I know that this has become a rare event, but I am posting! This summer I am experimenting with smoking foods. Ideally, I’d have some big fancy smoker, but I don’t. I’ve been playing around with the best way to smoke meat with existing hardware. For now, I’m using my round charcoal grill. Essentially, the goal is to create a Hot space and a Cold space. This is pretty difficult in a charcoal grill, but I have some techniques. Before I go into this, here are some of the ingredients you need:
Charcoal grill
Chimney starter
Coals (preferably wood charcoals)
Wood (more on this)
Stick
When I first started this, I filled the charcoal chimney full of coals, heated it and poured it out on one side of the grill. However, I found that this was way too much heat for smoking. The goal is to get enough heat to keep the grill below 250 F.
So, after much experimentation, I decided to fill chimney half with coals. Then, I heated it for 15 min, or until the coals at the top are red hot. Pour the coals out on one side of the grill. Use the stick to spread them out on that side and make sure there are no coals on the ‘cool’ side. Leave the grate off. Allow the coals to burn for 5 minutes with the cover off. Then cover and let burn for another 5 min. Now open and place about 10 pieces of cold coals on top of the hot coals. Now place the smoking wood on top of the cool coals. Place the rack on. Now you’re ready to smoke. Place all food for smoking as far on the cool side as possible. Because I don’t have a huge grill, I try to only smoke a few pieces or one big piece at a time. This works pretty well, and the grill hovers around 225 F. Keep the cover on and only take off every 30 min or so.
Wood:
People swear by their favorite smoking woods. Each wood will convey a different character and flavor. In reality, any hard wood will work. Mesquite and hickory are probably the most famous, but fruit woods are great too. Wood from any fruit tree would work and you can even use dried grape vines. I use a dried apple wood. I have this dead apple tree in my yard. I just hack a few pieces off, break them into small chunks and use that. Works great:
To prep the wood, soak the wood chunks/chips overnight in water. I prefer larger chunks to the small chips that you can buy at the store, they last longer and are less likely to dry up and burn up. Some say the minimum soaking time is 1 hour, but I find that even big chunks of wood dry up and burn up with only 1 hr of soaking.
Food.
So, what have I been smoking? Lots. The first thing I tried were ribs. I put on a standard rub and place the rack on for 2 hrs. This turned out a bit dry, but I did this the first time, so the grill was definitely too hot. I think that next time I will parboail the ribs, put on a rub, and smoke for 30 min or so.
Chicken has been easiest. I’ve been throwing on a few thighs every time I try this. I usually just put some olive oil, herbs and salt and pepper. Smoke for about 2 hours, works well. The smoke flavor is amazing (from my apple chunks) and is perfectly cooked through.
Tonight, I tried two things: smoked pork belly and smoked fish.
Smoked Maple Bourbon Pork Belly
Pork belly
Marinade:
1 part maple syrup
1 part bourbon
a few large pinches of sea salt
fresh ground pepper
3 days ahead of time, mix marinade in a zip-lock bag and place pork belly in the bag. Refrigerate, turning once a day. On the day of smoking, prep grill as above. Place the pork belly on the cool side of grill and allow to cook for about 1 hr or until middle is about 140. Allow to rest for 10 min and slice.
The above recipe was exactly what I did. It turned out pretty good, but was a bit sweeter than expected, so I think that I might cut the maple syrup in half. Also, The fat didn’t render as well as I wanted, so I might lightly parboil the pork belly before marinading it. Finally, remember that your dish is only as good as your ingredients, so use good bourbon (stuff you like to drink) and good maple syrup, not the fake stuff in the grocery stores.
Smoked pork belly and a smoked tomato!
Pork Belly!
Slice pork belly with sauteed spinach and rice.
Smoked Fish:
Haddock (some kind of firm white fish)
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Jerk seasoning (Penzeys)
Brush olive oil on top and bottom side of fish. Season with salt, pepper, and Jerk seasoning. Place on cool side of grill and smoke for 30-45 min, depending on size of fish.
Smoked fish!
To use up the left over smoked fish, we made smoked fish sandwiches. Mix the smoke fish with a 1:1 mixture of mayo and plain yogurt. Serve on bun with greens.
mmmmm…smoked fish sandwich
So, go out and give this a try. Smoke your favorite foods!
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