Well, it's done and was a huge success, but not without a bit of improvising. Fair warning though, this is going to be a LONG post....possibly one of the longest in the history of SMF :-) Please remember that this was a multi-day event with multiple meals being displayed. It'll take you a lot less time to read it though than it's going to take me to post it, I can promise you that. I just want to document the entire experience. This event was about more than just the food. It was the personification of everything I have come to love about this forum: the friendships, the camaraderie, the sharing of ideas and good times.
A few days before the event, Maner
bigdaddy4760
had a family emergency arise and he was not going to be able to attend. He was planning to bring his big trailer rig and a bunch of food to cook. When his situation unfortunately changed, Zach and I got our heads together to figure out how to fill the gaps. He took care of preparing things on his end, as did I. It was gonna all work out but I still missed not getting to meet Maner. Well, as fate would have it, Zach had a massive emergency pop at work up the day before the event was supposed to start. He was planning to do an all-night cook with brisket and pork butt on his Weber kettle grill(s). He was kept at work later than anticipated on Friday but showed up with the meat all prepped and ready to cook but had to be back to work at 6:00 Saturday morning. That ruled out him doing the overnighter. I've never used a Weber kettle....or done an over night cook for that matter. We were gonna figure it out though. Decided to use my Big Green Egg instead of the kettle grills because I was familiar with them. We had a plan and were intent on making it happen :-)
SMF members in attendance were:
tx smoker
(me and Tracy)
Misplaced Nebraskan
(Zach)
T TXRick (Rick and Susan)
woodwindricky
(Ricky and Connie)
Matt_Tex
(Matt, Eriika, Ava, and Gannon)
T Thorpd01 (Doug and Sue)
tareed94
(Taylor)
snakehead
(Gerald)
We also had a few non-SMF folks there, but it was OK. There was plenty of space and more food than should be allowed by law and of course they brought a ton of fun with them.
We received a big box of promotional stuff from Piedmontese Beef. This was a
GREAT gesture....and possible an indication that I've spent way too much money with them the past couple months :-)
I started a big batch of Cole slaw for Friday dinner. Sadly, this is the only pic I got but suffice it to say, this is a BIG batch of slaw
Things kicked off Friday about 1:00 p.m. with the arrival of Doug and Sue....and boy did they arrive in style!!
Shortly after that Gerald showed up with a bunch of his world famous salsa. It really is world famous and has won numerous awards. It's great stuff!!
Then came Doug and Sue. They brought several jars of brandied and candied plums and peaches. These could be the death of me!! Wait till you see what comes later
Next were Ricky and Connie with their 4-burner flat top and prep table
I got the margarita table set up
A keg of home brewed Irish Red Ale iced down. This was Zach's favorite...but that's only going to last till tomorrow when he tries a different one
Folks starting to mingle
Two more kegs on tap in my keg-o-rater that's set up in the laundry room
The cops didn't buy this one unfortunately
Got some chips and Gerald's salsa out to start with
A bowl full of Hickory smoked beef jerky that Ricky made
I'm finally getting a moment to get my first (of several) quarts of the Irish Red Ale
Folks starting to enjoy the pool. It's HOT!! Temps well into triple digits
Gerald and Ricky sharing an intimate moment
Zach finally here and enjoying an ice cold beer
Got the BGE fired up and on goes the brisket and pork butt
Zach's hands all nasty from playing with his meat
Got a platter full of stuff sliced up for the burgers that will be Friday dinner
Piedmontese Beef 85% lean burgers ground from Tenderloin, smoked cheddar cheese, and Buckboard bacon
Ricky and Gerald sharing another intimate moment while cooking the BBBB. What's with these guys?? :-)
I love this BBBB!! It makes the best bacon addition for a burger you'll ever have
Somebody about to lose some digits trying to sneak a piece of the Buckboard Bacon
Burgers on
Flipped and cheese melting
Dinner spread all laid out. That's my Cole slaw in the white bowl that never got documented.
Susan's amazing beans. These are by far the best beans I've ever eaten and are mandatory at every cookout :-) Thank you Susan!!
Corn and Poblano casserole that Matt made. Can't begin to tell you how good this is.
My dinner plate with the ultimate bacon cheese burger. OMG!! They were so good. I heard many people state that these were the best burgers they have ever had
Folks chowing down
Pool party going well into the night
This is it for Friday. Need to go to another post for Saturday, which is the main event. Too many attachments and they shut me down :-)
See y'all again shortly!!
Robert
A few days before the event, Maner
bigdaddy4760
had a family emergency arise and he was not going to be able to attend. He was planning to bring his big trailer rig and a bunch of food to cook. When his situation unfortunately changed, Zach and I got our heads together to figure out how to fill the gaps. He took care of preparing things on his end, as did I. It was gonna all work out but I still missed not getting to meet Maner. Well, as fate would have it, Zach had a massive emergency pop at work up the day before the event was supposed to start. He was planning to do an all-night cook with brisket and pork butt on his Weber kettle grill(s). He was kept at work later than anticipated on Friday but showed up with the meat all prepped and ready to cook but had to be back to work at 6:00 Saturday morning. That ruled out him doing the overnighter. I've never used a Weber kettle....or done an over night cook for that matter. We were gonna figure it out though. Decided to use my Big Green Egg instead of the kettle grills because I was familiar with them. We had a plan and were intent on making it happen :-)SMF members in attendance were:
tx smoker
(me and Tracy)
Misplaced Nebraskan
(Zach)T TXRick (Rick and Susan)
woodwindricky
(Ricky and Connie)
Matt_Tex
(Matt, Eriika, Ava, and Gannon)T Thorpd01 (Doug and Sue)
tareed94
(Taylor)
snakehead
(Gerald)We also had a few non-SMF folks there, but it was OK. There was plenty of space and more food than should be allowed by law and of course they brought a ton of fun with them.
We received a big box of promotional stuff from Piedmontese Beef. This was a
GREAT gesture....and possible an indication that I've spent way too much money with them the past couple months :-)
I started a big batch of Cole slaw for Friday dinner. Sadly, this is the only pic I got but suffice it to say, this is a BIG batch of slaw
Things kicked off Friday about 1:00 p.m. with the arrival of Doug and Sue....and boy did they arrive in style!!
Shortly after that Gerald showed up with a bunch of his world famous salsa. It really is world famous and has won numerous awards. It's great stuff!!
Then came Doug and Sue. They brought several jars of brandied and candied plums and peaches. These could be the death of me!! Wait till you see what comes later
Next were Ricky and Connie with their 4-burner flat top and prep table
I got the margarita table set up
A keg of home brewed Irish Red Ale iced down. This was Zach's favorite...but that's only going to last till tomorrow when he tries a different one
Folks starting to mingle
Two more kegs on tap in my keg-o-rater that's set up in the laundry room
The cops didn't buy this one unfortunately
Got some chips and Gerald's salsa out to start with
A bowl full of Hickory smoked beef jerky that Ricky made
I'm finally getting a moment to get my first (of several) quarts of the Irish Red Ale
Folks starting to enjoy the pool. It's HOT!! Temps well into triple digits
Gerald and Ricky sharing an intimate moment
Zach finally here and enjoying an ice cold beer
Got the BGE fired up and on goes the brisket and pork butt
Zach's hands all nasty from playing with his meat
Got a platter full of stuff sliced up for the burgers that will be Friday dinner
Piedmontese Beef 85% lean burgers ground from Tenderloin, smoked cheddar cheese, and Buckboard bacon
Ricky and Gerald sharing another intimate moment while cooking the BBBB. What's with these guys?? :-)
I love this BBBB!! It makes the best bacon addition for a burger you'll ever have
Somebody about to lose some digits trying to sneak a piece of the Buckboard Bacon
Burgers on
Flipped and cheese melting
Dinner spread all laid out. That's my Cole slaw in the white bowl that never got documented.
Susan's amazing beans. These are by far the best beans I've ever eaten and are mandatory at every cookout :-) Thank you Susan!!
Corn and Poblano casserole that Matt made. Can't begin to tell you how good this is.
My dinner plate with the ultimate bacon cheese burger. OMG!! They were so good. I heard many people state that these were the best burgers they have ever had
Folks chowing down
Pool party going well into the night
This is it for Friday. Need to go to another post for Saturday, which is the main event. Too many attachments and they shut me down :-)
See y'all again shortly!!
Robert
Last edited:
