How to cut the Cable Cord

Cutting the cord has become a symbolic term for getting rid of cable.  The fact of the matter is that you need internet if you want to cut the cord and not see any drop off in what you watch...so you're still gonna have a cord, but it'll be a helluva lot cheaper.  My watchout here is that if you're the type of person that loves just channel surfing and watching a wide variety of random stuff you never planned on watching, this is not for you.  You need to know what you want to watch and then find the best way to get that content without paying for cable.

First steps, get an OTA (over the air) antenna and DVR.  You can start with just the antenna, but I recommend not half assing it.  I have a Tablo DVR that is two tuner (meaning you can watch or record two things at the same time.  I recommend a 4 tuner DVR because I sometimes have conflicts and the price difference isn't that great.

The OTA antenna will get the major broadcasting channels like CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, and CW and in HD quality.  Depending on how good your antenna is and your location, you may get additional random channels like Grit, Laff, Ion, etc. I've got a cheap RCA 70 mile antenna mounted in my attic but I've also used several Mohu models in the past.  Mohu is focused on making the antenna's look cool and that's not really something I care about since it's in my attic.  You can plug your attic antenna into your existing coax cable run through your house and run about 4 tvs.  However, I run mine directly to my Tablo DVR and stream the antenna content from there to every tv in the house that has a streaming device.  This can seem like a lot of streaming devices if you have a bunch of tvs at your house, but the cost is a drop in the bucket compared to what you pay for cable every month, year after year.

You'll also need a signal amplifier for the antenna, this is the one I have.

As far as streaming devices go, Apple TV is the best and it's not even close.  The main TVs in your house need to have Apple TV to make your experience enjoyable.  Other less used tvs can have other devices like Chromecast, Amazon Firestick, Roku, etc.  Maybe these other devices catch up soon, but as of this blog post, Apple TV is the best there is for this purpose.  You can get deals on streaming devices when you prepay for certain streaming services when they have deals running (ie, Sling was giving away Roku's when you prepay for two months).  

Next is figuring out what you watch and the best streaming services to get it.  The cool thing about these services, is that there's no commitment.  It's month by month and most are really easy to turn on and off.  Sling, Hulu, Netflix are just few of your options, but are really easy to cancel and resign up.  You'll just need to look at each and see what meets your needs.  If you have want AMC, Sling is a good option, etc.  And you don't have to get them all.  That's the cable company's argument for cord cutters, "if you have a bunch of different services, you're paying as much as you would for cable.  Not true, even if you have 3-4 services going at the same time, your total spend is still usually way less than your cable bill.  

The bad part about having to watch some of your show live through a streaming service is that you can't skip commercials.   This isn't always the case, but some services like Sling that offer live and on demand options have commercials.  Another option is to just buy a season of a show on Itunes.  Instead of paying for Sling for 3 months to see "Better Call Saul" on AMC, I just bought the season for about 1/3 of what I would've paid for 3 months of Sling.  Buying the season doesn't always make sense, but in certain situations it might.

You also need good wifi or your cord cutting experience will be frustrating.  I recommend biting the bullet and getting an Eero system or really any type of mesh system.  It's expensive, but its a great investment for rock solid wifi.  If you think you have good enough wifi, I guess you could just try it and see how your original wifi setup does.  But there are so many other things we are adding to our Wifi everyday (thermostats, lights, etc) that having a great Wifi setup is becoming crucial to living with 21st century appliances.

You can also get a lot of content through certain sites streaming services HBO Max, ESPN, etc with more and more being added every day (like NBC's Peacock).  If you can "borrow" a subscriber login, you can get a ton of content that way.  Some call this theft of service but I don't like to put labels on things.

Some downside to cutting the cord:

• People that come to your house can't figure out how to operate your tvs.
• Even people living in your house may have a steep learning curve
• Watching commercials in certain situations.
• Becomes hard to channel surf
• You're giving up a one stop shop of DVR'd shows

Tips for First Time Big Green Egg Users

I've had several members of my family and friends getting a BGE lately.  This made me want to put together a checklist of starter information so I can point them to this post instead of me having to teach them how to use it.  I'm just joking...kind of.

Firstly, from purely a Big Green Egg 101 standpoint, here's how you get started (here are some videos from Big Green Egg).  Insert the firebox and make sure the bottom charcoal grate is in place to keep the coals off the bottom and allow oxygen flow.  Then the fire ring and finally the grate.  Close the dome and install your felt lining around the chimney and put on either the black, cast iron adjustable chimney cap or your green ceramic cap if you will not be using it immediately.

From a first time operations standpoint, remove the top chimney cap, open the dome and open the bottom vent all the way.  Also, remove the food grate.  This is the setup you will always use to light your Egg because it is getting the fullest supply of oxygen with this configuration.  Pile in some charcoal into the firebox and light your coals with the method of your choice.  As the coals start to light and spread, you can replace the grate and close the dome.  If you do it too soon, you'll limit the oxygen getting to your fire and it may go out or fail to light.  This just takes a few times of trial and error to master, you just want to make sure some of the coals are on fire before closing.  With the dome closed, the top damper removed and the bottom vent open, your Egg's temp should start to rise.  It might take a few minutes to move the temperature significantly, but stay near by because if left wide open, it can jump up to 700 degrees rather quickly.  Depending on what temperature you are cooking at, you can now begin to close your vents and damper to a point that will maintain your desired temp.  So if you're going to cook a pork shoulder at 225 degrees, you'll have the bottom vent only open about a quarter of an inch and the top vent just cracked open.  If you're cooking a steak at 600 degrees, you'll have both open much more. Again, this will just take a few attempts to understand how these control the temperature of your Egg.

Here are few things to keep in mind:

1. This is really the only item from a safety standpoint.  When opening the egg, especially at higher temps, you need to always "burp" the Egg.  This is simply opening the Egg slightly (about 1-2 inches).  This allows oxygen to slowly creep in and lets the fire react.  Otherwise, if you quickly rip open the dome, a large influx of oxygen hits a very hot fire and you will have a flare up similar to a back draft.  Most people have to experience this a time or two and burn the hair off their hands before heeding this warning.
2. The first time you use your Egg, they say to season it by doing a short cook at relatively low temps.  I think they just don't want you to jump into cooking at 700 degrees or doing a 24 hour cook right off the bat.  I also think this fully cures the felt lining gasket so that it completely adheres to the Egg lining (which is really the only part of the egg that needs to be periodically replaced).  I just cooked burgers on my inaugural cook at 300 degrees to break in my Egg.
3. Never use lighter fluid.  And I'd go as far to say never use briquettes although I hear you can.  I always use lump hardwood charcoal.  Kind of the whole point of using a BGE is a natural, instinctual way of cooking food.  Don't mess that up by using chemicals like lighter fluids, etc.
4. Never use water in any way.  Not to clean your egg, not to put out coals, never.  Closing the dampers for a few seconds will bring down any out of control flames you have going.  I don't even soak my wood chunks (by the way, never use pellets or chips, stick with the big chunks).  Closing the damper and vents after your done cooking will allow you to reuse much of the charcoal in the fire box.
5. Forget everything you know about using a gas grill or regular charcoal grill.  For instance, to increase or decrease your temperature, don't make big changes to the damper or vent.  I've heard it described this is more like operating a boat than driving a car.  A slight turn will eventually make a boat go a completely different direction.  Same with the Egg, slight adjustments can raise the temperature 25-50 degrees.
6. It's ideal to wait until the smoke goes clear or blue before cooking (see link for example pics).  At first, you'll see a heavy white or gray smoke.  This can make your food taste bitter.
7. If you are going to slow cook at a low temp, make sure you don't let the egg get too hot before attempting to arrive at your target temp.  If you let it get up to 600 degrees, it will be challenging to bring the temp back down to the desired range in the time-frame you probably wanted to put the meat on.
8. It's easy to get information overload when trying to learn how to use the Egg.  You will have to do a lot of experiments to determine what works best for you, your tastes and your favorite types of meats to cook.  The good news is, these experiments are fun and it is really, really hard to screw up food on the Big Green Egg.  Enjoy the learning process and don't stress about it.

Here are some references:

http://www.smoking-meat.com/big-green-egg-instructions

How to Light a Big Green Egg Fire the Cheapest Possible Way

I'm all for saving money and I love this method.   First, obtain a tall metal can.  This is one from a big thing of pineapple juice.  I drilled some holes in the side for oxygen and used a can opener to cut out the bottom.  Stack your coals the way you want and put your metal can on top in the middle of the pile.  Insert an electric fire starter and fill with charcoal.

After a few minutes when you have some flames going, remove the electric starter and use a pair of tongs to lift the can straight up allowing the charcoal to fall out of the bottom.  Set safely aside to cool.  The result is a small amount of coals lit right in the middle of the fire.  This works well for long cooks where you want to start the fire in a small area right at the top middle of the coals.This will allow for the coal to burn out and down for prolonged heat.

This is also, as I understand it, similar to what is called the "Minion Method".  A variation can also be done without the can sticking the heating element directly in the coals

Alternative methods include:

• Fire Starter Squares - This will light 144 fires for $18.  You can find equivalent type fire starters at any store that sells BBQ stuff.
• Looflighter - This is probably the most expensive way to light your grill, but it's pretty awesome.  Some will say this product is just an expensive heat gun.
• In a pinch, a crumpled up paper towel and vegetable oil can be used to get a fire going.

Bourbon vs Whiskey

Because we're avid whiskey drinkers, it seems a conversation is frequently being had about the differences in bourbon vs whiskey vs scotch, etc.  Not that it really matters at all, but just to set the record straight, (and so I can remember), I'm going to do a post about this topic.  Let's not beat around the bush, the blog is mainly a repository for useless information anyway so this topic fits perfectly.

All bourbons are whiskies, but not all whiskies are bourbons.
All scotches are whiskies, but not all whiskies are scotches.

Got it?

We owe the Irish for their Gaelic term “uisce beatha” which translates to “water of life”. The word uisce became whiskey.

At a high level, the word whiskey indicates the broad genre of this type of liquor, the entire spectrum so to speak.  It's kind of like saying "red wine", but there are various types of red wines like cabs, malbec, merlots, etc.  Bourbon, scotch and rye are the various types of whiskey.  At it's core, whiskey is simply a distilled beverage made from fermented grain mash.  The contents of the mash and/or the location in which the liquor is made, can dictate which "sub-category" it can fall into.

*Just so you know, "Mash" is the grain mixture that is mixed with water and yeast.  Basically, the starting ingredients of what will ultimately become the booze.  The ratio used in that mixture will determine much of how that spirit will be classified when produced.


BOURBON

Bourbon whiskey is a type of barrel aged spirit made primarily from corn.  Corn being the key factor as you will soon find out.  The name comes from a French royal family that once ruled France and was pronounced BOOR-BAWN before we rednecked it all up.  In the 1800's, West Kentucky and parts of Virginia were settled by a large French influence.  Part of this area is now current day "Bourbon County", hence the name of the spirit from this area.

Firstly, let me dispel a common misnomer:  "To be called Bourbon, a spirit must be made in Kentucky".  This is FALSE.  The location is irrelevant, except it must be made in the good ol' US of A to be considered a bourbon, with the below qualifications.  Generally, I think that the old Kentucky distilleries want you to think that only the real "bourbon" comes from Kentucky, but about 20 other states sell the stuff.  Not to mention, only about 4 huge conglomerate companies own most of the bourbon coming out of the state of Kentucky....That's 'Merica.

The Federal Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits state that bourbon made for U.S. consumption must be:

1. Produced in the United States
2. Made from a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn (the remaining can be any other grain)
3. Aged in new, charred-oak barrels
4. Distilled to no more than 160 proof, entered into the barrel for aging at no more than 125 proof and bottled at 80 proof or more

"New" is highlighted because a barrel cannot be reused, at least not to make bourbon.  Scotch does not have this requirement, therefore used bourbon barrels are sometimes sold to scotch makers.  A fun fact is that approx 20 lbs of bourbon gets absorbed by the barrel so it's that much heavier after the fact.

Contrary to popular belief, bourbon has no minimum specified duration for its aging period.  Products aged for as little as three months are sold as bourbon.  The exception is "straight" bourbon, which has a minimum aging requirement of two years. In addition, any bourbon aged less than 4 years must state the age of the spirit on the bottle.

Tennessee Whiskey

Jack Daniels sells the most liquor in the world, but Jim Beam claims to have the best selling bourbon in the world.  Why?  Because Jack Daniels doesn't consider itself bourbon.  Say what?

Obviously, Tennessee whiskey must be made in Tennessee.  The interesting part is that this name is more about branding and marketing than the technicalities of the liquor being produced.  Many of the whiskies made in Tennessee meet the requirements to be considered bourbon, but they are labeled as "Tennessee Whiskey" as a way to differentiate themselves from bourbon.  Tennessee whiskeys undergo a filtering stage called the "Lincoln County Process", in which the whiskey is filtered through a thick layer of maple charcoal before it is put into new charred oak barrels for aging.  The law states that it must be aged, but does not specify how long.

The long and short of it is, Tennessee whiskey is bourbon made in Tennessee that is filtered through maple charcoal and aged an unspecified amount of time.

Scotch

To be called Scotch, this spirit must be:

1. Made entirely in Scotland
2. Mash must be made from some percentage of malted barley (hence the single malt, etc)
3. Aged 3 years

I love bourbon but I hate scotch, so go figure...I must not like malted barley.

So a fun fact about the word malted, it can be any grain, not just barley.  It basically means the grain is made to germinate by soaking in water and then halted from the germination process by drying with hot air.  So the grain is given water and instinctively, it attempts to sprout roots and grow.  As soon as that happens, the growing process is stopped by removing the water and letting it dry out.  The roots and sprouts are removed and the sprouted kernel is all that is left.  It is a common belief that liquor made with malted grain is easier on the next day hangover.

American Rye Whiskey

Similarly to how Bourbon's requirement is 51% corn, Rye whiskey must be 51% rye.  The remaining can be corn or barley or whatever, just like in a bourbon.  So technically a few percentage points differences in the mash between corn and rye could dictate whether a spirit is a bourbon or rye.  Rye tends to add a bit of spice to the flavor...the more rye, the more spice.

Canadian Rye Whiskey

The odd thing about Canadian rye, there is no actual requirement that the mash require any rye at all.  Since historically, much of the content was rye, it sounds like it's just sort of assumed in Canada, but there is no legal requirement.  Most of them do contain rye and are blended to achieve a unique taste and aroma, but let's be honest Canadian whiskey blows.  Minimum 3 years aging is required.

Corn Whiskey

Made with a mash of 80% corn and no aging is required.  This is your run of the mill, on a tight budget, legal moonshine.  Right on man.