A very early Father's Day present arrived via UPS yesterday. My new Bradley smoker is supposed to make smoking easier, particularly through regulated heat. Now, so long as I have a grounded outlet, I can smoke anywhere without worry about inconsistent heat, flair ups, dying fires, and the other frustrations I've had with my vertical water smoker.
Setup was a breeze, and I was pleasantly happy with the smoke produced during the seasoning process. Denise had visited Costco earlier in the day, and so I had a choice for my first smoke. I've been smoking a lot of beef lately, so I decided that the five pound whole chicken needed to go in.
Gutted and separated, brined, washed, dried, and into the smoker at 12:50 this afternoon. During preheating the smoker reached 250, despite our 37 degree rainy day. In fact, it would snow as the afternoon went on! A couple of hours in hickory smoke, then a couple more slow cooking. We finished it in the oven, just to get to dinner faster.
I have enjoyed some good meals in my time. I don't remember the last time that a meal didn't even make it to the table! Denise and I tore into the chicken like barbarians. Knives and fingers, grease and juice. Fantastic flavor, moist, and wonderful texture. We finally gave up on the idea of plates and ate over the sink! It was the best chicken I've ever had, and that's coming from a person that doesn't like chicken.
We ended up eating well over half of the bird right down to the bones. The rest is in the fridge, awaiting its sentence as a salad topping. Tomorrow I get back to beef. A brisket is sitting in the fridge!
For ease of use, nice design, and set-and-forget cooking technique, I love my Bradley. I can't wait for summer!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
The Dog Days of Winter
It has been a while since writing on here, mostly due to excessive amounts of classwork and job-related things. A few brief updates below:
* It was just a few months ago that the winter wonderland excited me. I remembered my childhood of freezing weather and white stuff. But now it's March, and those of us at sea level should not be getting snowed on! March in Washington is wind and rain...except when the temperatures are still below freezing! A couple of weeks ago we actually hit 55 and I was ecstatic.
* My first quarter back in class is closing this week. If there is one major reason that I have not written here it would be because I end up writing so much in my classwork. After writing pages upon pages for a grade, writing on a blog just doesn't sound like fun. I would rather have a guitar on my lap or my son on my back.
On a positive note, though, the classes are showing immediate benefits. I am more conscious of my day-to-day interactions with others, am drawing big-picture connections again, and experimenting with new philosophies.
* Finally, on March second VeriSign announced that the Communications business was being sold to TNS. Unlike other blog entries I've read, I won't bash VeriSign. This company has been very generous to me, and has dedicated a lot into my development, not to mention helped me out a lot financially. When I look back in thirty years on why I can retire, VeriSign will be a big piece of the puzzle.
Yes, I will look back on my VeriSign years with fondness, but I am ready for the TNS years to begin. We have waited for fifteen months to have this deal announced, and now that it finally is going through I am happy. It does, however, mean a lot of work, particularly for my crew. We have planned, tested, and interviewed customers for months. Now it is finally time to implement.
And so, with apologies to my nonexistant reader for my lack of posts, I look forward to spring break. Not that I'll be watching barely clad girls on a Mexican beach while drinking massive amounts of beer. No, I don't need that kind of lifestyle anymore. I'd be happy to just write something personal and creative while sitting outside in shorts weather.
* It was just a few months ago that the winter wonderland excited me. I remembered my childhood of freezing weather and white stuff. But now it's March, and those of us at sea level should not be getting snowed on! March in Washington is wind and rain...except when the temperatures are still below freezing! A couple of weeks ago we actually hit 55 and I was ecstatic.
* My first quarter back in class is closing this week. If there is one major reason that I have not written here it would be because I end up writing so much in my classwork. After writing pages upon pages for a grade, writing on a blog just doesn't sound like fun. I would rather have a guitar on my lap or my son on my back.
On a positive note, though, the classes are showing immediate benefits. I am more conscious of my day-to-day interactions with others, am drawing big-picture connections again, and experimenting with new philosophies.
* Finally, on March second VeriSign announced that the Communications business was being sold to TNS. Unlike other blog entries I've read, I won't bash VeriSign. This company has been very generous to me, and has dedicated a lot into my development, not to mention helped me out a lot financially. When I look back in thirty years on why I can retire, VeriSign will be a big piece of the puzzle.
Yes, I will look back on my VeriSign years with fondness, but I am ready for the TNS years to begin. We have waited for fifteen months to have this deal announced, and now that it finally is going through I am happy. It does, however, mean a lot of work, particularly for my crew. We have planned, tested, and interviewed customers for months. Now it is finally time to implement.
And so, with apologies to my nonexistant reader for my lack of posts, I look forward to spring break. Not that I'll be watching barely clad girls on a Mexican beach while drinking massive amounts of beer. No, I don't need that kind of lifestyle anymore. I'd be happy to just write something personal and creative while sitting outside in shorts weather.
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