Memorial Day Barbecue

Ah, another Memorial Day, and the weather couldn't have been better. Went to the Mysterious Sister-In-Law's house in New Jersey and, after a long winter's layoff, got to use my new smoker for only the second time. But it got a workout. Grilled cheeseburgers and a rack of ribs on Saturday and then did two more racks of ribs, two chickens, a pork butt, a boneless leg of lamb and a duck on Memorial Day.

No not everyone agrees with me and Alton Brown on this, but I prefer to remove the membrane from the ribs before I smoke them. Two reasons for this: First, it lets the spices penetrate the meat better and second, those membranes are just too chewy for me and no matter how long you cook the ribs it never breaks down. And removing the membrane is really quite easy.

Insert Butter Knife Under Membrane


Grab With Paper Towel And Pull


Then I rubbed them down with my special Small Fattie's spice mixture and put them on the smoker.

Ready To Smoke


And Smoking


One thing that I really like about this smoker, other than the fact that it is bigger than my old one, is that it is easy to control the temperature. It has adjustable vents top and bottom.

Perfect Temperature For Smoking


And They Came Out Perfectly


You can see the two chickens underneath the ribs. I used my Small Fattie's rub on one and brined the other one in orange juice. Two of my nieces don't care for spicy chicken.

When the chickens were done (you can see my remote thermometer at the bottom of the smoker) the ribs were  done as well. We had the chickens and ribs for lunch and then I put on the pork butt and boneless leg of lamb for dinner. I once again used a Small Fattie's spice rib on the pork and another variation that is heavy on rosemary for the lamb.

Pre-Smoked


Post-Smoked


So there you go. At this point I had drunk enough beer and dinner was ready so that was the end of the pictures.

By the way, I assumed the nom de plume of Small Fattie just because I felt like it.