Saturday Night Shoulder

How did I get "Stayin' Alive" stuck in my head? I respect the BeeGees, but I'm not truly a fan.

Oh yeah. I pondered a re-write of the song for a spoof of "Saturday Night Fever" as I got a pork butt in the smoker.

My new barbecue revelation? Hunger is the enemy.

I used to think the only good reason to set an alarm and get up early was to put meat in the smoker.

Now I realize not even that is a good reason. I have a new strategy.

Load the Q at night and go to bed.

(If we had lawyers, this is when they'd advise you not to turn your back on a fire and go to sleep. You might wake up in the middle of a ginormous fire. We'll leave that decision to you. A smoker at a steady 225-ish should cause no threat of burning anything other than charcoal. If you want to be cautious, get a Bluetooth thermometer that will send you an alarm message if the temperature gets too high.)

Legal disclaimer done.

Barbecue takes time. Nothing tests your patience like a hungry family asking: "Is it done yet?"

The first time I did a pork shoulder, I brined it for about a day then smoked it for 8 hours before letting it rest for 45 minutes.

It was great. We ate it a number of ways, including tacos and finally soup. Yet I think it could have cooked for a couple more hours.

So this Saturday, I'm putting it in at night.

Once the temp is cruising at 225º, I'm closing the vents down to a minimum and going to sleep.

Ten or twelve hours later, the Easter Bunny is delivering me a perfectly cooked chunk of pork ready to be shredded. From a Big Green Egg, no less. Appropriate, eh?

That's long enough for one post. I'll get you pictures, recipe and more soon.

[Well you can tell by the way I smoke
My butt is nice and it ain't no joke
I'm a barbecue man, no time to waste
So Easter morning, enjoy the taste
Now it's okay, and it's alright
To smoke a shoulder overnight
We can try to understand
The slow and low effect on a man]

Jen's Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Image via DiscoverHealthyFood.com

Tell her or don't tell her. Maybe I will. But my mommy was right:

Vegetables are good for you.
Why do people hate vegetables or maybe eat them only because they have to? Because you're cooking them wrong.

People either overcook them until they're colorless and mushy or they murder them with butter and cheese, which pretty much kills the healthy aspects anyway.

No veggie has been boiled until brown and mangled more than the world's cutest cabbage: the Brussels Sprout.

Image via Flickr by Nick Saltmarsh

My friend Jen from CareerCoachJen.com and DiscoverHealthyFood.com has the right idea. Keep it simple and roast them.

(She also had the spelling right and I had to edit myself. It's "Brussels sprout" like the city and not "brussel sprout.")


Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients:
2 cups Brussels sprouts per person
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, which is about 180 degrees celsius (had to figure out conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius while cooking in Spain!).

Line baking sheet with parchment paper. If you don’t have, bake directly on the baking sheet.

Cut off ends of washed Brussels sprouts, then cut in half. Place into a large bowl. Toss with 1/4 cup olive oil. Add more OO if serving more than 4 people.

Sprouts shouldn’t be super wet, just a little drizzle. Spread sprouts evenly on baking sheet. Sprinkle salt and black pepper over Brussels sprouts.

I use very little salt, or use non-salt instead. (One of my favorites is Costco’s Organic No-salt Seasoning).

Bake for 20 minutes or until edges are brown and some sprout leaves are crispy.

Serve immediately with meal. Great with couscous and green salad, as shown, for full dinner. Extra sprouts make great leftovers, but these taste so good it’s rare to have any left over!

Is it a complicated recipe? No but the good ones rarely are.

Take away a few things:

• Roasting brings out flavor in everything. When you boil vegetables, flavor and vitamins end up in the water. Roast them and everything stays inside.
• Simple seasonings let the flavor shine through. Pepper and a little salt may be all you need. I'd add a little spice, but I do that to everything.
• Mix it up. You can roast squash, carrots, onions, garlic and nearly anything with this. Make sure the other ingredients are cut in the right size so they cook at about the same speed as the sprouts.

Helping people both young and old enjoy healthy vegetables is perhaps the toughest of cooking challenges. Making chocolate delicious is easy.

What's your secret for getting your friends and family to love vitamins and nutrition?

GearWeAre.com Knows How to Make Fire

Yeah, you know where to find the best Heat-Resistant Gloves around, but what good are they if you have no heat?

We pampered 21st Century kids certainly take fire for granted. Push the striker on the grill. Turn the knob on the stove. With the right app, I'm sure you can get flames to shoot from a smart phone.

But out in the woods, especially if the weather is non-Bahamas, staying warm and cooking food is no longer automatic.

It takes the right gear.

That's what the people at Gear We Are specialize in: helping you buy the right stuff for all your outdoor adventures.

From tents to kayaks to dog toys, they have you covered.

But the categories that put the twinkle in my eye all relate to fire.

No, nothing is wrong with me.

Image via Gear We Are

I have a couple of camp stoves but none are as cool as what they've reviewed. I'm personally charmed by the simplicity of the portable Grilliput. Up in the woods and cooking over gas? No thanks. We're grilling over coals.

No spark, no dice however. I used to hike in fear my matches would get wet and it would be game over. Fear no more if you have the Polystriker XL by Exotac. Then you can harness the inferno-causing power of 5500Fº molten globulars.

Image via Gear We Are

I'm not sure what molten globulars are exactly, but I'm sure I don't have enough of them.

The Gear We Are people are dedicated outdoors-folk serious about separating the good stuff from the junk.

You can learn it from them or you can learn it ten miles up a trail.

The choice is yours.