Memorial Day this year was my first whole packer brisket. I had cooked a HOF once before that was marvelously trimmed by Swift or some other meat packing giant down to about 3 lbs. After sawing and chewing my way through one meal, I made chili con carne out of it, after very finely chopping it. Today's event was noteworthy, worth sharing, because it was enjoyable.
So now you know a couple slices of my life, and that I cook a lot of chicken. Don't we all? I think chicken is a universal food, cooked and eaten all over Planet Earth. Even our pet’s diets are primarily chicken. Thank you, Meathead, for Simon and Garfunkel rub.
I turned 64 recently and I have been cooking since I was 18, way back in 1970. Most of those years include cooking over charcoal or campfires or both. I have fond memories of keyhole shaped campfires where the little keyway got filled with glowing embers, a small grate was placed over and the cooking was lovingly accomplished.
As for now and most likely many years in the future, home is in Wisconsin, a stone’s throw from the Southern Kettle State Park area. I take my dog swimming at Ottawa Lake regularly.
So here’s how I cook (and romance my sweetheart of 40 years)….First I must mention my indoor workhorse, my Maytag electric range, oven, and broiler…….3 types of heat all wrapped up in one package. Also used 365 days a year! Even here on a smoking/grilling website we should pay some homage to this important item in all of our lives.
Next up, and tied for second place, is my Weber Gold 22.5 inch grill, paired for a couple of years now with a Smokenator. I should mention that over the years I have had to replace the charcoal grill twice. One wore out in 5 years. It was just a cheap square covered grill that was a wedding present. The other was my first Weber 22.5 inch kettle that took 30 years for me to wear out. The bottom rusted out and it lost a leg on account of it. Sad passing….but not quite as bad as losing a dog.
Also tied for second place is my Weber Q100 rigged for a full size propane tank. It is perched on top of a wooden bench that I designed and built for it with a shelf underneath for two full size propane tanks.
So how does Jay Leno decide which car to drive? I’m glad I don’t have to face that decision. But I do have to decide what method to use to cook what we eat. Generally, if I can cook on one of the grills, I will. Since home is in Wisconsin, my Maytag gets the mother lode during the winter. Oh yeah, I also have a crock pot and a Dutch oven. As for the rest of the cooking year, most flat or round meats go on the Q100. Examples being burgers, chops, brats, chicken thighs or breasts.
The Weber Gold, with or without the Smokenator is used for roasts like whole chickens (I also have the rotisserie equipment.) turkeys, pork loins or tenderloins, beef sirloin tips……On my Bucket List is to rotisserate a duck or two.
I have also spatchcocked and smoked chickens and turkeys. It’s faster and less cleanup afterwards than rotisserie. But I have been around now for a few years and if I had to pick one or the other, rotisserie or spatchcocked and smoked….I’d choose BOTH. Life is not a competition where there is only one winner.
I’ll go more in depth about today’s brisket on another page, more appropriate to brisketology.
So now you know a couple slices of my life, and that I cook a lot of chicken. Don't we all? I think chicken is a universal food, cooked and eaten all over Planet Earth. Even our pet’s diets are primarily chicken. Thank you, Meathead, for Simon and Garfunkel rub.
I turned 64 recently and I have been cooking since I was 18, way back in 1970. Most of those years include cooking over charcoal or campfires or both. I have fond memories of keyhole shaped campfires where the little keyway got filled with glowing embers, a small grate was placed over and the cooking was lovingly accomplished.
As for now and most likely many years in the future, home is in Wisconsin, a stone’s throw from the Southern Kettle State Park area. I take my dog swimming at Ottawa Lake regularly.
So here’s how I cook (and romance my sweetheart of 40 years)….First I must mention my indoor workhorse, my Maytag electric range, oven, and broiler…….3 types of heat all wrapped up in one package. Also used 365 days a year! Even here on a smoking/grilling website we should pay some homage to this important item in all of our lives.
Next up, and tied for second place, is my Weber Gold 22.5 inch grill, paired for a couple of years now with a Smokenator. I should mention that over the years I have had to replace the charcoal grill twice. One wore out in 5 years. It was just a cheap square covered grill that was a wedding present. The other was my first Weber 22.5 inch kettle that took 30 years for me to wear out. The bottom rusted out and it lost a leg on account of it. Sad passing….but not quite as bad as losing a dog.
Also tied for second place is my Weber Q100 rigged for a full size propane tank. It is perched on top of a wooden bench that I designed and built for it with a shelf underneath for two full size propane tanks.
So how does Jay Leno decide which car to drive? I’m glad I don’t have to face that decision. But I do have to decide what method to use to cook what we eat. Generally, if I can cook on one of the grills, I will. Since home is in Wisconsin, my Maytag gets the mother lode during the winter. Oh yeah, I also have a crock pot and a Dutch oven. As for the rest of the cooking year, most flat or round meats go on the Q100. Examples being burgers, chops, brats, chicken thighs or breasts.
The Weber Gold, with or without the Smokenator is used for roasts like whole chickens (I also have the rotisserie equipment.) turkeys, pork loins or tenderloins, beef sirloin tips……On my Bucket List is to rotisserate a duck or two.
I have also spatchcocked and smoked chickens and turkeys. It’s faster and less cleanup afterwards than rotisserie. But I have been around now for a few years and if I had to pick one or the other, rotisserie or spatchcocked and smoked….I’d choose BOTH. Life is not a competition where there is only one winner.
I’ll go more in depth about today’s brisket on another page, more appropriate to brisketology.
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