Jam packed spring weekend!

Spring time is great, isn't it? If you've been following this blog since its' inception, you know that the Midwest has had quite the winter. March has been kinder too us and we were able to get outside this weekend and work on both our Chargriller stick burner and our Masterbuilt propane hot box.

 

I have a big cookout coming up so I wanted to try some new beef & chicken rubs. On Saturday, we grabbed a top round sirloin and whole chicken for Saturday. We used simple salt, pepper, garlic powder and sage and cooked to 140 throughout. It made some awesome roast beef when we sliced it up. On the chicken side, we did a dry brine with sea salt for 18 hours on a whole bird. and then coated with Head Country Sweet & Spicy seasoning and injected with a Skinny Girl spicy BBQ sauce (we know, not totally paleo but we are using up what is in our pantry!)

We hadn't used our propane smoker since Christmas and boy was it great to get back on that unit. We had forgotten how much we enjoyed using it! Post oak was the wood of choice this weekend and, after using it this first time, I think it has become my favorite. It's a mild smell and very versatile. Once we shredded the meat from the bones, we saved them to make a bone broth.

Sunday was for ribs, chicken drumsticks and brats. I use Malcolm Reed's competition method and found this Paleo BBQ rub recipe. Cooked at 250 for about 4 hours and they were so tender, moist and tasty! We tried our BBQ sauce that came out a bit too hot. Live and learn, right? 

Malcolm Reed also helped with this chicken drumstick method and we used the last bit of the Head & Country rub. My wife made her mustard BBQ sauce for these and it was AWESOME! 

Lastly, we had some brats to toss on and have extra meat for lunches this week. It always helps to have plenty of meat ready for on the go.

BONUS! My wife makes an AWESOME peanut butter oatmeal bar. Tossed that on for 20 minutes @ 300. 

Next weekend, we tackle two biggies............ a whole packer brisket and a large pork butt. Stay tuned!

Some pics!