Pirates, Brewers and Goo Goo Dolls June 7, 2014

Had a pretty nice time in Pittsburgh on June 7th, taking in the sights and sounds of the Pirates vs the Brewers and a pretty damn good Goo Goo Dolls show afterwards. Pam, Mike and myself discovered many things on this particular Saturday:

Port o Potty's are unacceptable urination stations for females; small children CAN be put on leashes, especially in the 300 level at PNC Park; Some people just love to tell their life story while walking around with a lighthouse on their leg (POF candidate) and interrupting others who might be watching the game;  there are tons of good looking ladies at Pirate games and rest area's are great places to make birthday videos for people you don't even know. Happy Birthday PHIL! (?)

                                

Me and Pamster

Mike is thrilled, obviously

Clemente Bridge

New Baby Back Pork Rib Method

Revamped some things and went back to some old ways after this past Memorial Day weekend gathering. While good in the Brinkman Smoker, I found that the Weber Grill is still the best method for cooking 1 to 2 slabs at a time. Below is my new recipe:

BABY BACK RIBS (Weber Grill)                                                       
Using indirect heat, separate charcoal to the edges of the Weber grill using charcoal brackets, starting with 18-20 Kingsford briquettes per side.
Apply lighter fluid and light both sides of grill.

In a bowl, soak wood chips (hickory, applewood or whatever you fancy) in water for 20 minutes. Drain

Cut away any membrane left on the slabs (butchers usually have this done already)

Coat 1 to 2 full slabs of baby back ribs with olive oil and rub in.

Using a KC BBQ rub (preferrably my recipe), but the one Weber makes is good too

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp sea salt
1 tbsp chili powder
3/4 tbsp garlic powder
3/4 tbsp onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne (optional if you want heat or not)
combine and mix ,

coat both sides of slabs, liberally.

Once charcoal is white, place slabs in middle of rack (meat side up) cover with lid and cook for 1 hour at 300 to 325 degrees (or as close as possible).

Add wood chips  (I used hickory) periodically to charcoal on both sides for smoke during cooking.

Pull slabs off of grill and place on baking sheet.

Sprinkle equal amounts of paprika, brown sugar and honey on aluminum foil. Slather ribs with your sauce of choice (Montgomery Inn is a favorite) and wrap each slab, meat side down with sprinkled aluminum foil.

Add 5 or 6 charcoal briquettes to each side to maintain temp. (go on feel for this step)

Put wrapped slabs back in middle of grill, cover with lid and continue to cook for 1 hour, adding more wood chips periodically for more smoke.

Open foil and place ribs back on baking sheet and add another coat of sauce.  Put ribs back on grill without the foil, cover with lid and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

Pull off slabs, and place on serving tray. Cut into individual 1 or 2 bone servings with side sauce for dipping.

..and it sure, has been a cold, cold winter. - Mick

Winter 2013-2014 
 Have not posted on the blog for a while but after this incredibly rough winter, I feel a great spring and summer is around the corner. March Madness is calling with the conference tourney's starting this week and the NCAA tourney starting on March 20th. It's always a great time of year for me and my buddies, as the annual March Madness Friday is scheduled again. Due to a reduction in vacation time, I will I have to work a half day before meeting the fellas this year. You never know who will show up at this event, 2 years ago, after my surgery, all the fellas showed and it was a bit of a reunion. It was pretty cool that they all showed up after everything I went through. Looming on 3/25 is another check up in Ann Arbor but hopefully it's another positive step to "getting out of the woods" as Dr Frohm puts it. 

But I'm looking forward to a great birthday weekend, (unlike Pammy's birthday month). Since the Twins are in Cleveland and the Blackhawks are in Columbus the weekend after my birthday, it's going to be a great sports weekend. 

So , accompanied by my partner in crime, Friday night, the Blackhawks game in Columbus.

Staying the night at a discount due to my executive administrator girlfriend and sandwiched in (and as you know, everything can be solved with a sandwich)  hopefully lunch with family and then back home for Final Four Saturday night. Then taking in the Twins /Tribe game with brother Tim on Sunday.

Opening day downtown Friday was a possibility but I wasn't going to spend $75 a ticket for upper level at the Jake.

Well, that's the plan. Hopefully it works out.

Next stop....Seattle in the summertime