Our children...
...at birth
...one month old
...two months
...three months
...four months
....five months
Thank heavens for blue and pink!
...two 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:
Lovely moments
Experienced mothers often remind me to savor these precious moments...so I pull out the camera once in a while. While I understand that no one may enjoy these videos as much as I do, I figured I'd share them anyway. I'm sure they'll make grandparents smile at least!
A blender and a blessing
I thought we would start the day with our favorite milkshake - peanut butter, banana, carnation breakfast chocolate with some fat free plain yogurt. Madeline started yelling at me the second I set her down, so I was rushing to make the milkshake, right? Well, I added everything but the peanut butter to the blender, turned around for a spoon, and Madeline paused her yells for a breath. That's when I heard a truly awful sound. Chocolately milk spilling....
I don't like messes. I don't know many adults who do. But I LOATH wet, sticky messes. They make me anxious.
Apparently I hadn't screwed the base of my blender on properly (the dang thing ignores the lefty loosey, righty tighty rule!) and everything was just pouring out! My first reaction was to grab the whole thing and rush it to the sink. Oops...it was still plugged into the wall...
Puddle on the floor, trailing the counter, splashed onto the top cupboards, kitchen window and blinds, dripping all down the lower cupboards..."NOOOOOOOOooooo," I yelled.
And then, one of the most wonderful things happened. That's right, I said wonderful. Todd has this quality that I love. He sits back and lets me deal with things most of the time (don't love that part as much...) but he can sense when I've really had enough, whether I show it or not. That's when he becomes superman. And our little Caleb has inherited that quality!
As I was cleaning, and feeling like we had just started the most horrible day of the week, Caleb started singing, "I am like a star shining brightly, shining for the whole world to see..." and gently rocking Madeline's chair.
She stopped crying and watched him.
I stopped cleaning and watched them. My two heavenly angels.
"Thank you Caleb," I said. "You're such a good big brother!"
"You're welcome," he said. "Thank Jesus Christ."
"I will little man, I will."
Fun with Boxes
Because Caprise was sweet enough to save boxes for us, we've begun the journey of packing up over 3 years of our lives. We just couldn't resist having a little fun along the way...
After watching the Curious George robot episode,
we figured it'd be OK to sacrifice a couple smaller boxes.
we figured it'd be OK to sacrifice a couple smaller boxes.
Unfortunately, someone was a little curious about
what was in the boxes he hadn't helped pack.
what was in the boxes he hadn't helped pack.
I guess I'll have to be more consistent with taping up the tops of my boxes too...
Happy Madeline
We get our fair share of the grumpies around here, but we also see these happy little moments. And yes, I know, Madeline was mostly being cute in hopes of eating. But, you have to admit, she is pretty sweet!
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