Thank Yous

When I was growing up on Staten Island (hey, stop laughing!), alot of people, when referring to a group of people, would say, "Yous." As in, "Are yous guys going to the movies with us tonight, or are yous going to watch Vito fix his car?" Anyways....

I want to wish every one of you a very happy, healthy and joy-filled holiday this year. I can't believe this blog has been going for more than a year already, and that I've made so many new friends out there around the globe. I know not everyone celebrates this holiday, that there are mixed feelings, but I'm trying to put it all aside and just give thanks in my own way, with my family and friends (all of you), that are trying to be happy, too.

My mother is on the mend, and maybe almost out of the woods, and I'm thankful for that. That my wife, my beautiful gift of a wife, is willing to let me have the new (costly...whew!) bbq smoker as my wedding present to myself, even though we haven't gone on a proper honeymoon (though, to me, all of this has been), you know I'm super-thankful for that. My brother who has stood out with me in the pitch dark, also freezing his ass off while I make him wait for the brisket, holding trays and spilitting wood, I'm pretty durned thankful for that. I'm glad to know that the rest of my family is as well as could be, too. So, with all that in mind, I say to you all, find someplace dark outside, with clear access to a nice view of the sky, when it's cold and crisp, when you're with someone you love, and take that moment for yourselves, to just try to be thankful.

Here're some more pics of food from Wubby the Wonder Pit. Brisket, and a few looks at some pulled pork. I have to say that the brisket, though this pic doesn't seem to do it justice, was very moist and tender. By the middle slices, it was letting some juice out. It had rested a while before slicing. We sliced it up, packed it in ziplocks after dousing each slice in the meat's juices, and froze each one. The pork also was mixed up the same way, though I pulled it down, as the ultra-close-up at the end shows. Yum.

I tasted the hickory smoke in a way that I don't think I ever did from the Smokin' Pro. Not to knock the food that we got from the ol' SP-- it served us well, but there was just a total difference with the Klose in every way, from the ease of use to the way it bounced back in temperature so quickly when we added nearly 100 pounds of cold meat. The old pit would've dipped in temperature for at least a half-an-hour-- not to mention that there's no way it could've cooked that much at one time. We were back up and running in 5-10 minutes with Wubby the Wonder Pit.

The brisket, ham and pork shoulder were in the vertical section for a few hours before I moved them over into the horizontal when I took off the chickens, the beef roast, and the ribs. The vertical ran anywhere from 25-75 degrees cooler than the main, from what we've seen with and without the removable baffle between the main and vertical. We also mixed much less oak (much...), apple and pecan into the fire. Anywho....Catch ya on the flip.