The Great American Lager flows like honey now here in the evening at LAN. Baseball is on in the bar. The home team lost earlier today so we have the Red Sox v. Yankees on. It doesn’t get anymore American than that.
Oh, the BBQ? Yes, yes, yes…
The ribs and chicken came out of the smoke just shy of 5 hours. Our first run with the ole gal on the patio was a success. We’ve learned that she’s easy goin but can get excited quickly when she’s exposed to fresh hardwood lumps. Never the less she was consistent most of the day.
As you saw in earlier posts I had the ribs at the top of the stack. Next time we’ll reverse it. We waited for the ribs to be done and in so doing overcooked the chicken. We believe having the ribs closer to the heat may get the chicken just right, or at least we hope. We also noticed this chicken wasn’t the best quality we would have liked. It didn’t pick up the flavor of the marinade nearly as well as the other chicken we normally purchase (usually a fresh, natural brand). I believe Tracey bought some Perdue birds this time around. We won’t do that again.
It was interesting having different rubs on the ribs. The Big Bob Gibson rubbed ribs had a better taste but were tougher. The homemade rubbed ribs were much more tender. Not sure if the preservatives in the BBG rub soaked up the moisture in that rack or not. Both had a solid pink/red color showcasing the cherry wood smoke. They were not overly smoky. The cherry wood was just right.
In terms of “outdoor flavor” these ribs and chicken have to be the best in that category to date. The combination of the new charcoal and cherry wood with the low temps had to be the big difference. Could I duplicate this on the Weber? Absolutely! Just on a smaller scale. And come to think of it this was my first time smoking enough food for eight+ adults. Not to bad considering.
Our plates were topped off with homemade macaroni and cheese and green beans. Tracey made those from scratch. The mac and cheese was awesome. The green beans desperately needed fat back (I’m sure she was going healthy by not including this time?) but were good. I was too lazy to make corn bread. Can you believe that?
Back to work tomorrow. We did manage to get one of our finals under our belt. One more to go with three nights to complete it. No problem, me thinks.
Again, Happy July 4th! Our thoughts and prayers are with our fine men and women and their families now defending and preserving our freedom. Keep kicking ass guys. We’re proud of the work you’re doing. Thanks to all others who’ve been in the trenches to preserve our Independence as well.
Good evening…
Stop you’re making me hungry!!!