I love to BBQ! Here are some of the spoils of all that work that goes into making real BBQ cooked "Slow and Low". What is slow and low? Well the short answer is, food cooked over indirect heat (usually wood or charcoal) at between 220 and 250 degrees until its internal temp reaches a certain point, then wrapped in foil and allowed to rest for a few more hours. 12-24 hours total cooking time at low temps are not unheard of. The food below was cooked for about 11 hours and allowed to rest for 3 more hours.

A Fatty! Jimmy Dean sausage rolled up with sharp cheddar in the middle and slow cooked over hickory! Delicious, great on a breakfast sandwich. This only took a few hours on the smoker as it is tons smaller then a 9lb butt.

Pork butt after 11 hours on the smoker (200 internal) and 3 hours of rest.

Pulled and ready to be eaten. Its OK that it looks pink. That is the magical "Smoke Ring"! You know "One Ring To Rule Them All, One Ring To Find Them, One Ring To Bring Them All And In The Darkness Bind Them!" Bet you did not know that Tolkien was a fan of BBQ. The original story is actually about pulled pork not some stupid golden ring. His editor made him change it. :)

The modification I have made to this cooker made the entire 11 hour process much easier than before. You just cannot rush real BBQ. As a matter of fact I probably should have cooked the corned beef to a bit higher internal temp say 190-195 and next time I will.
The mods were taken from the smoke ring website...HERE offset smoker mods and from reading on the Barbecue Brethren website.

Sometimes I get the urge to do something, well out of the ordinary. There are lot of things I do that many people would find, well strange. Krissy hates it when I take the long convoluted way home. The girls think I'm crazy when I want to get up a 3 a.m. to head to San Diego. Everyone wonders what is up with me and my made up songs...anyway this post is about a quick trip to get some real smoked BBQ here in Arizona.

A short little ride through the desert that was beautiful and in full bloom.

As you can see the girls are all very excited!

Getting closer!!!Where the heck is Wikieup?

What the heck is that behind us???

We have arrived at Eat at Joe's BBQ!!!

We ordered our food, Krissy and I shared the Brethren Plate as did Mom, Eli and Sam. Aud got a brisket sandwich, Dad did also. He might have been better off with the pork sandwich as it tasted less smokie and he is not the biggest fan of smoky. He does get the "gamer" award for eating all of it, here he is adding a little sauce to his sandwich.

Our food.

It was very good, yes it was a 2 1/2 hour trip to get there, but isn't that what life is all about? Living the adventure, trying new things and having fun!!!

Eat At Joe's BBQ is on the 93 between Phoenix and Vegas. Stop in and say hi to Joe and Rose and sample some authentic "Q" in an very unusual place.
Eat At Joe's BBQ

Spring means flowers birds and around here bugs, but lets dwell on the good things...FLOWERS! Nothing like a few flowers to brighten up your patio. Krissy and the girls spent Monday evening planting some flowers and having some mommy/daughter time.

Digg! Digg! Plant! Plant! Oh how pretty.

Gettin' dirty but still havin' fun!

Very pretty!

Click the image for a larger view of this flower.

Audrey turned 3 on April 5th. We had a little Hawaiian themed get together complete with Kalua pork, macaroni salad and hula girls in skirts...

Mommy baked and decorated a cake at Odds request, no store bought cakes for this hawaiian princess.

We did some sitting around...

...ate some cake...

...played some redneck party games...

...open some presents...

...then Grandma Kathy got her 60s grove thing on with Debbi and Vicky-T.
Oddie had a great time and we reflected on how fast 3 years goes by.
Happy Birthday Oddie.

Over easter Brett and I headed out to Granite Basin to do a little mountain biking. I had not been out much this winter and I was really itching to get some riding in. Brett had not been on a bike in awhile either so we decided to head out and tackle one of my favorite short little loops from the cattle guard down to the lake and back.

Brett's got his game face on.

Taken at the lake. The lake is so full from all the rain and snow this winter that it was running over the dam.

Heading back the way we came.

The smile on his face says it all. No we did not clean every techy part of it nor did we do it in record time but we sure had fun and to me that's mountain biking at its purist.

Easter came early this year, but that really didn't matter. There were still eggs to color, pretty dresses to wear and bunnies to wait for. My folks and Brett and Shannan came up for the weekend to hang out and spend some time together. This was Brennans first trip to Arizona but I'm sure it wont be her last.

Coloring eggs is fun, but can be a little messy!

I found a new favorite ice cream...its called Take The Cake, man is it good.

Us guys had to get all manly and split a little wood. This pile took us about and hour to split. OK we used a hydraulic wood splitter but it was still manly work.

If you don't already know, I love BBQ. I like grilling and cooking over an open flame. I really like cooking in a dutch oven...but I love a good BBQ. There is nothing like a truly slow cooked piece of meat (pork or beef) covered in BBQ sauce to get the old juices flowing. So on our latest trip out to San Diego my folks took us to a new BBQ place they had discovered.

KB's BBQ is in Santee California and offers some of the best BBQ I've had in awhile. Memphis style Q that is not too smokie and fall off the bone tender. The pulled pork appears to be made without a dry rub but their BBQ sauce is very good. The BBQ feast that they say will feed 2 hungry people will feed at least 4 very hungry people so keep that in mind. If you've got a hankerin for some really good "Q" stop by and see Etta and Calvin at KB's BBQ in the Santee Library Shopping Center. ( 9335 Carlton Hills Blvd) You will not be disappointed.