Monday, September 24, 2012

Fall into our Anniversary.


A few important mile stones were crossed over the weekend; 18 years ago I married my wife, Beth and for better or worse, it has been one fine ride. What a better way to celebrate our wedding anniversary, but to go camping in the Airstream which turned 50 years old this year and was bought 5 years ago, this month. We spent the weekend at Trapp Pond State Park, over in Delaware. The Washington DC Unit of the WBCCI was having a buddy rally and we thought it a good chance to see some old friends and make a few new ones at the same time.


Trapp Pond is a very nice place to camp. I had always thought the cypress swamps met their Northern end in Maryland, but apparently, they stretch up into Delaware too.


The fishing here is fairly good from what I was told. I didn't have a chance to fish, I was too busy relaxing.


Another weekend milestone, was the arrival of Fall. Just like 18 years ago, it arrived in a striking manor as if a switch was flipped. One day it was hot, the next it was rather cool. 


The sites at Trapp are all clean and large. Camping in the cypress, loblolly, and sweet gum forest is a favorite of mine. It does have a draw back however if it rains; lots of things fall from the trees onto your trailer. The sweet gum nuts cause no damage, but they sure are loud when they hit the trailer.


My new buddy Jim and I decided to take our families over to Ocean City for Kitefest. The girls wanted to play in the waves, so it seemed a good fit for the day.


While the girls dug their own personal hot tub, the adults got a good chance to talk about everything under the sun. It sure is nice getting to know new friends while burying your toes in the sand.


The kites were totally awesome!


Just about any type of kite was present.


Sea Monsters were very highly represented...


... as were a number of divers.


There were also some creatures I could not identify. 


Now on the way home, we made a very special stop. Thousands of people whizz right past this sign on the West side of Bridgeville Delaware. RT 404 is a major route West from the beach and like I said, thousand whizz right on past some of the worlds finest BBQ. 


For over 40 years, the Kiwanis have been selling bbq chicken to those coming and going to the beach from this very corner. When we first moved to Maryland, there were dozens of these type bbq pits offering chicken from the Bay Bridge, to the beach. Now there are just a few left. Let me tell you folks, this one, it is the BEST!


So what makes this chicken so good? The men cooking it, being as friendly as it gets, sure makes it easy to support this operation. The fact that it is clean as can be,  also makes it easy to like the place. But what is it about the chicken? It is the sauce they mop on during the hour and a half cook time! You ready for this? Salt, pepper, and, ready? Pickle juice! I would never had thunk it, but it is incredible!


Big smiles from all my girls. We made sure to sit right next to pit so we could not only soak up the sun, but soak in some of that fine pit smoke.


So, folks, if you are on Delaware 404 near Bridgeville and it is the weekend, go visit the Kiwanis Chicken stand. You can thank me later. By the way, my lunch today is bbq chicken with extra sauce on the side!




6 comments:

Aluminium Idler said...

Congratulations to you both (& happy birthday to Anna, of course) - we've just clocked-up 25 and though I'm not sure I'd get away with calling it a 'fine ride', I know exactly what you mean !

Great kites, great chicken & a great campsite - what more could you ask for.

Best from a very wet Uganda

Chris

Aluminium Idler said...

Congratulations to you both (& happy birthday to Anna, of course) - we've just clocked-up 25 and though I'm not sure I'd get away with calling it a 'fine ride', I know exactly what you mean !

Great kites, great chicken & a great campsite - what more could you ask for.

Best from a very wet Uganda

Chris

Sugarfoot said...

I, for one, believe September marriages are built to last. My parents were one of the many examples I know. Congrats to you and Beth.

Trapp Pond looks awesome. Maybe one of these years I'll get there.

TomW said...

Okay, Number 2 son & I just finished the last egg I pickled in leftover pickle juice a few weeks ago.

I hate to part with this particular blend of vinegar-based elixir because the original container was blended with pickled okra juice from Bruce & Rachel's gift to us earlier this year along with some other stuff I thought worked great.

So Frank, did the Kiwanians marinate the chicken in pickle juice before-hand, or did they lay out virgin chicken on the grill, and mop it with a MIXTURE of salt, pepper, and pickle juice while it cooked?

Any/all insight would be appreciated.

Tom

Frank Yensan said...

I do not know the exact answer but I think they marinated and mopped. They were doing some serious mopping for sure! There was a good deal of black pepper added to the mix too. Man, now I am suddenly hungry, thanks.

TomW said...

Frank,
The pickle juice & salt & pepper mop obviously intrigued me.

Even though I think brines are basically useless with today's poultry, plans are to cook some chicken with the following recipe SIMPLY BECAUSE the mop ingredients sound like what you described.

Tom


Smoked Glazed Chicken

Brine

2 gallons water
1/2 cup vinegar (white)
2 tablespoons pickling spices
1 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons celery salt
3 cups kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons maple extract
2 teaspoons liquid smoke

Prep

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cajun seasoning

Mop

2 cups apple cider vinegar
2 cups water
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons black pepper

Glaze

6 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey

Guest of Honor

8 lbs chicken

Directions:

1 For the brine: Combine the first 10 ingredients, bring to a boil, then let cool.
2 Add maple extract and liquid smoke.
3 Rinse chicken and pat dry.
4 Brine chicken for at least 4 hours. Overnight is best.
5 Remove pieces, rinse in cold water and pat dry.
6 Coat with oil and season with Cajun seasoning.
7 Prepare smoker and smoke chicken at 230 degrees for about two hours, basting with mop every 30 minutes.
8 For the mop: Combine vinegar, water, salt, and pepper in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove as set aside.
9 When chicken is done, coat with glaze and move pieces to a hot grill to crisp the skin. This will only take a few minutes.
10 For the glaze: Combine 3 parts butter to one part honey. Make as much as you need to finish the job.
11 Remove and serve immediately.
12 Have copies of the recipe available, because you will be asked.



Read more at: http://www.food.com/recipe/smoked-glazed-chicken-153479?oc=linkback