Well, not quite.

It is with regret that I have to inform everyone that Plastic Forks will not be held this year (2006). This is a decision of the host ... even I don't have the full story, but it does have something to do with ForksBob overbooking himself this year. There will be a smaller party to maintain continuity ... if you are invited, you already know it.

The Official Web Site should have additional information and updates.

Well, southern Californians mostly don't barbeque in the winter rains. Mostly. Their attention is often occupied by watching the hillsides to see if any are going to come loose. Lost some people at La Conchita that way.

Bottom-feeding crustacean critters: Ma Nature's tasty little joke. How something that eats what lobsters eat ends up tasting like lobster... well, it's a mystery.

There's and END to BBQ season ??????

I am Perelexed (spellin' ) because I have a rain suit , and insulated cover-all's .
Hard core BBQr's are NOT stoped by the weather .

BUMMER about Forks !!! Oh well there goes our ALT Vacation plans ( if'n the weather get weird for here http://www.thecapeescape.com )

Found this recipe on the net, because I wanted to try some baby back ribs on the grill this weekend. I would think some kind of marinating would make them better... Comments/suggestions/alterations? I will let you know how they turn out.
Thanks! LR


• 2 sheets (18x24-inches each) heavy duty aluminum foil
• 3 pounds baby back pork ribs
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
Directions:
PREHEAT grill to medium or oven to 450°F.
CENTER half of ribs in single layer on each sheet of aluminum foil. Combine brown sugar and seasonings; rub over ribs, turning to coat evenly.
BRING up foil sides. Double fold top and one end to seal packet. Through open end, add 1/4 cup water. Double fold remaining end, leaving room for heat circulation inside. Repeat to make two packets.
GRILL 45 to 60 minutes in covered grill. Remove foil; place ribs on grill OR BAKE 45 to 60 minutes on a cookie sheet in oven. Remove foil; place ribs on broiler pan.
BRUSH ribs with barbecue sauce.
CONTINUE GRILLING OR BROILING 4 to 5 inches from broiler, 10 to 15 minutes, brushing with sauce and turning every 5 minutes. This recipe for Baby Back Barbeque Ribs serves/makes 4

My bro-in law is remaking my grill/smoker for me. I miss making them myself, but just can't now. I can't wait to break it in this year.
Season in Fl has been on for some time.

Here's what I cook on. It's a Big Green Egg and I absolutely love it. It's made of ceramic that's about 2-3 inches thick and it burns hardwood lump charcoal.
It's both a smoker & a bbq.
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c116/mbturvey/egg.jpg

That is an *awesome* cooker, Seak...where does one find these?

Els - I ordered mine online from Hearthside Distributors, but if you are interested in getting one you should see if you have a local rep.
I love this thing.
Check out the Big Green Egg forum (just type it into google or yahoo) you will see that it's kinda like a religion. (I go by alaskanc)
I've made everything from smoked salmon to prime rib roasts on this thing. It's amazing.

I really want a new grill, but I am putting it off this season and simply ordering replacement parts.

I'm working on a BBQ menu for a mid-July BBQ. So far it's hamburgers and hot dogs, smoked Beef ring sausage, chicken drums, and a 5 lb lamb shank (with bone).

Unfortunately, that's not really enough lamb for everyone.

I've never done a leg of lamb on a grill before, but I did find these instructions. Fortunately, I already have a wireless meat thermometer because I do not have a rotisserie.

BTW, my wife has had good success with mixing in slices from the sausage into Zatarains Caribbean Rice. The combination is moderately spicy, whether from the rice or the sausage I'm not sure.

Still, I have to choose whether to serve the rice without meat to accommodate vegetarians and non-red meat eaters or go with the original recipe. In any case the sausage rounds would be browned or blackened separately. I think mixing it into the rice while it is still hot adds a lot of flavor.

I do not for a fact know that anyone attending at this point is a vegetarian, but I am trying to decide how much accomodation to make. I could also leave off one package to make meatless.

Does anyone have any advice on this or how to cook the lamb? I cook with propane but I have hardwood chips (pellets). Should I add smoke into the mix?

Rich - if you are going to add smoke, do it at the beginning - that's when the meat will absorb the most smoke flavor. Don't overdo it though - tender meats like that can over absorb the smoke and that doesn't taste so good. Also, when you do smoking on the gasser, crack the lid a bit, otherwise the smoke will taste bitter. You want the smoke to pass by/ thru the meat, not settle on it.

So, hubby bought this:http://www.chargriller.com/shop/grills/smokin-pro.htmlon Saturday. Grill. $89, Side smoke box $39 from Menards. We seasoned it then cooked T-bones on it in preparation for our pork baby back ribs on Sunday. Was a bitch to put together, but totally worth it.

My husband took total control of the ribs, and for a first attempt, they were pretty good. We started with Famous Dave's rib rub, then he smoked them with hickory chunks for 2 hours at ~200*, spraying with them with apple juice occasionally. We then drenched them in Famous Dave's Rich and Sassy BBQ sauce, wrapped them in a couple layers of foil, and cooked them for another 2 hours over charcoal at about 300*. Turns out that he oversmoked them, but they were still tender and one rack was perfect moisture wise. The other was a bit drier, but still edible. There wasn't any leftovers!! Even my daughter ate a bunch of the meat without much sauce from in-between the ribs. If we cut the concentration and duration of smoking down to about 1/2, they would be perfect. We felt like we were breathing smoke the rest of the night :) Maybe this coming weekend we'll try again.

Barbeque is more art than science, but one well worth learning.

I suspect the drier of the rib racks was closer to the fire. This is an inherent issue with horizontal smoker designs. There are some things you can do to alleviate the problem though. Take a look the this pdf file. It's for a different brand than you have, but it should give you an idea of what can be done.

I Q'd in the rain yesterday. 9.5 lb pork butt (on at 3am off at 3pm), pork tenderloin and a half dozen italian sausages. Everything turned out great. The butt was the best I've done so far.

just wanted to take this out of context. I feel as though it is expected of me.

It is. Thanks for sharing.