A Baseball Tournament near Frankenmuth

 We finally got to see our son Jake play baseball last weekend. He had a trip to Costa Rica that kept him from playing in two of the other tournaments. Anyway, for his age(16u) it was only a three-team tournament. 

Sat Outside where the Arches are

We stayed with family on Thursday, played some golf Friday afternoon then headed to Frankenmuth later that day.  After check-in at the Bavarian Inn, we met up with the rest of the team parents at the lounge and sat outside. We had drinks, listened to a musician sing some tunes and had a great time. 

We did some shopping in Birch Run on Saturday. Games were cancelled due to the weather. We did not make it over to the World's Largest Christmas Store. If you get a chance stop there. 

Another view from our room

The view from our room

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Back to baseball. The West Michigan Misfits lost the first game 1-3. Jake did not play that game. They came back the next game and won 8-0. Jake was 1-2 with and RBI and a walk. His hit was a nice single.    

In the championship game he was 0-2 but knocked in the only run we scored. We lost 1-11 and finished runner up.

putting the bat on the ball

  

truckin'

Some defense

All three game were played on Sunday afternoon/evening. It was over a 2 drive home for all of us but it was well worth it. What a great weekend!!!

Brisket, Wings and a Celebration

 Every year for the 4th of July weekend we go up to Higgins Lake. The kids meet us up there and we stay at my in-law's place. We also celebrate Amanda's birthday. This year Amanda asked if we could have wings with our brisket, so of course, I had to deliver. 

Higgins Lake at Sunrise

Pit Boss is Fired Up

 The sunrising over the lake was to beautiful to pass on. I had to get a picture. Higgins is such a big, beautiful and clean lake. Its hard not to go every weekend but Jake is still playing ball and summer tournaments take a lot of those weekends. 

 I prepped the brisket the night before, trimming the excess fat and adding the rub.

Anyway, I fire up the Pit Boss. In the picture, it is going through the start-up.

After start-up, I leave it on the smoke setting and put the brisket on. I used hickory pellets.

I use my MEATER probe for this cook. In case your not familiar with MEATER, its a Bluetooth thermometer you put in the meat. It gives you constant feedback. There is not a lot of range, so you need to keep the phone close, or you lose the signal. When you open the app and set up the cook it will look something like this:

Tracking the Cook

The green line is the ambient temperature in the smoker. The purple line in the internal temperature of the meat. This information is critical, for this cook we are looking to pull the meat and wrap in butcher paper at 175 or at stall. I should add that we spritzed the butcher paper with a apple cider vinegar and water mix. Then, my wife, swaddled the brisket like a baby and we out it back in the smoker. Turn the temp to about 250 and let it finish. When it got to 197, I pulled it, wrapped in a towel and stuck in a dry and empty cooler to rest. Total cook time for this one was just over 5 hours. I cooked it as low as I could until 175. 

About an hour later the wings go on the smoker. I prepped those the morning of. I used Meat Church Voodoo   on half and  Meat Church The Gospel   on the other.  I didn't do any saucing this time. We had sauces out, then everyone could do their own thing. 

Here we go.... THE BIG REVEAL 

Brisket is Done

Dinner is Ready

 I finally got the bark I wanted. The   thicker end defiantly juicer. As I've   learned the thinner part will dry out   quicker. Still great flavor.

 The wings came out great.

 The biggest reward of this kind of cook   is in the picture below. Everyone at the   table talking about the meal and just   enjoying each other. 

Love seeing the Kids at the Table

I need to add that my wife and mother -in-law had some great side dishes. 

After dinner, we had Amanda open gifts and had cake. 

All in all, a great day, with great food and a lot of togetherness.