ShadowDriver
somebody shut me the fark up.
During Thursday's smoke of those Spare Ribs, the pan that holds the wood chunks over the fire in my vertical smoker decided to completely disintegrate. I planned to cruise over to the Base Exchange and grab some sort of replacement before tonight's weekly Wings Over Okinawa cook.
While getting some groceries for Mrs. ShadowDriver, I discovered a really nice 2-pack of Boneless Beef Short Ribs for $2.50(ish)! Pfffft. Why not!?
I came home, swapped out the crumbling pan for the new one, threw a couple of hickory chunks in to smoke, hit the boneless beef ribs with some OakRidge Black Ops, and put 'em in to smoke until about 125F internal.
Mind you, since returning to Japan, I've completely forgotten about my Maverick Wireless Thermometer, and should probably unpack it... and I've found myself glancing out the window at the smoke coming out of the cooker. Well, it started to look a little strange, and I quickly raced out to find a full-on grease and detritus fire (despite running this rig at full blast for a good 1-2 hours after pulling it out of storage). Luckily for me, the boneless ribs were exactly at 125F, so I foiled them with a little apple juice and some more rub before putting them back in the now-under-control smoker w/o the wood at a solid 250-275F.
I'm afraid that Momma's rather fragile health condition continue to degrade and I failed to grab a picture as I pulled the foil packet from the smoker (that had once again erupted into flames enough to warp the farkin' knob that controls the LP valve)!
Well.. the good news is that the boneless ribs were a HUGE hit. I cut 'em across the grain (long-ways), and Momma destroyed one of them nearly without missing a beat. She's been fighting a virus and needs all the help she can get. I was worried about the smoker, but it cooled enough that I could test the LP control valve (go ahead and laugh... I'm not proud) to make sure it wasn't ruined. Whew... good to go.
So, I finally got to making some wings... threw a good 500g of bird into a zip-top bag and added 3 Tbsp of our wings rub (mainly SPOG with some paprika and cayenne added) for an hour or so. Threw 1/2 of those in the smoker over hickory at 275-300 (whatever she'd give me at this point) for about 90 minutes. I put the rest on the grill to cook a bit faster, as Momma made her Jamaican Jerk sauce. Meanwhile, I broke out some Franks, Garlic Powder, and Worcestershire to doctor up some Buffalo sauce.
Some bleu cheese (of course.... ranch is just an insult) for the buffalo (L), and a couple of Okinawan lime wedges for the Jamaican Jerk(R) complete the plate.
It's been a strange... crazy... but delicious day.
I've said it elsewhere, so apologies for the repetition:
Raise a glass for a brave Herk crew who gave "the last full measure of devotion" this week. The community is small. The cuts run deep.
While getting some groceries for Mrs. ShadowDriver, I discovered a really nice 2-pack of Boneless Beef Short Ribs for $2.50(ish)! Pfffft. Why not!?
I came home, swapped out the crumbling pan for the new one, threw a couple of hickory chunks in to smoke, hit the boneless beef ribs with some OakRidge Black Ops, and put 'em in to smoke until about 125F internal.
Mind you, since returning to Japan, I've completely forgotten about my Maverick Wireless Thermometer, and should probably unpack it... and I've found myself glancing out the window at the smoke coming out of the cooker. Well, it started to look a little strange, and I quickly raced out to find a full-on grease and detritus fire (despite running this rig at full blast for a good 1-2 hours after pulling it out of storage). Luckily for me, the boneless ribs were exactly at 125F, so I foiled them with a little apple juice and some more rub before putting them back in the now-under-control smoker w/o the wood at a solid 250-275F.
I'm afraid that Momma's rather fragile health condition continue to degrade and I failed to grab a picture as I pulled the foil packet from the smoker (that had once again erupted into flames enough to warp the farkin' knob that controls the LP valve)!
Well.. the good news is that the boneless ribs were a HUGE hit. I cut 'em across the grain (long-ways), and Momma destroyed one of them nearly without missing a beat. She's been fighting a virus and needs all the help she can get. I was worried about the smoker, but it cooled enough that I could test the LP control valve (go ahead and laugh... I'm not proud) to make sure it wasn't ruined. Whew... good to go.
So, I finally got to making some wings... threw a good 500g of bird into a zip-top bag and added 3 Tbsp of our wings rub (mainly SPOG with some paprika and cayenne added) for an hour or so. Threw 1/2 of those in the smoker over hickory at 275-300 (whatever she'd give me at this point) for about 90 minutes. I put the rest on the grill to cook a bit faster, as Momma made her Jamaican Jerk sauce. Meanwhile, I broke out some Franks, Garlic Powder, and Worcestershire to doctor up some Buffalo sauce.
Some bleu cheese (of course.... ranch is just an insult) for the buffalo (L), and a couple of Okinawan lime wedges for the Jamaican Jerk(R) complete the plate.
It's been a strange... crazy... but delicious day.
I've said it elsewhere, so apologies for the repetition:
Raise a glass for a brave Herk crew who gave "the last full measure of devotion" this week. The community is small. The cuts run deep.
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