Third Times A Charm

If at first you don't succeed, try try again.  That's my motto because I rarely succeed the first time!  Having pretty much failed with the first chicken in the new smoker, I tried it again.  I watched a dozen videos which didn't help at all!!

To be honest, it didn't go much better than the first time.  Ha!!!  There's a lot of trial and error involved in smoking with a new machine.

 At least this time it was edible, but I still wasn't happy with the process.  There MUST be a secret.  It consumed my day ... thinking about how to make it work the way my Bradley does.

Here's one of the best tips I found.  See that aluminum pan in the above picture?  It catches all the grease so you don't have to clean up the entire bottom.  That's the best thing I've ever discovered.  You cannot imagine how much time and energy goes into CLEANING, and you KNOW that word is not in my DNA.

I finally decided to try a rack of ribs.  Here's the secret.  Start the heat with nothing inside.  Once it's up to temperature, add water to the pan and meat to the grill.  THEN you add soaked wood chips to the pan.  It smoked for an hour before I had to add more damp chips.

 

 

Two hours smoking, wrap in foil, two more hours with no smoke and a final one hour with your favorite BBQ sauce.  Here's the results!!  Now that's MY kind of ribs!!!  They were delicious!!  The third time was definitely the charm on this one!!

The third time didn't work out as well with the critter cam.  It does show there are more critters around than the really cool ones like coyotes and javelinas.  On the very left side you will see the rabbit that comes every morning around 4:30 for a big drink.  He's brave considering the coyotes show up about the same time.  Here he's sharing with a dove at the water station.

This beauty showed up at midnight.  He leaves, spooked by something, then returns for a long drink.  This camera is the best one I've ever purchased.   What a kick!
 

 To end the day, I decided to do something constructive.  I mowed the lawn.  That's when I had an epiphany.  If I turn the water down, I won't have to mow so often.  Mowing is akin to scrubbing floors.  I don't get paid enough for that kind for work.  Besides, I'd rather be sewing!!  

Awesome news at midnight woke me up.  It was raining.  Maybe, possibly, hopefully the monsoon season is here so it will finally cool off.