A Tale of two Chilis

I have talked about my love for all things, pizza, pork, and spaghetti, but I have failed to mention my love for chili.  Everyone has that chili that they compare others too.  Mine, of course, is my mom's.  I look forward to having it every Christmas.  This seems to be the only time that I am around when it is made, I actually think she makes it just for me, well if she doesn't I like to think she does.  Since the weather has been, well for lack of a better way to put it, "chili" in Alabama I decided that I needed a fix.  I searched for a great chili recipe and came across, yet another hit from Chris at Nibble Me This.  It was a fantastic chili. Great depth in flavor and spice.  Not to thick yet not to thin. Really got me over the "chili craze" that I was going through.  I might also add that Byrd loved it as well.  I also read recently from Dave over at Food Fire about Zac Brown Chili.  It also sounded delicious and got a great review. Being a fan of the Zac Brown Band and Food Fire I had to make that one too.  That was for dinner tonight. Also a really great chili with a multitude of flavors, and  the first chili I've ever made with cocoa powder. I have no pictures of either of these due to my camera card being somewhere other than where it belongs, which is the camera or the computer, but this isn't about my cook. I changed nothing about either of these recipes they were made exactly as stated in the above recipes.  I just wanted to say thanks to these guys for bringing two great new chilis into my life. Thanks guys.  If you haven't tried these two you must, the chili and the blogs.  

Big Bad Beef Brisket

A few weeks ago we planned for Byrd's sister's family to come stay with us for a weekend.  We had a couple things planned for Saturday, one including me smoking my first good sized (7lbs.) brisket.  I haven't done one this large and was quite worried about serving a large lump of dried out beef, which has happened before when attempting the brisket.  So all last week I read blog after blog trying to find the perfect method/rub/all the help I could get.  I settled on a recipe from amazingribs.com. There is a lot more on the site than just good rib recipes. Like I said I read everything I could find.  This sounded the least complicated.  I started by reproducing the Big Bad Beef Rub Recipe.  I rubbed down the brisket on Friday night and let it sit in the fridge over night.  Here it is Saturday morning while getting to room temp.  

I set up the BGE for an indirect cook at 220 degrees.  I mixed in applewood chips for smoke.  I realize that hickory goes better with beef, but I realized Saturday morning that what I thought was a bag of hickory chips was actually apple.  Oh well.  I put the brisket on at 10 am.  We (Byrd, Baby Byrd, SIL, BIL, Emma (niece), and MIL) went to the Kickn Chickn wing festival around 11.  This is the first time I have left the BGE alone to  do its job with out me constantly staring at the temp gauge.  We came home a few hours later to find it exactly where it was when I left it.  The meat temperature was sitting at 143. I started to worry it wasn't going to be done in time for dinner.   To take my mind off of it, we watched Alabama get beat by South Carolina, still can't believe that happened, but as an Auburn fan, lets just say when my thermometer went off at 6:30 to say the brisket was at 170 degrees I was happy.  I double wrapped the brisket in foil and poured in about a cup of some left over vinegar based BBQ sauces from the fridge.  I put it back on the BGE and let it continue to cook until it reached 185 internal.  This happened right when as planned.  This never happens.  But the stars were aligned Saturday for me.  Alabama lost, Auburn won, and this is what the brisket looked like after slicing.  

Great smoke ring and very moist. While cutting this with an electric knife juice flew up an hit me in my left eye.   It burned like hell, but I got over it after I tasted a piece.

Paired with some great roasted corn salad, deviled eggs, squash casserole and what my BIL calls sexy sauce, which somehow didn't make the picture, sorry J.

It was delicious.  The Rub was slightly spicy, which I love.  I am glad I doubled the recipe so I have some ready for the next beef cook.  I am sure it won't turn out this good next time, but I am glad it did yesterday.