I CHEATED ... and I prospered!!

Well, I recently joined up with the forums on utahBBQ.org. Needless to say, it has inspired me and rekindled my excitement for Que-ing. With that in mind, I decided to cook up a nice butt on Saturday. There was only one problem: Gale force winds. Now remember, I am pretty new to this gig, so I don't have the experience with working in such winds. I have smoked brisket and butts before in some with (15-30 mph), but 85 mph gusts was just too much for me. I couldn't get my chimney started without bringing it in the house ... As you probably guessed, my wife did not approve. So, what did I do .... I cheated.

No, I did not cook the thing in the oven. I actually cooked it on my gas grill. I used a wood-chip box and smoked the thing. It actually turned out pretty good. No where near as good as charcoal and wood smoked, but it was decent. I forgot to take a picture ... oh well, there's always next time. This is cheating, because I was able to start the grill and I didn't have to constantly check the temperature, charcoal level, wood level, etc. I started the roast at 2 am and it was ready to come off at 2:30 in the afternoon (it was a 6 lb roast).

As I stated, this utahBBQ.org information has fanned my passion. So, I decided to make a couple of sauces.

• First, I just took a bottle of Kraft Original that we had in the cupboard and "Doctored" it up with some vinegar, apple juice and spices. It turned out OK, but I'm not sure you can ever take the nastiness out of a bottle of Kraft Original BBQ sauce (RESULT: Mediocre. I probably won't eat anymore of it for leave it for the kids to eat).
• Second, I tried a recipe in Mike Mills' book, Peace Love & BBQ (I highly recommend this book, see the list to the side). The recipe was a different one, calling for corn syrup of all things. We changed it up a little, but it actually turned out pretty darn good. I will definitely try that one again.

I made these sauces on Friday so that they could sit for a day (I find they taste better that way). Then, while I was working out on Saturday morning, another sauce started to formulate in my mind. Now, I have to say that this was a cool experience for me, since I usually am not a "creator" when it comes to cooking. I usually have to start with a base recipe and go from there. However, this sauce started to formulate from scratch in my mind. I made it and it is actually pretty good. The sauce has some tomato paste (I need to cut down next time), orange juice (also need to cut down a little); ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, seasonings and a little water. The sauce is pretty darn good. Once I get the ratios down right, I think that it will be AWESOME!!

That's pretty much it for now. I've pretty much decided that I am getting a Weber Smokey Mountain. Now, I'm just waiting to see if I get a bonus from work or have some extra money from somewhere. Then, LET THE SMOKING BEGIN!!