I finally had a chance to do a big piece of meat in my grill. I use a regular 22.5 inch Weber Kettle grill with a Smokenator attachment for smoking. Yesterday I did a 9 hour smoke on a 4lb pork shoulder picnic cut.

I put my own Holysmok3s dry rub on it after trimming the skin and fat. This sat overnight in the fridge.

The grill is heating up with about 60 coals and apple wood chunks. Instead of using the Smokenator water tray I used a larger aluminum tray so I didn’t need to refill as often. It’s ready around 230F

2hours into it I added more coal and a little more water. The bark is starting to form.

I pulled it out when the meat reached 190F. Looks like a meteor. The bark is pretty tasty and doesn’t taste burnt.

Pulled by hand. I need to invest in some bear claws. Some people say to foil the meat during the stall but I’ve foiled ribs before and lost the smoke ring. No foil used.

Finally at 1030pm, I get to make a sandwich. Earlier in the day I made some coleslaw to top it with. I used store bought sauce. Next time I’ll make my own. I made a small sandwich since it was so late… It actually came out really good and worth the wait.

Nothing can come close to this. My daughter resting in my arms

After two boys, Jonas 11 and Jayden 8, we are finally blessed with a beautiful baby girl. I feel like a new dad all over again.

Jiana Elizabeth Mendiola
Born May 1st, 2012 @ 1:35pm
6lbs 11oz 19 1/4″

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Sleepy girl

Today Joan had the day off. I took her to a place I’ve seen called Hummingbird Bakery and Dessert Bar. It turned out to be a nice find. We picked up a few cupcakes and cookies then went to Gracie’s for breakfast. Another place in Vallejo we’ve seen but never tried. We ended up in Napa at the outlets and walked around a bit. Turned out to be a nice pleasant day.

Their signature cupcake. Too many ingredients to remember.

Haven’t seen one of these in awhile.

This is what you do when your sick and stay home from school. When I was a kid, they called it “playing hooky”

We got up and took a walk across the Benicia bridge this morning. The sound of cars passing was soothing. Joan and the baby got the exercise they need and the boys had fun riding their scooters. I enjoyed the walk. It was a good way to start the day.

Party of 5 = 1

My 2 girls

We bought a croissant’wich at Emeryville Deli this morning on our way to SF. I didn’t get a chance to eat it since I was driving. On my way home I stopped in Berkeley and parked here. Nice and relaxing. Doesn’t feel like Berkeley at all.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln

Black And White

After meeting up with Joan yesterday we ended up on Bayshore and into Bernal Heights. It wasn’t until Joan spoke with Sheena that we figured out why everyone was paired up females. We had dinner at Vega. We shared an Arugula salad and a Margherita pizza with Italian sausage. Good food and pretty friendly.
We ended up in a shop across the street and found some pretty weird stuff. I wanted to buy this umbrella with a samurai sword handle. Instead we got these Tenon Robot Models. Kids had fun putting them together.