Enough for a packed campsite

What a great weekend we just had in Brainerd. If you were there, you understand. If you didn’t make it to “the Zoo” (the Brainerd campground), I would like to share a couple stories with you as well as a great recipe that a real master of the grill shared with me. I have to tell you that the fans in Minnesota are great fans. They have fun all night long, but when the cars start, the stands are full.

Uncle Ronnie, my cousin Scott, and my girlfriend, Mitzi, and I went to “the Zoo” looking for the best food. We saw several interesting meals. I saw a guy cooking a big hunk of meat on the end of a stick by holding it over a campfire. That recipe seemed like it would be a little hard to duplicate because the guy looked like he was sleeping, so it may be a little dangerous. I had one guy tell me that they cooked their omelets in a plastic bag. He said all you do is put all your ingredients in a plastic bag and boil it until it is done. We had to make a pit stop when we met the Merschmans from Bemidji, Minn. They had a really cool two-person dragster that they built for about $400. Uncle Ronnie took Mitzi and I for a ride, and Scott took Uncle Ronnie. What a blast!

While we were on our cruise, I met Keith Clarke. He seemed to have the right setup for cooking a great meal in a campground. I asked him what he was cooking. He said that he was cooking beef ribs and venison that night. He said that the recipe he was using is also good for cooking bear or pork ribs. He told me to come back in about three to four hours for a taste. We went back for a taste later, and I was amazed. The food was outstanding. Keith said that he would be happy to share his recipe with me so that I could share it with all of you.

Ingredients
100 pounds beef ribs (or pork ribs, venison, or bear)
2 gallons apple cider
2 bottles hickory liquid smoke
1 hickory-flavor Hi Mountain spice packet (Keith said that the spice packet is for making 15 pounds of jerky)
To taste, spice mix (Keith said to use your favorite; he uses Montreal Steak)
To taste, barbecue sauce (optional)

Procedure
Mix the meat, cider, liquid smoke, and spice packet together.
Refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove meat from the liquid.
Sprinkle the meat with the spice mix.
Brown the meat on both sides over charcoal.
Let the meat smoke at about 200 degrees for about three to four hours, until the meat is tender. Keith said that he was using charcoal and oak wood for the smoke.
Optional: Add the barbecue sauce and let smoke for a half hour.

Enjoy!