Weekend Update: Part 3

Hey gang, it's Edwin here! I seriously cannot remember the last time I posted (I think it was the apple crisp), but alas I am back to tell you a beautiful story about Chel and I's favorite food: ribs! My friend Ted who's a 4th grade teacher at our school has a giant smoker at his house. A smoker is like a huge barbecue grill with a side chamber where you burn wood (normally it's mesquite, hickory, or pecan) and cook different meats (pork, poultry and beef) using the indirect heat from the smoke. It takes about 5 to 6 hours to smoke really good ribs. It's a project that Ted and I took on this year as we formed our friendship (he and his wife are also moving to Austin!). So after being congratulated for teaching for 2 years and saying goodbyes to acquaintances we might never see again, we were ready to unwind Sunday by smoking 4 (yes you read right) racks of ribs.

The eternal rib debate (yes, there indeed exists an eternal debate on ribs) is whether to cook ribs using a dry rub or basting them with a homemade vinegar-based barbecue sauce. Because we didn't have much time, we did not make a homemade barbecue sauce (that is a future project), but we did make 2 dry rubs. One was a spicy dry rub and the other was a Memphis dry rub. A dry rub is simply a mixture of different herbs and spices which is then then rubbed into the meat and fat of the ribs.

Our project took about 6 hours to complete. What we ended up with were 4 racks of tender, perfectly seasoned ribs. On the menu as well was a delicious potato salad with bacon and hard-boiled eggs (made by our friend Cindy) and homemade banana pudding (made by Ted's wife Leigh). In the end, we definitely over-ate. It was hard not to with delicious food and great friends on a Sunday, which throughout the school year has normally been a work day for all of us. It was our last smoked meal in the Rio Grande Valley. Because of limited space, Ted is going to have to leave his smoker at a friend's house in Austin, so our smoking adventures will have to wait.

WE HAVE 4 DAYS LEFT OF SCHOOL! I'm really excited to move out and start our new life in Austin. We promise to blog about the apartment once we move in. My dad is flying down to Harlingen on Saturday and is moving all of our stuff into a U-Haul, driving it up to Austin, and then helping us unload. The next 7 days will be full of excitement...and trips to IKEA. Stay tuned faithful followers, for as you remember from last summer: less time teaching = more time blogging!!! Love you all!