Sunday, November 26, 2006

I know you're out there somewhere....

My birth mother called yesterday to let me know that she is another step closer to tracking down my birth father. He's supposedly somewhere in California, and Sharon (birth mom) has found his niece, who would of course be my half-cousin. She should be able to put Sharon in contact with him.

This is a five year story that may be coming to a peak by Christmas time. I always thought I would be just fine if this never happened, but now as it gets closer, the idea of finally meeting my birth father has me really excited. We'll see what happens.

- Mark

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Quite a turkey

A few months ago, I bought a new Brinkmann water smoker. Since then, I have - with varying degrees of success - turned out two briskets, two beer can chickens, and a rack of pork ribs. So, for Thanksgiving this year, I decided to take a shot at smoking a turkey. With a few tips from this site and this site, I am happy to say that I was quite successful.

I smoked a 15 lb. turkey for about 12 hours, ending up with a smoked turkey unlike any I have ever seen. I'm used to the usual golden brown smoked turkey that you can get from just about any grocery store, so when I pulled out a black, somewhat leathery turkey from the smoker, I was more than a little nervous. My folks had driven in from Durango, Colorado, and I was eager to please. Thankfully, the black color was just the result of lots and lots of good smoke fueled by Kingsford charcoal, apple wood, and mesquite wood. When I pulled it off of the smoker, I could instantly tell that we were in for a treat. The turkey was practically falling apart under its own weight, and the smoky aroma was heavenly.

Anyhow...long story short, I now have a new awareness of what smoked turkey is supposed to be like. This stuff was delicious. Unlike the usual holiday turkey, where you have to rip the meat from the bone, the meat on this one literally fell away. And talk about flavor! It had a deep, smoky flavor that put to shame everything else that I've ever thought of as smoked turkey.

Guess I'm now in charge of all future holiday turkeys.... That'll work.

- Mark