Chain Gang BBQ

This Thanksgiving was the first one in 20 years I haven't smoked a turkey or a duck. We were going to have filets, butterfly shrimp and sweet potato casserole. BUT there was a drastic departure in the menu, so the old Tom went in the oven at 210 for 14 hours. Juicy as heck, but not the same without the cherry and apple wood.

Tried a "knock-off" recipe for KC Masterpiece original BBQ sauce. It was close, but not "spot-on." Oh well, worth a try.

Today's the day. I smoked several Ghost Chilis over the weekend. They they spent two days in a dehydrator and today I'm grinding them up and some will go into a batch of hot links. Haven't made links since summer and I'm craving a batch of these bad boys. Can't wait to try em.

Toying around with idea of attending a Master Class with Mike Mills in January. This particular one will concentrate on cooking whole hog. His classes are incredible and Mike is such a nice man and he only uses Ole Hickory Pits. What can I say?

The ribs are on. So far, I've done them as I always do, seasoning wise, but I'm using grape wood this time. The smoke coming from the pit smells like bacon. Will develop the Maple/Mustard glaze while they cook at 230.

Does anyone remember eating babyback ribs at the KC Masterpiece restaurant in Overland Park, KS? They've been closed for about two years now, but their ribs were to die for. They were finished in a glaze, I'm assuming, that had a medium flavor of maple, yet a hint of mustard at the finish. I'm going to play around with some slabs today and see if I can nail that flavor profile. They were darned good.

Did ribs and hot links this weekend. Damn it was good, first time I que'd anything since closing The BBQ Pit.

Got some things "cooking" to end my jobless vacation and start barbecuing again. Stay tuned.

A day or two after I had to close my BBQ joint, I noticed Bandanna's in Nixa has closed their doors as well. I'm not surprised by their demise. This leaves Nixa with Buckingham's....is there an investor in the house?

Due to a lousy economy and sky-high utility bills, I was forced to close The BBQ Pit, as of today. I wish things had turned out differently. I'd like to thank everyone for their support and patronage.

Watching "The Lincoln Lawyer." Matthew McConaughey plays a great attorney.

A couple just came in for dinner. They split an Asian Babyback rack between them. While eating their dinner the husband says "this is wonderful BBQ you know how you can tell? My wife is a vegan and she's snarfing these ribs down." Another momentary conversion.