This week I take on the largest string of BBQs I have attempted thus far. It started on Saturday with my take on John Dawson (Patio Daddio)'s "Rattlesnake Tails." In addition to that, on Tuesday I smoked a Jimmy Dean Maple Sausage to crumble for use in the beans I'll share with you today.

Here's the basic recipe:

Ingredients:

2 lg cans (1 lb, 12 oz) of Bush's Baked Beans
8 slices of thick sliced bacon, chopped
1 lb maple fatty (smoked ahead of time), crumbled/diced
1 med onion, diced
2/3 bell pepper (I like orange)
1 can (21 oz) peach pie filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 TBS Molasses
1/2 cup Famous Dave's Apricot Bourbon BBQ Sauce
2 TBS worschestershire sauce
1/3 cup bourbon
1 lg clove garlic, minced
2 TBS Coleman's yellow mustard (Trust me - use the good stuff)
1 TBS Simply Marvelous Sweet and Spicy rub

Directions:

-Smoke fatty (can be smoked well before), crumble or dice
-Brown bacon in skillet (about 1/2 way) [better yet, smoke it some more]

Add onion & pepper - cook until just carmelized.


Slowly add bourbon & garlic - simmer until caramelized

Add the beans...

And the molasses...

Toss in Coleman's yellow mustard...

Then add the caramelized peppers/onions/bourbon mixture...

Pile on the dark brown sugar and peach pie filling...

In with the Famous Dave's Apricot Bourbon BBQ Sauce...

NOW mix in the smoked bacon/maple fatty concoction...

THIS is why we keep pulled pork in the freezer...

At about the one-hour mark...You need to go for a minimum of two hours. These went 3.5.

Out of the smoke...

Off with your lid!



And, fin...



These beans came out beyond words. I cannot believe that my good friend, Wampus, took only 2nd place at a BBQ cook with these.

Prep time makes this appetizer take longer than it might. Basically, jalapeno peppers, cream cheese, six-cheese Italian blend, BBQ rub, capocollo ham, brown sugar, and bacon.

The double racks allows me to fit much more food into the smoker than I otherwise might try.

This isn't so much about how "long" it takes to cook these peppers. You have to watch the peppers, and when the bacon crisps enough, you can eat.


 The finished product always has a bit of "wow" factor to it. I made 48 of these beauties. I ran out of the ham and had to finish with pepperonis, but they turned out fantastic. I treated folks around my camper neighborhood, but my BIL manages to pack away 13 the first night and has samples some for breakfast this morning.

Item 2: Pork Skewers

Sorry, no graphic depictions of dead animals.

Item 3: Breakfast Fatty








 I'll post more on this later (I have to prep the chicken for tonight's supper).

Item 4: Simply Marvelous Spatchcocked Chicken

The final item for our weekend does not seem to have the same "wow" factor of IBTs, ABTs, or a breakfast fatty. I think that is a shame. When done right, yardbirds taste fantastic. I made two wet rubs. One consisted of SM Sweet Seduction mixed with olive oil, a splash of water, and a tinch of basalmic vinegar. That went under the skin of two of the birds. Tossed each in a gallon ziplock, pouring any extra rub over the top. The third bird had SM Sweet and Spicy, also with oil, water, and basalmic. The results? My BIL took one bite and declared, "Dude! That's not chicken." Mission accomplished this weekend.

 I LOVE when chicken makes the turn. This pick came after I had lowered the chicken to the lower grate. After 20 minutes......BOOM..... rich, caramelized chicken.


 One big pillow of meat.


 A panful of moist, smokey goodness.


 A plated view after I started eating.

 My BIL's plate after the carnage ended.

For my first-ever BBQ'd Teacher post, I decided to elaborate a bit on a posting I did to BBQ-Brethren.com. It deals with my newly-attained Weber 22.5" Kettle with a Weber Rotisserie Ring.


This past week my nephew brought down a Craigslist find I lucked into last weekend (Wisconsin Rapids, WI to Oshkosh, WI for those of you in Wisconsin).

I waited until this morning and then looked closely at what I had.

1. One-Touch Silver kettle (new enough to have plastic handles)
2. Weber Kettle rotisserie and ring
3. Four generic BBQ skewers

Pretty decent shape overall, but I still took the wire disk on my angle grinder to the racks and had to get rid of a bit of rust on the counter-balance.


Took some dish soap and fine steel wool to the lid, ring, and body. Looks nearly new.


It took a bit of time, but I managed to use to fine steel wool and dish soap to get most of the old grease out of the bowl and lid.


I used the wire wheel on my angle grinder to take off the rust and hard-crusted "gunk." It shocked my how close to "new" this started looking, especially when I looked up the date code on the lid and found this Kettle originated in 2006.


Honestly, this small amount of work led to a VERY clean set of racks. I felt like the Barbeque Master who received a filthy WSM and bottle GooGone from the makers of GooGone. After some honest labor, I might as well have a brand-spanking new grill. I didn't end up using GooGone, but the feeling of satisfaction seems similar. I wonder, though, if Goo Gone would have saved me time on this job? Hmmm...without running an experiment, I'll have to leave that unanswered for now.


I may never use the skewers, but heck, they were FREE. You quickly see how some scrubbing and grinding made for like-new equipment.


If I'm being honest, the ring took almost no effort to get clean. When I read the ad, the poster said "only used a few times." Right.....I thought. I've read that before. I have to believe that, in this case, the grill received a few uses before the owner lost interest.


The motor looked in good shape, but a brother from the BBQ-Brethren pointed out that I should open up the motor, check the contacts, and use a little white grease where the rod enters the motor. I will finish that task this week and intend to see how it fits on my Bucky Badger UDS at the campground (That is a post in its own right).


And, after a good 2-3 hours of work, the "new" Weber Kettle took its place on the driveway with the 18.5" WSM and my ever-present pepper plants.


After spraying down the insides with olive oil and starting a fire, I figured I might as well cook something. Why waste a perfectly good fire? After adding a piece of pecan wood, I have to say....


This bacon-wrapped tenderloin steak ranks among the best I have tasted - from a restaurant or otherwise. I guess this new kettle should work just fine.


Note: I have always had an interest in grilling, but I grilled the way so many "lost" weekenders grill - heat it high and get it off before it burns too badly. While researching "instructions" that students in my Grade 12 technical communications class could create, I stumbled across plans for a UDS. I quickly located a used barrel and started a rewarding journey as I learn to actually BBQ. In this blog, I hope to document my growth as a farker.