Cooking with smoke
I stitched together a couple old musings from 2001 or so about cooking in a smoker. I was really stuck on my smoker for a good 4 or 5 years. These days, I like to cook in the kitchen, too.
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I love slow-cooking anything for anybody in my smoker. There is nothing more festive than smelling that smoke for hours before digging into a grand feast. I can turn my back on my smoker with no worries--- unless i've done something rash or dumb, nothing will burn and the food will only improve.
I usually begin smoking anything by quickly searing it directly over the fire first (on a grill). This locks in the juices and speeds the cooking time for larger cuts. It also keeps the meat firm--- slow cooking can sometimes result in TOO gentle preparation. After that, i put in the water dish and let it go. Unless i'm cooking something delicate like pork chops, fish, or skinless poultry, the smoker is on auto-pilot. I just check the state of the fire after that. Temperature is everything.
As for fave dishes, the smoked meatloaf is definitely one for great flavor and ease of preparation. Glazed pork chops are always a winner. Smoked turkey breast is among the best. Pork loin always impresses. A london broil stuffed with chiles and chorizo is exciting and easy.
In the end, grilling can make a chef seem better than they really are. Smoked onions in French onion soup makes one seem a genius. Smoked bratwurst can make one beg. Smoked hamburgers or even hot dogs will make you think you were a sucker to eat themn any other way. Smoked shrimp marinaded in lime and chiles... need i say more?
one more thing: it seems altogether more acceptable for a cook to have a few more drinks when grilling. always a bonus.
Just a couple years ago my roommates and i would have vast sleepover parties. I'd cook up some stuff in my smoker for dinner, and something big for brunch the next day. This time, we cooked 3 boneless pork shoulders for brunch, about $35 of beautiful meat rolled up with string.
I smoked them all afternoon and all night after rubbing them with spices. Late in the night, the entire drunken party migrated down to the smoker to watch me take the roasts off. They looked and smelled so good that we passed one of the roasts around and each of us took a big barbarian bite off of it.
The pork was moist, smoky, and immensely flavorful. At long last, we had found the holy grail of BBQ. We all wondered at how something could taste so good. Brunch was shaping up to be an earth-shattering culinary event.
Then, the buddy that bought the roasts in the first place decided that it would be a good idea to stew the roasts all night long with vinegar-based BBQ sauce in a crock pot. I immediately advised against it. I had smoked the meat for 8 hours, cooking it any more would be a moot and dangerous move. He insisted. I continued to protest, but finally let him have his way, as he had paid for it (though i was the one who smoked it lovingly all day). He coarsely chopped the meat and stewed it.
Late that night, when i was up from bed, i looked at the crock pot. It was boiling fiercely. I turned it off, hoping to save a bit of flavor. That morning, there was no holy grail on our plates. Instead, we found, dry, stringy, tasteless BBQ that seemed two weeks old. A priceless meal denied. My friend was so apologetic that he bought more roasts the next weekend, but they just didn't taste the same. One golden moment had been lost forever!