marinara.
Poppy,
This line of questioning, of course, would prove more fruitful and profitable if you addressed it to any of the Texans in attendance.
-J.