Life is Good, Part II

OK, so the Chiefs lost to Denver. It's not the end of the world. Life is still goood. The brisket turned out awesome...probably my best ever. And the Donkey's fans I invited over were not unreasonably obnoxious. I think most of them realize that beating the Chiefs doesn't make Denver a good team. It just makes them a little less bad than the Chiefs, who have no quarterback, no offensive line, and an injured star running back (Larry Johnson). It's good to see Priest Holmes back in the lineup but no running back is going to fare well behind the blocking of KC's inept offensive line.

So, back to the brisket. I've been trying to perfect brisket for several years now and I think I came very close this time. Question is, can I recreate it? My marinade recipe changes every time I smoke a brisket. It starts with Dale's Steak Seasoning -- the same soy-based marinade I use on steaks. But from there I pretty much just empty all the half empty bottles of whatever sauce I have in the fridge or cupboard. This time I included half a bottle of The Boulder Hot Sauce Company's Harry's Habanero sauce and a bottle of Holen One Farms marinade from Nebraska (given to me by my friends at the Nebraska Beef Council). The final touch was about a third of a packet of Char Crust Roasted Garlic Peppercorn dry rub.

I started marinating the brisket Saturday morning and let it soak up all those good flavors for 12 hours before putting it on the smoker Saturday night around 8:00 p.m. I took it off the smoker right around kick-off (11:00 a.m.) -- 13 hours later! Then I wrapped it in foil and let it rest until half time when the devouring began. After tasting the first slice I knew I had done good. The dozen or so guests seemed to agree. It was gone within about 15 minutes.

Stinkin' Donkey's fans invaded my home, sat on my couch, watched the game on my Samsung 42" plasma TV with six-speaker surround sound home theatre and ate all my brisket!

Regardless, I was eating beef, drinking beer and watching football with friends. Life is still good.

Daren