Photos of Poppers and Ribs

I'm sure this will come as a shock to all of you .... but ...

I. Love. Ribs.

I really really like smoking and eating just about any kind of ribs.

Pork spare ribs. Baby back ribs. Beef ribs. Country style ribs (which are not really ribs).

The kind that I make the most are Spare Ribs, for sure, and the weekend before this past one I made spare ribs for dinner.

Just for the fun of it, I added on some Jalapeño Poppers as well.

If you've followed along on this blog at all, you probably know how I make both of these things. If not you can check out Sheppy's Blog: Spare Ribs and Sheppy's Blog Jalapeño Poppers and find lots of information on how to make these.

2024 Mardi Bock (Batch 351)

I brewed in the garage this past (Super Bowl) Sunday.

We got a decent amount of snow again on Saturday, and so the back patio (where I usually like to brew) was covered, and I took advantage of the slightly warmer garage for brew day.

This is my 3rd batch of 2024. It's my 351st batch all-time. This is the 69th time I've brewed in my Anvil Foundry.

After Sunday, I've actually brewed this recipe (with minor tweaks, I'm sure) 4 times.

The day this posts will be Shrove Tuesday, aka Mardi Grad, aka Fat Tuesday, aka the day before Lent, and so it is an appropriate time to brew the  seasonal beer ....

Mardi Bock

Smoked Chicken Bombs

I subscribe to and watch various BBQ Youtube channels. One of my favorites is Hey Grill Hey.

Recently, Susie had a video called Amazing Smoked Chicken Bombs with a cheesy jalapeno center! So easy anyone can can do it!.

 

Double Chuck Roast

We had my wife's family visiting this past weekend to help celebrate my younger son's graduation from high school.

On Saturday, we wanted some BBQ, but of course my wife also wanted me to spend time with the family.

If you follow this blog at all, you probably have seen posts about me smoking chuck roast for shredded beef sandwiches.

Chuck roast takes a long time to get tender enough to shred the beef, but I like to smoke it for a few hours in the morning and then put it in the Crock Pot for several hours afterward.

That way, I don't have to pay attention to the cooking meat for the majority of the time it is cooking ... at least after that couple of hours on the smoker.

Grumkins and Poppers

My oldest son was home from college this past week. He had never had my homemade Jalapeño Poppers, so I thought I'd better make some.

If you need the recipe ... see Jalapeño Poppers. They are awesome, and everyone should make them from time to time.

I had some of my Grumkins and Snarks Oatmeal Stout while grilling the poppers and chicken.

If you follow along on my Brewing Notes on the Grumkins and Snarks recipe page, you probably read that I have really been enjoying this beer.

Mardi Bock and other Sunday Activities

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. 

It was also my first Brew Day after Fixing the Foundry.

And ... it was my first brew in which I'm using a new toy and trying out Pressure Fermentation.

Of course, it being Super Bowl Sunday, I had to make food for the game.

And ... it was beautiful out, so obviously I had to get a bike ride in.

It was a busy day for me.

I was up ridiculously early. Not necessarily because I wanted to be. I just couldn't sleep.

But, regardless, I woke up at 4:00am. I sort of half heartedly tried to go back to sleep, but it was not happening. I got up and started brewing ....

Mardi Bock

Doodle Bop Belgium Single (batch 328)

I brewed this past Sunday. It was extremely cold out, so it was a brew-in-the-garage day ...

As I mentioned in 2023 Arctic Vortex and Chucky, my Anvil Foundry need fixing. Based on some troubleshooting, I believe the Foundry's power switch needs replacing.

I've ordered a new switch and according to UPS it should be arriving today. Maybe my next brew will be back on the Foundry.

Regardless, it wasn't ready for Sunday's brew day, so I used my "old" cooler-mash-tun-propane-burner-boil brewing system.

The beer I brewed is a new recipe resulting from my desire to brew a beer in the BJCP Category 26, Monastic Ale.

As I mentioned in Followup on BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines, the style I wanted to most brew in this category was  26A. Belgian Single, and so awhile ago I designed the recipe ....

Doodle Bop Belgium Single

Jalapeño Poppers

Last Sunday, after a snowy bike ride and before the football games started, I couldn't get Jalapeño Poppers out of my head.

If you know me or even just follow this blog, I suppose it wouldn't surprise you to know that I really like Jalapeño Poppers.

Strangely, though, I had never made my own.

So ... I decided to rectify that situation.

I had to head over to the grocery store because I didn't have most of the ingredients.

I had to buy cream cheese, bacon, and especially jalapeños.

My wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) suggested that I should get a couple of other things while I was there, but when I was actually there ... I forgot those extra things. 

Oh Well.