Back at The Keyboard

The last few months have been beyond hectic. In fact, it's been way too long between posts. That's not to say I haven't been enjoying some really fine wines. Or the company of good friends.

Here in the Chicago area we can't afford to wait until the weathe gets warm to BBQ or we wouldn't be able to do so often enough.  This winter I've really enjoyed my new smoker/grill I picked up on one of my trips last year.

It is a genius contraption, this Traeger grill.  It's a pellet grill that feeds pellets to maintin the correct temperature in the chamber. Not only does it smoke and BBQ, it is capable of grilling, too.

But I'm sure you're wondering how someone can grill when the temperatures are below zero.  It's the thermal blanket tht goes around the grill.  About a month ago I tested the waters of below zero smoking in Chicago.

After finding a really good brisket at Costco, I covered it with my secret recipe spice rub, wrapped it and put it in the refridgerator for a couple of days to absorb all those spices.  Since I was having folks over for a special edition of Mondays @ Mark's, I waited untiil 10 pm Sunday night to put the brisket on the smoker.

When I went outside the temperature was a balmy  -4 degrees farenheitl Even though the box for the pellets handles about 20 pounds of pellets I was worried I might run through them because the temperature was below zero. That's why i hd to get up at 4 am and check on the pellets and the brisket.

Fortunately everything was fine.  I just wrapped the brisket just before heading off to work around 7:30 am.  After that I just returned around 6:30 pm to take it off the smoker. After letting it rest for about 15 minutes, it was perfectly tender and moist.  It must have been good because the 7 pound brisket disappeared with only 7 guests.

To pair a wine witht he brisket, I turned to several different bottles throughout the night.  I started with a couple of Pine Ridge bottles -- Onyx and Tessitura. Both of these are Bordeaux style blends.

I've really enjoyed the various blends I've discovered from wineries like Pine Ridge, Seghesio Family vineyards, Francis Ford Coppola, V-M-L and Frick.  These blends really display the talents of the winemaker in addition to the growers.  The ability to blend the juice from different grapes and terroirs is nothing short of alchemy.

The match of the various bordeaux blends really went well with the spiciness of the brisket and the other accouterments. To end the evening I opened a couple of port style wines -- Donigia from Seghesio Family Vineyards and Black Diamond from Pine Ridge Vineyards.

Another fun evening with friends, good food and even better wines. That's really what Mondays @ Mark's is all about.