Two of my favorite things...soccer and bbq.

Okay, first of all, for all of you from out west or up north or anywhere else besides the southeast and Texas, the term barbeque (BBQ) in all it's different spellings does not imply cooking meat over an open flame on a grill.  Cooking hamburgers on the grill is not barbeque.  And in fact, the term is a noun and refers to meat cooked using low temps, indirect heat, and smoke.  

That being said, BBQ is one of my mostest favoritest things evar!  And cooking bbq (pork mostly) is one of my new hobbies.  Last year, I pretty much sucked at it.  But I've been able to get consistently good results this year and some of it has been above average (in my unbiased opinion, of course).  

This past weekend, we were blessed with some really nice weather so I decided it was time to break out the smoker and smoke some ribs.  I prepped the ribs by seasoning 'em up with a home-made rub and then wrapped them tightly and put them back in the fridge overnight.  That way, the rub and the meat get to know each other real well.  The next morning I took the ribs out of the fridge and beheld the glory that lay before me!!

    

I then prepped the smoker by dumping a couple pounds of lump charcoal in the fire box and lighting a chimney full of charcoal as well.  Once the coals in the chimney were glowing red hot, it was time dump them into the firebox and let everything settle down to a nice 230 deg F.  

Once everything in the smoker settles into equilibrium, it was time to put the ribs in and throw some hickory on the fire.  By this point it was 9am and time for us to head off to participate in another one of my favorite things...soccer!  

Gavin's U6 team had their first two games on Saturday.  So while the ribs were busy soaking up that sweet hickory flavor, we were out soaking up some Vitamin E!!  Lil' G played quite well in the first game scoring three goals and helping his team win 6-2.  Technically, they don't keep score, there aren't even any refs at this age, but Gavin kept track!

Their noon game was a little less, uhh...enthusiastic, with Gavin's team receiving a healthy beating.  He played well though and had fun and that is what's important.

After the second game, it was time for some more cookin'!  Chicken quarters were prepped and seasoned and put in the smoker along side the ribs for a couple hours and then transferred to the gas grill for final cooking.   Rolls were cooked on the grill too.  After a total of about 7hrs or so, the ribs were ready.  We had some neighbors over and ate outside in the late afternoon sun.  Angela said they were my best ribs yet, and I gotta agree with her.   I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!  I'll do better next time. 

Last week, I promised to include a picture or two from Izzy's birthday.  Well, I'm making good on the promise.  Not the best shot in the world, but it'll have to do.    

Laters!