Trying out the "Yard Sculpture"

[nvrnvrlnd]

The couple across the street moved to California and abandoned a home-built offset smoker.  My wife spotted it and asked me (I was working, out on a drilling rig in East Texas) if I was interested.  Sure, so she, her cleaning lady and a couple of local guys got it across the street and into the backyard. Today was the first try. Simple enough, cheap ham, smoke it with pecan. It seems to work fine, but the thermometer is way high according to my IR thermometer, about 100 degrees, so forget that, just do the internal temp. Came out tender, juicy and delicious. No rub, no glaze, just smoke. Was appreciated by all, all who were involved in the move were over for the trial run. I think the pork shoulder is next and I need to invest in a thermometer. I'd clean all the rust off this thing (it spent most of its life on the back deck of a bar on South Padre Island and the salt breeze is deadly), but that would probably compromise the structural integrity. So it is now dubbed "The Yard Sculpture" and it will stay in place until it dies. In the meantime, it will make great barbecue and add iron to the soil. At least it's more useful than the '37 McCormick that I had as my last yard sculpture. (My wife didn't like that one either, but this one's hers). I'll take a picture of the beast and post it.

 

[jarjarchef]

Sounds like a good deal. I like useful yard sculptures. My FIL has about 150 yard sculptures (old tractors) and won't advertise to sell them.

Can't wait to the pictures.

 

[oldschoolbbq]

Great find and expecting Pics...

 

[gary s]

Cool !!!   great find  Post some pictures    Where in East Texas ?

Gary

 

[smoked alaskan]

You're a lucky man to have such a thoughtful Lady and helpful friends.  Here's to all of our " support networks"  

As mentioned....  

   we're all looking forward to some pics when ya can. Happy Smokin' ! - Ed

 

[bluewhisper]

Wait, wait, you have an opportunity to turn an old tractor into a smoker if you play your cards right.

 

[nvrnvrlnd]

Didn't get much of a rest, the girls from across the street brought over 2 racks of ribs.  We did one with our fearless leader's rub and the other with just ground Mirasol Chile and garlic powder. Smoked with nothing but apple.  Hate to say it, but the chile and garlic won hands down. I've been using that rub for over 20 years and everybody likes it. I thought I'd have leftovers, but the locusts descended. Tomorrow it's the leftover ham, fried up, grits and red-eye gravy.  Oh, green beans with onion, bacon and garlic. Let's get Southern.  Cook extra grits, put them in a loaf pan, cut them in slices and fry them up. Might as well go all the way. I might have been born in NYC, Manhatten, but I learned to cook in the South. My first Mother-in-Law was from Augusta, GA and somewhat later, we moved to Lake Charles, LA. Big influences on cooking style. I happened to like my in-laws, they liked me and even after the divorce, I was always welcome, whether I had the kid with me or not.

I heard rumors of a brisket this weekend.  They better do it, because I'm back to work a week from tomorrow and won't be home until New Year's Eve when we'll be sitting in my office with the champagne watching the fireworks. Nice having a smoker and a bunch of good neighbors. They're all young enough to be our grandchildren, but I've always subscribed to the theory that growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.  Guess which route we took!  I may be 67, but most guess me at mid 50's. Nancy about the same. 

 

[nvrnvrlnd]

Madison County.  N of Huntsville. We're drilling up a huge play, drilling 1 well per section to hold the leases. This spring we're going to start drilling horizontal wells to develop the field. There are several companies drilling the area, but we're trying to minimize the impact by using the same pad to drill the entire section.  That way we're only disrupting about 3 acres out of  640. The old way, on 40 acre spacing, we would have taken 32 acres. Big difference. Oh, if they want it, we also give the landowner a well and a pond, wherever they want it.We use the well during drilling, but it's theirs after that.

Is there any decent BBQ in that area?  I haven't found any of my old favorite back road, follow the smell places that I used to find 30 years ago. Best I ever had was NW of Enis, TX on a Sunday morning. I was trying to get around the DFW area and was following a paved cow path and I followed the smell. It was before opening, he had cold beer, probably illegal, and he was just cutting things up and we sat there with the small end of the ribs, the burnt ends of the brisket and we just ate .The church crowd started to show up, I asked how much and he said whatever, I handed him $10 for the best barbecue I ever ate and he was amazed. I drove off to Houston and I've been looking for BBQ that good ever since. That was August of 1980, I've had a lot of BBQ since, but there was something about that experience that has never been reproduced.