They call him "The Captain"

Progress Report

Our oven is coming along nicely. The basic internal structure part is complete, minus the chimney. The plan is to tie the stack from the smoker and the pizza oven together and stub them through the roof as one vent. Originally my plan was to just vent them under the canopy, but after only a few smokes the underside is turning a dingy color (not to mention on a windless day you are over come by hovering smoke).

As the picture shows we have started what will be a series of small fires to dry out the mortar and perlite that insulates the sides and top of the oven. And yes that is a television set mounted up in the corner. Who doesn't want to catch the race while grilling?? Yup that's what I thought. Although I will admit it is a bit over the top!!

Starting Simple

The first BBQ occurred when a caveman held some meat and tubers on a stick over a fire. Thousands of years later, I continue that paleolithic tradition with some shrimp and steak kabobs. Turn a few times on medium heat, careful not to overcook them, and then serve on a bed of rice. Bloggers take note, every good BBQ should be partnered with an equally good craft brew, so don't forget to include the details in your posts ! Featured here is a fine pale ale from Full Sail brewery in Hood River, Oregon. A simple recipe, an outstanding beer, so easy a caveman could do it !

Looks like a winner

I have been tossing around the idea about smoking salmon in the smoker. With a stroke of luck we will be out on Lake Michigan catching some kings in June. So until then I will make a trip to Costco to get a couple fillets to experiment on. Heres the one I picked:

This hot smoked salmon is loaded with 10 cloves of garlic. While that might sound like a lot, once you've tried it you'll probably want to add more.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours, 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients:
1 large (2 pounds or so) salmon fillet
10 cloves of garlic, minced
4 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon sage
1 teaspoon oregano
Preparation:
Prepare smoker for a 4 to 5 hour smoke. Rinse salmon thoroughly. Combine remaining ingredients and cover the top side of the salmon. Place in smoker for 4 hours. Salmon is done when it flakes easily and has a consistent color all they way through the middle. When done remove from smoker and rest for 5 to ten minutes covered

What a Sunday dinner should be......

This old barrel smoker is has been know to produce some killer ribs and chicken, and that's exactly what it did again yesterday. I put everything on the grill at the end to get a little char. (30mins).

(Cleanest this grill has been since i purchased it)

This was an eight beer smoke. The ribs in the title came out of this crude device and i got a hell of a tan during the event.

Spring in California

Whole chicken and rack of baby back in here.

Birthday Party

We hosted a surprise birthday party. For this we had to bring in the big guns....Brian Saunders took charge of the grill and thrilled the masses with his grilling mastery. (to date, I have not heard of any party goers needing stomach pumping).