I should have posted this last night. But I had already shutdown and put away the laptop for the night.
The pork shoulder turned out absolutely perfect. I am however already plotting for the next time. I did about a 7 pound shoulder this time. I think I will do two about the 8 pound range.
The first one I think I am going to try to make a little sweeter. Im going to boil some apples in with the brine. As I was eating some pork last night I thought that a little hint of apple would make it all the better.
The other one I am going to try to spice it up some more. The garlic flavor definitely sunk into the meat. However, I think I want to get some crushed red pepper or some hot sauce. I don't want to kill it, just make it a little spicier.
I will probably do beef again. Maybe not a brisket, maybe just a roast. My Smoker is a decent size but isn't really big enough to put a whole brisket in there. So I end up having to cut the brisket in half. The roasts at HEB tend to be the perfect size.
Oh yeah, the rain did stay away all day. However, shortly after I pulled everything out of the smoker it started to sprinkle. Then during dinner it started to rain very HARD.
Talk about perfect timing.
The "Mission Accomplished" headline is more so related to the fact that we just dropped off the Achieva at Champion Toyota. It made it all the way down there and didn't dump the anti-freeze on the way. That issue is now Champion's problem.
Gina says that they will most likely auction it off, after cleaning it up just a little. Again, not our problem.
The sales guy, Jack was very helpful. Gina pointed out a few tiny paint defects (dings, a couple of scratches) that she was hoping they could touch-up for us. Jack spoke with their touch-up guy who was there today and he said that he already knew about it. Apparently it was on his list of cars to touch-up, but we bought it before he could.
I must say I am almost looking forward to the cross-country trip in this car. The passenger seat area is roomier. The car gets better gas mileage. The driver side is definitely much roomier. There is overall more cargo space than the Achieva (the cargo area + roof rack). And most importantly, the gas tank is about 2 gallons smaller. "Why is this a good thing?" you ask. Because now we will have to stop that much sooner.
And you know me, I love to stop and smell the roses. I mean what else are you going to do on a 1200+ mile trip.
Speaking of... my sister, Rachel is driving cross-country to Portland Oregon, right now. I need to get an update from her on where they are. They are going to be stopping at Mt. Rushmore and one of the national parks around there on the way. I am quite envious. There are not any reall attraction sites on the way too and from Michigan and Texas.
I will post up what I think her route is later today.
laterz
