T1B

To all the dads. I know this is a little early, but I'll probably be out all weekend, so I wanted to get it in now.

Those of you who have kids, enjoy 'em. And those of you who still have your dads around, enjoy them too.

I think the kids are taking me to a baseball game Sunday.

Never too early to honor Dad.

Don't need a designated day to tell me to honor my dad. He realizes that every day he's still alive and kicking it, that he's being honored by my family and I.

And no, retail centers, I don't need to give you my money to prove that.

RACK my Dad, as well.

In no small part because if I were to send him a Hallmark card, he'd beat my ass silly for doing what the corporate-types told me to, when they told me to do it.

Dad's been gone for 20 years. Hard to believe I'm almost as old as he was when he passed.

We'll be having the father-in-law, brother-in-law and extended in-law fambly over on Sunday for grilled tri-tips and swimming. Of course Dad (me) gets to do all the cooking...the tri-tips and potato salad at least. But that's cool because I do it better than anybody else, and I don't have to clean up.

Tomorrow I'm going to be looking for a wood-burning grill so I can cook some awesome tri-tips. My gas Weber can only hold two at a time on the rotisserie, and they taste better cooked over a wood fire anyway.

Got a card and gift from two of my four "kids"
today-- #1 son sent me a DVD of "F-Troop"
episodes and #2 daughter gave me an i-Tunes gift
card !! cool
I told my kids it was OK to forget the old man--
but-- under penalty of death to never
EVER forget MrsO on Mother's Day !!

Mikey wrote:Tomorrow I'm going to be looking for a wood-burning grill so I can cook some awesome tri-tips.

RACK you, Father Mikey.

Nothing gets with a smoker-que. Used to borrow a neighbor's, which was constructed from an old water heater, a few pieces of angle iron, a few hinges, a couple of wheels, and a welder.

Un-freaking-real results. Absolutely no comparison to other methods of meat cooking. Not even close.

I believe there's commercially available barrel-style wood bbq's available, but you sound like a pretty handy guy...make one yourself. I'll get you a hell of a deal on an old water heater, if you'd like -- free, as a matter of fact...you just pay the shipping, and it's yours. Can't gaurantee that the inner tank isn't shit, but it's yours if you want it.

Indirect cooking with woodsmoke rules. Period. Non-negotiable.

A reasonable substitute for a wood burning Q is a Traeger. Much easier, but not quite as cool. The "hit the switch and go" feature is pretty cool, though. Hard to go wrong with Traeger, either(nevermind that they're U&L). Plus, since availability of decent woods in cali is lame, a Traeger might be the ticket.

The only drawback I really found with the woodburner was the time investment. To really get down with the shit, you have to plan in advance, and start a hot fire way before cooking time. Once you have a good coal bed, then you can add small chucks of wood as you go, without getting a nasty creosote mess. But, if you're doing an all-day cookout thing -- a woodburner is really superior....sounds like you're already familiar with them, but I just couldn't give a stronger endorsement to the woodburners. I can't even descibe how much cooler they are than gas or charcoal. Throw a whole chicken on that badboy...holy yumyum, Batman. Rib roast...are you kidding me? Sicksicksick. And kabobs...screw this, it's making me hungry.

Yeah, a smoker is high on my list, but for this application that's not what I'm looking for. The tri-tips you want to cook over a hot open fire, so they're crispy on the outside and medium rare on the inside. Traditional Santa Maria style is the best, using red oak, but we don't grow that here so I'll just use avocado wood and maybe some scraps from my fruit trees, and maybe some soaked mesquite chips.

Something like this would be ideal, but I'm thinking of a fire pit with a grill so that I can leave it on the patio when not in use for cooking:



I bought a portable campfire grill (really just an adjustable height grate with legs) that I used last month on our trip to San Clemente Island. The tri-tips were the best campfire food any of us had ever had (IMHO).

Check this out for more Santa Maria info...

http://www.santamaria.com/visit/section ... becue.html

Nice pit ^^^Oak fired pork ribs tommorrow...

I'm taking my gf's 15-year-old son to OKC on Saturday, at my dad's request. We're going to watch the U.S.-Italy game in Hi-Def at my sister's and bro-in-law's house with my mom and dad, then the six of us are going to go bowling, then out to eat.

RACK Father's Day being a day early. And RACK the FUCK out of my dad for insisting that we take teams in bowling for money. ($5 bucks a game -- probably -- but as he likes to say, "Hell, if we're going to play, let's play for something.") Besides, he'll throw in a comment or two during the game ... for example, I'm 99.9 percent sure that if one if the opposing team's win is on the line, and my gf's 15-year-old is on the opposing team and up, he'll tell him something like, "Hey, I'll give you fifty bucks if you make a strike." Bwahh.

The funny part is, is that anybody who knows him, knows he will pay that $50, right there on the spot, if you make that strike.

A few in here know that my dad and I have a special relationship. Considering how messed up a lot of father-son relationships are, I consider myself very lucky.

Rack all the dads on this board, you old fucks.

rack pops. if only neil young was playing in GR on sunday...

This day always reminds me of how much Child Support i still owe.

Rack Terry.

I'm a very fortunate Dad. I have had the greatest mentor anyone could ask for. My father is kind and generous, a good friend and an honest businessman. A brick mason and contractor his whole life he was a gentle giant who wasn't afraid to whoop my ass to teach respect for all the right reasons. I try to be the same good father to my girls as well as share the kindness and respect he taught me with anyone I meet.

Rack Him

Now go enjoy your shit fucking pissant made by Hallmark Day you worthless braindead pussywhipped eunuchs.

Happy Fathers Day Ingrates!

There are sixty million people who use propane in this nation !!

Rack all fathers, wood-burning and otherwise.