/*/*/*/ North Texas Brethren Spring Bash - April 12th, 2014 \*\*\*\

Just an observation

Mac and I had a chance to talk sitting in the airport and while I know it wasn't planned this way, Mac and I agreed we LOVED the way the day evolved with the weather and everything else going on. Peeps made a couple of fatties, some bisquits & cheese for breakfast (they were great) starting about 8:30. Then starting around 11:30 or so it seemed like one or two different things were coming off one of the cookers ever hour or so. Fatties & biscuits for breakfast, then sausages & ribs, then turkey, then lamb & beef gyros, then charro beans followed by more turkey & chicken, then the first of 3 briskets, then more chicken & sausages, then epic fatty, pig shots, and more brisket and that doesn't even count the great sides & deserts. We were litterally eating something GREAT all day long with plenty of time to socialize. What a great day of food and fellowship!

PS: We are home safe & sound (and whipped!).

frognot said:

Next time i'm am so shigging DaveAlvarado (just kidding, then i wouldn't get to visit with everybody else and they were such a cool bunch that i "worked the room" trying to hear everything, which was made harder by the crazy wind. Case in point, when peeps tried to introduce me to dwfisk, i thought Dave was peeps' FIL. BTW, Dave had on a Florida cap and a fisherman's shirt. And that's before me any consuming any alcohol).

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Your brisket was better than any brisket I have EVER cooked. The only reason I didn't eat more of Dave's brisket is because I was already full of your brisket.

Soooo, looks like you have a goal for the next NorTex Bash. Nothing wrong with a good spirited competition. Let me know if I you need me to come to your house and taste-test your brisket cooks. I'm pretty busy, but I'll do what I can to make time to eat your BBQ. What are friends for? :becky:

CD

Glad you made it Home Safe DWFisk n Mac . :thumb:

Oh, yeah, the pig shots were my first, and they were really very tasty. I definitely plan to make some for my next party.

CD

Allrighty Now, so in October there will be a Brisket Cookoff. I'm in. Judging at 5:30 PM. All entries will be numbered so no favoritism. :biggrin1: Entrants can't Judge.

Next Time one of Yall make some 7 Cheese Smoked Mac n Cheese!! And Cowgirl needs to come down......

I am the current reigning "Bernards Family and Friends Memorial Day Backyard BBQ CookOff" Brisket Champion 2 years running............. Just Sayin........And come
May 24th it'll be 3 years running :wink:

THANKS TO ALL THE SPONSORS! I just ordered the following from All Things BBQ with my Goody Bag Gift Card!

Oakridge BBQ Game Bird and Chicken Rub - Oakridge BBQ Game Bird and Chicken Rub 1 lb.
Plowboys BBQ Yardbird Rub - 14oz
Oakridge BBQ Black OPS Brisket Rub - Oakridge BBQ Black OPS Brisket Rub 6 oz.

Just for the record, peeps made every attempt to invite us to the Bash. This working for a living really sucks at times.

Thanks peeps for making the attempt. We will try to make one ASAP. Glad everyone had such a good time. Great pic's of good folks, fellowship and food and good to see some faces with the names.

Y'all do it Right! :thumb: :becky:

SmittyJonz said:

Allrighty Now, so in October there will be a Brisket Cookoff. I'm in. Judging at 5:30 PM. All entries will be numbered so no favoritism. :biggrin1: Entrants can't Judge.

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That sounds like a plan. Sorry I couldn't make this one, but look forward to October and some summer get togethers at some BBQ joints. I'll save a couple of Beef Short Rib racks for the next time.

Hell, I mentioned earlier about a SoTex Bash, but y'all had so much fun, I might even want to drive North...

Looks like a great time was had by all.

Looks like the finest food in Texas was being eaten right there. Thanks for sharing!

frognot said:

Next time i'm am so shigging DaveAlvarado

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Shig away my friend, I'm an open book.

I had a blast. Everybody brought their A+ game with the food. Looking at the pictures I realized I didn't get any megafatty, pig shots, or pecan pie and I'm disappointed I missed out. Special thanks to sliding_billy for troubleshooting what was wrong with my pit when my brisket was still cooking hours after I expected it to be done. Note to self, if your Maverick probe is touching your water bowl, you're probably getting a bad reading.

Recipes for those who are interested:

Ribs
- Grocery store St Louis cut spares, membrane left on because I was lazy and forgot a butter knife.
- Medium coating of Redneck Cooker's "X Factor" rub
- 2 hours in the smoke at ~275F-300F, hickory chunks for the smoke wood.
- After 2 hours, laid out foil with a good sprinkling of light brown sugar (maybe a bit less than 1/4 cup), with Cholula hot sauce on top of that. Put the ribs on the foil meat side down, then sprinkle more brown sugar and Cholula on the bone side of the ribs. Wrap tightly and back in the smoker for 40 minutes.
- Remove ribs from foil, place meat side up on the smoker, and glaze with sauce. I don't remember what the sauce was I borrowed, it was some kind of spicy vinegar sauce. Smoke until done the way you like them. I went about 20-30 minutes to get them with a good bite-through but not falling off the bone.

Brisket
- 16lb packer, trim off the funky looking side where it went through the band saw, trim pockets of fat off the meat side of the flat, and trim off the deckle (the funky fin-shaped hunk of meat on the top of the point). I prefer Choice, but Select was all I could find Friday night.
- Medium coating of Redneck Cooker's "X Factor" rub, followed by a medium coating of Redneck Cooker's "Brisket Gold" rub. I meant to inject with Butcher BBQ Prime Brisket Injection, but I forgot.
- In the smoke, was supposed to be around 300F-325F, but my readings weren't right for most of the cook. It was probably closer to 250-275F.
- Wrap at the stall, around 160F. I wrapped when the ribs came off. I tried butcher paper, but I usually use foil. Ended up going with foil later to crutch it across the finish line.
- At 185F internal, start poke testing. Poke it every 20-30 minutes until it's like butter.
- Normally I rest for an hour or two minimum, but this one got sliced right away because people were hungry. I think the brisket was a little tighter than usual because of that, or maybe I should have left it just a hair longer.
- After unwrapping from the foil, I put it back in the smoker for 20 minutes or so to dry the bark back out and let it firm up. I don't normally do that because I prefer a softer bark.

Dave - I am not the biggest pork rib fanatic, but your spares were the hit of the bash for me. They were obscenely tasty, and more important they were cooked perfectly.

All peeps' pics of the food & Brethren are much better than mine I won't duplicate but just add a couple.

Mac at our campsite after setting up the tent.



Friday night dinner (on our own); foiled corn on the cob, foiled broccoli and 1-1/2 inch pork chops with S&P and Tony Chachere's seasoning, old school on a camp grill.





Here is a wide angle shot of the pavilion that was the center of operations; on a point overlooking Lake Ray Roberts.



And, I want to double up on thanking all those that contributed to the door prizes. Here is Mac & my haul, lucky number 7! My duffel bag of camping gear was 9 pounds overweight so we had to pull the tent out an check it separately to avoid a $75 overweight charge.



Thanks again for the great time.