Spareribs on the Fire

Sometimes I don't know what all the fuss is about cooking ribs. People do some interesting things to them. Rubbing ribs with a number of spices and flavor combinations, adding liquid, wrapping in foil, etc.. There's really nothing wrong with the flavor of good old simple pork ribs cooked low and slow over a wood fire.

I lit some logs in the tractor tire rim....

slathered a slab of ribs with bacon drippings, then seasoned with salt and pepper.... set them on the low heat side of the fire.

I flipped and rotated the ribs every so often for even cooking.

added a log to the fire when needed...

I forgot to soak any beans the night before so I had to doctor up some canned beans...

grilled the corn...

Called er good...

A couple of pork ribs, corn, beans and slaw...

The ribs slow roasted for 7 hours.. came out nice and tender. As I ate I though of how it took 7 hours to cook the meal but only about 30 minutes to eat it. lol
I did like them so I guess it was worth the effort.


Had a great time at the lake. Caught a few fish and enjoyed the quiet. Hope to post more cooks soon.

Grilled Brussel Sprouts and Leeks with Hot Bacon Dressing

This is an easy side dish from the grill and can be served warm or at room temperature. I know that most people either love brussel sprouts or down right dislike them. I'm in the first category and the addition of hot bacon dressing makes these little buggers even more appealing to me. lol

I think you could use a variety of veggies in this dish. I liked the combo of sprouts and leeks.

The leeks, sprouts and dressing were all prepared on the Char-Broil Tru Infrared 4 burner gas grill. I'm impressed with the grill, it can handle anything I toss on it. The Infrared feature pretty much eliminates flair ups too.

I've posted the recipe for the sprouts and hot bacon dressing on my Char-Broil Live page...
If you're interested in trying it or have a few minutes to spare, please check out my post.
Thanks!! :)

disclaimer..... I'm still not a writer so don't expect anything fancy. lol   :)

Heading to the lake

I've got the chance to go camping for a few days. Can't believe I've only been once this summer!
Hope to do some campfire cooking and catch a fish or two.
Mainly looking forward to relaxing by the lake. :)
Hope everyone has a great week!

Grilled Cactus (Nopales) Salad with Spicy Chipotle Dressing

This is one of my Char-Broil Allstar cooks. It's an easy salad to put together while you have the grill going. Any of your favorite veggies can be used.
For this salad I added grilled corn, red onions, black beans, crumbled asadero cheese, and grilled yellow and red peppers to the grilled prickly pear cactus pads.

I harvest cactus pads from the pasture but the grocery stores in most areas carry them now. They are known as Nopales in some areas. Not once have I driven across the pasture and said "darn, a nopales just flattened my tire". lol  I call em cactus. :) The small hand sized pads are nice and tender.
Use a sharp knife to remove the thorns and I like to trim around the edges..

Rub the veggies with olive oil, season with coarse salt and cracked black pepper before hitting the grill..

The grilled cactus salad with spicy chipotle dressing....
You can make the dressing as spicy or mild as you like.
The full recipe is posted at Char-Broil Live Jeanie's Grilled Cactus Salad

If you get the time, please take a peek. Thank you!! :)

That Darned Full Moon

That darned moon still has a hold on me. I just love it!
I sat on the front porch and watched the full moon rise last night. It was SO pretty! Looked like a big orange ball rising in the sky. :)

A few clouds showed up...almost looked like smoke.

One of the things I love about living out here is the beautiful night sky.  The sweet smell of sage fills the air.... the sound of coyotes yipping in the distance relaxes me. Kinda feels like I belong here. :)

Tamales....of the pulled pork variety!

I'll admit, I've not met a tamale that I didn't like. These pulled pork ones are easy to make and one of my favorites though..

I seasoned a pork butt with Big Poppa's Jalapeno rub and into the drum until done...

soaked some corn husks overnight...

chopped some of the pulled pork fairly fine, added minced scallions and dusted with a good bit of the Jalapeno rub...

made my masa...

added enough lard to the masa to make it light enough to float...

spread my masa out by hand and topped with the pulled pork filling...

rolled and tied...

I steamed them for about one hour. Until the husks pull back off the tamales clean.

For this batch I just placed three balls of foil in a large pot, added water and set the basket of tamales on the foil to keep them out of the water, then placed a cover on the pot and steamed them.

These things are pretty tasty. The Big Poppa Jalapeno spice added enough flavor, nothing else was needed..

The best thing about these is they freeze well for quick meals later.  

Hope everyone had a great and safe 4th!  The weather was beautiful here. Cooked a few crawdads and made beef cheek tacos. I need to get organized and post more pics. :)

Happy Independence Day!

A big thank you to the men and women in the service (and those who have served). You're the people who make this country the best and safest place on earth to live. Thank you for my freedom!

I have crawdads and shrimp cooking on the grill. Am digging in the freezer to find my sack of snowballs to torment slow moving targets. ( I definitely throw like a girl ) No one seems to be afraid of getting hit by one. lol

It's a bit late in the day but Hope everyone has a safe and happy 4th!!