In The Pits

yep, it’s true.

Ha Ha Ha

ag

So I am up in Chattanooga Valley doing some training with a group of school tech. people when it gets to be lunch time. Normally, I am not asked to join a group for lunch and I have to find my own way, so it was very thoughtful of them to invite me to go with them. When they decided where to go they told me we would go to the Purple Daisy. In my head I saw a cute little place with lots of dainty menu items and nothing I would care for. Then they told me it was BBQ. I am still not sure what a place called Purple Daisy would be like. Well, was I in for a surprise! We pulled up and the first thing I saw was a smoker with a real wood pile and no gas tanks. The smell filled the air and I was starting to get excited. Sure enough, when we got seated, I looked at the menu and there it was; REAL BBQ. I order a pulled pork sandwich with hot sauce. It was well priced and I got a good portion. The sauce was a vinegar sauce with just enough sweet and heat for me to be happy. The meat was pulled clean and had a fairly strong but not bitter smoke flavor. This was some of the better bbq I have had at a joint as of late. I will try to get by there again.

ag

First I’ll say that the party went well and a good time was had by all! Thanks to all who came and blessed us with their presence and who helped out. And thanks to God for holding off the threatening rain!

Alan’s pulled pork was his best effort ever! It was really remarkable stuff.

Dad’s BBQ chicken was also excellent, and when served with the white sauce was really fascinating.

White sauce is interesting stuff. I’m definitely not done playing with it yet. The recipe I used was simple enough:
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/2 cup mayonnaise
Mix and chill.

There was a little fiasco with the smoker. I put the ribs on a little before noon. After the second turn at 4 hours, I went to get a shower. Alan and his family had arrived by now, as had another friend, Bobby, and his family. Half way through my shower Christy pounds on the door and says that Alan says there is a problem with the smoker. I replied that I had soap it my hair right then so Alan had better do something! I rush to get dressed and out there, and discovered that Alan was fighting a fire in the main barrel of the pit! Smoke was rolling out and flames were just under the ribs, charbroiling them in their own grease! I wish I had pictures to post but there was no time. We quickly got the ribs off and doused the flame. Thanks to Alan and Bobby’s quick action we were able to save 9 of 13 slabs.

I didn’t catch the warning signs though that the smoker had been giving me all day though. I had noticed that the temperature didn’t come up as quickly as I had expected. Now with 13 slabs it can take a while, but by the first turn at 2 hours it should be up. Today it wasn’t. I did notice thought that it was cruising at about 200 F with very little fuel. And the ends of some of the ribs were burnt, which is odd with a cold smoker. I had told Christy several times during the smoke that something was wrong, that it wasn’t acting normal. What happened was that we had a low level grease fire from almost the beginning. It was past the thermometer, that’s why I thought I had a cold smoker and also why it didn’t seem to need fuel. It finally caught well when the meat got up to temp. That’s when the smoke started to roll. This was caused by grease running down hill into the fire box and creating a flammable trail back to the main barrel.

Why has this never happened before? I moved the smoker from its traditional spot to a spot inside a fence to keep our 2 year old away from it. I didn’t realize it but the fire box had always been slightly uphill in previous spots. This time it was down hill causing the grease to run in to the firebox.

All in all it was a great party with plenty of good BBQ. There were leftovers even after having lost the 4 slabs.

Thanks again to all that came and put it on your calendars for next year. I’ll try not to burn the ribs.

PapaMike

I was too tired to blog over night but here is the scoop!

    I was planning on preheating the pit last night and putting the meat on around 4 am. I spent about an hour last night cleaning out the pit and found that that greatly helped in getting it up to temp. so I decided to go ahead and put the two 7 1/2 pound butts on at 11 pm. Turns out this was a good idea as it took them over 10 hours to get done. I have been cooking 5 pounders for a while and they usually take 8 hours but I have had 8 pounders that went 8 hours as well. One thing I noticed was that the pit temp was running at 225 where I usually keep it at 250. I had a hard time keeping enough fuel ready to keep it at that temp let alone ge it any higher. My guess is that my wood is getting old. I have had some of this stuff for 4 years now and it’s time to cut down a new tree.

     From 11pm to 4am I turned the meat twice and then left it alone until after 9am. I went to bed around 3am and was up every hour or so to tend fire. I wrapped it and let it rest until 12 (while I slept). I then got up and pulled it. I have a crockpot full of Q and a pot of sauce so I am ready to go (as soon as I clean the kitchen and get a shower).

ag

The smoker is warm, the ribs are on! Results in 6 hours.

PapMike

We’re busy getting ready for the smoke tomorrow. The rub and the sauce are ready. The pool is good to go. The ribs will be prepped later tonight. I still have a little yard work to do, but right now it’s lunch time.

PapaMike

We’re having our annual Independence Day event this year. This is the 5th annual! I’m looking forward to family and friends gathering together for some good fun and good food. There will be my ribs, Alan’s pulled pork and Dad’s BBQ chicken.

I’m going to try to make a version of north Alabama’s white sauce. Even though I live in Georgia I do have some Alabama family roots, so maybe I can pull that off with authenticity.

Independence Day is a very special day to me. It’s more than just friends and fireworks and food. It’s a day to appreciate and remember and be thankful to God for the freedoms we have! On Independence Day it doesn’t matter if you’re conservative or liberal, for McCain or Obama or even Nader, we’re all American! We have the freedom to be anything we want to be in the greatest country that God has ever given man!

We give thanks to God for our country and our freedom. We will remember our nation’s founding fathers that, guided by God, ensured that we would maintain these freedoms. We will also remember our nations fighting men and women, many abroad now, who sacrifice to ensure we keep our freedoms and way of life.

See you on the 4th!

PapaMike

We planted our pumpkins this weekend. We planted the Atlantic Giant variety. Last year we got several in excess of 100 lbs with the biggest being 140 (see pic). That’s not very big for this variety, but it was our first time. We learned a few things we did wrong and so we’ll try again. My goal this year is to top 300 lbs.

PapaMike

We went back to Armstrongs in Summerville, GA last week. This is my annual visit for Father’s day. Generally I can’t talk my wife into it because she doesn’t like vinegar based sauces. Oh well it’s her loss!

I’m happy to report that the whole BBQ experience was better than last time. The meat had better flavor, less fat, and there was more of it! They served more appropriately sized side item portions as well. It was a good experience and I look forward to returning as soon as possible.

PapaMike

1. Had the chance to try a new place here in Calhoun (actually it is in Adairsville). Character’s Famous BBQ doesn’t look like much but if you want a real wood smoked bbq sandwich you won’t be disappointed. The meat is cooked on a mobile pit that sits right outside next to stacks of wood. Inside, you will find a small kitchen and plenty of friendly conversation. Since this was my first visit I had to try both the pork and beef. They were both served pulled/chopped and were both good but the beef was my favorite. Maybe because it is rare in this area to find really good beef. The sauce was a thin, stout sauce that was served warmed. Though not my favorite style of sauce, it was a tasty version of the sauce that is typical in my area (best I have had of this style).

Can’t remember which was the beef????????

2. My next trip was to Big John’s. This was the second time I have tried this place. It moved to Calhoun from Dalton and now occupies the old Hickory House location. This place sports a fairly new enclosed smoker that looks like a Southern Pride or something along those lines. I have come to expect either a very faint or very strong smoke flavor from this style of pit. Big John’s leans toward the faint side. The sauce is not much different from the one that used to be served here. It is a tomato based sauce that is rather unremarkable. The meat is sliced/chopped and is ok. This second trip was better than the first but this place is still not on my top list of bbq joints.

3. One of my co-workers is a big Bailey’s fan. So this past week several of us loaded up and drove from Dalton to Ringgold to eat there. I have eaten their many times and have always had a good meal. The sauce is peculiar and will surprise you the first time you try it. It is heavy on the sweet and the hot version will light you up. This sauce really goes well with the beef but I had pork and it works fine there, too.

4. The Chicken came from the annual BBQ Chicken fundraiser that Echota United Methodist here in Calhoun does every year. I look forward to this feast each year as much for the marinated slaw as for the chicken. For 6 bucks you get a plate with 1/2 a chicken, beans, slaw, bread and a piece of cake. I like to get there early to see the cooking take place. Notice the real mop!   

ag