What a Tool....

About three years ago I purchased a tool that until recently I have never had a real need to use....a welder. I purchased it at Harbor Freight and it only operates on 120 volts so really its not good for anything other than playing around and basic light gauge stuff. It might repair a small leak in a exhaust pipe or something non critical like a patio table. Its a MIG unit that uses shielded wire to provide the "bubble" and does not even have an input for shielding gas. The intent for the purchase was to sort of self teach the skill in preparation for starting the resto work on my grandpa's truck. Obviously....I am still preparing. Funny how projects get put off when you have kids, a house and a job! It was less than $100.00 and today it paid for itself or pretty close to it.

Today the the bagger on my mower broke. You know...the bag you hang on the back of the mower to catch all the clippings. Its pretty basic....a steel frame wrapped in a mesh bag. One of the welds popped loose and the whole thing just collapsed.  After I said a few nice words....it dawned on me....I can fix this!!

Broke out the grinder (first real use as well) and removed the paint. Cleaned the area for the repair......Put on the spaceman mask and guess what?? Finished cutting the grass!

Something about that process....the heat, smoke and sparks flying that feels very cool. I get to work with a lot of guys on job sites that weld for a living. They work on Steam headers, process piping and reactor vessels.  That kind of welding takes years to master. Not only the art but the theory and science of the whole thing. Pretty cool.

Normally this sort of thing is no big deal, I run around fixing shit all the time. A lot of the time even if it's not even broke...but this was a special one. Why? I purchased the welder the same day I found out Ali was pregnant with Sam.

Good Friday Tornado

Another slow day at the office….it really goes in waves and I actually am glad for things to be a bit calmer around here after the last couple of weeks.  I want to share a bit of info regarding the Easter Weekend storms that affected the St. Louis area and my family specifically. On the night of April 22^nd the area was hit by one of the strongest tornado's on record in since sometime in the 60’s. It was an odd day for sure….I remember sitting in my office during the first round of storms in the afternoon and looking outside at all the streetlights beginning to turn on around 10am. I even thought to take a picture of it because it felt so weird.

 That was obviously a sign of things to come.  All day the weather was very ominous…. Hail and high winds throughout the area. Not really that unusual for this time of the year…but strange none the less.

We had planned to do a cook for Easter this year and instead of the usual ham fixings we were going to smoke a shoulder and a brisket for the first time. That occupied my time at home after work. I loaded Sam in the car and we went to Costco to purchase the goods.  As we were returning to the car to load up all the crap it began to rain on us…so I quickly got situated and we headed home.

 Not too long after that Ali got home and we flipped on the news. Big storms headed toward the area….again not unusual.  They were talking about a tornado in New Melle (about 7 miles south of my parents) and moving NE setting sights on our area. The storm was also spitting out hail the size of baseballs. Great.  The sirens began singing their all-to familiar song and we began to move to lower ground. This I think was the second or third time this year we have had to do this due to weather so we were prepared with flashlights, blankets, the essential jug of milk and some snacks for Sam.  All this was around 7:30pm. I don’t know why but kept running upstairs to listen to the TV and what not and grab the occasional look out the windows. Nothing was really happening around us other than heavy rains and thunder and lightning. On my last trip upstairs I noticed the major storm was churning just to the south of our house and we were in the clear. At about 8 pm we all came back up and put Sam to bed for the night. I remember sitting on the couch watching the news and catching something about a reported tornado at Lambert airport. I immediately called my mom to see if she talked with the multiple family members close by and she was in a state of hysteria.  She had just got off the phone with my brother who was apparently not paying close attention to what was happening and had just hung up the phone to take cover in his single level cinder block house.  I immediately called my brother and was not prepared for what I heard on the other line. He answered within the first ring.  I obviously have known him my entire life and not once have I ever heard the fear and panic that came pouring out of the speaker during that call. He stated that he was back up on his feet looking out the front window; there were fires and power lines popping all around his house. His car that had been parked literally a few feet from the window he was standing in was no longer there.  He could not see anything up the street towards my grandmother’s house and was afraid to go outside due to the power lines. Everyone else’s condition at that point was not known.  To clarify, everyone else being my Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle and Cousin who all live on the same block.  Most of these homes are owned by my Grandma.  I called my mom back and told her Bill was OK and then hung up the phone, grabbed my keys and headed out the door.  

I made it from my house across the Missouri river in record time and got a call from Ali letting me know that it appeared that Billy made it out and everyone that was home was accounted for so I slowed down and took a breath.  After a few detours I made it to the East end of Garfield where you could not go any further. There was what was left of a building blocking the road. Parked my car and grabbed my flashlight and began walking west.  I can only describe what I saw as extremely upsetting. Of course everyone was somewhat in a state of shock.  There were large trees on houses, houses completely gone, windows busted out and strange enough something’s were left completely un disturbed.  As the night went on…family members started showing up and we all stood around taking it all in into the early hours in the morning. I eventually left around 3am and went to get some sleep.  The light of day would reveal the full scale of damage.

Below are some pictures of all the carnage.

As expected….Saturday was a long day. I want to give big time thanks to the guys at American Signs and Electric and Premier Signs Inc (I believe they are both owned by the same guy, Ken Newbern). They donated not only their equipment (cranes and saws) but their time, fuel and sweat to remove the biggest red oak tree I have ever seen  in my life allowing us to get a tarp on my grandma’s house to prevent further water damage. Also big thanks to local business owner Rich and his son along with Denny that helped with landing and cutting the debris.  I would also like to give big thanks to the crews of Premier Restoration Services

It’s going to take some time to get back to anything that closely resembles normal for my Grandma, Aunt & Uncle, Brother and Cousin but no one was hurt and most defiantly could have been a lot worse

Road Dog

A lot of thing have taken place since my last posting….Two sales meetings for work that amounted to over a full week of travel,  long and boring trip into Kansas for a meeting with one of my OEM’s and a devastating tornado that affected multiple members of my family. It’s been a long, long couple of weeks.  

The two sales meetings were typical at best. “Sell more of our stuff”. No matter what the agenda the message is always the same. Don’t get me wrong, these things usually are informative but sometimes they get drawn out for multiple days only to end with the same message. All in all both meetings were fine and I may possibly pick up some additional territory for one of the lines which is never a bad thing. I usually enjoy sales meetings because it means usually two things….traveling with Co-workers (normally I am by myself in some crappy hotel in the middle of nowhere) and above average meals.

WARNING: TANGENT AHEAD 

 If I am lucky, normal road food for me is Applebee’s. I ALWAYS sit at the bar if possible. If it's full I leave and go somewhere else.  Why? It just looks funny taking up a whole table for one person.  People with families always give me strange looks…as if I am some lonely drifter just passing though.  In reality they have hit the nail on the head. I feel more at home with the multiple other salesmen surrounding the bar who also have the fortunate task of prospecting various towns in the Midwest. We are all just really at some horrible eatery for one reason…to sell some widget and propel our income into the next tax bracket.  Every now and then I get to talk with one of the other “Guys” and it’s always funny how these conversation starts up.  Both of us generally gauge each other and snoop around to see what’s going on…really trying to find out if we are competitors or if we can have civilized conversation about how traveling through these barren lands will ever be profitable. I am not one to pound my chest about prior sales achievements and multimillion dollar projects sold to this company or another. I tend to keep that stuff close to the chest but there is a certain demographic that feels totally fine telling you all about their history and the one project that made them a ton of money. Can you guess this Demo? Usually these guys are older than my dad. They almost always don shined penny loafers and sport coat. Also, they must always drive a Cadillac (I have one of these….but you will never will catch me in loafers and a sport coat). It’s not that any of that is a bad thing…it’s just the older guys have a way of doing things that the younger generation has either rejected or not figured out yet.  Usually I can get a life story in the time it takes to devour a Black and Blue burger and a very crappy Cesar salad. I usually like to listen more than talk. Not exactly the model salesman but I have figured out how to make it work for me.

Back to the sales meetings.....I enjoy traveling with my co-workers. We are sort of an odd family where everyone gets along and can talk freely about whatever. Most of us have kids and relate not only on that level but generally have the same outlook on life. Just to give you an idea of what and how we typically operate…. Each guy covers his own nugget of the map and maintains his own profit center. So a normal day or week consists of all five of us moving around trying figure out how to put another dollar in our pocket. There usually is not much if any conversation that you would think happens in a typical office. Most of the time we hardly ever see each other within a given week because everyone maintains their own schedule of travel and whatnot…so any time we get together for a few days is rare and usually is a good time. We usually have a number of good stories to hang on to and this past meeting in Tulsa is no different.  There were a number of things that went right on this trip after months of disappointment and frustration (none of this I will air openly). We had a lot of things to celebrate and did so to the extreme. Personally for me it was a huge outlet to blow off some steam after dealing with the devastation of the recent storms.  I won’t go in to huge detail other than my side still hurts almost two weeks after from an apparent “Flair Chop” to the rib cage.

Look for upcoming posts about a few things….the tornado and all the details involving that nightmare for my brother, grandmother and aunt as well as the postponed Easter cookout.

FIrst Long Cook With WSM

So I have had this odd shaped steel vessel in my back yard for a month or so and have used it once to cook some ribs back in February but really wanted to give it a test run on a long cook. I have been looking at a lot of info on how to run the cooker, methods and techniques to get good results. The site is where I got my main source of info is virturalbullet.com and is dedicated specifically to the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker. It is so in depth you can even toss the manual that comes with your cooker. This site alone is one of the main reasons I decided to go with the Weber and not an Egg (other than price). Everything is there and in easy to read formats. Its organized into a few diffrent sections.....operation, maintenance, start up and a forum section. If you have seen the show Pitmasters on TLC....Harry from Slap Yo Daddy BBQ is a regular in the forum area as are others on the BBQ circut....so lots of good info here.

On Saturday it was cold and crappy in St. Louis and we decided to pack Sam up and go to the store for a few things. I recently bought a new cookbook on line and its loaded with items all focused around grilling. last weekend we grilled some shrimp and small fillets and it turned out excellent... so shrimp was on the menu this weekend as well. We picked up some things for Cajun Po Boys and I on a whim decided that I wanted to try a pork shoulder and give it a try...The rule of thumb for cooking at low temps is roughly 2 hours per pound so I would need do an overnight to make this happen. The cut of meat I bought was roughly 7 lbs and after trimming the fat cap and it was somewhere in the neighborhood of 6.5 or so. This means i had no option but to start it late on Saturday Night in order to have it ready for Sunday lunch or dinner. If you have ever smoked anything in a kettle for a long period of time you will know that it seems that you need to monitor and adjust air into the cooker on a constant basis to keep the temp low. This is where things get normally sketchy.....you need to plan your day out around the approximate time of it takes to fully cook the product and with anything but a dedicated smoker. This means either getting up extra early or staying up late. Or you can get up every few hours though the night to "feed" the fire. Its almost like a newborn.....I didn't care for the 2 hour feedings with Sam early on so this option was clearly off the table.

Around 8 pm we started prepping the meat....trimming and applying the rub. The standard rub I have been using I found on a website called amazingribs.com and is a take on Charlie Virgo's famous blend.  Its probably not the best for pulled pork and really is better suited for ribs but its all I had at the time. Here is the recipe:
http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/rubs_pastes_marinades_and_brines/rendezvous_rub_and_BBQ_ribs.html
Ingredients8 tablespoons paprika
4 tablespoons powdered garlic
4 tablespoons mild chili powder
3 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 tablespoons kosher salt
4 teaspoons whole yellow mustard seed
1 tablespoon crushed celery seed
1 tablespoon whole celery seed
1 tablespoon dried crushed oregano
1 tablespoon dried crushed thyme
1 tablespoon whole allspice seeds
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
1 teaspoon ground coriander

It also calls for Accent but if you read the ingredient list on the package it is just MSG. Leave it out...you wont notice.
I fired up the WSM using the Minion Method....A good write up on it is found here:
http://virtualweberbullet.com/fireup2.html#minion
This is a good way to ensure there is enough fuel for at least a 12+ hour cook and  is contrary to the Weber guide. The Minion brings the temp up and then you begin dampening air to maintain rather than fight it down from 350F to get to the correct temp as in the Weber guide.

A bit of a tangent about charcoal.....I primarily use Kinsford for both the kettle and smoker. Costco has been where I historically buy but they have recently began to only carry the Competition briquettes. If you pay close attention to the packaging you will notice that you get less in terms of volume with the Comp. vs the standard blue bag. Also, it does burn hotter...and faster. This is not desirable in a smoker. Most write ups for running a WSM you find out there base most if not all the info on the standard blue bag. I have been using lump hardwood Charcoal lately in the kettle  for things that require lots of heat such as steaks....anything you need to get a good sear on really. I won't go into that as it is two different animals.

Anyway....I loaded the chamber up with about 13lbs of Kingsord Blue and started roughly 30 coals and threw them on. Then Assemble the cooker, water pan and added the meat. I also Foil the water pan FYI...this allows for easier clean up. Let the unit run up to 250 or so and then damper the bottom vents to about 25%  I even went as far as drawing a simple spreadsheet on our Ipad to track vent locations...cooker temp and meat temp.  (Again with the Engineering Background)


I monitored the temp for about 2 hours and finally felt it was to the point that could go to bed. At that time it was a constant 220-235. This was about midnight and I really didn't know what to expect in the morning. For some reason I woke up around 5:30 and went out to check. I was certain that I would find that the fire went out and all would be lost but to my surprise a rock steady 225 was indicated on the dial. Checked the fire box and plenty left so I went back to bed! Fast forward until 10am or so and the meat finally reached 190 (perfect temp for pulling..well beyond the recommended 160 for pork)

It was stupendous.....if I may say so myself. Just a note....I only used the rub above....no brine or baste. Nor did I touch the meat until at least 8 am. Keep the lid on....every time you open the lid you add about 15min to the cook time. I cant say enough about the WSM and look forward to whats to come in the next few months.

Flame and Smoke

Primarily this Blog is about whatever.....one of those whatever things for me is BBQ. I love it. Not just eating it but the whole process.....it really does bring people together and lets me kill a day outside with Sam or anyone else who is willing to stand around and smell. My Dad was and is still well known for grilling out (in those days it was the St. Louis Staple...Pork Steak) on a factory discounted Weber from Grandpa Pigeons. It was some sort of "factory refurbished" grill that fell off a truck or something. Served our family well for almost 20 years. This thing stood the test of time until Billy (Brother) and I  replaced it with a new Weber for a fathers day gift a few years ago.  So I always grew up with a grill in the back yard.... It was always Charcoal Grills and always Weber stuff.   Dad broke down at one point and bought a gas grill when I was a teenager and I don't think it even made it a few years.....total junk. At that point I realized that gas grills are the devil. Rain, snow, hail what ever....every weekend year round the coals were burning on Sunday. My now father in law also was famous for cookouts and being from somewhere other than St. Louis actually cooked things outdoors on a Weber other than pork. A welcome site indeed. He's damn good at it too.....

My first entry into BBQ'n was in College....Bought my first Weber Smokey Joe (That later was stolen) and the fire was lit. No pun intended. You can just barely see the handle above the top of the lawn chair in the above photo.

After my wife and I bought our house I ended up taking the grill that we got my dad as he scored a deal on a used Weber performer with a table and all that jazz.
I started experimenting with all kinds of set ups, gizmo's and meats. I found out that it really is a science.....all about time and temperature. The right heat for the right meat or vegetable. Ironically the whole fire thing is possibly the root of the whole obsession....For at least the last few years I constantly read and tried different things during cook's. Its always about improving and testing a new technique or method. Part of the Engineering background
I guess.

So this year I fully committed...After using a product called the Smokeanator 1000 in the Weber kettle for the last few years I decided to go full scale. The Smokeantor 1000 is a stainless insert with a water pan that separates the coals for a real indirect cook. It worked well for short cooks but became the heat became somewhat hard to control as the cooks got longer. Its not that the Weber kettle can not handle the tasks of smoking but I felt to do it right I needed to go all in with a dedicated smoker that can handle Low and Slow cooking for extended periods. Something i just didn't get with the Smokeanator. I still think its a great addition but not a full replacement for the real thing. See photo of the Smokeanator in action below.

Also this year.....my bother moved out on his own and as a right of passage i donated the Fathers Day Grill to him. Really it was just the excuse i needed to buy my own. I looked at lots of options....Big Green Eggs....Bubba Kegs and others but ultimately decided to go the Weber route again. The value was just to good and the quality and reviews were very good. Placed an order for a WSM 18" and a 22" Performer with Gas assist.

I must say I was a little bit skeptical of the gas assist on the kettle as it seemed un necessary. It just so happened to be part of the package. I wanted the work table and the height that the Performer offers over the stand alone grill. I will say it is pretty nice to have....coals are ready and blazing in just over 10 minutes. The gas really helps to speed things up and is a definite plus. Also, this is not meant to be an advertisement for Weber....I just found that they make good stuff. American made and Steel.

As the season starts will I attempt to chronicle the seasons BBQ offerings. The successes and failures....product and recipe reviews as well as some additional bullshit as I see fit.

Almost Summer Time.....Whats That Mean?

I can't even begin to explain how much I love Spring and Summer......This means lots of things around our house. It means yard work, beer, lawn chairs, lake season, sandals, and BBQ. All these things can even exist in one day and at the same time. Its really a thing of beauty. Although I never really quit BBQ'n through the winter it really does take a backseat to the sub freezing temps and absence of the sun for months on end. Most grills don't have issues cooking a good meal even below 0F but for me its about the whole deal. I like being outside and completely getting into the day. Today was one of those first days that I have looked forward to for a while.

So anyway....its finally gotten warmer and the grass has turned green. The familiar sounds of my Black and Decker Mower's copper windings spinning to the optimum RPM to effectively manicure our lawn into shape. Not only mine but the whole neighborhood is abuzz on Saturday mornings with this familiar sound(more on this later). It also means an escape for Ali and Sam who have been cooped up in the house all winter on the verge of going insane. 

Last weekend was really the first real weekend of all these things (minus Real BBQ)but for some reason it kind of got lost in the shuffle of everything going on. It was the annual landscape-athon that I seem to have gotten pretty good over the last few years. 10 bags of mulch, A hernia inducing bag of potting soil, some flowers and a bit of sun are what makes up our "Opening Day". 

I am really looking forward to this summer for multiple reasons. I just booked a vacation to the beach in late August....more on this later. Sam obviously is now walking very well and getting into things. He also does not require the same kind of attention as last summer and is very involved with things. Although last year we did a lot of "new" its different now. He interacts much more and reacts to everything. So the vacation is a big thing for us....his second plane ride and a different place for all of us to get away from things. This summer also means Sam's first fishing trip...luckily we just need to walk out the back door. It also possibly means the a new home should we be so lucky. Just today we buried a statue of St. Joseph and we will see if I continue to be a non believer.We have big things happening this year with the lake property and really just scratched the surface with everything involved with this. 

First Go Round

My wife suggested that I open one of these pages and give it a go. Why? I guess I have a lot to talk about and it is quite possible she is tired of hearing all of it. No....thats not the reason. The real reason is that it is much easier to put things in writing than talk about it and get your point or topic across. Believe me...I have sat at many conference tables listening to people talk and about sales quotas, price points and other associated BS for hours on end when a simple number on a page would make a bigger impact than listening to some guy telling war stories about some project in Cattle Creek Wyoming 20 years ago. 

This blog is intended to be an outlet for some of the things I enjoy and value in my life. My wife and kid, my job (although I do not enjoy this All of the time, mostly its pretty good), BBQ, Vacations and basically anything else I care to write about.