Happy Easter Ham!!

First let me thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for his gift of salvation! He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!

Aye, On to the Ham!

I am doing something a little different this year as my wife and I will be dining alone. I will be doing a 1/4 cut spiral sliced ham. Using a brown mustard to hold the spice and sweet brown sugar.

Take the ham out of the wrapper and place face down on a cutting board.
Pat dry with a paper towel.
Spread a nice coating of spicy brown  or course ground mustard over the ham.
Dust liberally with your favorite rub.
Wrap in plastic and put into the fridge overnight to let the spices make nice with the meat!

Remove from the fridge. Let stand to come up to room temp. Begin the fire and get the smoker ready for work

Give the ham a generous coating of dark brown sugar.

 To add a little zip you can add several pineapple rings.

Place the ham on the top grate and in the center of the grate. Add your favorite wood to the smoker pit and let it ride! Keep the temp between 225 and 250 degrees until the ham reaches an internal temp of 165 degrees. Once the temp comes up wrap the ham in heavy aluminum foil and let it rest for about 1 hour before serving.

When you load the ham into the smoker, wrap some washed and poked potatoes in foil and place on the lower grate and let them cook at the same time. Prepare your side dishes and get ready to enjoy some gooood victuals!

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Sweet Bacon Wrapped Chicken!!

Arr, Bacon and Chicken! Two of me Favorites, Together!!

I was plunderin on the net and sailed upon this idea for bacon wrapped chicken pieces and thought WOW what a Great Combination!

Now, I have taken the liberty to adjust the one I read to my own liking and added me personal touches to it. Ye can feel free to do the same....

 I marinaded the chicken in Stubbs Chicken Marinade overnight in the fridge. Then gave them a good dusting of rub. You can use any of your favorite rubs or use one in a previous post here that I've shared.

 Let the rub settle into the meat while you get the smoker going. I'm using the oak lump charcoal and apple wood for the smoke. We like a lot of flavor so I'll use the apple wood through out the smoke. For this cook I'll use the Brinkmann Gourmet Smoker.


What you will need:

2 lbs chicken thighs
2 lbs chicken breast boneless / skinless
1 cup of dark brown sugar
Rub of your choice
2 cups of cinnamon apple sauce
1 lb sliced bacon
2 cups of orange juice for the water pan
6 cups of water for the water pan
apple wood chunks
toothpicks

If you are using frozen chicken parts make sure to thaw in the refrigerator a couple of days prior to smoking. The thighs can be trimmed and boned to allow for easier eating when done. Try not to remove all of the fat as it will render down during the cooking process and add flavor too. Remove from the marinade and pat dry.

Take a slice of bacon and wrap each piece of chicken and secure with a toothpick. You may use as many strips of bacon to cover the entire piece as needed.

When wrapped then give each a generous coating of apple sauce and sprinkle generously with the brown sugar.

 Place into the smoker on the top shelf and add orange juice and water to the water pan then add the apple wood chunks to the fire and you are all set. Smoke for about three hours or until the temp gets to an internal temp of 165 degrees.

The finished product will be out of this world!!

How to Get a Chicken Drunk!

Who doesn't like a good smoked chicken? Last week I made a drunk chicken on the smoker. This is one of the easiest recipes one can do in the smoker and not make a mistake.

You take a medium to large whole chicken, the rub of your choice and a small amount of alcohol (drinkable) that you prefer and you're ready.

Make sure that the chicken is thawed and has been cleaned inside and out. Coat the chicken with your favorite rub and let sit for about an hour for the rub to settle in and add a lot of flavor to the chicken.

I use a post for the liquid and to hold the chicken upright. When the fire is ready take the chicken and place on the post. I used a combination of Amaretto and Blackberry Brandy and Italian spices for flavor and filled the post prior to placing the chicken on it.

Build your fire and get your wood chunks for smoke ready. I used an oak lump charcoal and hickory wood chunks for this cook. I tend to like a heavy smoke flavor and use the wood chunks throughout the cook. You can use a light smoke for the first hour and then not add any more wood chunks for a milder flavor.

Place the chicken on the center of the smoker rack and maintain a temp of 250 degrees for about 3 hours. Once the chicken reached an internal temp of 165 degrees I removed the chicken from the smoker and wrapped in heavy foil to rest.

The combination of the liqueurs and smoke added a real nice flavor to the chicken and brought in a nice juicy meal.

Give it a try and let me know how you did.

Let's Smoke Some Cheese!

Who doesn't like smoked cheese?

 I for one love it. After reading several articles about smoking cheese I decided to try it myself. The first time was an adventure for sure. Preparation is fairly easy and does not require much at all. Cheese, a cutting board, parchment paper, a cookie sheet, a 14oz can, mesh, 2 pop rivets, wood chips and a smoker.

The first thing we need to do is assemble the can. Take a 14 oz soup can made of steel preferably. Cut both the top and bottom off. Use some kind of mesh with a fairly tight weave. Fold the mesh up the sides of the can and attach it to the can with the pop rivets.

Now you are ready to build the fire. Usually I wait until I am cooking in the "ECB" and use a couple of pieces of charcoal from that fire to place in the can. I will smoke the cheese in the horizontal smoker as I can control the heat from the can better. You only want to use a SMALL fire so that you don't raise the temp up too high.

The temp MUST remain low so that the cheese does not melt. Add a mix of wet and dry wood chips to the fire. This will help keep the temp down. It will also give a LOT of smoke to the chamber. The goal here is to add smoke to the cheese and not cook it. Keep the smoke rolling for about three hours. Depending on the thickness of the cheese and how much is in the smoker you can adjust the time longer or shorter to get a good full smoke flavor.

 After the cheese comes out of the smoker you will want to wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for a week before using. The plastic wrap will allow the smoke to penetrate deeper into the cheese and even the flavor.

 Try this simple idea and enjoy some real intense flavor with your cheese!

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New Years Left Overs

WOW What a Blunder!

 I don't know how I did the original post to this blog for Holiday Leftovers but, boy did I blow it!

Well on with the Correct info:

On New Year's Day I smoked a bone in ham. It came from Smithfield Hams and was a spiral sliced ham. While it comes pre-smoked, I prefered to add some apple to the flavor. Was it Gooooddd! But what do you do with the rest of the ham when your done with the meal and the sandwiches and any other way you use the last of it up?

 Well I made a nice ham salad and soup with several simple ingredients and no trouble.

 Take the ham bone and carve the rest of the meat off the bone into chunks placing them into a large bowl. Next take the chunks and run them through wither an old fashioned meat grinder or food processor. I used the meat grinder and got the consistency of ground beef. Then add the following ingredients:

About 1 pound of ground ham
1/2 cup of dill relish
1 TBL Sp of chili powder 
1/4 cup of mayonaise
1/4 cup of mustard (yellow, stone ground or spicy - your preference)
1 tsp lemon juice

Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste. Chill and it's ready to serve!


 For the soup take the balance of the bone and put into a stock pot or sauce pan and cover with water. Put on the stove and simmer for about two hours. This will reduce the bone and any meat not already removed will fall off the bone and go back into the pot.

 Once the bone has simmered then take it out of the pot and clean off the rest of any remaining meat. Now add the following to the pot:

1 TBL Sp. Garlic
1 28oz can of mixed spiced greens (collards, turnip, mustard)
1/2 stick of pepperoni diced into small pieces
1 TBL Sp. crushed red pepper
1 small onion chopped

Simmer on the stove and reduce the soup stock down so that it is thin enough to stir without trouble but not so thin that it splashes when stirred.You want the consistency of soup not a vegetable served as a side dish.

Top with your favorite grated Parmesan cheese and Enjoy. Add Garlic toast and this will chase the winter blues away!!


Enjoy the New Year and Come Back Soon!

John

The Great Thanksgiving Day Turkey Smoke!

Avast Ye Smoke Crazed Lubbers,

As we look forward to the Thanksgiving Holiday I wanted to take a moment to pass along this Great Rub recipe I made for the guest turkey. If you like a sweet rub this is one you will enjoy for years to come.

Last week I made turkey breast that was a Great test for this rub. I used my ECB (el cheapo brinkman) with oak hardwood lump charcoal and pecan wood for the smoke and a combination of 50/50 orange juice and water in the water pan.

The Rub:

4 Tbl Sp Dark Brown Sugar
1 tea Sp Italian Seasoning
1 tea Sp Chipotle Pepper
2 Tbl Sp Sweet Paprika
2 Tbl Sp Garlic Salt w / parsley
1 tea Sp Onion Powder
1 tea Sp Cumin
1 Tbl Sp Kosher Salt

Just mix and use. I gave the breast a light coating of yellow mustard and a generous coating of the rub. Let sit for a couple of hours and began the cook. Three hours later out she came. Moist, dark in color from the smoke and tender. I wrapped the breast is heavy foil and let rest for about 30 min before cutting.

 This was an easy and delicious way to make a juicy Sunday meal.Topped off with some baked potatoes and veggies and you're ready to eat!! 

 Arr, Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Till next we meat again, Matey. May the wind be at yer back and the sea be calm as ye pursue the "Q"

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Ribs, Glorious Ribs!!

Now that you have tasted your Best BBQ Ever you will want to try to make Ribs!! When you go to a party that the host serves ribs are you glad or after tasting them are you disappointed?

  Well to help you have the best party's where your friends are asking who did the catering? You can tell them that it was you and blow their taste buds to the next level!

 The first thing you will want to do is select a set of ribs to serve. I prefer the spare rib for the extra meat and better texture than the baby back. We'll talk about the beef short ribs another time. You will want plenty for each person to enjoy at the least a half rack or full slab depending on their appetite.

 Once you have selected the ribs you will want to prepare them for the rub to marinate them overnight. Select the rub you like the best or make one of your own and lets begin. You will notice a membrane on the back side of the ribs. This you will want to remove. It will not do you well to have a great tasting set of ribs ruined by the membrane on the back getting stuck in your guests teeth.

 To remove the membrane lay the ribs flat on the surface and using a blunt knife to insert it under the edge of the membrane and separate a small area from the end. The flap that you create can be then grabbed with a cloth towel and pulled off. Just grab and pull. The towel will keep the membrane from slipping out of your grasp.

 Once removed then use a small amount of yellow mustard on both sides of the ribs and coat both sides of the ribs with you rub. The rub will penetrate into the ribs when you let them marinate overnight in the fridge. You can let the  ribs marinate for less time if you wish or have a short time to prepare. Wrap the ribs in clear plastic and put into the fridge or a cooler. If you choose to shorten the process you will want to wait at least 3 hours to marinate the ribs allowing the flavors of the rub to penetrate as far as they can.

 When they have marinated to your satisfaction, pull the ribs out and let them come up to room temp. Go and start your smoker and get it up to temp. Select your wood for the flavor you like and get prepared for the best ribs ever! I prefer to use pecan, but apple and hickory work great as well. 

Depending on your equipment and how hot you get your fire you will be enjoying your ribs in as little as 3 hours or about 6 hours at the latest. You will want to keep the temp at about 250 degrees and have your smoke for about half of the cook time. Keep your ribs moist by applying either a spray mixture of apple juice and water, 50/50 is good, or make a thin mop to baste with. You will want to apply the mop or spray about every 30 minutes after the first hour of cooking.

 Your ribs will be done when you attempt to pick them up and there is a slight bend to them in the middle and the meat has pulled back from the ends of the bones. The temp of the meat will be about 160 degrees.

 Now I'm not a big fan of sauces, but I came across a recipe that is wonderful with ribs. I'll share the sauce at another time. If a rib is done correctly it should have enough flavor and moisture not to need a sauce. A sauce should compliment the meat and not cover it up.

 I hope you enjoy making Ribs, Glorious Ribs!