Like Frank's trailer, my pit could use a bit of polishing. Wire-brushing, cleaning, and re-painting was actually on the to-do list for this weekend, before I decided to cook with it instead.
Looking forward to it. I'll give you a sneak peak at what the brisket is already looking like after almost two hours on the fire. Probably another 8-10 hours to go.
Eu-tee - Assuming you are somewhere between S. Congress Ave. & Lake Travis, I calculate I'll need to leave Wimberley around 10:00 this am to arrive in time for 3 to 4 iced long necks while that brisquet is finishing up. I'll bring the tater salad & develed aigs. Sounds like you & yours will have a great Mother's Day, in large part due to your BBQ skills. Glad to hear you do your own brisket & not go the local food store's pre-cooked route. Your's will be soooo much mo bettah.
I slept in the Airstream last night. It serves as our spare bedroom when we have a house full (and that's not hard to do in a 2 BR ranch house). But mostly I slept out there cause I could & wanted to . I was washing the AS yesterday in our 97 degree heat - the skins were so hot that it dried with a limestone dusty finish (our hill country well water). Woke up this am to 66 degrees outside!!!, so I think I'll be back out there with a vinegar & water solution to clean off the limestone streaks. That's MY Mother's Day celebration, and can't think of a better way. Everyone else will be inside (catching up with me) giving the Mom's their much deserved love & special appreciation. I try to do that every day, so I don't feel too bad spending a part of this beautiful day with my Stream.
Eu-tee - Assuming you are somewhere between S. Congress Ave. & Lake Travis, I calculate I'll need to leave Wimberley around 10:00 this am to arrive in time for 3 to 4 iced long necks while that brisquet is finishing up. I'll bring the tater salad & develed aigs. Sounds like you & yours will have a great Mother's Day, in large part due to your BBQ skills. Glad to hear you do your own brisket & not go the local food store's pre-cooked route. Your's will be soooo much mo bettah.
I slept in the Airstream last night. It serves as our spare bedroom when we have a house full (and that's not hard to do in a 2 BR ranch house). But mostly I slept out there cause I could & wanted to . I was washing the AS yesterday in our 97 degree heat - the skins were so hot that it dried with a limestone dusty finish (our hill country well water). Woke up this am to 66 degrees outside!!!, so I think I'll be back out there with a vinegar & water solution to clean off the limestone streaks. That's MY Mother's Day celebration, and can't think of a better way. Everyone else will be inside (catching up with me) giving the Mom's their much deserved love & special appreciation. I try to do that every day, so I don't feel too bad spending a part of this beautiful day with my Stream.
Spending the night in your Airstream makes for a perfect weekend I think. My wife has told me numerous times that she has no doubt I'm going to be doing that regularly as soon as we finally get one.
Yeah, it got pretty dern hot yesterday didn't it? I was outside all day cleaning and re-staining my deck and patio furniture, and I had no choice but to cool off with a few icy cold long-necks myself.
I was a bit apprehensive about spending the day hanging out by a fiery hot pit, but this morning the temperature is so pleasant that it's been a fantastic morning.
I love the Wimberly area by the way, we're thinking about buying some property out there. A few acres, hopefully with a view. That will be the future home of our future Airstream.
Hope you have a great day, and I'll be looking for that tater salad along about 4 PM okay?
The equipment makes a difference. Pits like this one aren't cheap-- they retail for $600 - $1000 for this size. Luckily for me, my bride's father ran a smoker business as his side business for many years, and gave this pit to me. I call it "The Dowry."
But with a good pit like this one, all it takes is adding another log every 45 minutes or so, and setting up the air intake and exhaust to control air flow.
Here we are, still right around 225 (just a bit below, but no biggie), and no maintenance to get there:
I leave the exhaust completely open. Some folks use it to control the temperature as well, it just depends on your unit. The only time I really ever use it is when I need to kill the fire, then I close it (and the intake) all the way.
Hey utee -- I was just at Rudy's on Research Blvd last Sunday morning early. You shoulda told me to stick around! You know yours looks better (and that's hard to say when comparing to Rudys). Enjoy Moms!!!
I've got a technical question. Is it OK to smoke Brisket and a Pork Butt in the same pit, like my son-in-law does?
Or is that a big no-no. I'm a newbie so I just follow his advice.
I think it's okay, and I've done it several times before. Pork butts typically take even longer than brisket so you'd start the butt early, and then add the brisket later, so they all finish at the same time.
Are you concerned about cross-contamination? Shouldn't be an issue at 225.
Richard-- you could hop a Southwest flight and be here by 6 PM easy. My FIL is bringing the beans, my SIL is bringing the tater salad. I'll let you be in charge of the nanner pudding.
Bob-- I live about 1 mile from that Rudy's! Next time you're in Austin let me know. Especially if you have your camper with you.
Man, if I had known that you were going to invite half of Texas I would have left Alaska early to make the cookout. Being from Hamilton, Tx and really missing brisket on the smoker, I would have made the trip. We are going to have chili (it will be 50 here today) for Mothers day to celebrate.
By the way..they don't know what a brisket is here. Go figure.
__________________
My life flow more closely resembles a life splat.
Richard-- you could hop a Southwest flight and be here by 6 PM easy. My FIL is bringing the beans, my SIL is bringing the tater salad. I'll let you be in charge of the nanner pudding.
Bob-- I live about 1 mile from that Rudy's! Next time you're in Austin let me know. Especially if you have your camper with you.
-Marcus
I was thinking dutch oven cherry cobbler with a little French vanilla ice cream. Might be tough getting through the metal detectors....