The days are getting longer and the weather is staying mild even though the calendar says February. A primal urge to burn meat is getting stronger and stronger as the days creep by until the official start of meat burning season.

I fell victim to the urge yesterday and found myself drawn to a favorite “hunting ground” …Cash & Carry. Armed with a fresh $50 dollar bill, I made my way past the deli and produce sections towards the red meat. Any other day and I might have been content to “catch” supper where I was sure of some easy pickin’s…but today the “urge” for something burned was strangely almost a compulsion, like a wild goose heading north for it’s summer home.

I carefully slipped into the well-chilled room to select whatever it was that would quell that almost irresistible compulsion to smell meat and smoke rising upwards to the BBQ gods.

Brisket? Not enough daylight.

Pork butt? Dido.

Ribs? Again the time factor.

Chicken? Real men don’t cook just chicken…unless it’s hot wings or for the ladies bridge club, and besides I was in need of red meat.

Burgers? No challenge.

Brats? Too short a time…I was in need of some quality “fire time” with my cooker…not all day mind you, but I needed to ease into it. At this stage in my life a sensory overload might be bad for the heart!

Tri Tip? Now there was something I could literally sink my teeth into and it was on sale! The 34-degree cold of the meat locker didn’t bother me as I went over pack after pack after pack of tri tip looking for just the right one. The 15 # cryvac packs were less than $2.30 a pound. Four to a pack…one tonight I figured, and 3 for the freezer.

$32.47 later and I was winging my way back to the ranch going over in my mind how I was going to prepare my burnt offerings to the heavens above…one last stop, the only thing I lacked to complete the trilogy was a six-pack of long necks.

Fire…Meat…Beer, spring is just around the corner!