What’s on your grill or smoker right now?

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The membrane has been removed, entire rack rubbed with kosher salt, marinating. Cooker is nearly ready, great smells. What you gots?
xo, Biggles
Editor’s Update (next morning):
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Fired up the new cooker last night and smoked these babies! Removed membrane, rubbed with Kosher salt, smoked with hickory. Juicy! Click on the picture if you so choose.

Way Out West BBQ Championship in Stockton California

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Woo hoo !!! This coming Saturday is another semi-local BBQ Championship coming up where me, Chilebrown and his wife get to spend the late morning and early afternoon judging que. It’s a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned event and we’re KCBS sanctioned BBQ judges.
Everyone needs to come out and spend the day, it’s never a day for just watching people cook. There’s tons of other vendors and events wrapped around the cooking. It’s a family situation always and enjoyed by small, tall, short, fat or skinny. Come out and spend the day at the Way Out West BBQ Championship in Stockton California.
You heard it here first at Meathenge, we’ll be there judging and enjoying.
xo, Biggles

Just for fun, on a Thursday evening, smoked pork ribs.

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Biggles having some fun today, is all.
Blind Melon – No Rain
Ooooo-oo-oo-oo-oo, oo-oo-oo-oo
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
I like watching the puddles gather rain
And all I can do is just pour some tea for two
And speak my point of view
But it’s not sane, it’s not sane
I just want someone to say to me no, oh, oh, oh
I’ll always be there when you wake, yea-ah
You know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I’ll have it made
And I don’t understand why I sleep all day
And I start to complain that there’s no rain
And all I can do is read a book to stay awake
And it rips my life away, but it’s a great escape
Escape……escape……escape……
All I can say is that my life is pretty plain
You don’t like my point of view
You think that I’m insane
It’s not sane, It’s not sane
I just want someone to say to me no, oh, oh, oh
I’ll always be there when you wake, yea-ah
You know I’d like to keep my cheeks dry today
So stay with me and I’ll have it made
And I’ll have it made
And I’ll have it made, oh
Lord no no
You know I’m really gonna, really gonna have it made
You know I’ll have it made
Ahhh, ahhh, ahhh, ahhh
What fun! Love you all, Biggles signing off.
xo

Pissy Wednesday – One is a flavor, one is a bear.

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The English language and I have been at war since the beginning, it’s a love & hate thing. I’m one of those word snobs (I didn’t say I was good at it) and really try my best to make sure I use the correct their, they’re & there. See my point? I would never say the whether is turning cold early this year or I’m knot going! On the other hand, I don’t like rules. So, the outcome can sometimes turn in to a mess. A fun mess, but a mess all the same.
Well, I’ve had enough! There’s a great, huge and quite large faux pas going on right under our noses and it’s making me crazy. The poopetrators do it every day. This would be misspelling one, specific, little word. One version is a flavor and one is a bear.
Can anyone guess what this little word might be? I’ll count to ten, 1 2 3 4 6 … .Uh listen folks, the word is smoky. Smoky flavors !!! The word Smokey is either Smokey Bear or a slang term for a police officer. You don’t get smokey flavors from your smoker !!! GAHHHHHHHHHHH. (Picture Biggles swatting the air and stamping his boots).
Quidit.
Pissy Man has left the building.
ps – I smoked an 11 pound turkey last night in the new outdoor cooker I’m about to review.
xo, Biggles

Meathenge Lab’s Moldy Update

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Yeah !!! Some of you may remember late last year I was going through some real hell with moisture problems here at the lab, mostly my bedroom. In 1 month I ended up having to gut and scrub my bedroom for mold twice, moisture content out of this world.
This has been an ongoing problem for years, but it has been getting progressively worse. I didn’t have the money or the skills to install a French Drain. I made do with dehumidifiers in several rooms of the house with a mobile hygrometer to see how things progressed day and night. Even with the balmy weather and dry winds, I’d have to start the dehumidifier in my bedroom at 3am and shut it down at 6am. In 2 to 3 days, I would collect 1/2 gallon of water. Just so you know, that’s a lot. Heavy moisture in, around and under a home is not a good thing, it’s bad. Real bad. It’ll destroy a foundation before you can raise a child.
After months and months of saving, I finally got enough pennies to have a French Drain installed along with a sump pump. I live on the flat lands and gravity flow is of no help here. Today the most awesome group of guys started digging. I found Manuel’s company on google a year ago locally for Richmond California and he’s turned out to be the most responsible, skilled and able guy I’ve met in a long time. The trench is not only dug perfectly & properly, but it’s smoothed out as though they were Aztec Gods.
As with previous jobs, I have no doubt that within a few days that Meathenge Labs will be moisture free for years to come. I can finally decorate my bedroom and install clutter as I see fit without worry of moisture that transforms to mold. Ain’t it great? Now I can spend more time sleeping, napping and cooking.
Jaripeo Landscape
Manuel Jasso, owner
New lawns, Fences, Trees, Concrete, Drain Systems, Hauling, Retaining Walls, Stump removal, Sprinkler Systems, probably more.
License #876389, References available
510 620 0998 Office
xo, Biggles

wordless tuesday

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Yeah, like I’m not supposed to use words, nor am I supposed to post it on a Tuesday. Ah well. Applewood smoked/grilled beef burgers with a slice of Tillamook Cheddar on the top to melt.
xo, Biggles

Do you have any idea what’s the life span of meat?

Rarely do I post anything that points to something cool or interesting on the web, figure you got that taken care of by now. But this is so great, and I just know you haven’t read it already, I had to stop by immediately to give you the scoop.
It’s a short story by Terry Bisson and I’ve only known about it for less than 10 minutes. It’s so good (and short, that’s good for you Twitter Heads), I couldn’t resist
Terry Bisson
They’re Made out of Meat.
xo, Biggles

Meathenge turns 7 years old!

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That’s right, snoozy little Meathenge turned 7 years old on May 29th 2010! Pretty cool, eh?
Not much going on at the Lab these days, obviously. The boys are getting out of school for the summer this week, so hopefully will be able to get back to grilling and smoking my brains out. I have been sent a fancy outdoor cooker for review and have been using it quite a bit. The chicken breast you see above was rubbed with kosher salt, then smoked. So juicy, so tender.
Other than that, boring. So, celebrate with me and hoist a strip of bacon to thine mouth. Happy Birthday Meathenge!
xo, Biggles

Boilerhouse Restaurant – Richmond CA

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A week ago or so Meathead’s mother came to town and my sister Kallisti offered up the Boilerhouse as a nice, new destination restaurant to visit. It’s only a few minutes from either of us and neither of us had been, it was time.
The Boilerhouse is located at the old Ford Motorplant that was producing vehicles back in the ’50s, very industrial. It’s out near the harbor and the Bay Trail ends right at their front door. You have to drive out near Pt. Richmond, then head out and actually be checked in by a guard at the gate.
At first glance we were all impressed they’d kept and worked with such an industrialized area and old buildings. The place isn’t huge and the day we were there they were hosting a high school graduation. It all worked seamlessly. While it does seem somewhat upscale, it’s more inviting than that. A seating for 7 was easily dealt with, the servers were well groomed and attentive. The menu simple, pointed towards burgers. Burgers!
Ground beef from Niman Ranch and hand patted, cooked to your specification.
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I got the Texas burger cooked medium raw. Gently packed with home fried red onions, bread roll was soft yet chewy. My father got the Jalapeno burger, said to be as awesome as well.
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All of us ordered drinks and burgers, all were satisfied. The Boilerhouse really succeeds to down scale a great meal in a wondrous atmosphere of old industrial manufacturing. It’s going to be tough for them to bring business their way considering where they are, which is why I wanted to stop by and let you know this is a place worth visiting!
The restaurant opens up directly on to the harbor, marina and the bay. The view is epic, go now! Just to let you know how awesome it was, as we finished our meal the disco version of Star Wars emptied in to the audio system, everyone got dreamy eyed and fell in to a trance.
Go now, go soon. The Boilerhouse in Richmond.
xo, Biggles

Want to listen to music on your iphone? No earbuds? Meathenge can help.

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I spent most of today doing chores, many of the to-do items required driving long distances. By 3pm the boys and I were pretty bushed, we reclined to TV, movies and video games. Z had some homework to deal with and settled on the living room floor for a while. After running a load of laundry I came in and found his iphone in his mouth.
He was listening to the Dead Kennedys, mouth open, volume down a bit. I offered that maybe if he turned it up, and put his teeth (gently) on the iphone that it might improve it.
It did! Said it was running through his skull, sounded like a real speaker or earbuds.
So, if you don’t have the earbuds to support your music habit on your iphone, put it in your mouth and hold it steady. There’s 20 bux saved! Not sure how your friends, family or anyone near you will react when they realize you have an iphone in your mouth. And, not convinced this move would be covered under warranty, so be careful. I have contacted Apple with this method, so maybe it will be approved!
xo, Biggles

City Wide Garage Sale – El Cerrito, CA

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Z and I awoke this morning, I was the early bird at 6am. Our plans for later in the morning were to head out to the mall to find a jacket that fit the boy proper like. We both understood we had to get this done, but also knew there was a city wide garage sale going on a few miles to the south of us.
Sheet fire! GARAGE SALE HO !!!!
Sure the addresses were published, but we only decided to go that minute. Just drive around, up and down. We found a nice group of older folks living in a home selling grilled dogs, popcorn and drinks for a buck fifty. A block down and around, some young hipster selling off a 78 record player console and a 60 year old camera that looked clean. But some other hipster grabbed it, was totally in to it. I wondered if they knew it didn’t have a lightmeter.
Just down the road we landed on Richmond street, a pretty good little thoroughfare. A hot chick and her dude had a dufflebag of VHS pr0n including a gas mask. I told her point blank that my brother inlaw would be interested in this, right here. She said, “Whatever floats your boat.” Then giggled, flushed and got in to someone else’s business.
Z and I headed out and around the corner, got in touch with my sister and let her know the scoop. Brother inlaw called me back and asked for an accurate locale. Within a few minutes, this poor hotchick was approached by my sister and husband asking if a tall, Norwegian looking, red headed and bearded axe murderer looking guy was here checking out her pr0n and gas mask. “Uh, yeah. It’s over there.” Keep in mind, brother inlaw is bigger than me. It was all a pretty fun encounter and will probably be told a few times over the next day or two.
A good time was had by all and I ended up at the end of the day with a gas mask (found on top of a Russ Meyer movie), a 60 year old flashlight, an abused chopping block along with a few LP’s (Barry White) for about 6 dollars. OH yeah, and we totally scored a dozen doughnut holes from another hotchick that was selling a few macrobiotic cookbooks and trucker hats made from hemp.
Garage sales rule.
xo, Biggles

A Preview to A Review

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A few weeks ago a major player in outdoor cooking rigs sent me a 55 lb box, they wanted to know what I thought of its contents. It’s an interesting piece of equipment and am having to run at least 3 meals through it to see how it stacks up. What you’re viewing today is a boar steak from Ted the Rancher of Highland Hills Ranch, located firmly at the Berkeley Famers Markets. Kosher salt only, so creamy smooth with a tender bite that resists a tad then spreads.
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xo, Biggles