Thursday, May 22, 2008

BBQ Junkie

Just as I have had a "love affair" with Moda fabrics, my DH has had his "love affair" with BBQ. Here he is pictured above at a BBQ he did many years ago. Those were the days he would rent a big rig to cook up some great food. First it began with your typical backyard barbecue. Then it was "smokers" or barbecue pits. Then it turned into renting huge barbecue trailers. And finally he bought a Klose Pit BBQ similar to this one: (keep reading and you'll see pictures of his pit.)

It's so big he has to pull it behind his truck. Over the years he's put on many barbecues, parties, and even weddings. In 2003, he had the opportunity to participate in serving 10,000+ marines and their families at "Operation BBQ: For Our Troops" at the Twentynine Palms Marine Base.

Over Mother's Day weekend, the youth and leaders from our church held a fundraiser where smoked pork loin roasts and beef tri-tip roasts were sold. (Total sold: 270!!!) Many families in our Stake purchased the roasts and were served for their Mother's Day dinners. The money earned went towards a summer camp our kids will be attending in Utah.

And where were the roasts smoked? In front of our house!

Let me show you how it was done...and I'll even share some of my DH's secrets with you!

First they set up tables on the sidewalk in the front of the house. (our neighbors have seen sidewalk food preparation before...they're kinda used to it.) Youth leaders worked in an "assembly-line" order and first took the meat out of the boxes and cut them up into "roast-sizes." My DH is overseeing the whole process, as you can see from the picture below. Next, others took the meat (pork loin and tri-tip) and rubbed yellow mustard all over it. Of course, they wore gloves. And everyone needed an apron. They all made sure they wore their "grubbies" too. It was a messy job! Did I get my hands messy too? No, because I was the "official photographer." And besides, I had to keep running back in the house to quilt! This lady (below) looks like she's wiping ointment on a baby's bottom. It's pretty much the same technique! Next they sprinkled each roast with seasoning. The beef tri-tip roasts got a good rub of McCormick's Barbecue Seasoning. The pork loin roasts were rubbed with Bad Byron's Butt Rub. (seriously, that's what it's called!) Here are the roasts in the barbecue, all ready to be smoked. I think my DH added some ribs in there too. Yummy! This is great example (below) of my DH multi-tasking! Checking the roasts and talking on his cell. Notice the bottles of cooking oil and apple juice? Keep reading and you'll see what that's for. Below you see him spraying the roasts as they are smoked, with a mixture of a small amount of cooking oil with apple juice. It gives the meat such a great flavor.

As the night falls, the youth leaders have all gone home. Now the family helps out. Below is my BabyBoy (who was with his Dad through the whole process!) and Daughter #2's Sweetheart lending a hand too. Everything is smoked at a low temperature of 225-degrees with indirect heat. They take about 2 to 3 hours until they are done to perfection. And then each roast is wrapped tightly in foil to seal in the juices. Mmmmm! I'm getting a craving for BBQ as I'm writing this!
In the morning, another crew of youth leaders arrive and await directions from my DH, the BBQ master. Hey, wait a minute! Isn't that what the BabyBoy was wearing the day before? I think he slept in his clothes! (Wouldn't be the first time.)
Below, the roasts are getting pulled out one by one and wrapped in foil, waiting for other youth leaders to pick them up and deliver them to the moms of our church. That black box on the left is a Cambro, which is an isulated box that keeps everything warm.
My DH, who only barbecues as a "hobby" (he does have a "day job") didn't get much sleep during the night. Here he is below, "babysitting" his roasts. One of my BabyBoy's friends came to help. He's waiting to wrap the roasts in foil. Great job Shane!

What are these boys saying below?
BabyBoy: Hey, Mom, put on an apron and come help us!
Shane: Yeah, Mrs. Love, put down the camera and get to work!
Mrs. Love: Sorry boys, there are quilts to be quilted. See ya!
Of course there are always quilts to be quilted! (I'm working on a Holiday Chorus quilt with beautiful new Andover Fabrics...pictures to be posted soon!...you'll love it!)
As I was saying...there are always quilts to be quilted, but I always make time to enjoy my DH's yummy BBQ. It's addictive. Hey, I guess I'm a BBQ Junkie too!
***Disclaimer: Remember I'm just the photographer of my husband's BBQ...he is the expert, so don't ask me any questions. This blog post was not meant to be a "tutorial." I really don't know how to BBQ, I just enjoy it!***

5 comments:

dee said...

Do you take mail orders?
On our up-coming trip to North Carolina the only thing we made definite plans for is pulled pork BBQ. Now you know where our main interest lies. We are BBQ junkies as well. Have you had Beer can chicken? You can do it with a can of soda instead. Everyone we make it for just swoons. The recipe is on the Weber grill site.
Have a great weekend Vivian.

SMILES2ALL said...

It sounds like you had a great turn out, and a lot of fun. Hope all is going well.
Lindsee Haney (Julies sister-in-law)

Mark and Stefani McCune said...

I'm drooling! That "Brother's Pit BBQ" sure is delicious!!! Yumm Yumm Yumm!
There was this great BBQ place in Bellevue, WA called Dixie's BBQ. It was in a converted auto repair shop. Dixie would do all the cookin' and servin'. Her husband would direct parking (during the busy lunch rush - get there early or you won't be served!). Then he'd go around and offer everyone "the man" sauce. It was HOT!! Just one dab from his spoon is all you need. And if you smart mouth him, he'd spread it on thick & you'd burn up inside! Very good BBQ, but not as good as your sweet husband's!

SS said...

Todd wore the same clothes AND was handling food! EWW! But I still ate all the food anyways!
It's much better to be the photographer and just eat the food rather than work...its just too much work!

Suzanne said...

I am SO hungry right now...love this post! Where in Utah are the Youth coming for camp? I think I need to go eat something!

Suzanne