Primaldata Grill Enthusiast

This year I was honored to be asked if I would cook the meat for my family reunion, my eyes being bigger than my grill of course I said yes. After a few words in reminder from my mother and a one of my aunts it was decided I would just do the chicken. Now I must confess me and cooking chicken for my relatives and extended family always comes with a running inside the family joke, as my cousin Mack put it so perfectly "I don't know why you cook something and expect it to be here when you get back". Now I will confess my "famous" chicken is actually a family undertaking, yes I decide how hot the fire is, how many wood chips will be thrown in to each batch, and when I will pull it off but the spices as well as the spice combination is usually decided by my mother. The sauce that is usually added most times is added by Ero Kitsune, yes he has other skills besides just forcing me to sit through bad movies or coming up with catchy derogatory titles for movies, sometimes I will do it(but I will usually be dead tired by the time sauce making commences so usually his sauce is better than mine), this year it was handled by dad since Kitsune was the only brother who decided to work today(I have an excuse I was on the grill, Lank not so much unless you count Infamous 2 as some holy undertaking).

After buying my first batch of supplies my mother started marinating the chicken for me while I cleaned my grill, as not to fight over space I grabbed a large Tupperware bowl, put some soap in it, grabbed my grill brush, and decided to do the cleaning outside. a few passes of the brush to remove any leftover grease and or schmutz off each grate and a quick blast with the hose and 25 minutes later I was done. Now while I don't use all of my father's "Country Boy Grilling techniques"(my father was born and raised in AR), I do subscribe to the cover your grates in foil and pop holes through it technique. It still lets the smoke through, controls some of the flame ups,(some not all not claiming this is some holy grail of flame maintenance), and it cuts down on the amount of cleaning I have to do later. The only caveat is that I don't get the grill marks most people who just touch the food straight to the grate get, there is still minor stickage as well but no where near as bad as straight metal on flesh. This year was also a new medium for me: leg quarters. Usually I make chicken breasts and we pound them out flat so that they cook faster, but since I was cooking all of the chicken and not just trying to win the barbecue contest we decided the leg quarters would allow for more for everyone while maximizing cooking space.

T-minus *bleep, bleep, bleep*

At the moment I am starting this post I have 6 hours 53 minutes before I plan to walk and go see The Hangover 2, this is important because I STILL have yet to write the KFP2 review. It's started(well I have the title and the first line, though I may change the title no make that I am definitely changing the title) and I want to completely have every last word written before I go see the next movie and get on the clock for that review. I also need to clean the grill today, I may not stoke the flames tomorrow but I need to be prepared for it just in case. Especially if the weather is nice, what because of all this annoying weather we have been having down in the midsouth lots of rain and win, very little sun it's hard on a charcoal enthusiast(Nothing against you gas heads, I just like the conquest of just getting the coals to stay hot and lit, completely personal) to get his fix of soot in his facer and good smells in his nose.

I still need to go out and purchase a new grill, I really do envision some side by side action, one grill fired up for the burgers, dogs, chicken sausages and pineapples possibly even the pounded chicken breasts. The other for the ribs, maybe some brisket,  little shoulder me, my parents and siblings(except for the girl, we have crazy nicknames let it go) may be on a pork light diet but the rest of my southern relations are of no such compunction. Plus as I NEVER saw my chicken last year at the family reunion I would like to have more than one dish available so that I can track it as well as taste my own food. Luckily I had gotten a few pieces before the pan disappeared again, the chicken breast bandits strike without mercy, I'll get the empty pan back but if I don't make sure I stake my plate out first I will be a non chicken breast eating sole. I also have a few tricks I want to pull out this year POSSIBLY, I have just over a month before the contest and still no grill these are big plans for equipment I don't have yet.