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Well, it has been a long time since I have visited the Forum, and even longer since I have posted, but yes, guys and gals, I am still alive and cooking. So, my best friend is coming in from Baton Rouge tomorrow for the week, and although Lee and Debbie love barbecue, he doesn't have a smoker and doesn't want to do it himself, so I am going to send him home with probably at least a whole pork shoulder, cut into serving sizes, vaccum-sealed and frozen. Happily, it reheats rather nicely, and especially since it is in a vacuum package already, sous vide is the preferred method. I got the smoker all prepared last night so I could start this morning around 8 for a 9 or 10 hour cook and got things going around that time. I don't know if anyone else does this, but I put my meat in the cold smoker first and then start it up- as Meathead Goldwyn tells us in his great book, "Meathead: The Science of Great Barbecue and Grilling", meat only absorbs smoke up to the point the surface temperature reaches 135* (F), so why not put your meat in the cold, in the cold smoker, and then start things up so you get the benefit of all that start-up time? Why wait until the smoker is at cooking temp goal (in this case, 270*)? Why not let the meat warm up gradually? So here we are at 8 AM (ish), the smoker just getting going, with four pork shoulders (thank you, Costco!): we are going to eat well, and and so will several of my neighbors, my two daughters and their families, and my friend Lee is going to go home with several pounds of, I hope, excellent smoked pork shoulder for pulled pork. It is now 10:45 and according to my Fireboard software, the shoulders are now somewhere around 120*, on their slow journey to 203* by late afternoon sometime. It's nice to be back, y'all.

made pan de cristal today 100% hydration caputo nuvola super W320. overnight levain and poolish preferments. not the crumb i was looking for but still tastes ok..

Chicken dinner, always a winner.

Well, I am very pleased to report that it turned out GREAT. Maybe the best I've done yet. Good smoke and delicious, crunchy bark. Moist and tender. Everything I could want in pulled pork. We made sandwiches for dinner on big Hawaiian buns- mine with a coleslaw base and some good Johnny Harris's barbecue sauce. It was make-your-eyes-roll-to-the-back-of-your-head-and-see-god good. Haven't had that experience since the last time I wen to LA Barbecue in Austin and had the brisket sandwich. I think this is the recipe for me from now on. Interesting that there was such a variation in cooking time required for each of the four shoulders. I suppose variations in size and weight and maybe moisture content are the explanation, but one was at 203* at exactly 10 hours, as planned, and the last one took 11 1/2 hours to reach that temp. Interesting..... Since we had the smoker going, threw a chicken- halved- and a few breasts on there for good measure. Haven't tasted any of them yet.

I should also mention that I prepared the pork shoulders the night before, with a heavy dusting of Dizzy Pig's Crossroads southern rub mix, then rewrapped and back in the fridge overnight. It will be interesting to see how the bark comes out on these shoulders.

Perhaps of interest, and from one of my favorite periodicals (I subscribe only to Texas Monthly, Esquire, and the NY Times)..... https://www.texasmonthly.com/recipe/mimsys-crunk-coleslaw/ Daniel Vaughan is a gem, BTW.

@BARDSLJR - where you been? Hope all has been well there. Good to see you posting again.

I realise now that I should have said I was freaked by savoury porridge not savoury grits. Will take the leap soon, I promise!

I went on to eBay straight after I posted my photos here and found that the sought after coins were not quite as valuable as I had been led to believe by the internet hype. That said, most are worth at least £7.50 each. I never realised that £2 coins from as recently 2002 could be worth more than their face value. Plan of action: 1. Smile and thank greengrocer for alerting me to this interesting and potentially lucrative wheeze. 2. Take all the standard £2 coins to the bank. Invest the total in premium bonds. 3. Hang on to the non-standard £2 coins and look out for more. Maybe one day in the future they will make me rich. All good.

Nice little nest egg you have saved up Tekobo. Why not just keep saving it, never know when that elusive rare coin will show up lol. I like playing with money too if only I had some