This is true; I’ve yet to see an All-Star season that really satisfied on any of the shows recently. I was frustrated with this field in particular, since there were some other teams that they completely overlooked (Ken & Gerard? Derek & Drew? Kris & Jon? THE CLOWNS?) that would have made for a much more competitive–and fun to watch–field than what they wound up with. Contrary to Mirna’s opinions, this was not so much the “best of the best,” just the “best of the ratings, as determined by the producers.”

Also? They really need to get rid of the Yield. There’s more than enough inter-team drama on the Race without it, and it never seems to produce the effect on the actual competition that they’re looking for.

OK, rant over. 🙂

I have heard definite recommendations for the Q Shack, so I’ll have to check them out. Danny’s is excellent for pulled pork–great sandwiches. I’m a big fan of Eastern NC barbecue (chopped with vinegar), so I’ve been hitting those places first since we moved back, but I should branch out a bit. Thanks for the recommendations!

I really miss having one of those around now, us apartment dwellers don’t have much of an opportunity to use one.

My favorite marinade for smoking fish and chicken was a cup of brown sugar, two cups of pickling salt, 1/4 cup of mashed pearl onions, and a tablespoon or two of mashed garlic in just enough water to submerge 10-20 pounds. For the “greasy” fish like lake trout (but not salmon, that tastes great as-is), add the second tablespoon of garlic and a few teaspoons of Tabasco. Or just add the Tabasco anyway if you like it. 🙂 Cure for 24-48 hours in the refrigerator, keeping all submerged. If you like salty, just pat dry and smoke. If you have to watch salt, rinse in cold water and pat dry before smoking.

One of the surprisingly good things from a smoker is smoked northern pike, and in northern MN that’s a common resource. It’s very easy to turn into pike jerky though (which is good in its own right, but it’s not smoked fish anymore). I, being unable of course to leave anything in a stock configuration, mounted a programmable temperature controller unit on my smoker to allow me to smoke 4 hours at 150 degrees and then slowly raise the temperature to 200 for finishing. It’s hard to mess up chicken, but having that capability makes it much easier to smoke delicate fish like pike.

Oh, and someone had a good point: All-Star seasons suck, regardless of the show. I’m hoping they get back to some good old-fashioned racing next season.

OMG – you MUST get thee hence to The Q Shack. It looks like their store across from NCSU on Hillsborough St. closed (I swear, that’s where stores go to die, even more so than Waverly Place in Cary), but they still have some locations in Durham. Their beef brisket is to die for, and their pulled pork is excellent as well. I also recommend Danny’s, though that’s mainly all about the sauce.

Hey, I’m not one of those BBQ zealots, for all that I lived in North Carolina, where BBQ is a religion. If electric does the job, I’m all for it! The smoker we have is, quite frankly, a huge pain in the butt; I may even investigate an electric unit just to have a back-up.

We used to go to a BBQ place in North Carolina that made the most amazing smoked brisket – no wet sauce here, just a fiery dry rub that made your mouth sting, but it was oh-so-good. If I could figure out what is in that rub, I would definitely give the brisket a shot, even if it meant babying things along for 12 hours or so.

+1(,000) on the Race results, too. We were pulling for the BQs to take the win. Alas, another unsatisfying win…