EXPERIMENTATION WEEKEND!

King-O-Coals

I'm going out on a thin limb this weekend. We have guest coming and I have decided to go where no man has ever gone before. Baby-backs are for Saturday evening. I have removed the membrane with my trusty catfish skinners. It was so easy, if yall will send me yours,, I will de-membrane them for free. I rinsed them well,, patted very dry with paper towels, applied my Prudhommes, Brucie's, and some Butt&Rib Rub(Guru, I need more of that when you come down), and then poured buttermilk in my hand and patted them. THEY SMELL GREAT. Tonight,, I will sprinkle them with Balsamic Vinegar just before I go into my normal Friday night coma. But before that,,,,,,,,, I am inventing a new taste sin-sation. I'm calling it "Lady Godiva's". It will be the regular old Angles on Horseback (fried version) but with a peeled, devained shrimp in the middle. I plan to take an oyster, wrap it around a shrimp, wrap that with a small piece of bacon, stick a wooden toothpick through it all,,, gently drown it in my secret blend of egg, buttermilk, and Shrimp Magic,,, then coat them in a dry cornmeal/flour/seasoning mix. Deep fry them until they float and dance around happily in the hot 400 degree canola oil,, then watch folks burn their tongues trying to woolf-them-down. Friday night guests like the "stand-up at the bar" type of eating, so it's hard to control the pace of ingestion. The're bad about grabbing free samples as I troll morsels from the hot grease. If we survive the night, ribs will start around 1300 tomorrow on a 200 degree or (if possible) less EGG. I'm doing them very slow if possible. We will probably take a slow motion 2 hour boat excursion after I get the coals adjusted, just for mood adjustment. Shooting for 5 hours if I can keep it below 200. And Cat,,, I'm adopting your method and going topless. IIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAHHHH! <-(new battle cry)

Grumpa

King-O-Coals,[p]If I leave now will I make it in time to eat?

King-O-Coals

Bob, we'll just have another cool one and wait until you get here..

MAC

King-O-Coals,
I’ll tell ya, you really know how to make people jealous. First of all ya live in that tropical paradise. Then ya cook seafood that people up here would die for. AND THEN ya talk about boat rides when there is till ICE ON THE LAKE in Michigan. I’m fighting to find my driveway and you are worried about sand on your plate. Boy!! Some people really know how to live. You live in a climate where you could cook topless. In all seriousness, those angels on horseback sound too good to be true. I WANT ONE, or six. They sound GRRRR…..ATE ! Happy cookin’ [p]MAC

King-O-Coals

MAC, I'm not gloating, but they say,,,, we may actually get into the 80's this weekend. I'm sitting out under my deck with a brisk 6 mph. wind blowing on me,, with a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on. I do love it,, and try not to take it for granted. I watch the Weather Channel daily and I see what you guys have up there. And this time of year,, when we are getting strong south winds bringing warm temps down here,,, someone north of us is getting their patutty kicked. We are on the intake side of the weather engine. Thanks for the appreciation. The Angles on Horseback are mity fine, fried or egged,,,,, but this new idea "Lady Godiva's" is one I've never tried. I just thought it up today when one of my guest told me he was bring oysters a fellow firefighter caught. I already had shrimp thawing,,, so I figured I'd go for it. All of the seafood is caught locally,,, usually by friends of mine. I don't have time to catch it myself because I own an EGG. Happy weekend buddy!

Cat

King-O-Coals,[p]Okay, I'm on my way too so you'd better save me some shrimp.[p]If you want to go topless, it's very important to start with a very small fire. Start narrowing the bottom vent when the dome temp hits 150 or so. [p]Even with the bottom vent as closed as it will close, enough air seems to leak in to keep the fire going at a nice clip. It might be tough to stay under 200 if you're topless. I do most stuff at a *grill* temp of 220-250, which is a dome temp range of roughly 250-275.[p]Bob, any other ideas/advice?[p]Happy experimenting, KOC. I'll bring more beer. ;-}[p]Cathy

King-O-Coals

Cat, if you were coming,,, I wouldn't even start the fire until you arrived. We got a lot of grinning to do before we eat. You don't think I can keep it at or below 200 topless? If I leave my top off, can it go un-attended for a couple of hours? Should I go indirect if I plan to leave it without a baby-sitter for 2 hours? Got a match? What time is it? Do my questions grate on your patience?

Nature Boy

King-O-Coals,
YeeeeeeeeeeeHAAAAAAA! (YFH)

Grumpa

Cat,[p]I believe you covered it quite well. Besides, I've decided to try not to say too much on this subject as I already got myself in enough trouble to start with :~) [p]Hoping I'm forgiven!

King-O-Coals

Nature Boy, my guest are here! YEEEEEEEEHOOOOOOOOOOOOEEE!

Cat

King-O-Coals,[p]Questions, questions. Yeah, I think it might be hard to keep your dome temp under 200 with no top. Why, if I might respectfully inquire, do you want to do those babies at such a low temp? They're leaner & more tender than spares.[p]Since fire control is a little different when you're topless, I'm not sure your first trial should be unattended. But maybe I'm risk averse. Indirect might make it easier to keep the temp low & steady. [p]As for my patience...ask away, I'm tickled that you're going to try this. [p]Cathy

Dr. Chicken

King-O-Coals,
Me thinks youse is steppin on Guru's toes![p]Dr. C

MAC

King-O-Coals,
IIEEE and a mighty fine weekend to you too sir. I will be doin' the rib thing this weekend. Just picked up 4 bags of lump and the ribs are put to bed with mustard and JJs. Kids are home from college. It will be a feast. Ya got a great deal there . They furnish and you do the cookin'. I'll be down one day to have you cook the "Angels" in person. Eating one is like lookin' at the Red Head in Touched By an Angel. [p]MAC

MAC

Cat,
IIEEE I like it when you people talk dirty ! ! Watch out for back draft. I can almost picture this now. If I can get this maping program to work I'll be there too. [p]MAC

King-O-Coals

Cat, so you're insisting that I cancel our boat ride? OKAY,, I'll go tell the gang. I'll just tell them that CAT said it wouldn't be prudent to go off and leave the ribs. Don't worry,,, I won't tell them where to find you.. They'll get over it,,,, eventually. Nah! Just funnin with ya, and learnin from ya too.. I have cooked baby-backs at 150 for 6 hours several times, and they were most tender, juicy, and excellent. I guess they should have been called "smoked baby-backs". 200 is easier to hold, so I figured 5 hours with indirect heat would eliminate hot spot worries and they would be tender too. And I may not need the full 5 hours. Down south here,, we gotta have quality mood time. Southern gentlemen have a much slower rhythm but a much faster metabolism. We talk slower, listen slower, cook slower, and,,,,,,, okay,,,,, maybe catch-on slower,,,,,,,,, but we'z hot blooded and goin 90-miles-an-hour.. "Sweet Home Alabama".... For the sake of the boat excursion,,, I may have to keep the top on. But if it's windy, the boat stays docked,,,,,, and I'm goin CAT STYLE.... Happy weekend!

King-O-Coals

Dr. Chicken, WELCOME HOME, my buddy! You got a lot of reading to do to catch up. This place is rockin. I'm fixn to get buisy so I may miss some quality interaction with yall tonight.. But tomorrow is another day.

Tim M

King-O-Coals,
I am not much of an oyster/shrimp fan, but the ribs sound good. What does the buttermilk do? I like the balsamic vinegar idea.[p]Tim

King-O-Coals

Tim M, according to many acclaimed chefs,, buttermilk is a great tenderizing medium. I use it on my wings with fajita seasoning, and on Boston butt in conjunction with the rub,, and injected with other good stuff the day before they get egged. Everything I use it on turns out tender and moist,, and another indicator of its powers is,, I didn't use it on my old hens and look how they turned out. Plus,, I just love the stuff and it is a great medium to help keep the meat moist and carry the rubs. I'm very happy with my ribs today. I'm posting a report shortly.