Thanks to everyone who made the game this weekend. I had a few old friends drop by and it was great to catch up with everyone.

Julie and I stayed at the tailgate house this weekend. So Saturday morning we woke up already at the house and ready to go. I wanted to get the brisket on early to maximize the time on the smoker. From there we headed out to the store to finish up some shopping.

I normally cook brisket for 12 hours. Since I did not want to get up at 4AM, I decided to cook it for a little less time and at a higher temperature. I was worried the brisket may get a little dry, and as it turned out I was right. I cooked the brisket for 8 hours and was a little late getting it in the foil. Had I served it in a sauce it would have been just fine. Lesson learned, if you do not think it is going to be cooked the way you want…. it probably will not.

On to the beans, again a new recipe this week. They turned our well, but were a little too sweet for my taste. Again, looking at the recipe I thought this would be the case. With a little more spice I think the beans would have been better.

The surprise of the tailgate was the slaw. The recipe called for the cabbage to be wilted in the microwave. I decided to throw it in the smoker for 5 min to wilt it and give it a little smoke taste. It turned out much better than I thought it would have.

But, this is why I cook. Every time I cook something I learn a little more. I am looking forward to the Arkansas game this weekend and catching up with some great friends who are coming in for this game.

RTR,

Shane