For a few years now, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a smoker for smoking foods.\u00a0 I borrowed a friend’s charcoal smoker a little over a year ago and I wasn’t pleased with the results.\u00a0 On a cold windy day it was impossible to regulate the temperature.\u00a0 It was either too cold or too hot and either no smoke or the woodchips were going up in smoke way too fast.\u00a0 It was a constant battle.<\/p>\n
So I consulted my neighbor across the road.\u00a0 He had a Bradley electric smoker and he was pretty happy with it.\u00a0 He said he just set it and came back a few hours later and pulled out the food.\u00a0 I immediately came home and looked up the price on Amazon, and suffered sticker shock.\u00a0 I also didn’t like the fact that it required special woodchip pucks for generating smoke.\u00a0 So I put the idea aside.<\/p>\n
I was repairing a pinball machine that was located in an enclosed patio.\u00a0 Since the owner had ferocious dogs sequestered in the house, he suggested I come around the side of the house, through the backyard, to the back patio.\u00a0 On the way I passed a smoker with a digital readout on top of it.\u00a0 I repaired his pinball machine and as I was about ready to leave, I asked him how he liked his smoker.<\/p>\n
“I love it”, he replied.<\/p>\n
So we got to talking and recounted our passions for smoked meat.\u00a0 He told me that he picked up the smoker at a local branch of a large hardware store chain.\u00a0\u00a0 The seed was planted.<\/p>\n
I was in a nearby branch of a large nationwide natural food store.\u00a0 It is the largest of its kind in Colorado. There is a food court inside and one of the vendors sells hot smoked meat.\u00a0 So I decided to try a whole chicken.\u00a0 I brought it home and had just a wing.\u00a0 It was delicious.<\/p>\n
“That does it”, I said.\u00a0 “I’m getting a smoker.”<\/p>\n
About a week later when I was down in the city, I stopped by the large hardware store chain and took a look.\u00a0 Ew, still pretty expensive, but about 40% less than the Bradley.\u00a0 I thought about it and thought about it again.<\/p>\n
I really like handcrafted foods.\u00a0 I bake my own bread (more so in the wintertime).\u00a0 I can be fairly obsessive and passionate about what I create. The smoker seemed to fill a niche.\u00a0 I like meats that are cooked slowly at low temperatures.<\/p>\n
I took the plunge and loaded it up, along with bags of various types of woodchips for making smoke, and drove it home.\u00a0 On the way, I stopped at a market and browsed the meat section.\u00a0 I left with some baby back pork ribs, something I’ve never cooked in my life.<\/p>\n
Once home, I learned that there was some assembly required for this “Made in China” smoker.\u00a0 Well, many things wouldn’t align properly and assembly took much longer than expected.\u00a0 Then I was required to burn it in for three hours to get rid of the manufacturing residues.\u00a0 There would be no time for ribs that day.<\/p>\n
During those 3 hours, I scoured the web for recipes and advice.\u00a0 Over and over I kept coming across this “3-2-1” smoking method for spare ribs and a modified “2-2-1” method for baby back ribs (search the web if you’d like more info).\u00a0 I learned you can pretty much smoke anything.<\/p>\n
Due to the lateness of that first day, I found something I could smoke rather quickly.\u00a0 Eggs.\u00a0 I get the strangest looks (mostly disgusted) when I tell people that.\u00a0 I boiled them in the shell for a little less than it takes to make hard-boiled eggs.\u00a0 Then carefully peeled them, applied some seasoning, and put them in the smoker for 45 minutes.\u00a0 They were excellent.\u00a0 I’ve eaten them straight,\u00a0 crumbled them in salads, and made egg salad sandwiches.\u00a0\u00a0 Smoked eggs will be a staple here.<\/p>\n
There seems to be infinite combinations of dry rubs (spices that are applied to foods before smoking), brine solutions, along with the types of woods used to make smoke.\u00a0\u00a0 Lots to learn and try.\u00a0 For example, Trader Joe’s makes a dry rub that contains ground coffee, something I would have never guessed, but it tastes good.<\/p>\n
The following day I made my ribs.\u00a0 They were succulent and tender.\u00a0 Probably the best ribs I’ve ever had.\u00a0 Before smoking, I cut them in half.\u00a0 One half I thinly coated with molasses and the other half was coated with mustard.\u00a0 A couple of different spice\/herb mixtures was applied next.\u00a0 For the smoke, I couldn’t decide among the five different woodchips I currently have, so went with a 50\/50 mix of apple and hickory.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, I used some maple wood and smoked some whole potatoes.\u00a0 They turned out well,\u00a0 a little leathery on the outside, but they weren’t very fresh to begin with.\u00a0 I’m looking forward to trying them again.<\/p>\n
The purists might scoff at an electric smoker, but here at 8,300 feet above sea level, where the weather turns on a dime, it’s clearly the right choice.\u00a0 During the 5 hours those ribs were smoking, it was sunny and warm, it rained, and the wind blew.\u00a0 Meanwhile inside the insulated cabinet, the smoker maintained 225 degrees and the woodchips\u00a0 burned and made smoke.<\/p>\n
I have lots planned for smoking including tomatoes, pineapple, peppers, pears, lamb, chicken, shrimp and bison, just to name a few.\u00a0 I’ll have to post some photos soon.<\/p>\n
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For a few years now, I’ve been toying with the idea of getting a smoker for smoking foods.\u00a0 I borrowed a friend’s charcoal smoker a little over a year ago and I wasn’t pleased with the results.\u00a0 On a cold … Continue reading