ISD III Follow-up

One of my guests happened to capture this candid image of Headless pullin' pork (no, not "pullin' his pork," this is a family blog).

You may not believe it, but this photo has been digitally manipulated. Look very closely at the back of the white chair in the foreground. There was a name there that has been digitally masked.

ISD III Postmortum - Wrap up

Please post any recipe requests in comments. I will post the recipes on the blog.

Special thanks to my team of stellar performers. Great job Team Weber!



I wanted to show that I did have help eating all this food.



See you next year.

ISD III Postmortum - The Desserts

Mrs. Headless out did me again. These are her dessert offerings.

Pecan Passion.



Walnut Fig Tart with Ancho Chiles and Lemon Bars.



Brownies and Over the Top Caramel Candy Bars.



Summer Berry Crumble Bars and Chocolate Raspberry Bars.



I cannot eat another bite.

ISD III Postmortum - Cooked Meat

In the midst of the Smoke Day mayhem, I remembered to occasionally snap some photos of the main attraction.

These are hot links smoking in the WSM with baby back ribs on the rack beneath them.



I split the brisket point from the flat after the flat was fully cooked. The point was placed in a pan and cooking continued to make burnt ends.



Pulled pork and beef.



Some of the meats from Smoke Day - (counter clockwise from bottom) Millionaire Brisket Flat, smoked hot links, barbecued beef back rib, BRIMBY* Baby Back Ribs, and Brisket Burnt Ends.



The most popular items were the baby back ribs, pulled pork, cherry wood smoked Coca-Cola Drumsticks (not pictured), and the burnt ends. I was surprised with how easy the burnt ends were to make and their popularity. The Cola-Cola chicken was also a huge hit.

* Best Ribs in My Back Yard

ISD III Postmortum - Sides & Sauce

Do it yourself fruit salad! Inspiration comes when you have too much fruit and no bowl large enough to hold it all.



The saucing station, featuring Roadhouse Barbecue Sauce.



It was especially cool that Buddy and Daddy Roadhouse were in Waukesha County yesterday to demo their sauces at the Sendik's and Grasch grocery stores. Buddy accepted my invitation and he and his dad feasted on my barbecue with their sauce. A heaven made match.

ISD III Postmortum - Prepping the Meat

I was too busy cooking and entertaining to post for the last couple of days. Today is catch up time.

Two picnic shoulders rubbed and ready to barbecue.



Beef chuck roll in the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker.



A whole brisket following application of dry rub.



More to come.

My ISD Lineup

Clockwise from lower left:

• 3 Racks of Beef Back Ribs (12 pounds)
• 4 Racks of Baby Back Ribs (10 pounds)
• 7 Hot Links (4 pounds)
• 2 Pork Shoulder Picnic Roasts (20 pounds)
• 1 Whole Beef Brisket (10 pounds)
• A Buttload of Chicken Drumsticks (4 pounds)
• 1 Beef Chuck Roll (8 pounds)

68 pounds total. My cost $110.

I will also pick up 3 or 4 whole chickens on Saturday.

Smoke Day preparations are underway

My 8 pound beef chuck roll rubbed with Paul Kirk's Chuck Wagon Beef Rub. It is now resting in the refrigerator and will go on the WSM tomorrow at 8:00 p.m.



Mrs. Headless has been busy with desserts. I assume that this is the Pecan Passion.

Who's idea was rain or shine?

Smoke Day may be exciting in Wisconsin.

One Week

Raspberry Crumble Tart

Turtle Bars

Rhubarb Bars

Lemon Curd Berry bars

Walnut Fig Tart with Ancho Chiles

Pecan Passion



And ribs, too.

ISD III Recipes - Drumsticks

My son loves dark-meat chicken, so I'll be making the Coke-Brined Grilled Chicken from the June 2007 Cuisine at Home magazine next Saturday. The brine uses 1 litre of Coca-Cola and 1/2 cup kosher salt for 4 pounds of chicken. The chicken is then rubbed with a fairly basic BBQ rub and grilled. I'll smoke the drumsticks low & slow in one of my Weber kettles with cherry wood for smoke.

There is a Coca-Cola barbecue sauce recipe in Raichlen's Sauces, Rubs, Marinades, ... book that I may make to go with the chicken.

Not Performing at Int'l Smoke Day

Unfortunately, the renowned Play It Again Tom, aka Fish Fry Tommy, aka Tom Wroblewski will be unable to rock out the crowd from my back deck. I am counting on him being here in 2008.



Sal and his tapas barflies might note that Play It Again Tom is employed by a Swedish multi-national forest products company (not tongue depressors). He is available and willing to perform at any event in Europe on short notice. Contact Tom at rowbie@hotmail.com for booking information.

ISD III Recipes - Brisket

The first recipe I have settled on for International Smoke Day is Millionaire Brisket with Coffee and Beer Mop Sauce from Steven Raichlen's BBQ USA. The recipe is available online here. I intend to cook a 10 pound packer brisket using the high temperature method on a Weber kettle, removing the meat after 5 to 6 hours to rest and finish. Probable smoke wood is pecan, hickory and whiskey barrel oak.

While the brisket flat is resting, I will remove the point and use this method to create Burnt Ends (see photo). Both recipes will be firsts for me.

Counting down: Two weeks to brisket

The list of side dishes is being finalized.

• Bacon Barbecued Beans
• Granny Smith Coleslaw
• Potato Salad
• Baked Mac & Cheese
• Corn & Black Bean Salad
• Fruit Salad
• Baked Cornbread Casserole

Standby for desserts.

Pulled pork on May 26

The rest of the starting line-up.

• Pulled Beef Chuck Roll
• Beer Can Chicken (& Arnold Palmer Chicken, too)
• Millionaire Brisket
• Hot Links
• BRIMBY* Baby Back Ribs

Featuring sauces from Roadhouse Bar-B-Que.



You may also learn the meaning of ABT and Fattie.

*Best Ribs In My Back Yard, my version of the Best Ribs In The Universe.

Pit of Dreams - If I smoke it, will they come?

The Third Annual International WSM Smoke Day is four weeks away. If you can find me, I will feed you.

For admission, bring good beer or whiskey. Menu details to follow.

Please don't tell my wife about this.

What is that smell?

Coming soon, a better announcement than this.