Drum Chicken and Twice Baked Potatoes

I am behind in posting some of my pictures. This was a cook I did for company at least a couple of weeks ago.
I brined the chicken in a mix of water, kosher salt, pepper corns, garlic, 1 bay leaf and some red pepper flakes.



Heated my drum to 315 and added some hickory.....







I made my twice baked potatoes and added them to the drum after about 40 minutes...







Everything took close to 1 hour and 15 minutes.



The smoked chicken, twiced baked potato, cantelope and salad...



It turned out moist and tasty!

Smoked Prime Rib

This was a smoke I did last week I think.
Just have been too busy to get my pictures posted. :)


I rubbed the rib roast with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt and cracked black pepper. That seems to be my favorite seasoning for most beef....just plain old salt and pepper. :)

I used my horizontal wood burner and smoked with hickory....

Also smoked a pan of mushrooms and green onions......

Smoked to an internal temperature of 135...

I let the roast rest for about 25 minutes.....






It was pretty tasty!

KK's Drum Smoker

When someone contacts me about my drum smoker or smokehouse, (or any of my projects), I always ask for an update when they get it finished. Most folks do not take the time to do that. I realize people are busy.
KK was kind enough to send these pictures of his finished drum smoker.

I really appreciate it KK, your smoker looks great!
I'm so glad it's working out well for you!! :)

Chicken on the drum...

Looks so tasty!!

Thank you again KK. :)

Heading to Oklahoma City

I'm going to Oklahoma City for the weekend.
It's been a few months since I've visited friends there.
The hardest part of my trip will be staying out of Bass Pro and the Academy Outdoor stores.

Even though I don't need anything.. I always seem to find something to buy. :)

I plan on being back Sunday, hope everyone has a great weekend!

Checking out the Sandhill Plums

By using my binoculars, I am able to sit on my front porch and keep an eye on the sandhill plum thicket in front of the old cottonwood tree in the pasture.

I thought I saw a glimpse of red. :)

The plums are just starting to turn red...



I had just reached the thicket......heard a yelp.....then saw my brave dog running back toward the farm with his tail tucked in between his legs.

He got half way home, turned around, sat down...then began barking.

I thought "Oh great! Wonder what's on the other side of these plum bushes."

I could tell he had been chased by coyotes before. lol

The cottonwood tree....













The plum thickets are taller than me.




The plum bushes have thorns......I'm not going in there wearing my cutoffs and tennies. :)




Some of them are ready....they are sooooo sweet and tasty!! They taste like summertime. :)

I wanted to check out this little low spot....... the deer like to hang out here.



I made my brave protector come with me. lol















We didn't see any deer......... the darned moon was distracting me again....




The sage was so pretty....... this one was over 5' tall, with a plum bush growing in the center.

This sage brush was my favorite one... I've never seen one curl like this, most sage stems grow straight up.

The stems and leaves were as soft as a feather......



When I came back to the farm, I enjoyed watching the moon rise....

I took these pictures the other evening.

I need to get back over there to pick the plums. I'm sure more of them are ripe by now. I have plans for jelly and wine.....

Next time I'll wear my jeans and boots. :)

Joe & the Fish Tacos

I had planned on smoking some fish on my drum cooker tonight but things didn't quite work out that way.

I made some fresh pico de gallo using tomatoes, minced onions, minced jalapenos, garlic, lime juice, cilantro and salt to taste...

Also made my chipotle slaw (which I didn't get a picture of for some reason.)
1/2 cup of mayo
1 chipotle pepper in adobo minced (or more to taste)
minced onion
a squeeze of lime juice
salt to taste
Mix with one bag of prepared shredded slaw.
Chill

When I headed out to fire up the drum smoker, I could hear a chick in trouble. After searching around the chicken yard and coop, I finally found the little guy stuck in a small crack in the little door that the chickens use to come in and out of the coop.

The mom must have walked outside with babies in tow and this one took a wrong turn, missing the door.

He was cold, I'm sure he had been there for awhile. His mom and siblings were walking around the yard looking for bugs. I placed him on the ground but he would not join the others, he seemed too cold to move.

So Joe helped me cook supper.....

To save time, we used the gas grill instead of the drum.....

Rubbed the fish with olive oil and seasoned with a bit of lemon pepper and salt.

Added my tortillas....







Topped the fish taco with the chipotle slaw and pico de gallo...







Joe really got excited when he saw that we weren't having chicken for supper.



Then he passed out...




I put Joe to bed for a warm nap under the lamp on my nightstand...

After dinner, when the chickens returned to the coop for the night..... I carried Joe into the coop, set him down in front of his momma. She gave two clucks and he dove head first under her wing. lol