Pulled Pork Tostada Bar...more deer camp food

I love these... they are so easy to make and can feed a large group.


I smoke the pork butt in advance, then in the morning I shred the meat into the pot, add minced onions, jalapenos and enough beef broth to keep it moist. Salt to taste. Let it simmer on low all afternoon...

then set out the toppings... refried beans, fresh pico, chipotle slaw, sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, fresh limes, salsa, black olives, lettuce... and anything else you can think of. :)

Everyone builds their own.




I topped mine with refried beans and the pulled pork...




then a bit of everything else. They were sooo good! :)

Hot Tub Hens with Smokey Rice

More deer camp food...

I brined the cornish game hens for a few hours in a mixture of water, kosher salt, turbinado sugar, onions, and garlic....

fired up my drum....

rubbed the birds with butter, placed more butter under the skin, then seasoned.

I smoked the hens in my drum at about 300F...using hickory

while the hens were smoking I made some rice. This time I used some Uncle Ben's wild rice blend. ( I've never tried it before).

I sauted onions and garlic in butter, added the rice, water and seasoning package... then smoked on the Memphis Pro at 190 for about 20 minutes. Then raised the temp to 350F and let it cook uncovered until all of the liquid was absorbed. I didn't time the cook.

also smoked some dinner rolls...

It was soooo tasty. :) Loved the smoked rice...

Another successful deer camp meal.

It was actually an easy meal to make... I might have to make this again next year. :)

The day before T Day...

With deer season going on and fall in the air, I have been finding ways to get out to enjoy everything and still cook for everyone. :)

The day before Thanksgiving I loaded the Memphis Pro as full as I could. lol I really didn't know how the smoker would handle it....


I scored and smoked the ham for several hours....



added bacon wrapped corn and a potato casserole. (cubed potatoes, cream cheese, american cheese, sauted onion and garlic in butter... and a bit of milk..




I let them smoke until the bacon was crisp and the potatoes were hot and bubbly..

brushed the ham with mustard, sprinkled with brown sugar, then spritzed with whiskey...




Everything turned out really well.. the smoker handled the full load just fine. :)









served with slaw... and a few other items.. It was tasty and no one complained! :)

T Day Food

As much as I love food.... it's hard for me to look at these pictures. I think I'm still too full to eat. lol

We started the day with biscuits with sausage gravy, scrambled eggs and hashbrowns. It's an easy breakfast for a crowd...

Then for the big meal last night...




smooshed tatoes and broccoli rice... (re-runs from last year:))





other "stuff"...



eggs and pies...





dressing.....




more "stuff".....



smoked turkey......




I cheated and used paper plates. :)

I couldn't eat all of mine but I ate my piece of pie for breakfast this morning. :)

It was a good day! I'm not cooking again until tomorrow, we are going to have leftovers for supper tonight!

Deer season still in full swing here...

I'm having a nice week.
Deer "camp" has been a lot of fun. Target practice, pool playing, eating too much, and laughing til my cheeks hurt. :)

These were fun....




I think I need to get one of these. :)





The hunting is going well for some...

I still have another full week of hunting next week. Hope to stock my pantry with more venison for the winter.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have so much to be thankful for, it would take me forever to list them all..
Family, friends, freedom, good health... I'm pretty thankful just to be alive to enjoy it.
Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Once in a Blue Moon...

Did anyone check out the blue moon tonight?
It was so beautiful...

Opening Morning...

After a late night last night and an early morning today.... deer camp is in full swing.
No deer to report yet but there is no hurry.
The food, drink and stories are 3/4 of the fun. :)

Comfort Food...

Good ole meat n tatoes. :)


Made a loaf of meat...

rubbed some potatoes with olive oil, seasoned with cracked black pepper and kosher salt.

smoked with a bit of hickory...

sauted onions and garlic in butter until tender...



added my cubed smoked potatoes, milk and seasonings...then smooshed a bit.

I find it funny that if I'm too tired to peel the potatoes, I can leave the skins on and call them "Rustic Garlic Mashed Potatoes"... and everyone thinks it must be something special. :)




the meatloaf, smooshed potatoes and steamed beans..

It was sooooo tasty. :)

Dang it!

I know I should reserve my "dang its" for important things like a rattlesnake biting my dog.... but Dang it! Deer season starts Saturday, company will be here for the week (my house is deer camp) and I've got several meals planned
.....but I forgot about Thanksgiving! How could I do that? lol

Fall is definately here..

It rained pretty heavily for a couple of days this week... even saw a few snow flakes.
As soon as the weather started to break and the sun peeked beneath the huge cloud, I ran out behind the house to watch the show.
These aren't the best pics, it was so pretty in person...and the crisp cool air smelled wonderful. :)

While the sun peeked under the cloud cover, I ran around to the front porch to check out the pasture. The old cottonwood tree by the plum thicket seemed to be glowing. It was shimmering gold. :)
It was a beautiful evening....

I know... I'm easily entertained! lol

Foot Long Venison Beer Brats on the Rib-O-lator :)

These were fun! I wanted to make something special for the first cook using the
Rib-O-Lator from Bob at Rib-o-lator.com

While walking through the grocery store I happened upon one package of foot long buns... it was a sign. :)

I've made venison beer brats in the past using this recipe and really like it...
I mixed two parts of my venison burger with one part pork..

Made a slurry with my spices and one cup of beer.....

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp crushed caraway

1 tsp marjoram

2 tsp white pepper

2 tsp salt

this was for about 3lbs of meat

I let the mixture chill overnight...












Well...the first one was 12 inches.. the rest were iffy. :)




I placed a pan of onions topped with butter, some chili and some kraut on the shelf of the drum..




then loaded the Rib-O-Lator racks with the venison beer brats...

turned the Rib-O-Lator on and let it go!





The brats turned out great.. the Rib-O-Lator cooked them so evenly...



The fun part was deciding what to top mine with!




I went for the kraut, caramelized onions and a few fresh minced onions, crispy bacon and a ribbon of spicy brown mustard.

In my excitement to try my creation I failed to get a picture of some of the chili cheese bacon topped venison beer brats. lol They looked killer too!

Thank you again Bob, I'm looking forward to trying new things with this unit. :)