Celebrate The Independence of Your Nation By Blowing Up a Small Part of It

It's the Fourth of July and that means a few different things.

First, it means people are setting off fireworks all day and all night. (And it looks like it's not just here.) This one, obviously was the inspiration for the Simpsons quote in the title.

Second, it means that it's a great time to toss a slab of deceased bovine on the grill and have a cook-out.

In fact, I'm smoking a brisket right now. The problem with smoking the brisket is that, while there is an incredible amount of time when nothing is going on, there are still things that must be done (check on the fire, check on the wood chips, go out and apply the mop) that will prevent anything else from being done at the same time. This leaves one with an incredible amount of time for self-contemplation or, in my case, to worry about the food. Is the fire too hot? Is it still going? I'm using applewood instead of hickory, will that taste as good? Did I make the spice rub properly? This is why even if it involves no more activity than sitting around, cooking exhausts me.

I hope you are all having a happy, stress free Fourth of July.

Until later...