Smoke n Coffee

Ok...so admittedly I'm not very good at this. My last Smoke-n-Coffee post was over a year ago.

Today started with a fire at my house...well outside my house in the smoker. When I lit this fire just before 7 I also started with a shot of Fireball...its a tradition that would take some explaining.

While Black Betty (bam-ba-lam) was preheating I started prepping the meat, and poured my first cup of strong coffee. Today we are smoking pork shoulders and pork ribs for our daughter's birthday. As I prepped the meat and layered the spices for the rub I couldn't help but think about how crazy life is.

Just because I haven't posted about it in a year doesn't mean that I've been any less busy with the smoker. This past year we have again put roughly 1000lbs of food through it. Brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, tri tip, prime rib, beans, mac and cheese, desserts, chili, stuffed jalapeños and chipotle peppers have all been shared with family and friends. Weddings, birthdays, benefit golf tournaments, chili cook offs, fund raisers, weekend get togethers, group Christmas parties, veterans events, or just week night dinners, have all been made possible because of this addiction that I have to smoke and coffee.

This is still in addition to working full time, raising our heard of kids, helping with sports, school, and scouts, and trying to be a good husband.

Now this is not something that I would be able to do on my own. I am married to Wonder Woman. Anyone that knows her will have no question as to why I call her that. She is still running a thriving business raising our crazy brood, keeping our house from disaster, volunteering, and keeping me in check. Without her I would have crumbled long ago but with her big my side (15 years as a couple and 13 years married) I have the strength and courage to take on anything.

Shes not the only one that supports me though. I have an amazing family! My children often help me tend the fire, monitor the temperature, prep the food, and encourage me by telling me how much they enjoy the end results.

My parents are another huge part of my support net. More often then not if Black Betty (bam-ba-lam) is running, Dad AKA Big Woo, is by my side. He taught me everything thing I know and we have been learning more about smoking every time we do it. Whether we are using the family bbq sauce recipe and spice rub or trying something new we always find a way to grow as a BBQ team and closer together as a family. While Big Woo and I are smoking Mom AKA Yaya, AKA The Queen, is usually helping with the kids, finding new things to try, or coming up with new ideas...like starting a food blog.

Not only do we cook together but, with the help of my brother and uncle, we built Black Betty (bam-ba-lam), but that's a story for another day.

Besides my amazing family I am lucky to have a great group of friends. They are always there to lend a hand, rescue me when I'm in a jam, sit with me in the early morning or late nights to babysit Black Betty (say it with me now...Bam-Ba-Lam), get in trouble with me...I mean...that never happens, or just to share in the treasures that result from my addiction to smoke and coffee.

And now I come back to the present. Black Betty (bam-ba-lam) is puffing away. The ribs and pork shoulder are soaking in the delicious apple and cherry wood smoke. 4 of the 5 kids are in school. Wonder Woman is at the store with our youngest getting more supplies for this weekend's birthday BBQ. Big Woo and the Queen are at work. My friends are at work and planning for a get together soon. As for me...I'm sitting in the sun enjoying every minute of our unusually warm PNW summer, bathing in smoke and coffee.

This time let's hope it's less than a year between posts. Next time I'll tell you the story of Black Betty (bam-ba-lam).

This is it. The start. The first post.

I've been thinking of doing this for a while now and today is the day. This is the blog of about what it takes to survive as a dad, smoke and coffee.

I'm a smoker...but not the kind of smoker you're thinking of. I don't smoke pot or crack or cigarettes. I may smoke the occasional cigar, but seriously like 1-2 a year. What then do I smoke, you ask...meat. I smoke lots of meat. Roughly 1000lb per year. And why do I smoke so much meat? Well for one, I'm an addict. That's right folks I'm addicted to BBQ. I love the unctuous low and slow goodness of a 6 hour rack of ribs, an 8 hour pork butt or a 16 hour brisket. And I love to share the smokey treasures that come out of my smoker. Secondly, and more importantly, I'm a dad of 5 growing children. 1 girl followed by 4 rowdy boys. Let me tell you they can eat. I work 8+ hours a day and then come home to my kids and Wonder Woman (aka my wife), who is raising our brood as well as running a successful business. When I'm not at work, and she's not running her business, we are going to sports practice, music lessons or school programs. When we're not doing that we sleep...right? Nope we volunteer with a great service organization that supports our small community and runs multiple events all year long and meets twice a month.

Which brings us to the second thing that keeps me sane(or mostly), Coffee. I love coffee. My days normally normally start between 4:00 and 4:30am during the week and I drink 2 strong cups of coffee before I leave the house. When I head to work I take my travel mug which is about 2 more standard cups, and then I'm on the go until we head to bed, usually between 10:30pm and midnight. And that's my week.

My weekends usually see these 2 combined. With me starting up the smoker in the early morning hours and tending it with my coffee in hand until I've finished at least 1 pot of coffee and then often we're off to sports games, birthday parties, volunteer events or events that friends have asked me to "help" them cook for. These last usually mean me spending at least one day in advance preparing and getting up at 2:30-3:00am to get the smoker going so "they" can BBQ for their kids wedding or birthday party, or golf tournament.

This is it. The start. The first post.

I've been thinking of doing this for a while now and today is the day. This is the blog of about what it takes to survive as a dad, smoke and coffee.

I'm a smoker...but not the kind of smoker you're thinking of. I don't smoke pot or crack or cigarettes. I may smoke the occasional cigar, but seriously like 1-2 a year. What then do I smoke, you ask...meat. I smoke lots of meat. Roughly 1000lb per year. And why do I smoke so much meat? Well for one, I'm an addict. That's right folks I'm addicted to BBQ. I love the unctuous low and slow goodness of a 6 hour rack of ribs, an 8 hour pork butt or a 16 hour brisket. And I love to share the smokey treasures that come out of my smoker. Secondly, and more importantly, I'm a dad of 5 growing children. 1 girl followed by 4 rowdy boys. Let me tell you they can eat. I work 8+ hours a day and then come home to my kids and Wonder Woman (aka my wife), who is raising our brood as well as running a successful business. When I'm not at work, and she's not running her business, we are going to sports practice, music lessons or school programs. When we're not doing that we sleep...right? Nope we volunteer with a great service organization that supports our small community and runs multiple events all year long and meets twice a month.

Which brings us to the second thing that keeps me sane(or mostly), Coffee. I love coffee. My days normally normally start between 4:00 and 4:30am during the week and I drink 2 strong cups of coffee before I leave the house. When I head to work I take my travel mug which is about 2 more standard cups, and then I'm on the go until we head to bed, usually between 10:30pm and midnight. And that's my week.

My weekends usually see these 2 combined. With me starting up the smoker in the early morning hours and tending it with my coffee in hand until I've finished at least 1 pot of coffee and then often we're off to sports games, birthday parties, volunteer events or events that friends have asked me to "help" them cook for. These last usually mean me spending at least one day in advance preparing and getting up at 2:30-3:00am to get the smoker going so "they" can BBQ for their kids wedding or birthday party, or golf tournament.

This is it. The start. The first post.

I've been thinking of doing this for a while now and today is the day. This is the blog of about what it takes to survive as a dad, smoke and coffee.

I'm a smoker...but not the kind of smoker you're thinking of. I don't smoke pot or crack or cigarettes. I may smoke the occasional cigar, but seriously like 1-2 a year. What then do I smoke, you ask...meat. I smoke lots of meat. Roughly 1000lb per year. And why do I smoke so much meat? Well for one, I'm an addict. That's right folks I'm addicted to BBQ. I love the unctuous low and slow goodness of a 6 hour rack of ribs, an 8 hour pork butt or a 16 hour brisket. And I love to share the smokey treasures that come out of my smoker. Secondly, and more importantly, I'm a dad of 5 growing children. 1 girl followed by 4 rowdy boys. Let me tell you they can eat. I work 8+ hours a day and then come home to my kids and Wonder Woman (aka my wife), who is raising our brood as well as running a successful business. When I'm not at work, and she's not running her business, we are going to sports practice, music lessons or school programs. When we're not doing that we sleep...right? Nope we volunteer with a great service organization that supports our small community and runs multiple events all year long and meets twice a month.

Which brings us to the second thing that keeps me sane(or mostly), Coffee. I love coffee. My days normally normally start between 4:00 and 4:30am during the week and I drink 2 strong cups of coffee before I leave the house. When I head to work I take my travel mug which is about 2 more standard cups, and then I'm on the go until we head to bed, usually between 10:30pm and midnight. And that's my week.

My weekends usually see these 2 combined. With me starting up the smoker in the early morning hours and tending it with my coffee in hand until I've finished at least 1 pot of coffee and then often we're off to sports games, birthday parties, volunteer events or events that friends have asked me to "help" them cook for. These last usually mean me spending at least one day in advance preparing and getting up at 2:30-3:00am to get the smoker going so "they" can BBQ for their kids wedding or birthday party, or golf tournament.