Got to the critical point - finishing off the shoulder and putting the finishing glaze on the ribs - rarely do I coordinate the timing so perfectly.

Then, a monsoon appears out of nowhere on my house. It didn't even show up on the radar until it was over 15 minutes later. Wind, lightning, rain...and then it was gone.

It was literally the only thing on the radar in Northern Illinois, on my house, at the worst possible time. Damn it.

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Bad day all around then. Slipped, fell and took a head shot. I think the skirt steak came out ok, have no clue about the wings.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Yikes. Hope you’re OK, RR.

More importantly, hope those wings came out OK.

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The good thing is no one will know the difference.

I kid. Hope you're ok.

Dr. Ken Jr. I wanted a steak for his "go off to college" meal.

So, going to smoke and reverse-sear some 2" tomahawk steaks. Looking forward to this.

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Turned out great.

2” tomahawks about 3 lbs/each. Sprinkle both sides with salt about 30-45 minutes ahead of time to let it just soak in. Then, brush some olive oil and rub in some salt and pepper on both sides.

Smoke at 225 for about 80 minutes, internal temp of 118 or so. Take them off and brush with melted butter and reseason with salt and pepper gently.

Burn them on direct flame about 1 minute per side to crust them up. Let them sit for 10 minutes. Internal temp to 138. Enjoy.

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Looks right. I saw a steak "aged" with blue cheese for a day, then pan seared with butter, thyme and rosemary.

May try that one the next time I'm up for a proper steak. And fwiw, now my youngest is trying to figure out a way to get an invitation to try and walk on at Chambana. To follow his gf.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

I’ll see you on Dad’s Weekend.

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I tried doing complicated stuff at home. I have up and now just order out. I do the things I really love myself. Burgers. I have one of those gadgets so you can stuff n burger. Doing all sorts.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

Looking forward to it. Ugh.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

He gives the ol' UofI four solid years of anchoring a couple Rose Bowl Champions and I won't even care if he goes to the Saints.

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If he could do that, I'm retiring to a coach house on the RR Jr 2 Estates.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Have him build a 2nd coach house and we can go out for some real Cajun food.

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Creole.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

That too.

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You know me like that.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.

Fucking Christ, there goes the neighborhood.

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We all have private ails. The troublemakers are they who need public cures for their private ails.- Eric Hoffer

Trying some beef short ribs that the butcher recommended. Never tried this before. I have no real plan.

Let's get creative.

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I've never smoked short ribs before. What's the rationale in choosing short ribs over full-sized ribs? Let us know how this turns out! I love short ribs on the grill!

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As you know with me, there is no rationale in most things.

We had another family party yesterday so I decided to do the tomahawk steaks again since they turned out so well the first time. The butcher, seeing me buy the tomahawks, led me over to these short ribs and swore they were amazing. So, I thought, "what the hell" I'll try them out. They are USDA Prime so I better not f*** them up.

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Prime, nice!

I'll definitely be interested to hear about your cooking time, temp, and results. It doesn't look like you applied a rub. Is that right?

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Decided to go with olive oil, salt & pepper. Try to get the flavor of the meat.

Read up on the best wood so I'm doing apple wood and an apple cider/juice spray. The review I read said it would not overpower the meat flavor.

I'm trying 225 and just seeing. It seems to be cooking quicker than anticipated. They've been on for about an hour so far.

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Have you broken into the Tito's yet?

I plead a fifth.

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Take my ribs, please.

Getting good color but need to break the fat down more so after 2 hours, I'm putting them in a catering tin on a rack with apple juice/cider vinegar mix and butter and covering them with foil. See how that goes.

Threw on some ribeyes as they go.

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Good decision on the seasoning, I think. Short ribs have such a rich, intense beefy flavor that a rub would have been superfluous. Your choice of wood interests me. I usually go with a mixture of Oak and hickory when I'm doing beef whereas I like a hickory-apple combination for pork. Let us know how the apple works with beef.

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I agree with you on the wood choices. Those are my defaults also.

Ribs ended up as kind of a fail. I overcooked them. Mrs. Dr. Ken and I think we can salvage them in an Italian pasta sauce. She liked the ribs but I didn't really. It's hard to get a temp on those since the meat is typically not thick enough to trust the thermometer. They were OK. The flavor was still there.

Lunch was salvaged by the ribeyes. This is really the Dr. Ken-....fool-proof method of cooking a good, thick steak. Get a 1.5-2" steak and smoke it at 225 for an hour or so until the temp gets to 120, then char them on direct flame to your preference on the exterior (at least 1-2 mins per side). They are thick enough that the fire doesn't really cook the inside too much. I like to char them until the fat browns over/catches fire a bit.

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Sorry to hear about the carnage, Doc. It's tough to lose quality beef like that. Rather than going with a pasta sauce, I suggest getting some high-quality (hecho a mano) flour tortillas, shredding up the short ribs, and making some nice quesadillas. Put that together with some homemade guacamole, charred veggies (scallions, onions, peppers) and yellow rice, and you have a satisfying meal.

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Sometimes I laugh at much we think alike.

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There are only two examples of infinity: The universe and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the universe.