One of my favorite pastimes along with cigars is barbecuing. I make brisket, pork butt, pork ribs, beef ribs, beef back ribs, fish, chicken, veggies, over-the-top chili, and for those of you who know me as a baker, I even make bread on the smoker. Admittedly, while I use my smoker quite a bit, I’m not a hardcore pit master with an offset, stick burner smoker. I have no aspirations to enter competitions. I just love to barbecue!
My tool is a Traeger Mesa 22, one of the smallest and most basic models. It has been an absolute workhorse for me since I got it in 2019. I use it – a lot. Today, I smoked two 10-pound pork butts that took about fourteen hours to complete. They turned out marvelous!
Now the thing about barbecuing is that it’s mostly a waiting game. You spend fifteen to twenty minutes prepping, then the rest of the time is spent waiting for it to come to certain temperatures. There’s an occasional spritz with some apple juice (my preferred spritz), and a few minutes wrapping once the bark has set and the meat enters the stall.
But the rest of the time is free. And what better way to while away the hours than to have a cigar or two or three. Today I enjoyed an Every Day Is Cigar Day Pablitos Maduro, an LGC Los Gloriosos, an Alec Bradley Magic Toast, and finally a Martinez NYC Blend Queens. I was also working from home and taking meetings, so it was great to have the camera off, smoke my stogies, and enjoy the aromas wafting from my smoker. I couldn’t ask for a better day!
Some people might think, holy shit! You smoked four cigars in a day! I sure did but spread out over fourteen hours. And I enjoyed every single cigar!
Unco B's Stogie Diary 