Don

Wishing a big ole' happy birthday to you Michael. BCO is in the house! Don

Web, sorry for the slow reply. I've been busy and away from OAF for awhile. I use neither. I do 99% of my smoking and grilling on a big green egg. It can be adjusted to smoke slowly while retaining neccary temps. No restoking necessary for 24 hours. I do use a water pan for my pork butts. I'm seriously considering cooking at the Midwest Eggfest in Spring field on 09/27/08. I have an upright gas smoker that I use as an extra if I am smoking alot of things at the same time. Don

My oldest, my youngest and I set up camp yesterday evening. My youngest, Sara, is 11 years old and she decided to flyfish for the first time today. She practiced casting for awhile, hooking two on midges but losing both. After awhile I located alot of trout far from the bank and I had to cast for her. I hooked 3 on a brown pine squirrel and she played and landed each one successfully. She brimmed with excitement the rest of the day and called and told her friend about it as soon as we got home. She asked me about getting her a tackle box for her next trip and I showed her a chest pack she would use. She adjusted all the straps to fit her frame and wore it around the house for awhile saying how cool it was. She was even more excited when I told her I would fix up a box of flies for her to have and use. She said she is ready to wade at Taney when I ever get to go. I'm just as excited.

Pork Butt - Rub the butt, wrap, and fridge 24 hrs. Start smoking about 5PM and stabilize on indirect heat at about 200-225 degrees. When morning comes, kick the heat up to 250 degrees. The internal temp of the butt roast will plane out at 175-185 gegrees. After a few hours a collagen breakdown will occur and the meat will spike uo to 190-195 degrees. Revove from smoker. Total time is usually 17-24 hours. Wrap in foil and place in small cooler with towels on top and bottom. Pull apart when ready to eat. It will still be warm. The butt will be shriveled, black, and crusty. Do not trim. The burnt ends is what gives it the flavor. This method makes true pulled pork in that instead of shredding the fibers of the meat longwise, you can "pull" the tender meat apart against the grain. Serve choice of sauce separately. Don

Welcome to the forum Dawg! Let's go fishing. Don May

Baby Back Ribs - Remove the membrane from the bottom side to aid in tenderness. I prefer to cut each rack in half because it makes them easier to handle on the rib rack. Rub generously with favorite rub seasoning. I have been getting mine from Dizzypig.com. My favorite for grilling chops is Dizzy Dust. My favorite for ribs is Raging River. The rule of thumb is the longer the cooking time - the more rub to use. For example, my ribs warrant more rub than just normal seasoning for grilled foods such as chops. After the ribs are rubbed, I wrap each half in plastic wrap and refrigerate for approximately 24 hours so the ingredients can do their thing. I smoke mine at 250-275 degrees on indirect heat. I turn them about each hour or so to ensure uniform cooking. About 30 minutes before removing, I take them off the rack, lay them flat on the grill, and sauce both sides. I like to use at least two kinds of sauces to offer variety. One is usually mild whereas the other is usually spicy. I also like to leave one without sauce once in awhile. Mine are usually done beween 5-6 hours. Brisket - They're the most challenging to me. The best one that I've smoked spent two hours covered in the oven at 200 degrees before it went on the smoker. Even though that was cheating, the brisket turned out well. It was marinated the night before with 1 tbs liquid smoke, 1 tbs worcestershire, 1 tbs celery salt, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp pepper. 4-6 pound brisket. Don

I had to bump Scheeeeets in front of my last post becuz I'm ordering his latest. Can't wait for it....Don

I've been listening to "The Road To Escondido" alot lately. Good stuff for you blues guys. It's Clapton and JJ.. Cale music. Gettin' my blues on.....Don

Just checking out opinions and preferences on favorite store-bought BBQ sauces and why. I'll start with my favorite, KC Masterpiece Original. First of all, it's thick enough to stick to the pork and doesn't run off like some other sauces. Also, it doesn't carry any vinegar overbite like many southern sauces do. I like to doctor mine up most of the time and I use it as a base for a real mean sweet and hot. It also works well by itself of course. I bought some stuff called Okie Bob's years ago and I really liked it alot because it seemed it was a good blend of KC Masterpiece style accompanied with a good kick of Texas southwest flair. Second place goes to Buulseye because I've always received compliments using that stuff. Finally, the favorite store-bought spicy stuff is Curly's Hot and Spicy; no complaints there from any spicy lovers. Don May

I'll have a few for you guys by then. Sorry to hear about the tragedy.....Don

No it wasn't me. I called the generation number each time and never left the house. Don

Dano, I had no idea you had a site. Great stuff (two thumbs up) and looking forward to more. I added it to my favorites. Thanks, Don

Yeah JD, I'm one of those who always ask why we blow so much noney on space exploration when we need help in so many other aspects. For example, how much did it cost to fix the toilet on the space station? As much as a pentagon toilet? Something else to ponder is the team of engineers who was funded by Richard Bronson for the first private manned single flight into space that pioneered future daily space travel. They beat NASA out and NASA didn't like it. However, I guess I never realized how much we have had the benefit of NASA's incidental and residual technological advances here on planet earth. Thanks for the perspective. Don May

Exotic trip? How about local trips? I waited for water to shut off at Taney Sat night 11:30, 3:30, and 9:00 AM. Didn't happen so I contemplated the upper Current River some 2-3 hous away. I didn't make the day trip because of gas prices. A little later I realized that was the first time ever I didn't opt for a day trip because of gas prices. What's odd is that I later regretted my decision because gas will be even higher when my next opportunity arrives. Ronnie, thanks for sharing. That's one cool fish, not to mention quality time with the kids. Don May

I don't know much about Crane. I remember big trout at the bridge area about 30 years ago. Thanks for the map guys. Don May

I had the world's biggest karaoke contest on in the other room when the winner was announced. I have never sat and watched the show when my daughters weren't around, just a few songs here and there while flipping channels. However, the show has put my future wife, Carrie Underwood, on the map. I said hello to Dave Cook from OAF last weekend at Bennett Springs. Even though he is also from Kansas City, not the same guy. Don

Congratulations to Dave Cook, Kansas City MO, for winning American Idol 2008. Don

I love coon huntin' stories. It reminds me of "Where the Red Fern Grows" with a dash of Lewis Grizzard. Keep them coming. Thanks again....Don

Good one Terry, I relate well to that one myself and I really enjoyed it. Don

I'm going to buy something made in China so I can stimulate our economy. Don

My friend Kevin and I were wondering where in the world can we wade and fish these days as we left after two nights on the NFOW. We opted for the Current and arrived at Tan Vat at noon on Tuesday. I have never fished below Montauk before. We walked the bank upstream to the bend and fished our way back to the vehicle until 5:00. Skies were overcast and we got rained on a little while but nothing of concern. The weather allowed us to use Vanish 4lb test. I picked up three on a rusty midge and landed six on a green slumpbuster. We saw nobody else on the rver; what an awesome day. I'll be back. Don May

I finally flyfished the NFOW for the first time. I floated all stretches many times for the last 25 years but never fished it. We stayed at Taylormade Rivertreks with Shawn and Christina Taylor. They are a great couple and provided unequaled hospitality. They also provide great services to veterans. The river was up and strong for wading so it took my friend and myself a half an hour to get to the riffles 100 yards upstream. My first 20 minutes I caught a brown and a bow on a black stonefly. It was my first wild trout ever and I could tell the difference. I caught another brown on a prince nymph 30 minutes later. I then broke my flyrod when I was untangling a mess of line. I was holding my rod up high and had the bottom under my left arm. The reel end of my rod slipped into the fast water and snap! Lessons learned. About 10 minutes later my partner took his first ever swim while crossing some fast water. Wading was a challenge all the while we were there. We floated Blair to our place located slightly above James bridge the next day. Even though we threw plenty of lead and bounced off the botton all day, we each got skunked unless we wanted to claim the fame of Chubmeisters. Wading opportunities were rather limited because of the flow and the river was marginal at best. However, Monday was a beautiful day and we owned the river to ourselves 99% of the time. I'll be back. Don May

Good to hear from you. Landon looks great. I'm glad you didn't stay at Chateau on the Lake that weekend. Other kids would have made fun of a kid named Chateau What rod did he get? 00 weight? Take care.....Don

I floated the NFOW Monday. I was in my pontoon and my friend was in his yak that he rented. I moved alot slower, enabling me to flyfish from my rig if needed. I did not have to concentrate on balancing like my friend had to in the yak. He was able to move alot faster and was much easier to paddle upstream if needing to refish a good hole. It was also much easier for him to maneuver sharp turns and curves in the river. Most flyfishing on this float was to float to wadeable water, bail out, then fish while wading. Either would serve that purpose. It is much easier to get in and out of the pontoon than the yak, especially in deeper water. Don May