As soon as the clock expired on the NFC Championship game between the Detroit Lions and my San Francisco 49ers, I was already thinking about what kind of BBQ I was going to make for the big game in two weeks time. On my third subsequent trip to Costco, I finally found a brisket that had a decently thick flat and didn’t weigh north of 20 pounds. During another grocery shopping trip I found some baby back ribs that looked good and were on sale at quite a good price so I pulled the trigger on those as well. Brisket and ribs - and a macaroni and cheese my wife was making - were plenty for me since I’m trying to eat better these days and this was a “cheat day” for me so I didn’t want to overdo it on calories, or sodium!

While the choice grade brisket I bought had some decent marbling, it was pretty fatty too. After some aggressive trimming with my new Dexter 6” boning knife that I got for Christmas, I seasoned the brisket with my new favorite BBQ Brisket rub, and put it on the smoker around 10 am Saturday morning. One of my goals was to be done prepping food by at least a couple of hours before game time. I fired up the smoker with my favorite pellets as well as getting a couple of smoke tubes in the cook chamber for increased smoky flavor on the brisket. About 12 hours later the brisket was done, and after letting the internal temp drop to about 165F, I held it in my oven at 150F until it was time to slice it up the following day. It turned out to be one of the best briskets I’ve smoked - it was very juicy, tender, and I managed to keep the flat from drying out as well. I also got to slice it up using my new Dexter Scalloped-edge roast slicer knife (also a Christmas present) which cut through it like a dream.

The baby back ribs were much easier on all counts - hardly any trimming needed, and I only cooked them for about 4 hours at 300F. After 3 hours, I foil wrapped them after generously applying a glaze I made from brown sugar, manuka honey, onion powder, paprika, and a spicy mop sauce I had in the fridge. They turned out great. Juicy tender meat that didn’t fall off the bone, but came off the bone cleanly and easily once you bit into it - just the way I like it.

Let down by the game, but not by the food

Despite my 49ers losing the Super Bowl to the Chiefs in an overtime thriller of a game (UGH!! Moody we needed that PAT!) at least the food tasted great and we got to enjoy it with good company. As a 49er fan that has been watching every game since the days of Joe Montana and Steve Young, this one really hurt to lose. If the Chiefs had come out from the start and dominated throughout, I think it would have been an easier loss to stomach. However, the 49ers lead for the majority of the game and were looking good on both sides of the ball. When our rookie kicker had an extra point attempt blocked, I said out loud, “That one point better not be the difference between a win and overtime”. And unfortunately, my intuition ended up being right as the Chiefs tied up the game late in the 4th quarter to send it into overtime.

The 49ers have now lost the last 3 Super Bowl they’ve appeared in and two of those losses were only by a field goal. It stings to be so close to victory but still lose. This one is going to take a little while to get over.

Super Bowl Ratings

Favorite Commercial: Ben Affleck and Dunkin Donuts
Half-time show Rating: 8.5/10 - The roller skates were unexpected
Referees: Pretty fair minus a couple important holding calls - 7.5/10
Game Entertainment factor: 9/10 - high quality, dramatic finish, would be 10/10 for me if the 49ers won
The food: 10/10 - would eat again, A+ highly recommended