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OSO I just realized, I forgot my manners. I have failed to introduce you to my new smoker….I named her OSO (Spanish for Bear of course). She is a beautifully built insulated cabinet smoker made by Lone Star Grillz in Willis Texas. I can’t say enough about the quality of the workmanship that goes into these smokers. This particular one is the larger of the insulated cabinet models that they build. She is going to come in very handy this weekend since I have a cater job and will have to smoke 5 large briskets and 4 large pork butts. Standby for a review of this beast. Grilled Sausage Trio Had a family gathering this last weekend and I was lucky enough to get a few pounds of freshly made sausage from my good friend and sausage maker, Jeremy Smyers. He has been making sausage for several years and makes some of the best sausage I have ever tasted. He also makes some excellent bacon. This particular day I grilled up some Italian Sausage - perfectly seasoned and made with, among other things, Fresh Pork and Organic Bell Peppers (red, yellow and green) Thyme, Oregano, Fennel Seeds and Red Wine . Also a Jalapeño Sausage which contained the perfect amount of heat and last but certainly not least a good traditional Smoked Sausage. Since the Italian sausage was uncooked, I simply grilled it whole until it was done, then sliced it with the jalapeño and smoked sausage and grilled them to release all those tremendous mouthwatering flavors. If you are ever in the Dallas (Texas) area do yourself a huge favor and pick up some Smyers Quality Sausage from Jeremy, you WILL NOT be disappointed. And no I am not being compensated for this endorsement....it is simply just that good. Contact him directly at: jd.smyers@gmail.com Char Broil Tru Infrared Gas Grill My old gas grill finally needed to be replaced. The old one was a Char Broil Commercial Tru Infrared Grill and it served me very well. The old one was stored outside (covered) and endured 2 years of reliable heavy use. So the decision to stick with the same type grill was a no brainer. I have become a true believer in the Char Broil Tru Infrared Grill and am very happy to see that Char Broil has worked hard to improve upon their infrared grilling system. They have done away with the old temperature gauges which were a complete joke and replaced them with a single gauge on the lid. I double checked the temperature and found the gauge to be surprisingly accurate. The grill is very similar to most gas grills. You have a burner which is located below a stainless steel “L” shaped burner “Tent” which protects the burner from dripping juices and helps disperse the heat. The grating system is where the real difference lies and where the greatest improvement is. First are 3 rippled plates called the “Emitters” containing rows of small holes. Above these are 3 Cast Iron cooking grates which perfectly align with the holes (see image above). In the old system the emitters were flat trays filled with small holes and the grates were thin metal “wavy” grids which allowed juices to clog up the trays and caused uneven heating if they were not cleaned after each use. In the new system, the only holes are located directly under the cast iron grates thus eliminating clogging. The warranty is also improved. Lifetime on the Burners and 3 years on the Lid, Emitters and Grates. The one truly great feature is that these grates virtually eliminate flair-ups, since juices drop into the valleys of the “Emitters” and boil away. Because of this however your grill tends to smoke more then your average gas grill.