The last couple of days have been super, super busy. I put about thirty pounds of pork in the smoker on Wednesday after I pulled the bread out of the oven. We bought a full rack of ribs and two pork picnics. Those are the pieces of meat that are often cured and turned into picnic hams. We found a good deal at the local Piggly Wiggly and I wanted to stock up on pulled pork for the winter. 

I don’t know if you have ever used an electric cabinet-style smoker or not. They are really easy to use and turn out some dynamite smoked meats. However…they are a booger to clean. The first couple of times I used it, I carefully scrubbed it by hand till it looked brand new when I was finished. Now, I take the power washer to it and call it good. Consequently, I usually only smoke meats about once a year. I load the smoker as full as I can without overcrowding it then I’m done till the next year.

We don’t have a great freezer. It’s old and the seal is loose. It’s not a frost free freezer either and it desperately needs thawed out. Therefore, I elected to can the pulled pork in jars this time. I loaded the smoker and got it running around noon on Wednesday. The goal was to reach an internal temperature of 203 degrees. At 1:00 yesterday morning, I was only at 168 and it wasn’t rising fast. I elected to removed the two roasts and put them in slow cookers on low for the rest of the night. I didn’t really have any broth, so I poured a can of 7UP and a can of water over them and put the lids on for the night. I had removed the ribs long before and sealed them in a plastic bin in the fridge for dinner last night.

Yesterday morning, I gathered all my canning supplies. I put the jars through a hot cycle in the dishwasher while I shredded the pork. I mixed up a combination of a quart of beef broth, a quart of chicken broth, and two more cans of 7UP and set it on to simmer. I packed the jars, put in a little salt, topped with the broth, sealed the jars, and slipped them in the simmering water of my pressure canner. Once they were all loaded, I set the lid on, let it boil for ten minutes without the pressure cock, then set it at 10 pounds pressure. Once the pressure gauge started rattling, I processed the jars for 90 minutes. When the time was up, I just turned the heat off and let the pressure slowly normalize. I carefully opened the canner and let the jars sit in the water for a while to acclimate to the room temperature then finally lifted them with the jar lifter and set them on a soft clean towel to rest for 24 hours before I wash the outside of the jars with Windex so they sparkle. All seven quart jars sealed. If you’ve ever canned…you know that is music to the ear.

I spent the rest of the afternoon copying more posts over from Facebook to the blog and when the sun went over the far ridge, I took the power washer out back and cleaned the smoker. It will sit slightly open overnight to dry, then tomorrow I’ll close it up and put the protective cover over it to protect it till the next time I decide to smoke meats.

I checked on the fire in Glenwood Canyon throughout the day and spoke with my brother’s caseworker. They are still carefully watching the fire and will evacuate the clients if they need to. We wondered if perhaps he could stay with a family member, but Covid has ruled that option out. It’s ok, though. My brother isn’t at all afraid or worried about this…especially if his roommate is with him. They have their “bug out bags” packed and are ready for whatever comes their way. 

As I am writing this, it is storming here in West Virginia and I am praying for a steady, gentle rain for Colorado to assist the firefighters. Please pray they get a handle on these fires and everyone is safe. The fire is getting dangerously close to the homes of friends of mine and they have been evacuated. It’s so difficult to be this far away and I can’t be there. But, I just have to pray and offer my brother encouragement from here.

The best treat at the end of a long hard day was going out after it was pitch dark and taking a dip in the pool Wednesday night. Mr. FixIt didn’t join me, but he sat on the deck and we watched the meteor shower. It was a hot and sticky night and the water was cool and refreshing. We saw several “shooting stars” and it was one of the sweet memories I’ll tuck away for when I’m old and sitting in my rocking chair. ?

❤️

“Our Lord, you are eternal! Your word will last as long as the heavens.”

Psalms 119:89 CEV