Be forewarned. It's a bit of a ramble.

[latenight71]

you lost me at "cheeseheads" but i rejoined at "pastrami"

[willxfmr]

So, it's been quite a week. A little creative scheduling got me six days off of work and gave me a chance to get the rest of my first floor gutted out, and the temporary kitchen functioning. The idea was to start the demo late May, early June so it would be done before temps climbed up too high. As the other Cheeseheads can confirm, that didn't work out at all. Not even a little bit. Thanks to my son's being able to help out for a several hours, I was able to get everything done, but it took a couple days longer than it should have. Cost me fifteen pounds of water weight in three days. it also prompted a complete stranger at the local big box home improvement to store to stop me and ask if I was feeling okay. Now, I just have to learn how to remodel in a couple of headers over some windows, to replace the poop that some drunken primates hurled at the wall and called "carpentry", then get on with the original plan. You ever heard the saying "They don't build them like they used to"? My answer to that is, "Thank God!"
It wasn't all work however. I did manage sneak a couple in cooks along the way. First up was some pastrami using the excellent method shared with us by @David Parrish.



They took about seven hours to push them through the stall running the WSM at 250°. Thankfully, the Fireboard/Pit Viper did all the hard work, so all I had to do was keep an ear out for alarms. The second cook that was also referenced here, was supposed to be two slabs of Creekstone spare ribs, but ended up being three slabs for reasons you'll see momentarily. I did warn you this was a ramble... This was my first time trying something from Creekstone, and I have to say, I was impressed. The slabs were smaller than what I usually get from Costco, but oh boy were they good.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out to stock up when they go on sale again. The solution to my lack of rub problem ended up being a blessing in disguise. Slab #1 got the last of my Hanks KC. Slab #2 got SPGO as recommend by so many in the Pity Party post. The #3 surprise slab got Bronzeville rub from The Spice House,

and here's why. My number 2 son is a fan of my ribs, and after listening to my lack of rub whine, took it upon himself to leave for work early so he would have time to stop at the Spice House Milwaukee location. He's a pretty decent griller, but so far hasn't done any low and slow despite being gifted my Weber 22 complete with SnS. As he explained it, he walked into The Spice House, and asked for a BBQ rub to go with ribs. A packet of Bronzeville is what they handed him, so that's what got dropped off with a text message letting me know there was a present for me in the garage. Well shucks. There was no way he wasn't getting a slabs worth of ribs as a thank you. So, two slabs became three, and all was good. I have never tried the Bronzeville, but it is certainly good enough to make sure there is always some in stock in the spice drawer. I think it would really shine on a pork shoulder. It's not nearly as sweet as I normally use, and with just a little kick of heat, it was a real winner. The slab with Hanks KC was exactly what you expect it to be, and that's why Hanks has a permanent spot on the spice rack. The SPGO rack was also a surprise, but really, it shouldn't have been. For some reason I have never stuck to the basics on pork ribs, but I have learned from my mistake. SPGO is a fine rub for for meat of all kinds. Thank you to those that reminded me of that, and convinced me to give it a shot on ribs.

All three slabs turned out great after approximately 5 hours @275° on the pellet pooper. The pellets were cherry, and the smoke tube was loaded with a mix of apple and pear chips. Each had their own distinct flavor, and all three were slabs I would be proud to replicate again.