I get lots of questions about how I cook barbecue. The simple answer is I don’t! My ole Hickory barbecue pits do the work. I learned a long time ago that I am too old to stay up all night tending a wood barrel fire to keep a smoker slow cooking a pig. There is always plenty of work to do after the meat is cooked so why wear your self out actually smoking it?
For those of you that don’t know Ole Hickory, based in Cape Girardeau Missouri, makes a wide selection of smokers. I own a CTO model (holds about 150 pounds of meat) and an EL-ED model (on Grillzilla) which holds over 700 pounds of meat. Both smokers do an equal job smoking. The CTO is best for small loads because it’s easy to clean up. The EL-ED is the only way for big loads but takes longer to clean.
The ole Hickory secret is its automatic. You set the temperature, add charcoal or wood, and fifteen hours later you got perfect smoked meat. It even turns itself off and holds the load at a warm temperature. How easy is that?
On the EL-ED I put in about fifteen pounds of Kingsford charcoal, a few sticks of apple wood (when cooking pork for pulled barbecue) and set the thermostat at 225 degrees. A gas burner comes on and starts the charcoal and wood burning. When the temperature hits 225 the gas cuts off the burning wood/charcoal maintains the temperature. Pork only takes in so much smoke so that happens in the first two hours as the apple wood burns. The next twelve to thirteen hours the charcoal supplies most of the heat and some more smoke flavor. The gas will automatically turn on to maintain temperature especially on cold nights.
What comes out is tender, moist, pork with just the right amount of wood smoke. Then the real work starts which is pulling the pork and adding the spices.
Now you might think “Tom you are missing the fun of hanging out with friends and tending the fire”, well actually no, we still do that we just get to bed at a normal time.
Stay tune and I will tell you how the barbecue is perfected on my next post. If you would like to learn more about my new book “How to make $5,000 a month from your driveway” or just have questions about barbecue visit my web site at http://bigtom.org.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Wal*Mart Saves Money by going green
General Electric ran TV commercial a few years back in which a young executive pitches improved energy efficiency to his corporate board.
"Why should we care about this stuff," his boss demands.
"Because it can save us 40 percent on our energy costs," he replies.
With that, Disneyesque animated birds and rabbits appear to playfully nuzzle board members who suddenly discover the joys of going green.
Something very similar — absent the animated birds — may have taken place four years ago in Arkansas. At a two-day conference, America's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, committed to a greener course.
It's taking suppliers like GE, as well as competitors and retailers, along on the journey.
The latest evidence of Wal-Mart's eco-evolution is its work to develop a universal sustainability index.
Appliance buyers can now get information on energy efficiency before making a purchase. In the future, Wal-Mart hopes consumers will base buying decisions for everyday products on labels detailing their environmental and social sustainability.
That's quite a departure for a company that once was known for low prices and scorched-earth capitalism. But Wal-Mart has proven that it can do well by doing the right thing.
Last year, it earned $12.7 billion. Those profits come not only from its traditional cost-cutting, but by savings from reducing packaging and improving energy efficiency.
The changes aren't just good for Wal-Mart; they're good for the environment, too.
In 2007, Wal-Mart made a commitment to highlight sales of environmentally friendly compact fluorescent light bulbs that last longer and use less electricity. Doing so meant suppliers like GE had to ramp up production.
Wal-Mart still sells more traditional incandescent bulbs. But the potential energy savings from compact fluorescent bulbs are staggering, especially with sales juiced by Wal-Mart.
In 2008, it began selling only concentrated liquid laundry detergent. The giant retailer says customers have saved more than 400 million gallons of water as a result. The switch also saves 95 million pounds of plastic resin that would otherwise have been used in packaging. And, not coincidentally, Wal-Mart saves more than 500,000 gallons of diesel fuel by not having to transport heavier, bulkier products.
A universal sustainability index has the potential to be even more important. It would let consumers see the true costs of wasteful packaging and products; they then might make better buying decisions.
Not all customers will take that into account. But where Wal-Mart goes, other retailers will follow. It's showing them that there's real money in going green.
My advice to small Wal Mart vendors; Get on board and use environmental sustainability as a competitive advantage as soon as possible. Larger companies are going to be slower to act (because of their size) which gives smaller companies a short term advantage. With the current category management standards at Wal Mart a minor brand could keep their distribution with this edge.
"Why should we care about this stuff," his boss demands.
"Because it can save us 40 percent on our energy costs," he replies.
With that, Disneyesque animated birds and rabbits appear to playfully nuzzle board members who suddenly discover the joys of going green.
Something very similar — absent the animated birds — may have taken place four years ago in Arkansas. At a two-day conference, America's largest retailer, Wal-Mart, committed to a greener course.
It's taking suppliers like GE, as well as competitors and retailers, along on the journey.
The latest evidence of Wal-Mart's eco-evolution is its work to develop a universal sustainability index.
Appliance buyers can now get information on energy efficiency before making a purchase. In the future, Wal-Mart hopes consumers will base buying decisions for everyday products on labels detailing their environmental and social sustainability.
That's quite a departure for a company that once was known for low prices and scorched-earth capitalism. But Wal-Mart has proven that it can do well by doing the right thing.
Last year, it earned $12.7 billion. Those profits come not only from its traditional cost-cutting, but by savings from reducing packaging and improving energy efficiency.
The changes aren't just good for Wal-Mart; they're good for the environment, too.
In 2007, Wal-Mart made a commitment to highlight sales of environmentally friendly compact fluorescent light bulbs that last longer and use less electricity. Doing so meant suppliers like GE had to ramp up production.
Wal-Mart still sells more traditional incandescent bulbs. But the potential energy savings from compact fluorescent bulbs are staggering, especially with sales juiced by Wal-Mart.
In 2008, it began selling only concentrated liquid laundry detergent. The giant retailer says customers have saved more than 400 million gallons of water as a result. The switch also saves 95 million pounds of plastic resin that would otherwise have been used in packaging. And, not coincidentally, Wal-Mart saves more than 500,000 gallons of diesel fuel by not having to transport heavier, bulkier products.
A universal sustainability index has the potential to be even more important. It would let consumers see the true costs of wasteful packaging and products; they then might make better buying decisions.
Not all customers will take that into account. But where Wal-Mart goes, other retailers will follow. It's showing them that there's real money in going green.
My advice to small Wal Mart vendors; Get on board and use environmental sustainability as a competitive advantage as soon as possible. Larger companies are going to be slower to act (because of their size) which gives smaller companies a short term advantage. With the current category management standards at Wal Mart a minor brand could keep their distribution with this edge.
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