It’s okay to use an electric smoker in a thunderstorm, right? (Either way, it’s happening. This pulled pork takes about 10 hours and I’d rather not eat at midnight.)
Now’s as good a time as any to out myself: I’m a proud Traeger owner.
This wasn’t intentional. I was making do just fine with my Weber Smokey Mountain charcoal/wood smoker. Granted, I didn’t use it all that often, just because it was so labor-intensive. Smoking required constant adjustment of the dampers to maintain the proper temperature. Adding additional charcoal and wood chips to keep the flames going, and water to the pan. I had to plan my entire day around it, because I had to check on it every 20-30 minutes.
A few weeks ago, we were walking through Home Depot and passed a Traeger display. All smokers were 25% off, which in this case meant a $200 savings. “We should buy one,” Tara said, much to my surprise. I’d longed for a pellet smoker from the start and had a bunch of money saved up for something fun from my freelancing work earlier this year, so it didn’t take much to twist my arm. I even paid for professional assembly, ’cause let’s face it, me putting things together often results in disaster.
I was hooked from the first cook. I have the Traeger Pro 575 and, I gotta say, it’s a game-changer. WiFIRE® technology lets me control everything from an app on my phone, and there’s a vast library of recipes that I can send directly to my grill. All I have to do is press the handy MAKE IT NOW button and the app guides me through every step of the process. It’s basically foolproof and frees me up to do other things. It’s so easy it almost feels like cheating, but you know what? I’ve earned a life of leisure. I’m okay with letting the grill and app do all the work, ’cause the baby back ribs I made last weekend were amazeballs. And I have no doubt today’s pulled pork will be equally delicious.
Smoking is a time-consuming process, so I needed to get that pork butt on the grill early this morning. I was ready to go at 8 a.m., but ol’ Mother Nature decided it would be fun to serenade us with a round of thunderstorms. The Traeger is electric, which means I plug it into one of the pond outlets. Which is a little scary in a thunderstorm, but what choice did I have? I got a little wet, but the pork went on the smoker at 8:30 and should be finished after 10 hours. All I have to do is wrap it in foil when the probe registers an internal temperature of 160º and let it continue to smoke for a few hours. My phone will audibly alert me when it’s time. Easy peasy!
One of the few complaints about pellet smokers is they don’t produce as much smoke as wood chips, but I bought a smoke tube to fix the problem. Fill it with pellets, light it on fire with a propane torch (this made me feel especially manly, just sayin’), and then set it inside the grill and you’ve got yourself extra smoke.
What a wonderful time it is to be alive, folks.
Shockingly, I placed an ad for my old smoker on Facebook Marketplace, and sold it within an hour. Easiest transaction ever; the guy looked it over, handed me a $100 bill, and was on his way. Selling things on FB Marketplace is usually a pain in the ass, so this was definitely not the norm.
By the way, the rain ended, and now we’re expecting several days of hot and humid weather. 90º+ through Tuesday, so in case there was any doubt, summer is in full swing here in the upper Midwest.
Now that we’re (mostly) finished setting up the garden, we’ve got a little more free time on the weekends. Hallelujah! So yesterday, we went into Madison. Our plan was to hit Olbrich Botanical Garden first, but when we pulled into the parking lot at 1:58 p.m., we were greeted by a sign announcing they were closing for a private event at 2:00. Doh! We took this as a sign to drive a few blocks to a nearby Mexican restaurant for a couple of apps. When life hands you lemons, make margaritas!
Next up was the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. The price was right (free) and the exhibits were interesting. We’re always down for some culture.
Afterward, we rode the elevator to the top of the Graduate Hotel for a cocktail at one of our favorite bars, Camp Trippalindee (gold star for the first reader to get the reference). Camp Trippalindee is whimsical and fun, with a 1970s summer camp theme. I didn’t get the juice pouch cocktail this time, but my Honey Bee Water with strawberry-infused vodka, honey, lime, and club soda was awfully tasty. And it came with a pink twisty straw, surely the envy of the other beer-drinking bros at the barl
Not quite cultured out, we wandered over to Memorial Union Terrace next to check out the Madison Jazz Festival. It’s just such a great setting and fun vibe.
We only stayed for a few songs, but it was a nice way to reenergize for our trek back to Capital Square for our final destination: Great Dane Pub & Brewing. This has become my favorite restaurant/bar in Madison. I’m a rewards member, so every dollar I spend there earns me a point. We were able to cash in $29.30, which reduced our bill to a mere $67. Not bad at all!
My Picker’s Paradise cocktail (Ketel One Botanical, Peach & Orange Blossom, grapefruit juice, peach nectar) was so good though, I cut myself off at one and switched to a brandy Old Fashioned because otherwise, I would have slurped those down too quickly.
(Look at me mixing it up though, Rivergirl.)
And try as I might, I can never not order the Korean rice bowl. Every bite is a delicious and harmonious blend of contrasting flavors and textures; the grilled flank steak, pickled cucumbers, shiitake mushrooms, shredded carrots, bok choy, and fried egg all play off each other wonderfully, tied together by a tangy and subtly spicy Korean bbq sauce.
So help me, if they ever take that off the menu, I’ll storm the castle.
Mark My Words 
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