If there’s leftover brisket in the fridge, there’s a decent chance breakfast the next morning is this bowl. It’s not really a recipe so much as what happens when smoked brisket meets a hot pan and a couple of eggs — but it’s one I keep coming back to, so it earns a real writeup….
How I Smoke SPAM (Yes, Really)
Smoked SPAM has a reputation, and I get it. But over the years I’ve made it probably ten times. And I haven’t found a single person who tried it and didn’t end up liking it — usually to their own surprise. It Was Never the Main Event SPAM was always a cheap add-on smoke, never…
How I Smoke Sausage (And Why It Always Finishes on the Grill)
I’ve never dedicated a whole cook to sausage — it’s always been the thing riding along with something else, whether that’s chicken thighs, wings, SPAM, or ribs. But after doing it enough times over the years, a real method has settled out of it, even if it never got written down until now. Setup I…
Sous Vide, Smoked, Then Seared Chicken — Grill vs. Cast Iron
The Setup The sous vide was a new tool at the time, and like most new equipment, I was looking for reasons to use it and justify the purchase. I’d seen someone post about doing something similar on Facebook, and since I was already searing other sous vide items in the cast iron, it made…
Oven-Baked Baby Back Ribs Finished on the Grill
Yes, you can absolutely make ribs in the oven — and done right, they come out just as tender as anything off a smoker. The method I’ve used for close to 40 years, going back to a restaurant called Gadgets in the 1980s, bakes the ribs low and slow in a covered pan, then finishes…
From Bark to Bite: A Low & Slow Pork Butt Obsession
Smoking a pork butt low and slow overnight is one of the most reliable ways to get tender, flavorful pulled pork, and it holds up whether you’re doing one butt or six. Here’s the full method I use on a 22″ Weber Smokey Mountain: the trim, the rub, the hickory, the overnight stall, and the…
Korean-Style Hickory Smoked Beef Short Ribs
I was looking for something new to smoke and found some great-looking Korean-style short ribs at Sam’s — thin, cross-cut slices across the bone rather than the thicker traditional cut. The marbling caught my eye, so I decided to give them a try. Cost was just under $10/lb, with the whole package running about $31…
Reverse Seared Tomahawk Steak — Dry Brined, Smoked, Seared Over Coals
I’d seen tomahawk steaks around several times but never felt the urge to buy one until this past weekend. I was looking for something to post that I hadn’t done before, and this was a good-looking piece of meat for only $32. I did a little research on how to prepare it and decided on…
Oven Cooked Prime Rib — No Rest Required, Slice and Serve
I decided to cook a prime rib for Easter this year. Publix tends to discount beef around this time of year, and I was able to snag a nice standing rib roast for $6.99/lb. I’ve cooked prime rib in the oven before, and I’ve also smoked one. My daughter gifted me a book a few…
Smash Burger perfection, process and pictures
One of the things I have made the most on my Blackstone is smash burgers in the close to a year that I have owned the grill. This post will detail the process and outcomes. A little research that I completed resulted in the method that I follow. The beauty of the Blackstone is to…
One-Pan Sausage, Peppers and Onions in the Oven
I’ve been a fan of sausages for a long time and have made them almost every way there is — grilled, smoked, you name it. This is the method I’ve landed on as genuinely foolproof: everything cooks in one pan, in the oven, at 350°F, for about 60 minutes total. The trick that makes it…
White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Snaps my holiday tradition.
My mother did a lot of home baking as long as I could remember. This white chocolate dipped ginger snaps recipe is one she provided me that I have made every year for the last 10 years or so.It is an easy recipe to make, and the cookies are really good, and a nice contrast…
Cherry and Apple Smoked Turkey
The Bird and the Rub I decided to smoke a turkey this year for Thanksgiving. I purchased a 15 lb. Butterball and decided this year not to brine it. I’ve read that the only time you really “need” to brine a turkey is if it’s an organic, natural bird — Butterball-type turkeys are already treated…
Sous Vide Picanha — A Highly Recommended Cut, Finally Tried
Early in my sous vide journey, I watched a lot of content from a YouTube channel called Sous Vide Everything. I learned a lot from it early on and refined what worked best for me using this method. Some cuts turn out incredible sous vide; others, in my opinion, aren’t worth the extra effort. The…
Expert Grill Charcoal Pizza Oven Review: Is the $97 Walmart Pizza Oven Worth Buying?
Quick Verdict ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ (4.5/5) Price Paid: $97 Would I Buy Again?YES Best For:Anyone wanting wood-fired pizza without spending $400+. What I Love ✔ Incredible value ✔ Easy assembly ✔ Reaches very high temperatures ✔ Makes outstanding pizza Biggest Drawback The cooking window is fairly short before the stone needs time to recover. 2026 Update –…
Backyard Pavilion for Outdoor Cooking — The Stones Said “Give Me Shelter
My Weather Strategies Before the Pavilion I do a lot of outdoor cooking, and I’ve used a lot of different methods for dealing with the weather over the years — before finally landing on a Costco pavilion that solved the problem for good. Sometimes it was just avoidance — choosing not to cook on days…
Hickory Smoked and Seasoned Cashews
An Easy Add-On Smoke Cashews are an easy way to get more out of a smoker that’s already running — a quick add-on after a bigger cook, not necessarily its own dedicated session. The Recipe Cashews, tossed with a small amount of olive oil as a binder, then seasoned heavily with garlic powder onion powder…
Smoking American Wagyu Beef Ribs — A Gift Certificate Well Spent
I’d always wanted to try smoking beef ribs. I imagine they’re easy to find anywhere in Texas, but here in Middle Tennessee, they’re hard to come by. My daughter gifted me a certificate for Snake River Farms, and I finally pulled the trigger and ordered from them. The ribs arrived professionally packaged, sealed, and shipped…
Blackstone Beauty
I had never understood the fascination of the Blackstone grill, but I am glad that I took the plunge and purchased one. As a long time restaurant employee in my younger days, it brings back memories. One of the first things I am glad for is that I went with the large grill. Seems like…
The new kid in town
I had looked at getting a flat top grill for a while. I did my investigation looking at brands and options. I had looked at adding a removeable top to my Weber Propane, but ultimately decided to purchase a BlackStone. This is basic unit, but the large 4 burner, also comes with a removable metal…
Can a Smoker Run Unattended Overnight? Midnight at the Old Smoker
Yes, a smoker can absolutely run unattended overnight — I gave up babysitting mine a long time ago, and it’s held up through brisket cooks, pork butt cooks, and even genuinely cold weather. This particular smoke was a fairly typical overnight run, except for one thing: it was 19°F outside, cold even for Middle Tennessee,…
Picture Gallery
I have taken a ton of pictures over the last decade, plenty of them food related. Brisket Cheese Chicken Pork Butts Prime Rib Pork Loin Ribs Turkey Pastrami Spam Nuts Burgers and Sandwiches miscellaneous
Should You Slice or Pull Pork Butt? Here’s the Difference
Most people automatically pull a pork butt after smoking it. I don’t always. I cook it to the same finished temperature I would for pulling, and I rest it the same way. But sometimes, after one additional step, I’ll slice it instead — and for sandwiches or serving guests, I actually prefer it that way….
How to Smoke Pulled Pork for a Crowd: Large Pulled Pork Project
This cook had some extra weight to it: it was the first smoke on a replacement 22″ Weber Smokey Mountain, bought after a garage fire took out my previous smokers a few years earlier. I’d been watching Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist for months — during the pandemic, even used WSMs were hard to find —…
How to Stop a Pellet Tube From Flaming Instead of Smoking
The Problem My original smoke tube didn’t survive the garage fire, so this smoke started with a replacement — and a new problem. The whole point of a pellet tube is a slow smolder, not a flame, but this one kept doing the opposite. What Happened There’s a fine line between smoking and flaming. If…
Smoking Nuts by the Batch: A Three-Batch Day
The Setup Finally getting back to normal after a stormy year. As I normally do near the holidays, I smoked some nuts. I purchased the products from Sam’s, as I have had good luck with the brands in the past. It was a decent day on Sunday so I smoked three batches of nuts. I…
Celebratory Brisket — Hot and Fast, After the Rebuild
It had been a long time since I’d smoked a brisket, since the last one ended up costing well north of $100K in repairs and replacement. This hot and fast brisket was my way of celebrating — the rebuild after the fire was finally finished. If you haven’t read the full story of how that…
Back Yard Smoking…
With everything going on in the world, with the pandemic, I was excited to find a large brisket (close to 20 lbs.) at my local Kroger. I typically do overnight smokes, and always watch the weather prior to smoking. Weather looked good Friday night, so I started the brisket about 8:30 PM, and it was…
Another Midnight Brisket — Testing the 22″ WSM
My local Kroger must have bought too much brisket, because they were closing them out — I ended up picking up 2 full packer choice grade briskets at $1.99/lb. One went in the freezer; this one I prepared with my standard overnight process. I normally run my 18″ WSM for brisket, but decided to try…
Sous Vide Brisket, Then Smoked — Does It Beat the Real Thing?
As a fan of trying every cooking method I can, I decided to sous vide a brisket before finishing it on the smoker. I’d seen plenty of people online talk about how great this turns out. This flat came from the same 12.5 lb full packer as my Burnt Ends Project post — the point…