hickory smoke burgers

A chunk of hickory in the grill makes a great burger. Let your charcoal burn down to a nice ash grey. Add a chunk of hickory, as it starts to smoke, add your burgers. Salt and Pepper the burgers, and shut the grill lid. With the Grill lid top vent wide open, hickory smoke will nicely season your burgers.

Added cheese bonus! Before you pull the burgers from the grill, put a slice of pepper jack or provolone on your burgers. And toast the hamburger buns, while the cheese melts.

Music of Widespread Panic and Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band goes great with this hickory smoke endeavor.

Signs in the Field

Hike-ologist and Playground expert Jack, says Spring not far off. All signs in the field indicated warmer weather and flowers and frogs are on their way.

Classic Slow Roast

In this slow roast, I used a scoop of Cajun seasoning - mixed in olive oil. Cover the chicken with seasoned olive oil and set the slow cooker.

Use bbq seasoning, most any seasoning, with olive oil for a great slow roast.

Music for this solid classic roast should include Patsy Cline shuffled in with jam bands such as the Grateful Dead and Ekoostik Hookah.

Winter breaking

Out hiking and enjoying the Parks. The cold weather is starting to break... thinking about getting out the bbq smoker.

For tasty beasts, smoked and slow roasted: season meat and let rest in the fridge over night, smoke meat for a couple hours, then into the roaster for awhile.

Mmmm... more on this later.

Music for getting out bbq smoker, setting up roaster. For me this is a cosmic energizing experience, so tunes from Rush would be good.

not so sloppy, sloppy joe

So what do you do with hot dog buns, sloppy joe and shredded cheddar? Toast the buns and make a good open face sandwich.

Toast the hot dog buns with a little olive oil. Plate up the buns open, add sloppy joe and shredded cheddar. Really, it is the only way to eat sloppy joe... and not be so sloppy.

If you want to go completely wild, boil some hot dogs and tuck them in the open face sloppy joe joy.

Recommended music for open face sloppy joe: Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Chicago, and any good groovy music.

Stove Top Casserole

A good stove top casserole needs two key items, a wok and hot sauce.

Brown your beef in the wok with a little olive oil and garlic.
Add your favorite box casserole mix - with milk and water, as the box directs.
Add a couple good shots of hot sauce and let simmer.

Jam bands playing, while you mix this together, is also helpful. Music of the Grateful Dead and Los Lobos is good.

Serve this stove top casserole with you favorite vegetable, and that's a tasty dinner.

Brine and Roast!

Basic Brine: 1c sea salt, 1/4c garlic, 1/4c black pepper, and a small bottle of molasses.

The Brine works with time and allows other spices and seasonings to be absorbed. Use 1 cup of sea salt and small bottle of molasses, increase or decrease brine time to size of turkey. Other spices can be adjusted in amounts, according to your taste.

If the turkey is frozen, it should be thawed in the fridge and kept cold.

Mix and heat the brine ingredients in a pan with water. This helps the salt and other spices dissolve. Let cool. With the turkey in a large container, add the cool brine and more water so that the turkey is completely covered with brine water.

Set the container with brine and turkey in a cooler of ice or in the fridge. Pictured is a small 12-pound turkey. Set in brine, in cooler of ice, for around 10 hours.

Add or change spices you like to this basic brine. Always keep the sea salt and sugars - molasses, these are the ingredients that allow other spices to be absorbed.

I rubbed the turkey with olive oil, and then into the slow cooker.

The turkey roasted all day, and family and friends enjoyed a tasty dinner.