There is nothing better than a good barbecue.  Grilling and smoking and eating and laughing and running through the sprinklers-barbecues are the quintessential summer get together.

I love barbecue and I look forward to grilling and smoking season all winter.  We try to smoke a brisket a couple of times a summer.  It is all-night process, brisket has to smoke for an hour a pound and most packer trimmed briskets are at least 15 pounds, but one that yields plenty of juicy slices and flavorful chopped bits for a crowd.

Smoked Brisket

• 1 whole packer trimmed beef brisket
• spice rub

• 1 (12 oz) can beer
• 1 can water
• 1 can cider vinegar
• 1 large onion, juiced

1. Set brisket out two hours before you plan to cook it so it can warm up to room temperature. Trim some fat from the large slab on the top of the brisket.
2. Prepare grill or smoker for indirect heat.  We use mesquite wood cut with pecan (using all mesquite can make your barbecue bitter).
3. Rub brisket all over with spices of your choice.  We use this recipe, doubled.
4. Grate an onion over a large bowl then strain the juice into a large pitcher.  Put the onion pulp inside a clean dish towel and squeeze over the pitcher to extract any additional juice.
5. Add a beer and an equal amount of water and cider vinegar to the pitcher.
6. Smoke brisket for one hour per pound at 220°F.  Every hour, turn brisket and baste or spray with mopping sauce (beer mixture).
7. When the brisket’s internal temperature reaches 190°F, remove from the heat and allow to rest 30 minutes before slicing.
8. Alternately, you can remove the brisket from the smoker after a few hours and wrap it in foil and place in a 220°F oven.

Once brisket is ready, thinly slice the lean side of the brisket.  Remove as much fat from the fatty side of the brisket as you can, then roughly chop the meat to make chopped beef for sandwiches.

These beans are delicious alongside your barbecue.  Remember that all of the heat in the jalapenos lies in the seeds and membranes.  Keep that in mind when you chop your jalapenos, removing the seeds will keep the jalapeno flavor without adding much spiciness.  For spicier beans, add more of the seeds back in.

Barbecue Baked Beans

• 1 pound dried Great Northern beans
• 1 pound bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 jalapenos, chopped
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 4 cups ham, chicken, or vegetable stock
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 cup brisket drippings, optional
• 1 cup chopped brisket, optional

1. Soak beans overnight in enough water to cover, plus two inches.
2. Drain beans, reserving liquid if desired, and sort.
3. Heat a large dutch oven over medium.  Cook bacon, onion, and jalapenos until onions are soft.
4. Add tomato paste, sugar, molasses, and beans.  Stir to combine.
5. Add 4 cups of liquid to beans.  I used ham stock but you can use ham, chicken, or vegetable stock, or the water from soaking the beans.
6. Add spices and salt, stir beans and cover dutch oven.
7. Bake beans, covered, in the oven at 250°F.  For about 3 hours.  Check beans for tenderness.
8. Once beans are tender, remove lid and continue cooking uncovered until sauce is reduced, about 5 more hours.
9. Alternately, you can add one cup of de-fatted brisket drippings and chopped beef at any point.
10. You can also cook the beans inside the smoker while the brisket is smoking, either placing them alongside the brisket or beneath it if possible to catch the drippings.

Every year I save the ham bone from our Easter ham intending to make split pea or lentil soup.  And, every year, I wind up throwing it away at some point once it becomes obvious that I am not going to do any such thing.  This year I was determined.  I put the dish on my meal plan.  I bought the ingredients.  I was going to do it.  Yet the closer the day came, the less and less excited I got, until it became a chore. Just another damn thing on my To Do list that I didn’t want to do.  That’s not how I want to feel about cooking, so I decided to adjust my attitude and widen my view.  Surely, there is something else one can make with a ham bone besides beans and lentils (more beans), right?  So I used my crock pot to make a velvety, righteous ham stock.

Then I made this delicious soup instead.

Ham and Corn Chowder

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 3 cups ham stock or chicken stock (or a combination of both, I used 2 cups ham stock and 1 cup chicken stock)
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels
• 2 cups chopped ham
• 2 cups russet potatoes, small dice (about 2 large potatoes)
• salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp hot sauce, like Frank’s
• smoked sweet paprika for garnish

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.  Saute onion, garlic, carrots, and celery until soft.
2. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring, a couple of minutes or until flour is golden.
3. Slowly whisk in milk and stock.  Turn down heat as necessary to keep soup at a gentle simmer.
4. Stir in corn, ham, and potatoes.
5. Simmer soup about 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.  Smash a few of them against the side of the pot with your spoon.
6. Taste soup and season with salt and pepper.
7. Add hot sauce to taste and serve.  Sprinkle with smoked sweet paprika if desired (oops, I forgot it for the photo).

This one of the best corn chowders I have had.  The potatoes were tender but not grainy.  The sweetness of the ham and corn were complimented by the smoky spices.  Overall it was a wonderful, hearty soup.

I have been a bit under the weather, which means soup for dinner and a shorter post on the website.  I’ll show you the soup next but what goes better with soup than a nice hunk of bread?  This bread is soft on the inside and crusty and sweet on the outside.  If you buy self-rising flour, it only calls for three ingredients and is so easy and quick to put together that you can even make it even when you’re not feeling so hot.  The beer will impart some flavor to the batter so be sure to use one that compliments what you’re serving it with.  Corona and St. Arnold’s Brown both work well.

Beer Bread

• 3 cups self rising flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 12 oz beer

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease a loaf pan.
2. Combine all three ingredients in a large bowl, mixing well.
3. Pour batter into greased loaf pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until loaf is golden brown.
4. Rub hot loaf all over with butter to soften the crust and cool on a rack.

If you don’t buy self-rising flour you can use the following as a substitute:

• 3 scant cups all-purpose flour
• 4 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

These pancakes are fantastic! Crisp on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside.  They are super easy to whip up and are a great canvas for fresh blueberries, chocolate chips, or even just butter and maple syrup.  Thanks to Krysta for the recipe!  Although I can’t wait to try it with homemade buttermilk, they are delicious with store-bought buttermilk as well (and pretty great with plain old milk and lemon juice, too).

Updated to add: If you are able to make these with homemade buttermilk (see link above) I really cannot recommend it highly enough.  They really become something extra special-crisp on the outside with a light, melt-in-your-mouth texture on the inside.

Best Buttermilk Pancakes

• 2 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbsp oil
• melted butter or oil for frying
• 1 cup blueberries, chocolate chips, or other mix-in

1. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a 4 cup measuring glass, combine liquid ingredients: buttermilk, eggs, and oil.  Stir to combine.
3. Stir wet ingredients into dry, mixing well.
4. Heat a large, heavy skillet or griddle over medium heat.  It is always better to go too low than too high with pancakes.
5. Once hot, brush the surface of the griddle with melted butter or oil. Pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter over greased spot.
6. Add a few blueberries or chocolate chips to the wet pancake and cook until the edges are set and bubbles form on the surface of the pancake.
7. Flip pancake and cook the other side until golden brown.
8. You can keep stacked pancakes warm in a low oven until ready to serve.