Marlin 795 Rifle Scope - Intensity 4-12x44mm AO unboxed

Here is the Intensity 4-12x44mm AO scope that is going on my Marlin 795. I am mounting it using a One Piece Mount that will be extremely secure and prevent and scope movement. The scope mount rings you see in the pics below are going on another rifle, and it's a bolt-action unlike the Marlin 795 semi-automatic.




** Updated Pics - Intensity Scope Installed the Marlin 795 **

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Marlin 795 Rifle - Value .22LR plinker fun

I started modifying the Marlin 795 later in the afternoon and just brought the ATI Fiberforce stock inside from recent painting since its warmer then my garage and I wanted to see it installed. I didn't receive my scope this week as I thought I would so that will go on next week. I also just received my Caldwell NXT rest the other day. I am going to go ahead and bring the Marlin to the range tomorrow for kicks and test out the iron sights. My rear sight was installed crooked, looking down sights it is way to the right. Very tiny rifle compared to my old bolt action. Looking forward to tomorrow!

I also used the Krylon Camouflage paints (khaki, olive, brown) ... forgot to add that I used Krylon Matte clear on top of the paint in hopes of added durability.







Here are few pictures of the ATI Fiberforce stock modification using a Dremel and high speed cutter bit. Since it wasn't made for the Marlin 795 you have to remove the section in (pic 2) to fit the magazine. And also on the bottom of the stock you must remove a little of the stock to make a recessed area to fit the Marlin 795 trigger guard (pic 3)


Pic 1

Pic 2

Pic 3

Pic 4

Overall a fairly easy task to adapt the Ati Fiberforce stock to a Marlin 795 and might be worth a little coin and effort to experience a different feel for the rifle.

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Smoked Meatloaf - Bacon Wrapped and Other Versions Weekend Smoke

I haven't done Meatloaf on the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) in quite a long time so while I was at the store I picked up the necessary ingredients and thought I would add a little variety to the cook this time by adding a few more ingredients. I purchased  4lbs Ground Beef, 2lbs Ground Pork, 1lb Bacon, Red and White Onions, Zucchini and the rest of the ingredients I already had at home.

So with the amount of meat that I purchased I was going to make two separate loaves and try different ingredients in each. While this would be fine, I figured what the heck, I'll make 4 different loaves and see if I come across anything that is remarkably better than the other Meatloaves that I've had. A quick look around the kitchen to see what I had and I was off with my plan. Here is what I came up with for the 4 loaves. Before adding the unique ingredients of each I mixed all the meat together with the sautéed onions, red bell peppers, garlic, then ground pepper, corn flakes, saltines, oats, then lightly dusted with BBQ rub I had left from the Butt/Chuck smoke, after mixing with my hands I then added 6 beaten eggs and sectioned off 4 pieces to make the individual 4 loaves:


Meatloaf #1 - Double OG (onion garlic)

• red and white onions diced (doubled)
• garlic freshly minced (doubled)
• red bell peppers diced
  
• corn flakes, saltines, oats
• eggs beaten
• bacon wrap
  

Meatloaf #2 - Zucchini Mushroom

• red and white onions diced 
  
• garlic freshly minced
• red bell peppers diced
  
• corn flakes, saltines, oats
• eggs beaten
• zucchini diced
• mushrooms diced
• bacon wrap
  

Meatloaf #3 - Jalapeño

• red and white onions diced
  
• garlic freshly minced 
  
• red bell peppers diced
  
• corn flakes, saltines, oats
• eggs beaten
• jalapeño fresh (2) de-seeded diced

Meatloaf #4 - Salsa, Black Beans & Cilantro

• red and white onions diced 
  
• garlic freshly minced 
  
• red bell peppers diced
  
• corn flakes, saltines, oats
  
• eggs beaten
• salsa
• black beans
• cilantro fresh
• chili spices(new mex, ancho pasilla)
  

After all the loaves where formed I placed each on wax paper and lightly dusted with BBQ rub.

The WSM was filled with 1.25 chimneys of Kingsford charcoal and Cherry and Hickory wood chunks. It was at 325° when I placed the waterless foiled pan on and then on the lower grate I added the Salsa Bean and the Jalapeño loaves. The upper grate was installed and the 2 bacon wrapped loaves (zucchi-mushroom, doubleOG) went on. I placed a probe in one of the loaves on the lower grate and one probe to the upper loaf to monitor temperatures.

First basting with the 2 different glazes came on when the loaves hit 155°, the WSM smoker was running around 295°. The bottom loaves got a glaze of ketchup and Tapatio hot sauce, chile powders. The upper loaves got a glaze of BBQ sauce, Ketchup, brown sugar.

After around 10-15 additional minutes the loaves reached an internal of 165° and I removed them from the smoker. The rested with a aluminum foil lightly covering the top then sliced and sampled. My impressions were the additional spices and salt could have easily been increased to all the loaves. Each had a very mild taste as I was very light on adding spices. There was no clear winner out of the 4 loaves we tried. Perhaps when the second or the third servings are devoured we'll have a favorite. The Jalapeño was not spicy at all and I could've increased the amount added to that loaf. The Salsa bean loaf flavor wasn't nearly as flavorful as I thought it would be with the strong ingredients added, especially the chili powder. They each were very delicious and had great smoke flavor and added depth with the glaze and different ingredients. I'm looking forward to the arduous task of judging the leftovers until they're finished.


Bacon Wrapped Double Onion Garlic & Zucchini Mushroom Meatloaf



Salsa Black Bean Cilantro & Jalapeño Meatloaf


Bacon Wrap Zucchini Mushroom Sliced


Salso Black Bean Cilantro Sliced


Jalapeño Sliced

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WSM - Pork Butt and Beef Chuck Roast Weekend Smoke

I purchased 3 Picnic Pork Butts and 1 Beef Chuck Roast for dinner this Sunday evening. I fully plan on having lots of leftovers and will vacuum seal most with the Foodsaver. I am getting a very late start this Sunday as it is almost noon. Didn't feel like doing my traditional overnight due to several factors including the wind and light rain that started late last night. We have an overcast day today but the wind has died down and a only a little chance of rain in evening.




I set up the WSM (Weber Smoky Mountain) with two chimneys full of unlit Kingsford charcoal and then added my smoke wood, 2  pieces of Hickory, 1 piece of Apricot, 3 pieces of Cherry wood. I foiled a water pan to obtain higher cook temperatures since I'm short on time. My usual plan would be adding the larger Brinkmann water pan filled with warm water and relax for a 12-14hr cook at 220°-230°. I currently have the 3 bottom vents open at 50/50/0 and I am more than likely going to have to adjust the vents in the cook to start low and based on time open them up to speed the cook. The WSM was running 270° so I then changed vents to 50/0/0. I don't want to be outside tending the cook and pulling pork late in the evening but for the most part I'll just let the WSM do it's thing. Meat temperatures are being monitored remotely with my Maverick thermometer with 2 probes. One is being used on the upper Pork Butt and the other in the Beef Chuck roast also on the upper grate. Made a quick rub with the following:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 kosher salt
• 3 TBS turbinado sugar
• 3 TBS granulated garlic
• 3 TBS granulated onion
• 2 TBS new mexico chile fresh ground
• 2 TBS ancho pasilla chile fresh ground
• 2 TBS minced dried garlic
• 1 TBS coarse ground black pepper
  
• 1 TBS oregano dried
• 3 tsp old bay seasoning
• 2 tsp thyme
  
• 2 tsp all spice
• 2 tsp cumin
  
• 2 tsp seasoning salt

Will update as the cook progresses -

Here is the beer assortment that my Brother brought over, he's running another Triathlon this weekend so no brew for him. I've had some of these before but the new ones are the Don De Dieu and the little Budda (novelty -lucky drink co. china). others - Celebrator  / Afflingem /  Samuel Smith

Updated 2pm - Beef was at 168° so I decided to pull it off take a few pics, foil it, then return it to the smoker until fork tender. Pork is at 155°ish

Updated 2:45pm - WSM @ 265° and upper pork @ 164°


Updated 3:20pm - WSM @ 255° opened and checked tenderness of Beef and used fork to sample end cut - delicious and internal 210°, lots of juice! I decided to leave the beef, pork looks good, put the other probe in one of the lower pork to get temps.  Upper pork 168° lower pork 162°

Update 4:30pm - WSM @ 260° - fork tender throughout, removed top foil and sample for snacking. Ready to remove and then add more pics.

Update 5:05pm  - WSM @ 270° - took off the Beef Chuck and brought inside to rest. It didn't get a lot of rest, constant fingers taking samples off. Made a couple tacos while still monitoring temps of Pork.

Corn tortillas in a pan with a tad butter to warm them up, added pulled beef when I could stop putting directly into my mouth, fresh jalapeños diced with onions and tomatoes, cilantro, queso fresco cheese, cheddar, hot sauce red, green sauce

Update End Of Cook - Pork was taken off the smoker around 5:50pm and foiled and place back on the smoker. I would have preferred not to foil the Pork as normally done during my other low and slow cooks. Finally at 7:10-7:50pm I took the foiled Pork off and left them rest. Pulled the Pork later and noticed almost no fat, all rendered off very well, only thing that really got thrown away was the bones that came out very easily. Good Pork Picnics that are cooling off in the fridge and most will go into vacuum sealed Foodsaver bags with ample amount saved for meals in the fridge separately.

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Smoked Turkey Injection Seasoning - Labor Day Weekend

Finally got around to smoking another Turkey in the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) cooker. The last Turkey that I smoked was last year, during thanksgiving where I did a total of two in the smoker. And we did a traditional oven cooked Turkey for a total of three.

This Labor Day weekend I smoked an injected Turkey. The injection included the following:

• 1/4 Apple Juice
  
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1 tsp Granulated Garlic
• 1 tsp Granulated Onion
• 1 tsp New Mexico Chile powder
• 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper

Following the injection I next added BBQ rub both over the entire Turkey and under the skin near the breast. The first rub was one of my own from another cook and the second was a light sprinkling of Tony Chachere's which is a very salty rub, so I used it sparingly. The Turkey was then returned to the fridge as I got the WSM ready.




 WSM was setup using a chimney of Kingsford lit, another chimney of kingsford on top, and finally the smoke wood was added. So the fire had the following

• (2) chimneys - 12lbs approx Kingsford
• (3) Cherry wood chunks
  
• (2) Apricot wood chunks(one added later)

Foiled empty water pan, and an empty aluminum disposable pan to catch drippings and to hold turkey trimmings. The Turkey was then added to the top grate on the WSM and during this windy day the somewhat protected WSM was hovering around 300° with 1 vent off and 2 others at 50% open. I was using a Maverick remote temperature probe that was placed in the thicker part of the Turkey breast with the alarm set to notify at 160° internal. The entire cook was completed in 3 hours, a little faster then needed as the guests were arriving later then anticipated. So the Turkey was removed when the breast was in between 164°-170° and then it was wrapped snuggly in aluminum foil and placed in a cooler with two larger towels above and below to maintain heat. It held it's heat pretty well considering after we had worked all the appetizers and various other treats we finally got around to having our larger meal. After 4 hours the Turkey was still hot but could be carefully handled without burning when trimming.

Other meal items prepared where 10lbs Russet potatoes with additional Yams added then lightly mashed with butter, pepper, salt, granulated garlic. The gravy was comprised on the Turkey giblets and the drippings from the pan that was underneath the Turkey in the smoker. The drippings were very salty as expected mostly due to the Tony Chachere's rub I placed liberally in the body cavity. Also in the gravy were the pan leftovers from the ABT's (stuffed jalapeños) that were cooked in the oven so there was a lot of charred goodness from that. Cornbread that was cooked in the oven and had additional jalapeños and green onions added. A side salad with mixed greens, apples, walnuts, red onions and a raspberry vinaigrette.

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HobbyZone Super Cub returns to the air with new color

I have neglected my old workhorse, the HobbyZone Super Cub for far too long. With the addition of the ParkZone Corsair F4U and most recently ParkZone Radian I found less time to fly the ole' Cub. One of it's strengths is the ease of flights and less aggressive flying dynamics that make it a perfect trainer for the new pilot. I will always have a Super Cub in the hangar for this exact reason. As friends and family become interested, I have handed over the controls to the Super Cub to many new fliers after a short instruction. The most recent crash with the Super Cub was a result of a new flier and even though I had all the replacement parts delivered, I never put the Cub back to flight worthiness until last night. I added some high visibility trim strips from Monokote (Day-Glo Red) to the upper wing and tail rudder. After a range check I took the Cub out to the flying field even though it was very breezy. I did the same lipo conversion that I had on my previous Cub and placed my stock Corsair 3s1800mAh lipo in the bottom. I used my Skymate sm18 to check the wind speed out of curiosity and found that my guesstimate was pretty accurate. Winds were averaging 15mph and gusts up to 20mph during a couple minute test period. I was confident on my pre-flight and power of the lipo to pull the Cub out of harms way if needed.



The flight went pretty smooth, less than half throttle and the Cub would practically not move in the air, almost hovering and stuck in the wind. Tip the nose and add power and I was able to make headway. Performed a few instant flips heading into the wind, a few large circles and low flyby's feeling how difficult a landing would be. I landed after 15mins(no wheels) in the grass field just to check over the decals and surface areas incl rubber bands etc. All was well and the motor being new smelled a little as it was getting broken in for the first time and was warm. I readied for another hand launch and had the Super Cub in the air for 20 secs when throttle cut off, I still had control of plane so I just landed off in the field and figured it was a low battery cutoff. Yep, low-batt cutoff as I forgot to charge the 1800 fully before I left! It was reading 10.v right there on the spot. It was a good flight so I just decided to call it a day at the field and will make a return visit with additional color on the wing and other planes.

Thoughts - the new Trim sheet color(day-glo red) however bright as they are up close were not as noticeable at altitude as the trim colors I recently tried on the Corsair(yellow). That surprised me, so I have to try a little yellow or maybe the neon green I bought recently on the Super Cub's wings.

Here are my other RC posts

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WSM - Whole Beef Brisket, Chicken Quarters and ABT's

Well the weekend has arrived! The Beef Brisket prices around my area haven't been on sale for quite awhile but I picked a whole un-trimmed packer Beef Brisket 12+lbs @ $2.22lb, which was a lot less then several other large supermarkets.


Prep and Rub

Purchased 2 packages of dried chiles. Pasilla Ancho and New Mexico chiles. Even though they are dried they contain a lot of moisture so I cut open the chiles and de-seeded them and then placed on a cookie sheet into a 220° oven for 20mins. After they are left out to cool then directly added to a coffee/spice grinder.

The Brisket was trimmed of a lot of fat(optional) as I wanted the rub to penetrate closer to the meat. I then added the following for the rub. Granulated Onion & Garlic, Chili(ancho pasilla), brown sugar, Chili(new mexico), fresh ground pepper, allspice, kona coffee, thyme, etc. Lightly salted with Kosher salt before adding rub.


I'm updating as the cook progresses so thats what I have thus far. The WSM is cruising along at 345° for a high heat cook and I'm enjoying my first beer and trying out my new remote Thermometer.

update - 1:50pm - peeked in on Brisket and its looking good and smells great, smoker running 345ish and the Brisket is at 150

Update 2:30pm - removed brisket from smoker, was around 160° and after foiling returned to smoker for finishing. Good color, burnt end was tasty, when sliced it'll be good to see if it needs anything additional (rub was a low salt version)

Updated 5pmish - Wind picked up last few hours and the charcoal is running low so I just let it slowly do it's thing. Smoker temperature steadily lowered and temps around 250° before brisket was removed. It's still resting but I took a small piece to appease the cook before the feast

Update: sliced after resting-
nice color inside, the flat was easy to slice as it was a little firmer than the point.  The point was very tender and moist with great flavor due to the additional fat in the area. Mostly eating the brisket as is and using the additional Red No. 5 sauce every so often. Here are the updated pics after slicing

 

Brisket flat

BBQ links to forums and helpful information

• The Virtual Weber Bullet BBQ forum (wsm smoker) 
• TVWB High heat brisket discussion (here) another (here)
• My other BBQ cook logs with Pictures Here
  

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ParkZone Radian - What A Few Months Off And No Coffee Equals

A recipe for disaster. The winds the morning I woke up early where nearly non-existent and in my rush to get out to the park and avoid the crowds I hastily grabbed my flight bag and the Parkzone Radian. I was excited to finally get it into the air for the first time in over 2 months. I had just returned from Lake Tahoe, where I was on vacation and was planning on bringing the Radian to get aerial videos of the the lake and surrounding area. There just wasn't enough room in the vehicle without damaging the Radian so I left it at home. So now, finally getting the chance to get the Radian in the air, I grabbed my flight bag and was off to the a local park where I fly.



Upon arriving, there was just a small family on the nearby playground equipment and a morning walker or two. I made my way onto the expansive green park lawn with basically the whole park to myself. A 350 yard stretch in one direction by another 150 yards in another, rare in this area for a freshly cut grass landing. I caught the attention of a young Father with his two kids who started to make his way to my start location to watch the launch. I put together the Radian, checked voltages on my batteries, checked wing alignment and trim on elev and rudder, did a range check and readied my stopwatch to keep track of the flight. The Father and his two kids settled on the park bench about 15 yards back and we exchanged good mornings as he told his kids to watch the airplane take off. I walked off to my usual starting point and hand tossed the Radian in the air under a little more the ¾ throttle, easily making altitude before I throttled down and began to familiarize myself with the flight controls and flying the Radian, cobwebs were steadily disappearing just under 2 mins into the flight when during a left hand turn one of the wings came off! The Father says, "OH NO!", I respond "OH NO is RIGHT!" I'm shocked while watching the Radian, nose first with one wing still intact in a death spiral, no input on rudder or elevator is affecting the inevitable. It crashed pretty hard into the grass about 120 yards away, that I can be thankful for. The rogue wing decided it wanted to take a more slower and graceful flight back to earth then gently landed about 20 yards from the plane with no damage soon after. I took the walk or jog of shame with my DX5 radio in hand to survey the wreckage. Embarrassment, disappointment, and the lack of knowing what the heck happened fueled my rush to examine the plane and get back to my flight bag to see if it is repairable.

Picking up all the litter was hard, all the work and time I spent on adding the paint and strengthening the fuselage and other various items. This was the first time really where I had a major crash that was going to require a lot of time and worse MONEY to recover from. The Radian is filled with expensive electronic equipment and the parts like the wing and fuselage are not cheap by any means. It becomes quickly apparent that I will not be flying anymore that day, or the next day for that matter as the fuselage is split and the wing damaged on initial inspection. I got back to my flight bag and original launch area hoping that my accident wasn't noticed by too many on lookers. Thankfully the young Father spared me the embarrassment of having to show him the damage as he left with his kids allowing me a private moment with the remains of my favorite plane =). So off to my vehicle with a ravaged Radian and my head low knowing I was about to spend a lot of time at the Hobby shop ordering parts.

edit- I just added some post crash pics of the Radian for those of you who enjoy my misery lol. I already have the parts ordered from my local Hobby shop but just recently noticed my ESC has sustained damage! The crash was the result of the carbon spar rod not being installed in wing. It was left at home and the only thing holding the wings on were the neodymium magnets I installed when I first purchased the plane. I only realized this after returning and going over the damage and realized the spar was nowhere to be found. I thought it came off in the wreck and I perhaps missed it when retrieving the wreckage.






Here are some links that I used for the repair:

1. Parkzone Main - parts listing home(parkzone.com) 
2. Hobbyzone.com Radian parts listing(auth retailer)
3. RedRocket Hobbies Radian parts listing(auth retailer)
4. EBAY - search on "Parkzone Radian"
   

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WSM Smoker Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin Stuffed and Peppers

Another Pork loin stuffed and smoked on the Weber Smokey Mountain smoker. This was a request from a family member for our vacation up to Lake Tahoe, California. The plan was to roll slice the Pork loin and add similar stuffing ingredients as I've done before except that I will add a Bacon wrap around the Garlic/Spinach/Mushroom to give it additional flavor. I also added fresh Sourdough bread(should've toasted) in place of using croutons or bread crumb stuffing. Here are a few pics of the BBQ which turned out great.
(previous stuffed loin cooks with similar ingredients and pics here, and  here )





The meal was cooked the day before then I used my Foodsaver vacuum sealer to seal the whole meal and place in the fridge. I followed other cooks advice who use a pot full of boiling water to reheat the meal directly in the package to ensure moistness. It was the first time I reheated in this fashion as I usually will use the oven or for smaller portions the all familiar Microwave. The ABT's (stuffed jalapeños) have to be reheated in the oven to obtain the crisp bacon and allowing the firmness of the pepper to retain.

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WSM: Pork Loin Stuffed - Garlic Mushroom and Apple Cranberry

Here are the pics from the weekend using the WSM (Weber Smokey Mountain) smoker. I bought a 10.14lb Pork Loin that I sliced in half and then roll sliced the two pieces for 2 different stuffings.




Pork Loin Stuffings

1. Freshly minced garlic 1 bulb, 10oz sliced mushrooms, red onions, spinach, salt pepper and some bbq rub, into skillet for just about 5 mins to meld the flavors, added a little white wine and then a package of Corn Bread stuffing mix, mixed and set aside.


2. Granny Smith apples, Cranberries(ocean spray sweetened cranberries in bag) about 1 handful, red onion, Orange rind and juice and half orange added, fresh ground pepper and salt and added to skillet for 5mins approx and a little cornbread stuffing mix that was left over.





Loin Prep / Pre Smoke

After roll slicing the 2 pork loins I salt and peppered the inside and added stuffing, rolled the stuffing, and then used 100% cotton butcher twine to tie and secure, salt pepper the outside on each. I added just a dusting of bbq spice on the Mushroom Garlic.

WSM Smoking

Used the middle grate for the Pork Loins and the empty, foiled water pan, it was around 320° when I added the loins. I had Apricot wood chunks and a chunk of Hickory for this cook.

About 25mins later I finished preparing the ABT (stuffed Jalapenos) and I added those to the upper grate. (creams cheese, red onion, bbq spice rub, covered in bacon)

Into the cook about 1.5 hours I added my first glaze to the Apple Cran loin. The glaze was heated in a saucepan till bubbling and consisted of Blackberry preserves and lemon juice. I applied the second time about 15mins before removing the loins. The Garlic Mushroom was not touched once it was on the WSM, but they both received drippings from the ABT's above, heavenly bacon drippings!

Finished

Abt's were on for approx 1h45mins and then off
Pork Loin had about a 2h45min cook to 160° internal temp. The WSM went from 320­° - 280° throughout the cook.

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WSM Smoker Weekend: Roaster Chicken, Sausage Fattie and ABT's

Skinless trial Roaster Chicken


Fired up the WSM(Weber Smokey Mountain) again this weekend and grabbed three Roaster Chickens from the store along with a roll of Jimmy Dean sage sausage and 15 fresh Jalapeños and a 1lb of bacon. I changed my normal process with the Roaster Chickens a little. I butterflied the Chicken as normal, removing the backbone and cutting to make two equal halves. This time I removed the majority of the skin, mostly the breast and thigh areas. I was attempting to see how the rub and marinade would cover the chicken in a more direct way to the meat instead of the skin. After skinning and washing the chicken I applied my rub. Two different ones, but they both contained the usual Salt Pepper, garlic, sugar. I went with a soy marinade with a little white vinegar and a little more sugar(white,turbinado. The second was a beer and fresh rosemary mix that would sit for a couple hours.

continued..................


The smoker was fired up with Kingsford briquets and since we have an abundant source of orchard smoke wood here in California I went and got a 4-fist size piece of Apricot. The smoker was reaching 350º+ with the waterpan in place but empty and foiled, I wanted a higher smoke temp for the chicken/sausage/abt's. Chicken was added shortly after.

  The Sausage Fattie was next and I stuffed with a mixture of onion, mushroom, salt, pepper, Parmesan and rolled it all together on placed on the top grill with some of the other chicken. Everything was pulled in about 1.5 - 2hours and I then had room to put the Jalapeño peppers on. The ABT peppers where relatively mild and the easiest way for me to determine this is when I'm slicing the hotter Jalapeno peppers usually send their fumes into my eyes and nostrils. I could tell the somewhat larger peppers wouldn't be as hot as others in the past. I still de-seeded and de-veined the peppers and stuffed with cream cheese and BBQ rub and wrapped the halved peppers with 1/2 slice of bacon for every half pepper. In order to get the remaining coals working I propped the lid on the WSM a little in hope to achieve hotter grill temperature which was beneath 300º. 45-60mins later I everything was ready for the meal.


My thoughts on the skinless chicken was that the outer meat was drier based on not having the skin and accompanying fat layer. It did however take on more of the rub and marinade taste into the meat as expected. With chicken that is skinless a higher temp, faster cook, for smoking would of had less dry outside meat but it was delicious, and once past the outside layer the whole chicken was very moist as usual. So between the 2 different rubs and marinade chicken the beer rosemary was ok, the soy, vinegar, garlic taste was very good. The saltiness of the soy/vinegar allowed it to penetrate more through the chicken as is usual. Keep the beer marinade for marinating the cooks, the chicken with the rosemary would of been better without it. The fattie was just ok, have had a lot better, the abt's always a hit, and these were VERY mild and had no surprises with very hot ones. All the peppers were extremely mild due to the batch and longer cook time, they were like popping candy.

I still prefer the SKIN ON -  Roaster Chicken that I usually cook like this previous Cook log

Click here for additional BBQ's using the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker

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WSM Smoked Pork Spare Ribs and ABT's

Passed by the local supermarket to see what they were offering for my next meal on the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker. I was mainly looking for something either in a Brisket, Pork Butt, Pork Ribs. They had a great selection and figured a shorter 4-5 hour cook was what I was in the mood for with some good ole' spare ribs and Jalapeño stuffed peppers aka ABT's. I paid ($1.78lb / 12.53lbs / $22.30) for a cryovac of Spare Ribs.


Once the Pork Spare ribs were home, I removed them from the cryovac package and thoroughly washed them in the sink. Some people do not bother washing their ribs but this is a step I always take with all my poultry and pork. I laid the ribs on my larger cutting board and using a sharp boning knife I cut them St. Louis style, again just my habits as they will work just fine directly on the smoker without trimming. I mixed some fresh rub, limiting some of the chili quantity this time as the chili became bitter last time when I applied a little too much. Also added salt, pepper, kosher salt, garlic, cumin, sugar both brown and turbinado, cayenne pepper, onion powder etc.

The ribs, now rubbed were sitting for a 45min's while I got to the smoker ready. I added a full water pan and plenty of smoke wood from our local orchards. This time a mix between Cherry and Apricot, and since I had plenty and it was a mild wood I thought I would add more wood chunks than usual to test the smokiness and just how well the ribs accepted it. The Weber Smokey Mountain smoker was at an easy 300° pretty quickly in our 90° weather. I then added a rib rack(upside down turkey roaster rack) and added the ribs to the middle section of the smoker, just above the filled water pan. The trimmed pieces filled the upper grate. The spares and the trimmed cuts where cooking at 230-250° highest was 280° or so thru my Tel-tru thermometer in the lid. The whole meal was about a 4.5 hours cook time, including taking them off for a quick BBQ sauce glaze and returning to smoker, the trimmings came off earlier as "chef treats".


Off the smoker, with just a little bbq sauce glaze that was added 10mins before, additional sauce(s) served on the side










The ABT's went on the upper grate as soon as the ribs and trimmings were removed, this was kind of backwards having the appetizers last but I was more interested in eating ribs then the Jalapenos.

The ribs turned out great and were extremely tender with a nice blend of spices and sweetness from the glaze. Another easy and fantastic cook from the WSM, and god bless the pig for all it's tastiness.

Here are a few other pics of the cook.

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Attack Of The Killer Tumbleweeds

The last few weeks the backyard has become a drop zone for the thorny tumbleweed invaders. The vile tumbleweeds are thorny as hell and far too large to keep in our yard recycle bin.So the easiest solution thus far has to string them up with butcher twine and literally drag them behind a vehicle to the empty field to dispose of them there. I have taken this trip 4 times already with over 15 tumbleweeds in these last few weeks. And then this HUGE ass Tumbleweed decided to invade the property, and chose our pond as the crossover point in the yard.

Soon I will ONCE AGAIN round them all up (tumbleweeds) and make yet another trip to the border to drop off the uninvited guests. Don't suppose a No Trespass sign will do any good.

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Parkzone F4U Corsair first real damage

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Well it was bound to happen, just not the way I envisioned it. It wasn't spectacular it was just a failure to pre-flight check everything as thorough as I should've. I haven't flown the plane or any of my RC planes for a few months. So I grabbed the 11.1v lipos and charged the batteries to capacity after checking that the resting voltage was ok. The lipo's checked out and took a balanced full charge. Next step was to install the batteries and turn on my DX5 transmitter for a flight control check at home. All checked out and control surfaces as well as prop sounded and looked great. So off to run errands and I brought the Parkzone Corsair F4U and 3 batteries and figured I find a new area to fly and dust off some cobwebs.

So after the errands, I went to a huge retail outlet that has empty parking and empty fields galore. Eager to fly, I grab the plane, flight bag, and walk to an empty street that is gated off for new construction. There isn't any pedestrian or vehicle traffic and the adjacent fields look perfect for a few flights. Again performed a visual test with battery installed and radio on, prop runs strong. I set the Corsair on the ground and did a rolling take off (ROG). Not even 10 secs later I lose input control off the plane, throttle and control surfaces aren't responding and she flies left in an arc about 30yards away to the ground. WTF just happened! First crash of the Corsair and I would of expected it to be a lot more brutal than that. With all the aerobatics, flights carrying video camera, many times losing visual orientation, stalls, inverted close calls and other crap I have done since I purchased it and I crash on take off. Pretty damn wimpy! After standing over the plane and taking note of the extent of damage it received I'm somewhat relieved that I get away with so little. I damaged a wing, the landing gear tore off, and little dings here and there.

The PROBLEM: Transmitter/radio batteries! There are LED lights on the radio that indicate the power level of the batts. It was still within green and I was using the included stock AA's batteries. But when I arrived home and was trouble shooting the problem the LED's went to red. A quick test of refreshed AA's batteries in the radio solved all the range problems and connection issues.

The SOLUTION: my favorite glue, Gorilla Glue and a little patience. The damage was minimal

After allowing the glue to set I was out flying that evening in my main flying area. The plane flew great and it was fun to get back in the air again. I have since been using the DX5's range test feature which allows you to decrease the transmitter power and then you walk 30 paces away to simulate reaching the range limits of the radio. Better safe then sorry and another learning experience not to always rely on the DX5's led indicators for batteries.

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7.62x54r Ammo 182 grain FMJBT Ball arrives

My order of Yugoslavian 7.62x54r ammo just arrived and I'm interested how this will run through my rifle compared to the steel core that I have. The majority of the firearm ranges here in California have banned the use of steel core ammo based on it's tendency to spark when hitting metal and igniting fires in the hillside. Not to mention the penetration of the steel core has given a reputation of "armor piercing" which scares the un-informed to believing it's illegal. The ammunition that is most prevalent on the market just happens to be steel core so you have to locate and then pay a premium for this lead core ammo that just arrived.

Here are some pics of 2 different ammunition. Steel core 150 grain(green) VS Lead core 182 grain(brass).

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Thanksgiving Smoker WSM: The Super Cub... Carcass and Carnage

Happy Thanksgiving!
So the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker turned out some great Thanksgiving day turkeys. I had (2) 15lb turkeys and used an Garlic oil, dark ale, cayenne injection and stuffed another with apple and fresh rosemary sprigs. They were on the WSM for 4hrs and the 2nd one off at 5hours. Pics were taken as soon as the Turkeys were taken off the smoker and placed in a pan to rest. I missed taking pics of the full table spread but it was fantastic and PLENTIFUL. Many left with a lot of leftovers that come in so handy later in the evening and especially the next day.

Injection Turkey

Rosemary apple

The turkeys were extremely moist and had reached 175º in the breast which was higher than I originally wanted to reach. The Rosemary Turkey stayed on longer since it was on the lower grate and I wrapped in foil to try to retain moisture and have it pull a little.

SUPER CUB

Later in the day I had family try one of my RC planes, the Super Cub. It's the easiest to fly and with the new Lipos can approach 20mins flying time. First beginner pilot went fine and performed a few loops without difficulty. The second beginner pilot performed a inside loop then immediately followed with an outside loop. THE WING FOLDED. Even though I had support tape and the struts on, the outside loop put pressure on the wing area that wasn't protected. I have his support for the parts needed and I'm guilty for allowing him to stunt fly the plane on his very first flight but I had no idea that he would attempt aerobatics =). So on Thanksgiving add that to my list of what I'm thankful for.... not allowing them to fly the Parkzone F4U Corsair I just purchased.

Super Cub aftermath

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Spareribs - Smoked St. Louis Style and ABT's

Again using the Weber Smokey Mountain cooker aka WSM. Full chimney of charcoal and fist size chunks of Hickory wood and a handful of apple during cook.

Three nice racks of Pork Spareribs, I then trimmed St. Louis style. Dry ribs with various homemade rub, sauce on the side for those who like 'em wet. I prefer BOTH!

Ribs and stuffed Jalapeños and Anaheim peppers cream cheese w/rub mixed and bacon wrapped.

*additional BBQ Smoker pictures are posted here

Trimming and easy prep for St. Louis style ribs

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Roaster Chicken and Turkey breast

Whole roaster chicken that was butterflied then halved. Marinated in the "roadside chicken" recipe that contains a lot of apple vinegar, salt pepper, garlic, citrus, Worcestershire, and brown sugar. I think the the Turkey breast was just rubbed with some homemade version. It came out juicy even though the bottom pics appear dry. I will certainly have to put a whole turkey(s) in next time for a longer cook. Look out Turkeys, Thanksgiving is right around the corner!

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Pics

This page is a little unorganized with all the volume and different type of pics that I have added.
The easist way to find what you are looking for would be the google search box listed on my site

  AND/OR

Clicking on specific labels to see my pics - such as my BBQ tag page or my RC tag page

I hope to organize this a little better soon sorry for the mess




1.) Pork Butt overnighter 14+ hour cook BBQ -




2.) Summertime Baby back ribs and Sausage fatties plus high heat Pork Butt




3.) Roaster chicken and Turkey breast




4.) Stuffed Pork Loin




5.) Pork Spareribs and ABT's

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