Soaking it all in

Picking up right where I left off last time, we are still in National Barbecue month. Light up the grill and pop open a brewsky! My whole family enjoys cooking on grills. My brother practically grills dinner every night. Not sure if he REALLY loves grilling or hasn’t figured out how to use an oven yet, tsk, tsk. We used to have huge family get-togethers that centered on a barbecue grill or pit. Tall tales were passed along by our elders as they downed tall brews. Seemed the more beers they drank the bigger that one fish, crab or hog (fill in the blank) was that got away. Back in the day, my dad and uncle were cigarette smokers. They would be busy prepping the pig, rib or beef. They took special care in mixing the rub and massaging it into the meat. All while a cigarette hung from their lips, ash dangling from the cigarette. I would stare at them, hoping the ash didn’t fall in the food, and wondered how long the ash would get before it fell. Thankfully, the ash didn’t hit the

May is upon us. It means the colder weather will soon be behind us (Are you listening Mother Nature, because lately you’ve been flipping the hot and cold switch far too often). It also means Cinco de Mayo is around the corner and, better yet, it is NATIONAL BARBECUE MONTH!! Heck yeah! Likely two of my all-time favorite things food-wise (well besides my love of Latin food and sushi and just about everything else), Mexican food cooked on an outdoor grilling and served with a tall tequila-laden margarita. I plan to make the most of this weekend’s Cinco de Mayo by grilling some skirt steak and a pork shoulder so I can make enchiladas, burritos and tacos, for like days and weeks to come. Because: I CAN AND I WANT TO. I marinate the steak and pork the day before grilling so they can soak up some Mexican flavors. I typically use a taco seasoning pack, some mojo, lime juice, cilantro paste, a dash of apple cider vinegar, minced garlic, ground cumin and a spicy barbecue sauce that ha