tosabarbell

One of the best times of my childhood was when my Uncle and Auntie and two cousins moved to Minnesota from Arizona. Our families had lots of fun together and they remain some of the most important people in my life.  One fun aspect of living so close to each other was watching the friendly*cough intense cough* competitiveness my uncle had with my dad on grilling the perfect meat.

First off, my Dad (the oldest of three boys) was the grill master. Always charcoal (a gas grill is an abomination of grilled meat everywhere) and always the perfect fire before the meat went on. It was a science. Secondly, my Uncle Dennis (the youngest) is a very smart man and watched over the years on how to perfect the meat and the grilling of the meat.  His advantage; however; has come in his love for technology. One of the last times I was visiting Seattle, he lovingly showed me his new grill/smoker and the wireless device he was going to install so that he could monitor the meat from inside the house. My reaction: Uhhhhhhh…hokay.

In any case…today’s post is dedicated to them. The grillmasters whose competition/achievements was fun to watch…and we all enjoyed the results!

Last year Bigg bought himself a Big Green Egg. It’s been one of his most prized possessions; however; due to the work being done on the house this spring and early summer the poor Egg has been relegated to a corner of the driveway with a mountain of junk in front of it. Very sad. Well the construction is nearly complete and the junk is gone and the Green Egg has been going to town these last five days. Steaks; a beef tenderloin; and today’s project? 4th of July Brisket!

Our 14# baby was carefully seasoned with a top secret rub (not really top secret, I just wasn’t paying attention) and seasoned for a day. Bigg then fired up the Green Egg and made sure all was dialed in before laying it to bed for the night.

We had mere moments to get the baby into the smoke and grab a picture before we closed up the Egg.

Bigg also has a device to check the meat from his computer at work but it’s not in use today since I’m here to check it (that’s trust, eh?) We’ll let you know how it turns out. It’s been going all night and will rest most of today in preparation for it’s debut at a picnic/boat ride this evening to enjoy the fireworks from Lake Michigan.

It’s been fun watching Bigg geek out about his Egg and has brought back a lot of fun memories of the Peterson get togethers. Lots of laughter and good food, much like Bigg’s family when we’re all together.

***ADDENDUM ***While we’re busy with our Brisket, Uncle Dennis is smoking 54# of Pork Butt’s in Mukilteo for himself and the rest of the Veterans and families for tomorrow’s Fourth of July parade and picnic.  Here he is:

To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead.

Thomas Paine