Good Food, Better Friends

Tonight we had Trev and Lois out to our humble home in the hills. (okay, no hills - just flat prairie land). We had a great time. Trev brought some fine red wine called Fat Bastard which was quite wonderful - full bodied, but still a nice clean finish, really interesting. I'd say it is up there as one of my favorites.

We decided to make ribs for them, be it the "non - Jamaican" version. Not as much heat as I might like, but that was more for my wife. I tried BBQing them in a slightly different way. We started them just naked on the grill for an hour at 300F.


Then I wrapped them up in tinfoil and BBQ sauce and kept cooking them for another hour and a half. I figured they might get more wood smoke flavor that way, but truth be told 300F isn't really hot enough to get the wood chips smoking. (maybe they were wet too long before I started.) At 400F they smoked, but I wanted to do "Low and Slow" so I kept it at 300F.

I'm going to have to say I think they are better if you cook them the whole time in BBQ sauce and tinfoil. I think the ribs tend to be more tender that way and don't dry out as fast. This is the second time I've tried it this way and both times they seem to be a bit drier. Not something you really want. Go ahead and try it both ways, wrapped or naked, let me know which you prefer.

Heather made an awesome Rum Graham Pie, man that has got to be one of my favorite deserts ever (well that and Key Lime Pie, yumm!) So light and smooth with a wonderful delicate taste. Tonight's was extra special, we used Tortuga Premium Aged Rum from the Cayman Islands. (one of my favorite dark rums, it's great - 98 proof)

At the end of the evening we made Cedar Planked Cambazola with honey and raspberries. This is how it is suppose to cook:


We decided later in the evening to make this wonderful creation for Lois and Trev, but in doing so I didn't have the time to soak my cedar plank for the required 1 hour. Trev and I were talking outside and I heard a "whoosh". I knew what happened, I lifted the lid to find my cedar plank in flames. When planking food you want that wood smoke, so we just turned the burners off and did a controlled burn for a few minutes.


If you want to try this at home, please do not leave your BBQ unattended! And have water at your side.

And soak the plank for that 1 hour minimum.

Ciao from your BBQing photographer, Jeremy D