And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)
Should be some updates tomorrow. Trying to recover from the beer, food and overall great time that was had by all. Not to mention that Denny (ks505) is in flight as we speak and I'm boarding my last ride home shortly.
Denny and I had been talking about this trip for quite a while now. We always kept saying "one of these days we just need to show up at Kevins house". I had one of those days in January and was ready for a get away so I called Denny and said "lets put the road trip together"
Got with Mrs KAM and Wreckless and tried to pick some dates to choose from. Found one that worked out for all of us and decided to go for it. An email all the way to Norway to JO and his reply "were in" 2 days later made the trip move forward quick. Phone calls, emails, and text messages leaded up to plane tickets and hotel rooms. The trip was planned and it was on. Wreckless made the contact with Big Ron and he confirmed he was a "go" as well.
The last couple of weeks, most of us tried to cut way down on our talking with Kevin. Debbie had him on wits end with a "special" weekend get away she had planned. He had no clue what the hell was going on and it was hard to talk to him without giving it away by laughing at him for trying to figure it out. He had an idea something was going on, but he had no idea of what was really about to happen. We were all giving him grief about his "couples basket weaving" weekend when he really should be working on the cooker. The last week was rough on Debbie, keeping the silence and the secret from Kevin. I had alot of early morning texts and calls from her the last few days saying she didnt know how much longer she could keep him at bay. Her final text to me Thursday night..."Will tomorrow please get here all ready. Im tired of hearing about this trip we arent taking"
Friday am, Denny and I meet at Houston International and head off to meet Jan and family, who flew in 2 days prior, Mike and Big Ron.
We met up at a local place Big Ron suggested and had some lunch and made our game plan.
Lunch. This was an awesome start to a ton of great food ahead of us.
We planned to head to Kevins house first and snap a picture of Denny stealing Kevins smoker for our "were here" caption. Big Ron mentioned he was stopping at Pits by JJ and we all agreed we could make time for that.
We got great hospitality and were shown some nice works in progress.
Big Ron headed his seperate way for the day and we headed to Kevins. We had spent a little extra time looking at Pits, so we just headed straight for his work place.(YES, Kevins boss was in on this plan as well) Denny and I shared a ride over and had a great time getting to know one another and visiting. Kevin had called me 3 times while I was in flight, so I figured it was time to call him back. About 50 miles from his work place, I was asking him if he was ready for his basket weaving weekend About 20 miles from his work, Denny was on the phone with him. He had no clue what was about to happen.
We got to his work and took a picture of us all and I sent him a text message. One of his co workers was walking in the building and we told her to tell him there were some shady looking guys out front that he better check on
If you could have only seen his face and reaction when he came to the front door. Priceless is an understatement. We waited around there a few minutes while he got ready to leave, then a trip to the store for brisket, ribs, pork and of course, some beer
Got to the house and there she sits, the one we have all been following and watching come to life. It looks awesome on his post, but this thing is bad a$$ in person.
Denny made carnitas Friday night for dinner...OHHHH thank you Denny for this. Damn were they good! I know what Im doing for my Discos first cook
Lard
Pork in
Ready for a tort
Plated Heaven right here
Friday night was just sitting around having a few shots, drink and tons of laughs.
Came in from the patio and wasnt really sure of what I walked in on...
Debbie checking out all of Denny's tats, well not all of them
We called it a night around 12 and all looked forward to the next day.
Saturday was a good day of nothing but visiting and cooking some great food.
Kevin got up early (Thanks for doing that ) and put a brisket on that him and Jan had rubbed down the night before. I wont even get into the story of the "who's gonna rub Kevins meat"
Big Ron and his family showed up. Mike had made Big Ron a tailgating grill for his truck. This thing is awesome. Mike, where is the post on this build?????
The builder and the new owner
Lighting the first fire and seasoning
Big Ron brought some thin sliced beef ribs. Killer good!
Jan lighting the fire. We had a lot more meat to get going.
The backyarder packed
Pretty much what we did all day while the food was cooking, cant beat a day like this with great friends!
Jan and his wife checking on the ribs
Added some sausage
Helped Big Ron with some steak for fajitas
Big Rons first large container, he still uses it today 8)
Good times just hanging out
Jan and his wife and beautiful daughter. Great people right here!
Denny and I were fighting to take this little girl home with us
I think she likes me better Denny
Big Rons 2 precious girls
Rib tips
Fajita time
Some fresh guacamole
Killer fajita with some of Big Rons homemade salsa
Denny digging the food
No one can turn down Kevins rib tips
Foiling the brisket...
And the ribs
The beginning of the "twin pits"
I noticed that Kevin keeps his square tubing handy on the side of his building
And the angle iron buried out behind the building, makes me think he likes tubing more but just doesnt want to admit it
No words needed here
Poor Mike will probably never live this one down.
Snuck in a close up while Jan was slicing the ribs
Brisket pulled
Sliced
Ribs sliced
Time to chow down and enjoy the night!!!
Quite a few beers in and we decided it was time to light a fire in Kevins current build
Mike with the honors
The famous weed burner
There is smoke!
Denny...wth is up with the Powerade?? Is this when your drink was "resting" again??
Notice that is Bud Light, I got him off that Old Milwaukee water
Smokin Aces did a comp all day and stopped by on their way home for a bit.
Everytime Jan sees a smoker...he lifts the lid and breaths in all the goodness inside, this became his signature move over the weekend
It was pretty dark, but still good enough to see
The night went on with a ton of laughs and drinks, couldnt ask for a better evening
Sunday morning CJ brought the cooker back by so we could take a peek at it in good light.
Here she sits, Kevin's signature build, pictures do this thing no justice, its way more impressive in person.
Thanks CJ for bringing the cooker by, it was great to meet you and the rest of the Smokin Aces!!
Well it was time for the weekend to end. Jan and his family were off to Austin to visit family there, Mike was heading home, and Denny and I needed to get back to Houston to catch flights. Hated to see the weekend end but I cant even begin to describe the great time that I had with all of these guys and their families. I am damn proud and honored to know each and every one of them. This was a weekend that will be remembered forever and hard to beat! Thanks to each and every one of you guys that took time out of your schedule to make it happen
Ever notice how those weekends last about 2 minutes?
It just doesn't get any better ...
Thanks for the post/pics...
Rick
And on the eighth day God created barbecue …. because he DOES love us and he wants us to be happy.
Current smokers: Egor (trailered RF) and Easybake (tabletop pellet drive)