Pictures worth a thousand bites (to me at least)

So the final weekend of vacation/study leave went fantastic: the pool, inaugural trip to Hansen's (that place is just plain evil, oh man), and lots of time spent cooking!

Friday morning I brined the Boston Butt (oh the giggles from the kids about eating a Boston Butt, which for them quickly morphed from Pork Butt - and #3 saying over and over again, "I am not eating pork butt"), then applied my rub (no secret here brown sugar, salt, cayenne, garlic powder, cumin, paprika, celery seed, and chili powder - thanks to #2 lots of chili powder), and let it sit/cure in the frig overnight. Saturday morning I lit the charcoal, placed bricks (just some loose bricks from the house) in the grill (I like bricks rather than a drip pan because they retain heat and help evenly cook the meat), sawed off some pecan branches (a rather feisty growing tree if there ever was one) and got to smokin. Sometime around lunch the pork was ready. I placed it into a tray while the First Family and I went to the pool and Hansen's (did I mention how evilly delicious that place is?) Upon resting I began to prepare the sauces: one regular Carolina based sauce and one smoked pablano bbq or verde bbq sauce.

The verde sauce turned out surprisingly well; it still needs some work but I'll get there.

Pulled Pork BBQ slider (yes, I burned the bun) with sweet potato fries, baked beans and cold drink in a cold mason jar.

Sunday morning we spent lounging at the pool (it was 93 at 8:00am) then sped home to begin preparations for the grillades and grits. The G&G were fantastic. Although they are usually served as the main brunch entree, I couldn't fathom eating beef for breakfast.