I spent most of today running the two Weber Smokey Mountain smokers. First on were 11 lbs of St Louis style spare ribs, with three different rubs, misting with apple juice for the first two hours before wrapping with butter, brown sugar, honey (or maple syrup, on one) and a bit of sauce, a mix of commercial sauces I had in the fridge. They stayed wrapped for an hour, then went back on unwrapped for the final hour with a coat sauce towards the end.
Next up, chicken legs that had been brined, injected with a custom mix I think I'm finally getting the way I want it, and rubbed with Jamaican Jerk seasoning. The thighs were brined, injected, trimmed to size, skin scraped free of all fat, then started in a muffin tin with chicken broth and butter, before transferring to the grate for a couple of hours...also with apple juice misting. The thighs were finished with a commercial sauce, because I ran out of time to try a bourbon blueberry sauce I had wanted to make.
These recipes seem unnecessarily complex, but I wanted to practice competition recipes, and since the family is more than willing to sample...
Finally, I filled the empty space on the smokers with ABTs, which are bacon-wrapped jalapeño poppers.
The poppers are always a big hit. The jerk legs were also spot on. Ribs were pretty close to what I wanted, but still a little inconsistent in doneness from one end of the racks to the other, despite rotating and swapping top/bottom racks occasionally. The flavor of the thighs was excellent, but I didn't achieve the elusive 'bite through' skin with this batch.
Have a happy 4th of July, everyone!