Tending the Fire
The coyotes are howling in the distance. A dog barks. I've got a mix of lump charcoal, one cherry log, and a hickory log that have been keeping a steady flame for the last couple of hours. A split chicken rubbed down good, an onion, a couple of ears of white corn in their wrappers. Running 300F fairly steady, must be close to done by now. I'm not slave to any timer tonight, but I do have my temperature probe at the ready.
I've been experimenting with wood fire lately, but I need a new source that's not so pricey. It's easy to burn through half a bag in the course of an evening. Or we could move to the forest, and I’ll just cut down my own wood (let’s see who actually knows me well).
Do you have any hobbies that you suck at? What motivates you to keep forging ahead? For me, barbecue is very much a hit and miss (mostly miss) activity. The last two times I made short ribs, I set them on fire. The first incident was when I wrapped the ribs in butcher paper. Not a good idea over direct fire, apparently. The second time was when I lowered the grill basket to spray the ribs with some apple juice. I added a hickory log to the pit ten minutes earlier, and when I lowered the grill, that log decided to act out with some big flames and dirty smoke. So I raised the grill basket and noticed the ribs on fire. What? I should just wait, the flames will die out pretty quickly. In this particular case, those ribs were on fire for about ten minutes.
Despite the inferno, the outside of the ribs turned out okay. The inside was juicy and tender, but there was no smoke ring, and I felt like I could’ve gotten the same results in a slow cooker. Very disappointing. Maybe don’t wrap next time? They don’t teach you this stuff on the internet.
A fire pit forces you to pay attention, to stay close by, to learn when it’s time to add more fuel, and when to resist the urge to throw another log on. Timing is important. You don’t want to go too short or too long, too hot or too cold. In other words, it’s like everything we want to do well. Whether you’re a champ or a noble failure, throw your whole heart into what you do, and don’t burn down the house.