Play time?
Caleb always makes a "house" in the corner of our living room. I grabbed the camera when he started pulling his little sister into his fort. Apparently she wasn't scooting fast enough for him.
Painted!
Since Todd was gone for 4 days on a business trip, I decided to paint. Nothing like a fresh coat of paint and a new color to help make our new home really ours! I was relieved when Todd got home and actually liked the colors I picked (...without consulting him).
BEFORE:
AFTER:
..
She can sit
Madeline can sit for short spurts at a time now. And...she can roll and scoot...
I'm thinking that baby gate for the top of the stairs will be mandatory VERY soon!
Our children...
...at birth
...one month old
...two months
...three months
...four months
....five months
Thank heavens for blue and pink!
Mini Weber Smokey Mountain
I've recently been bitten by the grilling/smoking bug. Maybe it is because we finally have a house and space to stretch out and grill. In looking around the interwebz I came across some avid DIY'ers who make smokers themselves. This is one such build, and the great thing is that I can still use it as just a grill.
I should give credit to http://bbqbros.net/how-to-build-a-mini-weber-smokey-mountain/ for the plan I mostly followed. I plan on painting mine soon and will post final pictures when that is complete.
I didn't have anything before I started so I had to go buy some things. Total was around $70.
You start with a Weber Smokey Joe Gold or Silver. These are small kettle grills, about 14 inches in diameter. The only difference between the two models is where the air intake is located. The Gold has one on each side and the Silver has one at the bottom of the bowl. I read some discussions on which way was better, "The silver is better because the air comes up through the holes in the bottom" or "The gold is better because ash wont clog the vents". I went with the Silver model since that's the one Walmart carried. The Silver model will have you do one extra step so ash from the coals wont clog the holes.
Both models are about $30.
The second thing I had to get was a tamale steamer. A 32 quart one to be exact. Most guides say use the IMUSA one since it fits quite well. I got this at Walmart as well for about $23.
I also got a 12" terracotta plate to absorb the heat for indirect cooking. That was about $6. Read about two zone cooking from amazingribs.com here: http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/2-zone_indirect_cooking.html
Finally I got an assortment of screws, nuts, washers etc. for maybe $5, listed below:
1/4″, 3″ long stainless steel bolts (3)
1/4″, 3/4″ long stainless steel bolts (3)
1/4″, stainless steel lock washers (8)
1/4″, stainless steel nuts (11)
1/4″, stainless steel lock nut (4)
I should give credit to http://bbqbros.net/how-to-build-a-mini-weber-smokey-mountain/ for the plan I mostly followed. I plan on painting mine soon and will post final pictures when that is complete.
I didn't have anything before I started so I had to go buy some things. Total was around $70.
You start with a Weber Smokey Joe Gold or Silver. These are small kettle grills, about 14 inches in diameter. The only difference between the two models is where the air intake is located. The Gold has one on each side and the Silver has one at the bottom of the bowl. I read some discussions on which way was better, "The silver is better because the air comes up through the holes in the bottom" or "The gold is better because ash wont clog the vents". I went with the Silver model since that's the one Walmart carried. The Silver model will have you do one extra step so ash from the coals wont clog the holes.
Both models are about $30.
The second thing I had to get was a tamale steamer. A 32 quart one to be exact. Most guides say use the IMUSA one since it fits quite well. I got this at Walmart as well for about $23.
I also got a 12" terracotta plate to absorb the heat for indirect cooking. That was about $6. Read about two zone cooking from amazingribs.com here: http://www.amazingribs.com/tips_and_technique/2-zone_indirect_cooking.html
Finally I got an assortment of screws, nuts, washers etc. for maybe $5, listed below:
1/4″, 3″ long stainless steel bolts (3)
1/4″, 3/4″ long stainless steel bolts (3)
1/4″, stainless steel lock washers (8)
1/4″, stainless steel nuts (11)
1/4″, stainless steel lock nut (4)
Here is a picture of everything minus the terracotta plate:
And a close up on the screws and the metal saw bit:
Once all the parts are assembled I started with the tamale pot. The idea is to allow enough airflow for the smoke to get to the meat. I saw several different ideas on how to do that, from cutting the entire bottom off to drilling small holes everywhere. Since the pot comes with a tamale strainer that has lots of holes in it...
I decided to use that as a guide on hole placement.
Here you can see the spots for me to drill.
I first drilled a lot of small holes where I placed the dots. Then I went back and drilled out larger 1" holes across most of the base. I had to be careful to not overdo it though. I still want to have some stability in the base. You need to be careful while drilling the holes for a couple reasons. 1: The aluminum of the pot is fairly thin so the heat and the pressure of the drill could warp or bend the bottom. 2: Fillings get EVERYWHERE. I didn't realize this at first so there I was drilling holes on the patio out back where Caleb always runs bare feet. Not a good combination. The disks from the saw bit are razor sharp. Gotta clean up before kids get their hands on them. Also the edges on the pot from the resulting holes are very sharp. A good sanding or something might be needed.
Next I drilled 6 holes for the screws. The first set was 4" from the top of the pot. This will hold the initial grate for the meat. The entire circumference of the pot was about 43 1/2" inches so doing some quick trigonometry I put the screws 14 1/2" from each other to form a triangle. I did the same on the bottom of the pot about an inch from the bottom.
The top bolts are the shorter 3/4" with a washer and nut on each side of the pot. The bottom bolts are the 3" ones with a nut and washer on each side. These bottom bolts will hold the terracotta plate for heat absorption. You can see the top and bottom bolts here, along with an inside view of the drilled out holes.
Here you can see the terracotta plate after one cooking. The next time I cook I'm going to have a tin pie pan to catch drippings. This plate is able to support another rack set on top of it which is what I'm eventually going to do.
Here is the mostly finished product:
Things I haven't done yet:
First, remember how I said the silver edition has the air vents on the bottom? Well I completely forgot to get a pet food dish or use an old can of tuna or something and drill holes in the side. This is to put over the vents in the bottom of the kettle to keep the ash from clogging the air vents and to allow air flow. That will be done this weekend.
Second, when grilling or smoking a good thermometer is an absolute. You have to keep that baby somewhere between 225 degrees and 275 degrees, depending on what you cook and who you listen to. The idea is to cook low and slow to get the meat tender, juicy, and full of smoke flavor. You don't want to over or under cook the meat. So a good thermometer for the air inside the smoker about grate level, as well as a meat thermometer is necessary. I haven't gotten one yet but I will.
Third, opening and closing the air vents on this thing when hot is nigh unto impossible. On the bottom vent I'm going to put a 6" bolt to use as a handle for better leverage. Some of the nuts and washers will go toward this. I couldn't find one long enough at the local hardware store so I'll have to look again or get one at Lowe's or Home Depot. As with the thermometer air control is crucial. Without it you can't properly regulate the temperature, ending either too cold or too hot.
Fourth, in the bbqbro's site I linked to at the top he painted his Gator orange with an F. I, with Amanda's help, will paint the pot, or at this point a stove pipe. I'm not 100% sure what or how yet but be sure I will post pictures of it when it is done.
So now, how does it cook? I cooked some pork chops and some chicken breasts the first time in a trial run. I figured that they should be somewhat forgiving. Both types of meat came out tender and with a half decent smokey flavored bark. I say half decent because I just used charcoal and didn't throw any wood chips on it. I loaded up the bottom kettle, lit a couple briquettes in a chimney and off I went. It will be a slight learning curve to tune the smoker and get the meat just right, but it will be worth it.
Man, I'm hungry for some pulled pork now...
Madeline's First Food
The pediatrician gave me the the thumbs-up for starting Maddie on solid foods whenever I wanted. The original plan was to wait until she was 6 months, like we did with Caleb. But this little girl has such a huge appetite that we tried a baby cereal yesterday.
The first video is by Caleb -
hold on to your stomachs if you're planning to view it...things get a bit shaky.
This video is by Todd:
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