15.May.2012 at 15 | Salar
Mother’s Day BBQ
I just finished my smoker, and I had hosting a BBQ on my list, so for Mother’s day, we invited my family over to the house for our first BBQ of the year!
I talked to my younger brother, and we planned out a menu. I was going to take care of the mains, and he would take care of the sides. The menu we ended up with was:
- Atomic Buffalo Turds
- Pork Back Ribs
- Beef Brisket
- Corn Bread
- Grilled Veggies
I’ve never cooked a brisket before, so I did a lot of reading and the general consensus seemed to be that it’s one of the hardest cuts of meat to do right on a BBQ. The best way to learn is to do, so I gave it my best shot! It turned out that brisket’s reputation as a hard cook is well earned, but it was mostly still good.
The first thing we ate were the Atomic Buffalo Turds. Ridiculous name, but possibly the most delicious appetizer known to man. Take half a seeded jalapeno pepper, fill it with some seasoned cream cheese and cheddar, then wrap the whole thing in half a strip of bacon. Mine included a piece of smoked sauce for extra measure. They went on the smoker at 225F and took about two hours before the bacon was nicely done and the peppers were soft.
Atomic Buffalo Turds, pre-cook
These came out absolutely perfect and they got demolished pretty quickly. It’s very unlikely you’ll make too many of these, and even less likely that there will be leftovers.
2 hours later
The brisket was going to be the longest part of the cook, so I started it the night before. It ended up being on for 13 hours. In the end, it has a good taste, but half of the flat portion of it was dried out, and the other half could have been more tender. I think I ended up poking too many holes in the dry half of the flat that let the juices run out and it could have used another couple of hours if anything. The other two thirds of it were still delicious, and I have a better idea of how to handle it the next time I try. I’ll get the hang of it yet!
Brisket rubbed and ready to go on the grill
7 hours later
13 hours later, just before slicing
The back ribs were a little simpler. I’ve done ribs a bunch of times, and I know the process pretty well: 225F, 2 hours on, 1-1.5 hours in foil, then 1 more hour out of the foil. These ones came out perfect – very tender and easy to pull off the bone, but still meaty and not just falling off it. I’ve been trying different rub recipes for ribs, but this last one might be the keeper.
Ribs, brisket slices, and cubed brisket point
Shayne cutting up the awesome cornbread he made
Feast!
I also made a couple of sauces: one with a ketchup / cider vinegar base and the other with a mustard base. They’re both pretty good, but still need some tweaking. My younger brother Shayne grilled some peppers and mushrooms, and made an amazing cornbread with bacon, shallots and minced jewel peppers.
All together, it was a great meal and a successful first BBQ. Looking forward to the next one, and to many more this summer!
#53 – Host a BBQ – Done!
Turtle!
I haven’t forgotten the turtle, I’ll have one waiting for you on Sunday!