Doing Nothing - AZ Style!
So, there I was, in the heat of the Arizona desert. I was as west as you can get in the Copper State, right on the shores of the mighty Colorado River in my home town of Lake Havasu City. It was vacation time and there was no way I wanted to stand in lines at a place like Disney, and I had no need to go to some fancy schmancy locale that is meant to impress those who stay home more than getting any actual relaxing in.
NO - this was a time to kick back, do nothing and enjoy some well deserved down time.
Well, not do totally nothing. We came prepared to do what we like to do best, cook & entertain. We were able to score a nice place to stay with a sweet pool and one of the best views in the city. Thank you to Jeanette and everyone over at Lake Havasu Vacation Rentals for helping with our lodging arrangements.
One thing that makes a Tango vacation different from a 'normal' vacation is that I like to do just as much cooking away from home as we do back at the Test Kitchen. This time was no different. I got in contact with Dana & Bob Eland over at Shishcabob's BBQ & More store in Havasu and they set me up with a Sweet Home Pellet Smoker for the weekend. Yup, some folks go skiing, horseback riding or mountain climbing. Well, I wanted to do some hangin' out by the pool and get some good cooking time in. Thursday afternoon Bob stopped by in the Rhino with a Sweet Home Pellet Grill for us to check out. This would be on of our cooking units for the weekend and I will say I was rather excited.
I have seen pellet grills / smokers before in person and on videos and thought it was a cool idea. Well, let me tell you, after cooking up a storm for two days on one, I think I need to have one in the Test Kitchen.
Thursday night the meal was simple bone in chicken breasts with Tango Chik N Rib Rub and a dozen ABTs, stuffed jalapenos wrapped in bacon. This was a good way to get the feel of how the settings worked for temperature control and how the feeder worked for the pellets. Easy as easy could be. Like Ron Popeil would say, 'set it and forget it'. That is about how it worked.
Friday night we were having family and friends over for eats and drinks so the Sweet Home was cranked up about 11:30 am because there were a few racks of pork ribs, more chicken breasts, a 'Southwestern Fatty', brats and a couple of dozen MOINKS to smoke up.
Let me just say that the Sweet Home was fantastic. The 450 square inches of grill space was plenty of room for all sorts of food. The electronic temperature control worked like a charm, setting differing temps all day for certain food items was a breeze. I can not say enough about how well it worked. I am sure that one will be making its way into my back yard before too long.
Thanks again to Bob & Dana at Shishcabob's for setting us up with a great smoker!
All in all it was a very nice vacation, more like home away from home with all the family and friends we got to spend time with and share some really great food. Perfection for me!
Here is a short video to give you a feel for the awesome eats we were able to prepare.
Enjoy!
When in Havasu, please stop by
Shishcabob's BBQ & More
911 N. Lake Havasu Ave. Ste 106
Lake Havasu, AZ
928-505-2277
Check us out at
Love the video Tango Joe! Food looks excellent, great way to spend a vacation. :)
ReplyDeleteNice looking pellet smoker too! Thanks for sharing. :)
I do so enjoy heading back to AZ when I get the chance, of course making myself at home while on vacation is something I have been perfecting for a while now.
ReplyDeleteThat Sweet Home unit was great, gonna have to get me one now.
Thanks for stopping by!
Great eats and great company, what's better than that? Nothing! Thanks for sharing your good eats with us, Joe. As always, enjoyed the vid :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for stoppin' in and checking out the video Chicky.
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun filled and BBQ sauced time for sure.