Labor Day Weekend, Football Games Have Started, Oliver Enjoying the Sun, and Trying to Find Another Camping Date

Although classes started a few weeks ago, Labor Day weekend always seem to signal the end of summer. We will see the temperatures continue to drop which is a welcome change from the 100 degree weather we have experienced over the summer. The weather really has not been that bad over the summer though with rather mild temperatures and only a couple of weeks where we broke 100 degrees. Still, as we look to summer coming to an end, football is starting from college teams to the NFL starting this next week.

I participated in two fantasy drafts the past two weeks for my two fantasy teams that I play each year. It is a good time and makes it fun to follow the games having players I need/want to play well so that my fantasy team does well. Sometimes this can be difficult if I have draft a player on a team I do not like, or follow, but I need to have the player do well so my team does well.

As the days continue to get shorter, football is starting, and it seems more events are packed into the weekends, I am wondering when Carrie and I will be able to go camping again. We have only been twice this year and I am hopeful we can fit in at least one more time to go camping before it gets cold. I know we do not want to go late in the season as we did last year going at the end of October and camping in 32 degree weather. While it was fun during the day, the nights were cold and I am not sure we would do it again with it that cold.

Going back to football, if you are looking to get involved with NFL games, I enjoy doing Pig Skin Pick'em which I have been doing for a few years now. Again, it makes it fun to follow the games and try to pick the winners each week. It is free and easy to participate. Go to the Pig Skin Pick'em site and the password to join is "haverty". Feel free to share with others and see if you can beat me in picking the winners each week. Make sure to go back each week to make your picks!

Join Pig Skin Pick'em with password of "haverty" to make NFL picks each week.

I am writing this on Sunday afternoon while watching the Royals play. I know tomorrow we will be grilling to enjoy the holiday. We went to the store on Saturday to pick up groceries for the week. We picked up chicken breasts to grill one night and then we also picked up Scallops to do on the grill along with some shrimp to do one night on the grill. I am excited to try Scallops although we are not sure if we are doing those Monday or not. We might do the chicken, but it will be a decision tomorrow, but I am researching recipes for doing Scallops on the Big Green Egg. I cannot wait!

As the warm days come to an end, I know one little dog who will miss being able to go outside and sit in the hot sun. The picture to the right was of Oliver in our back yard from a few weeks ago when the temperatures here in Topeka were above 100 degrees for a week straight. He loved it and would sit out in the yard directly in the sun. I would have to call him to get him to come inside and even then he really did not want to leave the sun to come inside. We are guessing that he is cold when he is in the house because of the air conditioning. So, he will be sad to see the days get colder and eventually snow on the ground and he will be shivering on our couch while we try to keep him warm. Poor guy!

I hope you have a great rest of your Labor Day weekend and a great week!

Spare Ribs on the Big Green Egg with Recipe and Pictures from My Experience

Spare Ribs Prepped and Ready

To continue what I was cooking last weekend (see last weeks post), I did spare ribs on Sunday. My first time doing spare ribs and probably my fifth or sixth time trying ribs in general. The past attempts had provided tough, dry, and dry ribs. I was not sure how this would go, but I used a recipe I found on Big Green Egg Forum and combined with another recipe I found on The BBQ Buddha. 

I started out planning to do the recipe from the forum which is referred to on the forum as Micky's Turbo Ribs. This recipe consists of the following:

• 350 indirect for 1hr 40 min. 
• Before cooking: Pull membrane, mustard, and add rub. 
• Put on at 350 and leave the alone for about that time. 

Although as I was getting started, I found another recipe that I thought would work better for the large slabs of meat I had to cook for the day.

I completely changed over to using The BBQ Buddha recipe which calls for grill to be at 350 degrees on indirect cooking. Preheated the BGE to 350 degrees while I prepared the meat, rub, and the spritz.

1. Trim fat, pull membrane, remove flap meat, and prepare for mustard and rub.
2. Slather with mustard as a binder for the rub.
3. The rub consists of salt, pepper, and paprika
4. Leave the ribs untouched on the BGE for one hour without opening the lid. After one hour, start spritzing. Springs consists of the following.
• 1 cup of apple juice
• 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
• A few dashes of hot sauce
• A few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
5. Begin spritzing with the spray every 30 minutes until done.
6. I set a timer and checked the ribs every 30 minutes spraying with the above spritz.
7. At the 3 hour mark, I checked to see if I could see the bones sticking out or how the meat would bend when I picked up with the tongs. Good indication the meat is done. I did leave on for another 30 - 40 minutes continuing the spritz.
8. Pull the ribs when they are done. Let rest before cutting them up. I applied BBQ sauce after I cut them up and while I ate the ribs.

Ribs After One Hour

While I had planned to do Micky's Turbo Ribs when I started, I think changing over to the The BBQ Buddha worked out well for me. I do not think the large spare rib racks would have cooked as needed with Micky's Turbo Ribs recipe, so I am glad I changed over to the other recipe just as I was starting to prep. It was a game time decision to change over to the other recipe.

The spare ribs were so large that they did not really fit on the grill. You might not be able to tell, but the ribs are laying on top of one another in the picture to the left. Meat hanging off of the edge of the grill on all four corners, but it seemed to work. After an hour I was spritzing the meat lifting the top layer and getting moisture to the second rack. 

Spare Ribs Split Up to Levels

After about 90 minutes of cooking, I was able to add a second level and put each rack of ribs on their own level. I thought this would help to evenly cook both racks of meat. The rack that was on the bottom the first 90 minutes of cooking, I put on the top rack. After the first hour, i was spritzing as I mentioned and then after 90 minutes, I split up the two racks and continued the spritz on both racks.

After about two hours, I started checking the ribs by picking them up with the tongs to see how they felt. Continued the spritz, but kept them on for another hour and half or so going by touch of how they looked and felt with the tongs.

Ribs are Done!

Pulled them when I could see bend in the ribs and bones were exposed. Let them rest for 15 - 20 minutes before I started to cut them up. Sampled some of the meat as I cut them up and tasted good. I realized after the fact I did not take any pictures of the cut up meat, but that will be for next time when I try this again.

The meat tasted good. Depending on the meat, I had some that the meat fell off of the bone and others that were a little tough. I think this could have to do with whether it was the meat on the top or bottom to start the cook. I did have someone recommend in the r/biggreenegg post I did about my cook that they recommend using skewer to fit more on to the grill. Of course others recommended using racks to fit more on to the grill, but others, including The BBQ Buddha, do not like to use racks. I certainly had an issue where the meat was too large to fit on the grill for two of them. It created a lot of food to eat, but it was a little difficult to work with the meat on the grill. I think I will try the skewer the next time I try ribs.

I had a fun time throughout the weekend doing different cooks. I really enjoyed the wings that I did and had those for leftovers for days. I want to do wings again and I plan to do ribs again too with some of the adjustments I listed above for the next time I do ribs. I had a fun time doing all of my cooks while Carrie was out of town and now to do some cooking while she is back home and can help me to enjoy what I cook.

Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you next week.

Cooking on Big Green Egg, Carrie in Houston, and Looking Forward to Smoking Ribs Sunday Night

Flank Steak and Fried Potatoes

Carrie is in Houston for the weekend so it is my time to grill as much as I can. Unlike last year when she was gone, I did not plan out all kinds of things to cook. Instead, I am using things I find in the freezer although I did go to the store on Saturday to pick up some things. More on that later.

To start, I did a flank steak with fried potatoes. The flank steak was in our freezer and I took it out of the freezer Friday at noon to thaw out. Turned out good slightly pink. The potatoes were some that we had on a shelf in our kitchen and we must have had them for a while as there were a few rotten ones in bag that about made me lose my appetite. Overall, it turned out great! I did this on Friday night for dinner and I did not eat it all. I meant to eat leftovers on Saturday, but that did not happen.

Saturday morning I had a haircut in the morning, so I went to Circle Coffee afterwards where I spent an hour or so reading and planning out what I would be cooking Saturday night. I decided on wings as I had not done those on the Big Green Egg. 

Wings on the Grill

The recipe I found for wings worked out well. Fairly easy consisted of patting the wings dry, salt, and baking powder for a brine that I let sit for a few hours through the afternoon in the fridge. I set the Big Green Egg at 350 - 400 degrees and put the wings on the grill with indirect heat. They cooked for about 40 minutes before I removed from the grill and put them in a bowl where I added Louisiana Hot Sauce coating the wings entirely before putting the wings back on the grill for another 10 - 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Wings Ready to Eat

Yes, I made a lot of wings. They come in packs to feed a family, so I bought almost 4 lbs of wings. Luckily, they turned out good and I ate about half. I plan to have them for lunch today.

When the wings were ready, I did not time things right as I bought a bag of steak fries to go with the wings. Took a little while for the fries to finish in the oven but finally had them out and I was ready to eat. 

Ready to Eat

Turned out well with a lot of food leftover.  Of course I had to have Ranch to go with the wings. I like how they turned out with a little crunch on the skin in some spots and then the sauce was good as it gave them a kick. I might have let them be on the grill after they were sauced for a bit too long, but grilling is always a learning experience, so next time I will do them only for another 5 - 10 minutes.

Tonight I am planning to do ribs. We have had two slabs of ribs in our freezer for a long time. It was a mistake when we ordered back in 2020 from Wal-Mart where they changed out what we had requested for two slabs or ribs. I have been wanting to try out ribs for a while, so I am excited to try them out tonight. I will leave the cook tonight for another post.

Until next time, have a great Sunday and a wonderful week!

Various rambling on a Sunday afternoon while watching the Chiefs and thinking of what to share...

I sit here on a Sunday afternoon watching pre-season Chiefs football and wondering what happened to the summer. Seriously, it feels like I blinked and the summer is over. Students move in next week on campus, classes start soon, and before we know it the year will be over. The post today is going to be more of a rambling post on a Sunday afternoon, so bare with me as I jump around on various thoughts.

Carrie leaves for Houston this week for about a week. I will hold down the fort and probably do some grilling. I need to start planning what I will cook while she is away. You may recall that last year Carrie went out-of-town and I did some grilling while she was away (see post) and I plan to do the same this time too. Last year I did grilling every day while she was gone. She will be gone about a week this time, so I might only grill on the weekend when she is gone... I have not decided yet. You might also recall that the last time she went to Houston on her own, she came back with COVID and I got sick too with COVID. Hoping that does not happen this time as that was horrible!

As we look to the fall season, we are hoping to find some time to do more camping. Ideally, I would like to get at least two more camping trips in before it gets cold. Last year we went out to western Kansas and had a great time, but it was also really cold at the end of October. We have King Biscuit Blues Festival coming up the first part of October, so hoping to get a camping trip in September in and then maybe one more in October. Sad we have only camped twice this year.

We have Washburn football that will be starting up soon too. Tailgating and we are thinking of traveling to watch the Ichabods on the road for at least one game. Fun to have this starting up again and I am looking forward to spending afternoons out watching football at Washburn University. It is always a fun time out on the campus following the game and catching up with friends. I am hopeful to have large gatherings at our tailgate spot this year and we might even break out the Firedisc a time or two.

Changing topics a little, my reading of books has slowed some. I am still reading at least once a day although some days it has only been a page or two. I need to pick up the pace and reading through the day. Right now, I tend to read only when I go to bed which means I am tired and can barely make it through a page before I put down my Kindle and call it a day. I am almost done with a book I have been reading for a few weeks now. It has taken me longer to read this one for some reason, so I plan to go back to some of my book series after I finish this current book.

I continue to fly my drone some days but with the heat we have had the past few weeks, I have not done nearly as much as I was after I first bought my drone. I continue to learn how to fly and how to respond in situations such as when the wind picks up and carries it away from me. I have not take many pictures with it since I initially bought the drone as I am learning how to fly and do so safely. I am also not taking it up high above the trees and instead keeping it at eye level as I learn to fly. Yes, I did lose one drone and quickly purchased a replacement, so it is a learning experience.

As we look at the semester starting, football season starting, and the weather starts to cool, I starting thinking about leaf cleanup for the fall. Thinking ahead, I bought a pack of bags for leaf pickup. The past few years I have called to have someone come out and do our leaves. I am planning to do this myself this year and I have purchased ahead of time the needed bags so I can get an early start once our leaves begin to fall. Not yet fall, but I have noticed some trees are starting to lose their leaves.

Enough rambling for a Sunday afternoon. Look for some posts next weekend about my grilling. Hoping to do some fun things while Carrie is away and it is always a learning process when I grill. Until next time, have a great week and I will talk to you next week.

Oliver Lost Weight After Stomach Issues but Doing Better Now... Hoping Continues to be Healthy

Sleepy Oliver

Oliver finally seems to be back to his old self. He turned 12 back in June and then the first week or so of July he had a lot of teeth pulled. Since he had his teeth pulled, he had not been doing well. Eating oddly, although he has eat odd since he was a puppy, but mainly having bowl movement (BM) issues. Multiple visits to the vet, various bills, and finally this past week he got back to "normal".

When we took him to the vet on August 1 to get a shot to help with a urinary tract infection they had found the week prior after taking a urine sample. We wondered if this might have been what was causing him to have BM problems for most of July. As he was having stomach issues, we decided instead of pills, we would get the shot. While he was at the vet on August 1 they recorded his weight and found he had lost more weight. We noticed we could feel his ribs and bones on his rump. Sure enough, he had been losing weight. They told us to start having him eat a can a day. Typical Oliver though, he decided he did not want to eat the wet canned food any more. So, we switched him back to his kibble on Saturday and he is doing much better. 

Since he has started eating regular, we did start giving him treats again as well as his chicken he loves. It was tough when he was having BM issues but still hungry to leave the house and not give him a treat or biscuit. He would look at us as if we were made at him with big old puppy dog eyes. Yet he still greeted us when we would come home from work or being gone.

For now, we are happy he is doing better and make to himself. Hoping no more setbacks for him with eating, weight, or health. Thank you for the comments and share of concern for our baby Oliver. 

Made Our First Pizza and Cooked on the Big Green Egg... It was a success!

Pizza on Big Green Egg

I have been wanting to do homemade pizza on the Big Green Egg for a few years. We finally did our first pizza tonight and it turned out nicely. Carrie and I were nervous about doing our own pizza, but it was easy. The crust turned out well with some crunch and we both think we could have topped it with more cheese than what we did. The crust is store bought dough that we bought at Dillon's. We worked it out to fit a pizza pan and then added our toppings. Toppings included pizza sauce, turkey pepperoni, mushrooms, and cheese.

The grill was set for indirect with the grill insert to raise the pie high in the dome. I got to a temp of 450 degrees and kept it there throughout. It only took about ten minutes to cook. Halfway through and I could smell the pizza cooking. I was able to look in through the vent and I could see the cheese melting. What a good sight!

Finished Pizza from Big Green Egg

The taste was good although we have some things to change. One video I watched while preparing for our first time making our own pizza said that pizza making is a evolving process where we will learn new techniques and try new processes. The crust was good and a little crunchy. It was a little salty which could have been from the sauce, mushrooms, or possibly the crust. Even with the salty taste, it was a good first attempt. We have leftovers we can eat tomorrow for lunch.

Now that we have done our first pizza on the Big Green Egg, I am excited to try different toppings and processes. We will use the dough again for a future cook although Carrie thinks we could get two crusts out of the dough which we might try the next time. 

Until next time, have a great week...

Poor Mans Burnt Ends with Chuck Roast on Big Green Egg

Grill Ready for Cooking

I found a recipe a while back for Poor Mans Burnt Ends, so I decided to give it a try last weekend. I ordered the rub and BBQ sauce from the Pitboss Grills web site as it sounded pretty good. I had read through a few other poor mans burnt ends recipes and this one sounded the best. We got a little over 3 lb chuck roast. I was excited and got the grill going mid-morning. The recipe said it would take eight hours, but that was on a smoker they were using so it was not going to take as long for my cook.

Followed the recipe to a tee doing the rub all over the chuck roast to start. I set the BGE up for 275 and it stuck on that target temp throughout the cook. The whole cooking process took about four hours.

Chuck Roast Half-way Through Cook

After putting the chuck roast on the grill, I let it sit untouched for a little over two hours when the target temp finally hit 165 degrees. It smelled so good as it was cooking as I could smell the rub that was being cooked and smoking as it went along.

We had a rain storm just as it was supposed to be hitting the target temp which did cause the grill temp to drop a little as I was away from the grill and could not adjust the vents appropriately, but it quickly regained the target temp and finished out to remove the chuck roast from the grill.

After 2 hours and 30 minutes

After two hours and thirty minutes, I removed the chuck roast from the grill.  I wrapped it in aluminum foil and placed it back on the grill for another hour to reach a target of 195 degrees. Again, it smelled heavily as it finished up the last part of the cooking. 

Once the target temp of 195 degrees was hit, I removed from the grill again and let it sit for 15 - 20 minutes before cutting it up into cubes. Placing the cut up cubes into an aluminum foil pan where the meat was covered in brown sugar and the BBQ sauce. The whole tray was placed back on the grill at 275 where it sat for another hour.

Partway through final stage

The goal was to cook the cubes meat in the brown sugar and BBQ sauce until the BBQ sauce became thick from being cooked. This did take a little over an hour to occur. When I opened the grill, which was still set at 275, to check the meet after an hour the BBQ sauce was bubbling as it cooked the meat. The meat was tender to the touch and had a nice color as it finished up on the grill.

As I removed the meat from the grill and brought it inside, it was all Carrie and I could do to not sample it hot off of the grill. So, we let it sit for a few minutes, maybe 15 minutes, and then sampled one piece. Tender and tasted good. We decided we were not big fans of the BBQ sauce but then when we had leftovers the next day, it tasted much better. Next time we do this cook, we will use a KC BBQ sauce.

Dinner is Served

Carrie made roasted potatoes and then Brookville Hotel Sweet and Sour Coleslaw which went along really well with the dinner. The meat was prefect and we had leftovers to last us for two or three more meals. 

Overall, I liked the process. As I mentioned, I would change out the BBQ sauce and also the rub would be different. The meat turned out really well and I would do the whole process again. The nice thing is that I could fit probably three chuck roasts on the grill if I needed to make a lot for an event.

Until next time, have a great weekend and a wonderful week...