First Official CenTex Que & Brew August 9th-11th

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I've not been on this site for awhile, so was pretty excited when my very good friend Robert (you know him as tx smoker) send me a message about this event.

I've known Robert for about 11 years now, ever since he built my house. During that time, he got me back into riding motorcycles (That's also how I met Ricky) and taught me how to brew beer. Funny thing is, I bought myself a Big Green Egg and started smoking, and pretty soon Robert starting smoking meats too. I think he was just trying to out-do me (which or course he has). Then I got into making sausages. Guess what? He did too! And once again, took it even further than me and has now taught me how to make dry aged sausages which I'd been talking about doing for awhile as well as homemade bacon. By the way, homemade bacon is the bomb! Once you start making that, you'll NEVER want to buy store bought bacon again! But I digress...

Needless to say, I'll definitely be there, spending the night, drinking whisky, and enjoying everyones company. Now for what to bring... I'm thinking about doing something different from everyone else, since it looks like BBQ is mostly covered. As I don't really see seafood being given much attention so far, I'm thinking I'll make some Blackened Fish (Swai) - which by the way I started making Blackened Tilapia at one of Robert's awesome party's a few years back. In addition, I'll even bring some of my (literally) world famous salsa.

I can also help out with making my awesome Biscuits and Gravy if needed/wanted.

See you all soon!

Gerald
(aka: Chef Don Geraldo)
https://www.geraldskitchen.com

Welcome to the show Gerald! Glad to have you aboard. Thank you for the contributions too. The Swai sounds awesome and I'm definitely in for some World Famous Salsa! I got Post 2 updated with those items. Now I am gonna go get lost in your website for a bit! Looks awesome! Thanks again for jumping in. Looking forward to meeting you and everyone else.

Zach

Any count yet on how many eating?

Friday - 6-8?
Saturday - 10-15?

Sounds like there are more IN that haven't chimed in here yet so those numbers are real rough at this point an d could be a bit higher than the top guesstimates. Hoping to have a good count down in the next couple weeks. But I still think we are sitting pretty on food items. Honing in the Breakfast stuff will be key too. I'm gonna add a couple breakfast fatties to the mix too.
 
Tentative ideas for "schedule" in post 3:
I say schedule loosely, because it is supposed to be a weekend to relax, learn, teach, share, and enjoy.


Tentative Menu / Schedule
Aim for 15:00 Saturday to have the big items done?

Friday August 9th:

16:00 - Arrival time (open for discussion with Robert)
Dinner - Burgers, Wings, Quick Snacks and eats (or Piedmontese Roast?)
Plenty-o-libations

Start up Maner's trailer for the overnight cooks
  • Clod
  • Briskets
  • Pork Butts
  • anything else that needs time

Saturday August 10th:

Breakfast - Fatties, Biscuits and Gravy, Eggs, Bacon, yada yada...

Around 15:00? Aim for the main event? That way those that are just swinging through have time to eat, relax and enjoy the day?

Veritable smorgasbord of food eating pleasures!

Snack the rest of the day away on everything. Unless we want to try and do a lunch and then a BBQ Dinner? Thoughts?

Sunday August 11th:

Breakfast tacos with leftover Q.

Pick Up. Pack Out. Nap the rest of the day and recover before Monday.



tx smoker tx smoker , let me know what times you want to run the Brew and Sausage class/tutorial and we can add it in. Thanks.
 
" tx smoker tx smoker , let me know what times you want to run the Brew and Sausage class/tutorial and we can add it in. Thanks."

I'd kinda like to keep that open-ended for now in case somebody is coming in from out of town so we can try to work it in around their arrival schedule. I'd hate to set something in stone and somebody miss it because they were an hour later getting here.

trying to accommodate,
Robert
 
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"I can grab some fresh bacon from the freezer if needed. Can cook some biscuits if needed also."

You're entirely too generous sir!! As of now you're bringing more than your fair share. I have a ton of bacon in the freezer, several different kinds, and several different flavors....all homemade. I'm happy to throw a few pounds into the till if needed for breakfast or to wrap meat with for cooking. Slab bacon I have maple & brown sugar and pepper crusted. There is also Canadian bacon and Buckboard bacon, both smoked and dry aged. I'll probably also make a big batch of breakfast sausage this weekend with Tracy being out of town.

Covering the bases,
Robert
 
" tx smoker tx smoker , let me know what times you want to run the Brew and Sausage class/tutorial and we can add it in. Thanks."

I'd kinda like to keep that open-ended for now in case somebody is coming in from out of town so we can try to work it in around their arrival schedule. I'd hate to set something in stone and somebody miss it because they were an hour later getting here.

trying to accommodate,
Robert
Hopefully we can have a Friday arrival beer sampling.
 
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"I've not been on this site for awhile, so was pretty excited when my very good friend Robert (you know him as tx smoker) send me a message about this event.

I've known Robert for about 11 years now, ever since he built my house. During that time, he got me back into riding motorcycles (That's also how I met Ricky) and taught me how to brew beer. Funny thing is, I bought myself a Big Green Egg and started smoking, and pretty soon Robert starting smoking meats too. I think he was just trying to out-do me (which or course he has). Then I got into making sausages. Guess what? He did too! And once again, took it even further than me and has now taught me how to make dry aged sausages which I'd been talking about doing for awhile as well as homemade bacon. By the way, homemade bacon is the bomb! Once you start making that, you'll NEVER want to buy store bought bacon again! But I digress..."


G-MAN!! It's great to see you my friend. So happy that you're able to join us, both in conversation and in person.

As Bryan and Zach have gone full circle with bourbon, you and I have come full circle with smoking meats and cooking. Everybody, please know that Gerald was the one who introduced me to SMF 7 years ago or a little more after a couple of disastrous attempts at smoking ribs. I guess he felt sorry for me.

When he says his salsa is famous, he's not exaggerating. His salsa is world-class, award winning stuff. Every time he comes to visit, that's his mandatory contribution to the table.

At the event that Gerald mentioned making blackened fish, there were a ton of protein offerings to choose from but the fish was by far the biggest hit. It was going so fast that one of the guests literally hid a piece so I could have some. I always wait to be the last one through the food line and it would have all been gone by the time I got there. Here is a pic of a meal I made one weekend when Tracy was out of town. The fish is Tilapia and cooked Gerald Style: High heat over the sear burner on cast iron with lots of butter. There is also some BBQ shrimp on the plate, which I will be cooking for our shindig.
018.jpg


Happy to see the G-Man amongst us,
Robert
 
"This get-together sounds like a real doozy. Someone better bring a camera to document the main events. "

You can bet your ash tasting butt this will be well documented!! Like Zach, I'm a picture taking whore. I can't seem to fry an egg without taking pictures of it. Every time I'm cooking and reach for the phone to take a pic Tracy says "more food porn". Most people have pictures of their kids, wives, girl friends, etc....Not me. I have only pics of food, and hundreds of them.

Robert
 
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"Any count yet on how many eating?"

As of yet I have not put pen to paper and started counting. There is still the better part of a month before the event so any number we have now could well change. At this snapshot in time I'm guessing 10 to 12 for Friday and God only knows how many for Saturday.

Taking off my shoes to count high enough,
Robert
 
"16:00 - Arrival time (open for discussion with Robert)"

Feel fee to come any time. I typically have my first cup of coffee down by 4:00 in the morning so any time on Friday after that is fine.

"Dinner - Burgers, Wings, Quick Snacks and eats (or Piedmontese Roast?)
Plenty-o-libations"


Ricky says his 4 burner flattop can handle 24 burgers at a time. He and Connie have offered to cook if we wanna go that route. If so, I'll go buy a bunch of USDA Prime chuck roast, grind it, and hand press the burgers. No store-bought ground meat here and certainly no pre-packaged burgers. I'll also happily toss a Piedmontese roast or two on the Santa Maria if anybody would like....even if it's just a sample of some REALLY great beef and fill in with burgers. All somebody has to do is say "Roast(s)" and the magic will happen. There is also a large batch of house smoked extra sharp cheddar cheese that will be ready by then to top the burgers with....and maybe some of that homemade pepper crusted bacon?

Another thought I had was that you simply can't do BBQ without pickles. Zach....please put me down for several jars of kosher dills.

Libations are a given. I was going to wait till Saturday to tap the keg but we certainly have enough folks coming Friday to warrant it. Margarita table will also be set up with cups, ice, and salt. Tracy may make a big bowl of Sangria if we have enough ladies present to justify it. I just cant see a bunch of big, burly, bearded BBQ guys sipping Sangria with their pinky finger sticking up.

Hungry thinking about it,
Robert
 
MAJOR DISCLAIMER: This event has me thinking WAY too much. It can be dangerous when that happens and I recommend that you leave the room. The collateral damage could be extensive when the lightening bolts come crashing down.

Thought 1: Maner made a really good point, probably without realizing it, when he asked how many people to expect. As of now we only have a list of SMF members, nothing else. If each of you that's planning to come could post the total number of people in your group, maybe Zach could add that to the list in post 2. In that way we will have an accurate head count versus just the registered members. Also, for my benefit, could you please note the day and estimated arrival time that you'll be here? I know the arrival time may be off somewhat since it's a month away but it'll at least give me a vague idea for planning purposes.

Thought 2: It seems as though most people love a good meatloaf. I was wondering if anybody would want to smoke a meatloaf for Friday...or even Saturday for that matter. The only reason I bring it up is that in the event I go buy chuck roast to grind for burgers, I can get some extra for the meatloaf. I can also get out some Italian sausage to mix with it and some bacon to wrap it with....all homemade of course.

dodging the lightening,
Robert
 
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MAJOR DISCLAIMER: This event has me thinking WAY too much. It can be dangerous when that happens and I recommend that you leave the room. The collateral damage could be extensive when the lightening bolts come crashing down.

Thought 1: Maner made a really good point, probably without realizing it, when he asked how many people to expect. As of now we only have a list of SMF members, nothing else. If each of you that's planning to come could post the total number of people in your group, maybe Zach could add that to the list in post 2. In that way we will have an accurate head count versus just the registered members. Also, for my benefit, could you please note the day and estimated arrival time that you'll be here? I know the arrival time may be off somewhat since it's a month away but it'll at least give me a vague idea for planning purposes.

Thought 2: It seems as though most people love a good meatloaf. I was wondering if anybody would want to smoke a meatloaf for Friday...or even Saturday for that matter. The only reason I bring it up is that in the event I go buy chuck roast to grind for burgers, I can get some extra for the meatloaf. I can also get out some Italian sausage to mix with it and some bacon to wrap it with....all homemade of course.

dodging the lightening,
Robert
I plan to be there around 2:00pm to start setting up. Cindy and Buzz will check into hotel and come out later in the evening to visit.
ask bigdaddy4760 bigdaddy4760 ... I am a picture taking whore :emoji_laughing::emoji_laughing::emoji_laughing:


I'm "that guy" that can't keep the smoker closed too :emoji_grin:


This should be very well documented.

Thanks for dropping in Chris.
Yall have to pad lock your pit doors down. I just know one day Im going open a pit door and Zach will be looking back at me with his camara
 
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