I Like Big Butts And I Cannot Lie.....Breasts too!

We decided to have a bunch of friends over on Sunday to watch the 49ers play the Texans on Sunday Night Football. Kathy & I are always game for an opportunity to entertain but if I get the opportunity to make it less work for her by doing a big part of the cooking, so much the better. In keeping with that and my desire to further hone my ability to run my new smoker I jumped at the chance to make some pulled pork sandwiches for the assembled crowd.

While I'm still working on trying to find the happy place with this cooker with respect to Low & Slow type cooking (~225deg range) I've quickly found the process for maintaining the cooker in the ~300-325deg range which is ideal for the "Hot & Fast" style of BBQ cookery which is gaining in popularity. Doing so allowed me to sleep in a bit on Sunday which I rarely shy away from and allowed me to get started at ~9am for a ~6hr cook instead of staying up all night for a ~13hr cook.

A New Smoker & A Quick Weeknight Cook

I'd been working with an old, inexpensive offset smoker for years. With a number of modifications I'd figured out how to get it to produce some pretty good BBQ. But, by virtue of it's cheap materials and how it was constructed it was horribly inefficient, it had seriously broad temperature variations in the cooking chamber, and it was very difficult to maintain reasonably consistent temperatures.  All of which should be expected of any of this sort of "Cheap Offset Smoker". See HERE for an detailed explanation as to why.



So decided to bite the bullet and purchase a quality offset smoker designed to run purely on wood or a "Stickburner" as they are called by the broad BBQ community. The type of smoker I was looking for had to be made of 1/4" thick steel, have reasonably consistent internal temps or a means of controlling/adjusting them and meet my expectations for quality workmanship. I'd considered a pellet smoker but decided that I rather enjoy the process of tending to the fire. Also of concern was the number of potential failure points in a pellet smoker what with electronic controls, motors, electric igniters etc. I shopped around, asked a bunch of questions on various forums and decided to purchase a 36" Lang Patio Model . It has just about the same total internal space as my previous smoker, but due to the consistent internal temps it has much more actual useable space. On the old cooker ~1/3 of the space was far too hot to use.

Most cookers in this category use tuning plates to control the internal temperature. The Lang however is a reverse flow design that provides the same result without having to adjust tuning plates relative to the temperature you wish to cook at. I was able to speak directly with the owner of the company, Ben Lang, who answered all of my questions and even made some custom modifications to the smoker that I wanted. The lead time from order to delivery was about 4wks and while the shipping wasn't cheap, it worked out to less than $1 per pound. I couldn't ship a pound of CA Apricots to Georgia for less than that. Every person I dealt with at Lang was really pleasant to deal with and they provided a very nicely constructed smoker at a price I felt good about.

Conspicuous Omission

On Wednesday September 4th in San Mateo, CA three men, Edwin Lee of Daly City, Brian Ma & Bunn Vo of San Jose forced their way into a home in a quiet residential area. They held the residents including a pregnant woman at gunpoint. At roughly 11:30pm a gunfight in the home erupted, the homeowner was shot but will survive his injuries. The "suspects" fled in an SUV and turned up at an East San Jose Hospital. Lee was injured in the shootout and is in custody along with Vo. Brian Ma was killed.

So what does this have to do with anything? Later this week CA Assembly Members Nancy Skinner of Berkeley and Rob Bonta of Alameda will hold a press conference in support of their asinine collection of Assembly Bills (AB-48, AB1131, AB180) which are 3 of 19 (down from ~50) such bills currently circulating Sacramento. They plan to speak and offer the podium as well to sympathetic members of Law Enforcement (read PD chiefs with political aspirations), "Community Leaders" and victims of "Gun Crime". Conspicuously absent from their agenda are individuals who have lawfully used a firearm in self defense.

Why? Well, we know why. Because their presence would confound the politicians agenda. Be it at the Federal, State or Local level, "Gun Control" advocates never, ever acknowledge those who lawfully defend their lives with a firearm nor allow their voice in the discussion.

Man Can Cook #24 - Boston Baked Peanuts

Full disclosure, this dish is not my idea but the recipe below is of my own creation. A few years ago my wife and I visited New Orleans and ate at a joint called "Cochon". This dish was served as a side and I made a point of figuring out how to make it for myself. It's not exactly the same as Cochon's but it's different and delicious.

Hardware:

Large Casserole Pan
Mixing Bowl
Whisk

Software:

2lbs Boiled Peanuts (shelled & peeled)
1/2lb Quality Bacon (cut into 1/4"x1/2" lardon)
1 Medium Yellow Onion (julienne)
1/2c Molasses
1/3c Brown Sugar
2tsp Kosher Salt
1tsp Fresh Ground Pepper
1/2tsp Dry Mustard
1Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
5-6pats Butter
Hot water
Pinch of Crushed Red Pepper or a dash or two of your favorite hot sauce

Great Moments In Gun Control Analogies

Statement:

Well honestly, the odds of something bad happening are just so slim. You really don't need a firearm to protect yourself or your home.

Response:

Really? Then I guess you don't need a fire extinguisher in your kitchen.

Every year in the United States ~20,000 people are killed or injured as a result of fire in the home. Every fire department I'm aware of advocates that people keep an extinguisher in their home.

Every year in the United States ~790,000 people are killed or injured as a result of violent crime. When the odds of injury or death are so much greater why is there not a similar, if not greater effort to encourage people to protect themselves from violence as they do from fire?

Man Can Cook #23 - The Italian BBQ Fatty

I recently stumbled over a forum dedicated to the art of BBQ called "The BBQ Brethren". It's a great community with a ton of individuals who are more than willing to share ideas and assist each other in creating the best BBQ they can. It was on that forum that I was introduced to the concept of "The BBQ Fatty". A BBQ Fatty is a roll of sausage, often stuffed with various other ingredients and sometimes even wrapped in bacon. The ultimate expression is the "Bacon Explosion" which is a woven mat of bacon surrounding a sausage loaf, stuffed with crumbled bacon and cheese.

This weekend I took a crack at my own BBQ Fatty and using some of the awesome Italian Peppers from my garden and Marinara made from last years tomatoes created an Italian version of the dish.

Bullmastiff Rescue.....Closure...

I cannot describe the joy I'm feeling right now. In December of 2011 Dawn Hamilton and a massive group of dedicated volunteers undertook the daunting task of rescuing 27 Bullmastiffs from a horrible situation in Las Vegas, Nevada. The dogs were owned by a person who fancied himself a breeder but in reality was a bit of a hoarder and seriously neglected the feeding, veterinary care and socialization of the dogs. Many of the dogs had significant health issues due to the filth they were forced to live in. In some cases the dogs were 2nd or 3rd generation that hadn't received proper vaccinations. There were behavioral issues with many of the dogs due to isolation or improper socialization. Tens of thousands of dollars were raised by the American Bullmastiff Association to fund their care and transportation.

As of this week, the last of the 27 dogs has found a new "forever home". Rescue is so often stressful for those who put in the work, the time and money, but these are the joyous moments that make it all worthwhile. Jewlz adopted out the last of the Nevada surrender dogs a couple months ago. Boy, since renamed Bo, was with Jewlz over a year, but he is now in his forever home with Bob & Mary in Washington.

Jewlz has been a lifesaver for rescue many times over and when Ithe organization was slammed with the NV dogs, she and others in OR and WA stepped up and took several of the first 15 dogs into foster, so we could make room for the remaining dogs who still needed to be picked up.   Seeing these dogs get a second chance at a loving home and good life, is what its all about and without volunteers and fosters opening their homes and hearts to these dogs, it wouldn’t be successful.  Many of the dogs were rehomed in a matter of a few short weeks, others took longer.