Welcome Back! Smoking Meat and Having a Baby

I'm back!!! It's been a while, so let's dig in!

I still am not convinced I like the name of my blog. Seeing as how I'm from KC, but no longer live there and so much of my life is still connected to there. Half of my family is still there, all my favorite sports teams are there, my favorite food is there, I think it should be in the title. And, since this blog has no specific topic, I will include my thoughts and opinions on sports happenings, food that I cooked and stuff going on in my life. I posted 2 parts of a fictional story about Drake, but haven't written any more of that story so you may see him reappear at some point, he's in a pretty tight spot. Any feedback would be appreciated.

A lot has happened since my last post about the 2011 MLB Draft. The Royals did select Bubba Starling, as I hoped, in case you were wondering and I am your only source of Royals news. I got a Smoker for Christmas last year, so I have spent almost a year learning to smoke my own meats, to replicate my favorite food I mentioned earlier, BBQ. More specifically, Oklahoma Joe's. A lot of my food posts will be about smoked food.

Ella

My beautiful wife Krista and I also welcomed into this crazy world our first offspring. Ella Enrica Myer. She is 1 month old now and starting to adjust to the outside world and we're trying to learn all about her. Most of you probably know me and the story behind her name, but I love it so here it is. Ella is the name of my great-grandmother on my mom's side, and Enrica is the name of Krista's great-grandmother on her mom's side. I obviously know more about my great-grandma, but both women were strong leaders of their family, great women of God, wonderful mothers, and great women in general. They are both still very looked up to in their respected families for the way they lived. Krista and I are both very close to our families so it was a great way to honor our families and those particular women.

Burnt Ends 1.0

Ever since I started smoking my own BBQ, I wanted to try Burnt Ends because they are a KC staple and delicious. They are my Holy Grail of home made BBQ. I tried for the first time this weekend. I also did 2 pork roasts for pulled pork, some brats and some turkey burgers. The last 2 were last minute additions that were on sale and because all meat is better smoked. And they were delicious. Pulled pork I had done before and it turned out just as good as before. The focus was on the burnt ends though.

What always kept from doing them in the past was the long cook time. A 10 lb brisket can take around 12 hours or more, then to turn the point end of the brisket into burnt ends takes an extra couple hours. While at the grocery store (Kroger) I found they sell the point of the brisket already separated. I wondered how this would turn out because the fat cap from the entire brisket helps keep it juicy and yummy. However, the point  was about 4 lbs, so I knew it would be done much faster that way, so I gave it a shot. They turned out pretty good for my first try. I used a new rub to me that was a bit spicy for my liking, and they weren't quite as moist, but in a pinch they were pretty good. They also only took about 7 hours to cook and were far less expensive that way.

Now it's picture time. Ella and Meat will be the stars.

Burnt Ends

Meat Brothel (what Krista called it) on the smoker

This is the day Ella came home from the hospital

Ella's 1 month old picture

Ella looking very cute 

See ya around!!