Firewood season is here. Have you given some thought to where you will put your winters supply?

Think carefully about the ergonomics of your firewood storage area. While you want it well clear of your home and any living trees you care about, keep in mind that you will be making regular trips to your firewood storage area in cold, inclement weather. If you don’t have a clear dry path to the firewood storage rack, you may want to create one while the weather is still warm and pleasant.

Before you build your shed, give some thought to where your delivery will be made. Unless you plan on an extra charge for stacking make sure your storage will not have you carting your wood to the "north forty" for stacking.

Here is a Honey-due for building a simple storage shed.

Things You'll Need:
· Seven 5-foot long 2-by-4-inch boards
· Four 2-foot long 2-by-4-inch boards
· Hammer
· Nails

Set two 5-foot-long boards down of the ground, spacing them 2 feet apart with the broad sides facing one another. Align a 2-foot board over the two boards. Position the 2-foot board so it rests over the ends of the 5-foot boards. Nail two nails through the 2-foot board and down into the 5-foot boards at each end.

Set another 2-foot board along the other bottom edges of the 5-foot boards to enclose the rectangle. Attach by using two nails at each end.

Build a second rectangular frame using two more 5-foot and 2-foot boards. The two frames will be the sides of the wood rack.

Prop the frames up to run vertically, spacing them 5 feet away from one another. Have someone help hold the frames. Set a 5-foot board down on the ground to be the base of the frame. Place the broadside of the board against the frames, making the end of the new board and the outer edge of the frame flush. Nail through the base board and into the frames with two nails at each end.

Repeat step four to add a 5-foot base board to the other side of the frames.

Determine which side of the wood storage rack will be the back. Along the back, align the last 5-foot board to run across the top of the frames just as the baseboards run along the bottom. Have someone help hold the board while you attach it to the frames.

Set the rack in an area that is convenient for loading the rack and near enough to your home that bringing wood into the house in the cold isn't a chore.

The instruction book said “You can’t do that with this.”

I called my “can’t do that with this” guy, Wayne and said “they said you can’t do that with this”, and emailed him the pics and specs of the “this” and the “that”, that you couldn’t do it with.

“We can do that” he replied back.

He brought down his grinder and here is proof we indeed put that and this together…



Weber’s 22.5 in. kettle in the Performer series is now fitted with their 22.5 in. rotis package and producing some mighty fine meat. We have only just begun…



Tex’s comment, “You boys are spinning out of control…”

We usually announce the Edgewood Picnic Event well before now. But this one is special…VERY SPECIAL.

This year, we have the good fortune to host the Inaugural “BBQ to the RESCUE!”. This event will be cooked by Firefighters only. Unlike other BBQ cook-offs, there will be no prize money, only a very special challenge coin struck by the Northwest Mint, for the winners. All proceeds will benefit the Northwest Burn Foundation.

This type of event has been on the drawing board since November of last year. A local firefighter and myself started brainstorming this last fall. After we had it roughed out, we brought it to the attention of the Board of Directors of the Northwest Burn Foundation. They thought it was a great idea, and the rest, hopefully, will soon make history.

A website will soon be up and running, that is dedicated solely to insuring this becomes an annual event, with national implications.

I haven’t planned an event of this stature in many moons. I am thrilled to be associated with the men and women who make up our Fire Stations, that so courageously put their lives on the line for us everyday.

I am equally thrilled to have the opportunity to work along side the Northwest Burn Foundation, who tirelessly insure that burn survivors in our area, get the care that they need. I am pleased to be able to offer them a way to receive more donations for the wonderful work they do.

Look for updates, news, stories, etc. It is scheduled for August 14, at the Edgewood City Park. I have included a picture of the logo and invitation, sent out to 95 Fire Houses, just in the state of Washington. The Firefighters are throwing out a challenge, to each other, and you know how competitive they are. In the logo, you will notice a Fireman's Axe and a Spatula, Crossed behind a Badge. We all know how proficient they are with saving lives with an Axe, let's see how proficient they are at "Swinging a Spatula" to continue to care for the lives of those they have saved.


So in turn, I am challenging my readers to come out and support this unique and worthy event. It promises to be a great time for the whole family.

By the way, if you follow this website, and you are curious...I will, along with "Badges, Brews and BBQs" be vending this event. Again, all proceeds going to the Northwest Burn Foundation. So drop by...and help us try to fill the BBQ version of a "Firefighter's Piggy Bank".

How do you test and compare rubs? It gets pretty expensive trying rubs on ribs and brisket not to mention time consuming. Also you rarely are able to compare several rubs at the same time. Scouring the Internet provided no real clue how to accomplish this.

As you know the flavor of the rub out of the container will taste different than the resulting flavor after combining with the meat juices and the smoke. The task was to find a method allowing me to test several rubs at the same time that was both inexpensive and produced viable results. Here is what I have developed and seems to work fine:

BULLDOG METHOD: The two meats I focused on was brisket and pork. I ordered chili grind brisket and unflavored pork and made patties. I will apply the various rub samples and mark with a "flag" and BBQ rather than grill. This generally takes less than an hour. Based upon discussions with several judges the flavor I am looking for is a hint of sweet and hint of heat and good aftertaste. With followup on brisket and pork (ribs and pork shoulder)the results appear to be consistent both with patties and full meat samples.

(By the way for chicken I like a simple salt flavor with hint of celery and moderate heat due to the nature of chicken)

This is not "exact" but are relatively accurate with choosing a good rub

Hope this will be of value to those who don't already have a winning rub.
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Note this is also a good way to compare BBQ sauces. You prepare several patties with one rub then at the end apply various sauces. One thing many BBQers neglect to remember is the sauce and the rub need to "marry" the flavors. A good rub and a good sauce do not always result in great BBQ taste
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I am interested in finding out what method you use to select your rubs and sauces

Alan

Our summer BBQ catering dates are filling up fast. If you would like to schedule an event, family reunion, company picnic, or just a big old get together on your block, check out our menu selection or contact us and we will be happy to customize a menu to suit your particular needs. (Sorry, we do not cater weddings)

June has the last weekend available. July and August have a few selected dates available,
some being on the weekend. September is open at this time.

Here is but a sampling of what we can do for you menu wise. Contact us for details and more mouth pleasin', tongue ticklin' belly bustin' ideas.
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The Memphis Picnic


Pecan smoked whole pork shoulder with an authentic Memphis BBQ Sauce for dippin'
( pulled or sliced )
Applewood smoked chicken quarters with an apricot bbq glaze
Sweet and Sassy Carolina cole slaw or baby greens salad
Smoked BBQ beans or black eyed peas
Fresh baked buns or corn bread with clover honey butter
Homemade indivdual sized lemon cheese cake with short bread crust

Extra sauce, napkins, paper plates, and utensiles
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Kansas City... Kansas City..., Kansas City here we come!


Hickory smoked baby back ribs with thick and tangy BBQ sauce
16 hour slow smoked beef brisket with a special KC rub
Kansas City style smoked beans
Fresh Louisiana corn salad
BBQ buns or french rolls for soppin'
Dark cocoa cup cakes with lemon icing

Extra sauce and rub, & all paper products and eating utensiles included
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Texas Hold'em... plates with both hands


Generous portions of Texas style brisket slow smoked over red oak
Texas sized hot links ( spicy or pilgrim ) grilled over mesquite wood
Spare ribs that made Houston famous with a Texan BBQ sauce
Chuck Wagon Pintos or Cowboy peas (Trail Boss favorite)
Garden fresh green salad with choice of homemade dressing
Lone Star corn bread with honey butter
Banana Foster pudding ( minus the spirits )

All comes with plenty of sauces, napkins, and tableware
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Eastern Shore... is good... Dinner


Shrimp, crab, corn on the cob, red potatoes, and baby onions steamed in our giant kettles on the BBQ pit in a clam broth, beer, water vinegar base ( with our special spices ) to which we add tons of butter. Steamed to perfection with fresh baked French bread for soppin up all that good stuff
Caeser Salad
Apple pie and French vanilla ice cream

We supply all the paper products and large plastic bags for the shells

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We're Goin' Whole Hog...a real Hunka', Hunka' Burnin' Love!


One of our specialties comes to your table having been smoked over hand selected cherry wood, sunny side up, for 22 hrs. just the way we do it at Memphis in May.
Fresh roasted corn on the cob with our own special butters
Mom's potato salad
BBQed beans, pit made and smokey sweet
Fresh rolls and orange butter
Our famous cheese cake bar for dessert ( individual cheese cakes with a passel of toppin's to choose from )

We supply 3 kinds of BBQ sauces for dipping and all paper products. Tall tales and country music in the immediate pit area are complimentary.

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We can bring our huge lemon squeezer for the kids to make their very own homemade lemonade... great baby sitter for all ages. Contact us for details
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This is but a sample of our menu for many more options and selections drop us an email, we aim to please!

A born and bred Texan sent this to me...I like it!

Cowboy rules for:
Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Idaho and the rest of the Wild West are as follows:

1. Pull your pants up. You look like an idiot.

2. Turn your cap right, your head ain't crooked.

3. Let's get this straight: it's called a "gravel road." I drive a pickup truck because I want to. No matter how slow you drive, you're gonna get dust on your Lexus. Drive it or get out of the way.

4. They are cattle. That's why they smell like cattle. They smell like money to us. Get over it. Don't like it? I-10 & I-40 go east and west, I-17 & I-15 goes north and south. Pick one and go.

5. So you have a $60,000 car. We're impressed. We have $250,000 Combines that are driven only 3 weeks a year.

6. Every person in the Wild West waves. It's called being friendly. Try to understand the concept.

7. If that cell phone rings while a bunch of geese/pheasants/ducks/doves are comin' in during a hunt, we WILL shoot it outta your hand. You better hope you don't have it up to your ear at the time.

8. Yeah. We eat trout, salmon, deer and elk. You really want sushi and caviar? It's available at the corner bait shop.

9. The 'Opener' refers to the first day of deer season. It's a religious holiday held the closest Saturday to the first of November.

10. We open doors for women. That's applied to all women, regardless of age.

11. No, there's no 'vegetarian special' on the menu. Order steak, or you can order the Chef's Salad and pick off the 2 pounds of ham and turkey.

12. When we fill out a table, there are three main dishes: meats, vegetables, and breads. We use three spices: salt, pepper, and ketchup! Oh, yeah ... We don't care what you folks in Cincinnati call that stuff you eat ... IT AIN'T REAL CHILI!!

13. College and High School Football is as important here as the Giants, the Yankees, the Mets, the Lakers and the Knicks, and a dang site more fun to watch.

14. Yeah, we have golf courses. But don't hit the water hazards - it spooks the fish.