Hello and Happy Tuesday!!
I just wanted to tell you all that I've been moving the blog HERE

I will continue to post in my personnal blog HERE

So head on over to The Official Taste of Awesome, click the blog tab and subscribe! I'll be posting regularly.
See you there!
Danny

My Mini WSM (Weber Smoky Mountain)

I no longer post here

go to

The Official Taste of Awesome

See you there!!

click here for this Mini Smoker article

I have recently seen videos and blogs about these AWESOME little cookers called Mini WSM's and decided immediately that I had to have one.
Here are my 2 favorite blogs on the subject.
Man Cave Meals
BBQ Bros
Here are a few of these little cookers!!

 











NICE HUH!!!!

What is a WSM you may ask? It's a Weber Smoky Mountain.
You might have heard people referring to them as "Weber Bullets".
You can see how they work in the cut out view. It's pretty simple, charcoal basket on the bottom, then a water pan, then 2 cooking racks.
They come in 2 sizes 18-1/2" and 22-1/2" and are extremely efficient.

I have 2 smokers. my first is a Brinkmann Smoke n Pit from WalMart. Yes!! Those are flames!!!

I use it as a grill because it doesn't work well as a smoker. Hard to hold temps, rotating your food...Great grill though!

My pride and joy is my Backwoods Competitor. It was my smoker at the restaurant.

Backwoods Smokers makes water smokers. I believe they are, dollar for dollar, the BEST smokers you can buy.

 The fire pit is in the bottom door and is totally separated from the cooking chamber. The smoke and heat travel up the insulated sides and into the cooking chamber from the top. Then down, through the food and out the exhaust port in the bottom back. Pretty ingenious!!

But I have abused my smoker and it might be on its last leg.

I really don't do BIG cooks anymore either so the Mini is a perfect fit!

Here's the list of things you'll need

1. Weber Smoky Joe. I have the silver and I think it will work fine.

Most people recommend the Gold. The difference is the vents. 

The Silver vents are on the bottom and can get clogged. I'll show you a fix for this. The Gold vents are up on the sides of the lower bowl. No chance of getting clogged with ash but some say the location puts them above the level of the fire and doesn't allow the right airflow. Remember, it's made to be a grill not a smoker.

2. Either a Vasconia 32qt Steamer with lid or an IMUSA 32qt Tamale Steamer w/lid

By most accounts, the Vasconia is the perfect fit consistently so I went with that.

3. Hardware. Don't skimp! Get the stainless steel

1/4″x 3/4″ long stainless steel bolts (3)
1/4″, stainless steel lock washers (6)
1/4″, stainless steel nuts (5)
1/4″, stainless steel lock nut (5)
1/4″x 3″ long bolts (1) doesn't have to be stainless, it will be the handle on the lid.
1/4″x 5″-6″ carriage bolt. It doesn't have to be stainless, it will be a handle on the base.

Now that you have everything together, Let's get started.

In the picture below, the tape has a mark 4-1/2" from the top. That will be the level of the cooking rack.
The circumference of the pot is 46" so drill a 1/4" hole every 15-1/3" around the pot.
We only want 3 bolts for the rack to sit on because the rack will never wobble.

 Once the holes are drilled, install the bolts. The pic below is correct. The rack will rest on the head-end of the bolt inside the pot.
                                      

   Like this.                                                                                                         

   Locking nut on the outside.

    Here's the rack in place.

Next, I drilled some holes in the bottom of the pot to let the heat and smoke in.
Some prefer to cut the bottom out of the pot leaving 1-2" for stability.
I prefer the holes because it allows the heat and smoke in while keeping the bottom of the pot connected.
Either way is fine.
I drilled larger holes around the outside to draw the heat to the outside rather than up the middle.

 This is the steamer insert that came with the pot I used it as a guide to mark the locations of the holes in the bottom. I thought about cutting the bottom out of the pot and setting this inside on the ridge where the lower rack sits and using this as the diffuser. Might try it on the second one.

Next I added some handles to the vents on both the lid and the kettle on the Smoky Joe. No big deal, just some carriage bolts. You will have to take some pliers and bend the little tab up on the bottom but be careful not to "pull up" on the tab or you'll bend the vent plate causing it to not seal.

I replaced the nut on the far right in the pic above with a locknut.

Well It's ready for a cook!!!

Check back in the next day or two for the 1st cook on the new smoker!! 

2 Slabs of Ribs!!!

Moinks!!!

When you cross a "Mooo" with an "Oink" you get a Moink!! Ok...I guess you had to be there ;)





So I was asked to go on the morning news on WSIL TV3 this Friday to show what I'm gonna fix for the SuperBowl.
My first thought was ABT's (Atomic Buffalo Turds) but I did those last year.
Armadillo eggs is certainly an option...no, to involved
Sliders, no. Peach salsa? no fresh peaches...darnit!!
I've never made Moinks...Yea!!!
Moinks are meatballs wrapped with bacon and grilled then sauced!!
Hmmm...I just gave you the recipe!!

Click HERE

These are Moinks and this is how you make them!!

You will need:

1. Italian Meatballs. Either fresh or frozen. Now before you have a cow (get it!!Hahaha!!)  I prefer fresh too but frozen is so much easier and there are a lot  of other things to do before Sunday, so frozen it is!!

2. Bacon...

3. Rub: 

1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/4 cup black pepper
1/8 cup cayenne
1/2 cup paprika
3/4 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely ground coffee

4. Sauce...any questions?
see below!!

This is almost too simple
Wrap the bacon(1/2 piece) around the meatball
grill indirectly until the bacon is crisp
add sauce. either brush on or dip in.
keep them on the grill 5-10 more minutes, keep an eye on them
EAT!!!!

Click HERE

Click HERE

Click HERE

The BEST Apple Chipotle Glazed Chicken!!!

Ok, I think my favorite food on the grill is grilled chicken. (well, this week anyway)
Last year I did a YouTube video about Glazed Grilled Chicken Check it out Here
Great grilled chicken starts with a great rub

Don't be afraid to make your own dry rubs and seasonings, you will surprise yourself with the results!
Here is the one I use.
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/4 cup black pepper
1/8 cup cayenne
1/2 cup paprika
3/4 cup kosher salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely ground coffee








I like dark meat and in this cook I used thighs. ANY cut of chicken is fine. Even whole chicken...

Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and coat the chicken

I like natural lump charcoal and I use a chimney starter

Newspaper in the bottom charcoal in the top.
I add smoke wood right before I put the meat on.
For chicken and pork I like fruit wood like apple, pear, cherry, peach... You get the idea!
I really like mesquite for brisket

Let the grill come up to about 350*

 I usually cook the chicken indirectly first then move it over the coals to crisp the skin

Just cook the chicken like you always have, BUT, when you are ready to take the chicken off the grill...

Brush some of this on!!

Click HERE to get yours! 

Ohhh Yea!!! Brush and turn!!!

and brush and turn...

and brush and turn...

and......

This is gonna be UNBELIEVABLE!!! 

and brush and turn...

 Then pull them off the grill.

I cover them with foil for about 15 minutes to let them rest.

Welcome to the 2 Vets BBQ Blog

2 Vets BBQ is a Sauce company

Carl Johnson and Danny Parkhill met in 1987 at Sheppard AFB TX and started a life-long friendship that has taken us halfway around the world to defend this great country.
We are now committed to producing an exciting line of boutique sauce products called "2 Vets BBQ".

We are also committed to helping and honoring our service men and women as well as veterans.

We will be contributing a portion of our profits to various veteran groups because we feel that we owe them SO much for their service and sacrifice.

Danny was the owner of Rugged Cross BBQ and developed a line of AMAZING sauces and rubs that we know you will LOVE!!!

Our flagship product is 2 Vets BBQ's Apple Chipotle Glaze. It's the most unique BBQ product ever. It's not just a BBQ sauce or a dipping sauce or a stir-fry sauce...Carl calls it "The Swiss Army Knife of Sauces"!!! We just introduced 2 brand new products, Carolina Sauce and Bravo Sauce and we are excited beyond words!!
So we thank you for your business and encourage you to subscribe to our Youtube channel for news and updates as well as new installments of our line of how-to videos!!

In this video, Danny shows how to cook steaks Cave Man style!!!