Christmas Grill!

I woke up Christmas morning to find a new grill under the tree! This one's a beautiful charcoal water smoker. It has a great charcoal basket, two doors to access the meat or add fuel, and three vents (two on the bottom and one on the top). One of the nicest features of this grill is that you can remove the two upper sections and use it for direct grilling. This should be the perfect form factor to take camping. I can't wait to get it fired up!

The rest of my grill family looks like this:

• Beefeater 3-burner gas grill
• Char-Griller Smokin' Pro offset smoker
• Weber Smokey Joe

Christmas BBQ

Maybe it's a little irreverent, but I thought up this song on my way home last night with some BBQ takeout (sing to "Christmas Shoes")

Sir, I'd like some barbecue
For my Mama, please
It's Christmas Eve and she really wants some ribs
Could you hurry, sir,
Daddy says there's not much time
You see she's been hungry for quite a while
And I know these ribs would make her smile
And I want her to be really full
So can Mama eat barbecue tonight?

The BBQ was good by the way.

Smoked

I hosted a BBQ for the family last week. I was inspired by all the BBQ University shows that aired on PBS and I overdid it (a little). Everything was amazing!

Here's the menu:

• Maple Smoked Turkey Breast - juicy and delicious
• Shrimp Boil - this was the family's favorite. I added smoked Brats to the party. It was amazing!
• Smoked Top Round - I prepared this the same as before. It was still good.
  
• BBQ Portobello mushrooms - I've made these a number of times and are always a big hit
• Grilled Tuna Steaks - this was my personal favorite. I served these on tortillas. While the salsa in the recipe was good, I preferred a pineapple/jalapeno salsa as the topping.
  

The leftovers made a great lunch the next day.

I just got Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA book. I'm really enjoying learning the history of BBQ in America. I highly recommend this...

Smokin' Father's Day

I enjoyed my Father's Day by smoking and grilling for the family. Here's how the day went:

• 8 AM - Woke up to my daughter singing "Ba Ba Black Sheep" and "Twinkle Twinkle". .. nice way to wake up.
• 8:30 AM - Ham and eggs expertly prepared by my wife and daughter. (No extra charge for the bits of shells that make their way in when a 2-year-old cracks eggs)
• 9:30 AM - Gifts.... new grilling tools and a coloring book.
• 9:33 AM - Coloring
• 11:30 AM - Start the smoker.
• 2 PM My parents come over. Here's how that went....
• Mojitos
• Grilled lobster tails served with pasta mixed with zucchini and carrots and a garlic butter sauce. Chardonnay.
  
• Smoked Top Round with grilled veggies and chilled fruit. Zinfandel.
  
• The roast I had had a thin layer of fat on one side. I cut slits in the roast and filled the slits with garlic as well as fresh rosemary and thyme. I seasoned the roast with some Montreal steak seasoning and let it marinate over night in some red wine (Zinfandel). I had the smoker at 250 and placed the roast on fat side up. I added some soaked cherry chunks every one in a while (about 45 minutes). It was done after about 3 hours. The roast was very tender, juicy, and full of flavor. I'm looking forward to doing this again. The wine was obviously a great match to drink with this.
• 4 PM - Catch some of the US Open
• 5:30 PM - Over to the in-laws:
• More Mojitos
• Grilled Mojito Chicken (from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse) cooked with apple wood
  
• Apple Maple Pork Loin (also from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que: An American Roadhouse). I modified the recipe a little and wrapped the loin in bacon. Also cooked with apple wood. The sauce that goes with this is awesome!
• Beer
• 7 PM - Caught the end of the open. Went home and read some bedtime stories.

We had lots of laughs and all the food was incredible! The perfect day...