It finally feels like Spring!!

Waking up this morning with the hopes and dreams of playing golf and instead seeing it snowing was not a happy feeling. As the day wore on and as I checked off more and more things around the house, I noticed the sun come out and temperatures outside finally become seasonal. After going to the range and hitting 100+ golf balls, I came home and knew I was going to making this day of March a true EIBG day.

For this smoke I decided to use lump charcoal and apple wood

For the actual smoke I went for chicken thighs and sweet potatoes.

My target temperature for this endeavor was 250-260 for 3+ hours

Getting a little smokey

After 3.5 hours

Winter Grilling

Hard to believe its been a couple of months since I have been able to BBQ. In the Northeast we have seen record snowfalls where it seems that my kids have been home at least one snow day every week. This past weekend we saw temperatures soar into the 50s degrees Farenheit which meant that I was not going to let that oppurtunity pass me by. Considering that it had been a while, I decided to go to Loews to restock on some charcoal and fire up the Weber Smokey Mountain and my One Touch Gold.

For this smoke, I decided to go with some hickory wood chunks that I had picked up.

If you recall, I recommended adding bricks to the bottom of your smoker to help maintain and retain heat inside the smoker. I then put down about 60 unlit briquettes and lit about 30 briquettes in the chimney.

After pouring the charcoal, I added the woodchunks and covered the smoker to bring it to temperature.

For this smoke, I did sweet potatoes and chicken with a spice rub and a little olive oil.

I let the smoke go for about 3 hours....

On the Weber One Touch I made burgers

And now as I sit and wait for the snow to come back this week, I have had to cover my grills again and set them for hibernation until the warmer weather arrives.

Winter Culinary Sundays

On Sundays in this house, I like to refer to them as #CulinarySundays. Its an oppurtunity to flex my inner gourmet self and put some thoughts towards making something that I don't usually have time to make during the week.

On Friday we had a some weather come our way and as you can see, there is some serious snow outside on my BBQ backyard and the temperature is too low to have a successful BBQ/Smoke.

I decided to make Chinese Potstickers (AKA Pan Fried Dumplings).

While these were not done on a grill, I have been thinking (as I watch the snow melt outside) how to do a smoked version of these when the weather gets warmer.

Grilling in December

My son and I had a little bet going whether or not I would be able to get the grill hot enough with it being 35 degrees Farenheit outside. Since he had been doing so well in school I wanted to reward him with an unexpected BBQ that he would also have a chance to participate in.

The Smoking Version of Chirp and Turf

For those following this blog for a while, you may recall my original Chirp and Turf recipe and technique post. Now that I recently added a smoker to my BBQ backyard, it was time to reload this recipe and technique.

Recipe:

(1) dry rub recipe 

(2) Tablespoons Brown Sugar

Sweet Potatoes

Italian Sausage

Chicken

3 pound rack of beef short ribs

Step 1: Seperate some of the dry rub recipe and add the brown sugar for the beef ribs. Liberally coat the ribs and let come to room temperature.

Step 2: Pour 1 chimney full of charcoal into the bottom of the smoker

Step 3: Light 3/4 of a chimney with charcoal and light it.

Step 4: When the charcoal is lit, pour it into the chimney and bring it to temperature

Step 5: Add the ribs to the bottom level of the smoker and close the top. While this is happening, prepare the chicken with the rub, sweet potatoes and sausages

Step 6: After an hour, add the chicken, sweet potatoes, and sausage to the top level of the smoker

Step 7: Replace the cover and and let the smoking magic begin

Step 8: After a few hours check the chicken. There is a good chance that the ribs will need a little while longer.

Step 9: Pull the ribs off and let them rest for a few minutes before slicing

Step 10: Slice the ribs in between the bones and enjoy the smoke ring!