Thanks for the Votes...

 Thanks for the Votes... Would be Big-Time fun to be on a cooking Show!!!

Squattin...

Paul Kirk's mops & baste...

Grandma Joan's Coleslaw...

http://cookingwithmaryandfriends.blogspot.com/2012/04/grandma-joans-coleslaw.html?spref=fb


Ingredients
1 head cabbage (small to medium)
2 large carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced (optional)
1 green bell pepper, diced (optional)
1 cup sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp course-ground black pepper

Method
Chop and dice all vegetables and place in large non-reactive bowl (stainless steel or glass).  In large microwave-safe bowl, combine sugar, vinegar and next 4 ingredients. Stir to combine and microwave on high until mixture almost boils, about 2 minutes.  Stir and allow to cool to room temperature.  Once cooled, stir sugar/vinegar mixture into veggies and toss to thoroughly combine. Chill, covered in a refrigerator several hours.  Makes approx. 4 cups of coleslaw.

May add mayonnaise if desired once cole slaw is chilled. Serve with slotted spoon!  Delicious!

This weeekend's Cook...

   To start off, there not called "Pitmasters" for nothing.    It seems that every time I cook something on the smoker, another lesson is learned.  This weekend was dollar wise my biggest catering cook.  5 briskets, 2 pork shoulders & 6 lbs of sausage.  It was full of positives and negatives.  I'll start out with the negatives.

negatives:
never use foil again for briskets.  I've used foil in the past and it helps with the tenderness.  I didn't want to make any mistakes so foil was used instead of butcher paper and the briskets came out to mushy.  It might be ok for a few contest turn in slices but it's just not Texas brisket.  All the hard work I've put in over the past five years trying to perfect the butcher paper brisket cook and these briskets that I wanted to be perfect were not even close.  #neveragain.

My Lang 60 is a great smoker.  But it's not a mass quantity smoker.  The next bigger Lang 84 is.

Lang 84.

From now on my Max cook is 4 briskets, or 3 briskets & 2 pork shoulders.

things to remember:

For max perfect briskets, they cannot touch each other while cooking. 

Cut more fat off the flat so slices will be perfect.

Always take the brisket out of the paper before cutting. 

Take gloves & a knife when delivering Q just in case they ask you to cut for them.

Cook briskets to 180 before wrapping in paper.

positives:

I'm now a 100% post oak brisket & pork shoulder texas cooker.  Mr. Firewood delivered 1/4 cord of post oak to me last week & was tried out this weekend.  Nothing better.  It's the real thing & he says it's no problem to get.  It turns the meat darker but the taste is "real tx bbq".

Begin search for better sausage. 

Many lessons learned which is what one has to go through to be a pitmaster.

Really think I'm one step closer to becoming the kind of bbq man I want to be.  Don't know what that is yet but I know I'm one step closer.  #thatdoesntmakesense

 #paid

Mr. Firewood...

 http://www.mrfirewood.net/

Chris Pepper
469-585-2361
chris@mrfirewood.net
Little Elm Texas

 1/4 Post Oak.

 1/4 Post Oak.

Black Walnut.

grilled balsamic asparagus marinade...

3 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs olive oil
1 tbs soy sauce
1 garlic minced
1/2 tsp kosher salt
ground black pepper to taste

combine in large zip lock & marinate for 30-60 minutes.
grill along with steaks for 10 minutes.

banana nut cake with banana nut frosting...

  when mom ask me what kind of cake i wanted her to make, it was always a banana nut cake with banana nut icing.
  i found the recipe on a blog named "a real susie homemaker".  Her name is Susan Campbell and she's from south mississippi.  My kinda girl.  Her recipe seemed to be very close to what I remember moms being.  So we gave it a try.  Here is Susan's blog link.

http://arealsusiehomemaker.com/banana-nut-cake/

the only change from her recipe i made was to add 1 tsp of vanilla to the icing.

cake mix:

1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
4 tbs buttermilk
1/2 cups pecans crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup mashed bananas/ about 2 bananas
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups flour

cream the shortening & sugar.
add eggs & beat well.
sift dry ingredients together & add with the buttermilk.
add bananas, pecans & vanilla.
pour batter into greased floured pans & bake @350 for 30 minutes.
cool cake on racks & ice up the cake.

banana icing:

1/2 to 3/4 stick melted butter
1 lb. confectioner sugar
1 banana mashed/ about 1/2 cup
1/2 cup pecans crushed
1/2 tsp vanilla

mix until you get the right consistency for your liking.
ice up your cake and enjoy.
thanks so much Ms Susan Campbell.

http://www.americanprofile.com/recipes/banana-nut-cake-with-banana-nut-frosting/

http://arealsusiehomemaker.com/banana-nut-cake/


http://allrecipes.com/recipe/banana-nut-frosting/


http://www.recipetips.com/recipe-cards/t--37830/banana-nut-cake-and-frosting.asp

right where i have to be...

Penzys Spices Dallas...

http://www.penzeys.com/

http://www.thespicehouse.com/

  Penzys & The Spice House in Chicago is where I

get all my spices from. Today I found out that they are both owned

by a brother & sister family that's been in spice sells

for many years.