The Story Continues

I went on smoking for the next couple of months using my gas grill as my pit. I had mixed results, but really no idea what or where I wanted to go from here.

I had been picking S.M.'s brain a lot as he had been smoking the brisket for an annual event we had been attending. His brisket was the best I had ever had so I figured, how could I go wrong.

On Valentines Day 2011, Central Patti Surprised me with this

What a surprise this was! This was approximately the same pit that S.M. had been using so I believed myself to be on the right track. You can find many reviews of this smoker on the internet and I agree with most that this is an excellent, inexpensive starter smoker. The negative side of this smoker is that it does leak a little to much as the seals are not great. This means  you loose not only smoke, but heat and I have had to wrap a  blanket around it on occasion to get my temps to the optimal smoking temps for what I am cooking.

I have been smoking on this for a couple of years now and have no other complaints except what I have noted above.

One of the fist meats I smoked on my new smoker was chicken (still one of my favorites) I used a commercial rub, Famous Dave's and followed the recommendations in the manual that accompanied my smoker. It was a great smoke!

Side of the Week

I have been asked by my readers why I keep posting sides and not meat recipes. Easy, you can find all the great recipes you wish on how to smoke on the internet or in books and indeed I will post some in other blog posts. However, to me the choice of sides can make or break your feast so to start I will post some ideas of items to make your day a great one.

Grandma Kugel's Scalloped Corn
Grandma would bring this dish to every family gathering while I was growing up and it never lasted long enough for seconds, so I learned to take both first and seconds at the same time.

16 oz can of creamed corn
1 egg (beaten, but leave no bruises ;))
half cup Ritz Crackers
1 TLB Spoon Butter
salt and pepper to taste, but I leave out the salt.  (Sorry Grandma)
Smoke Temp 300 for about two hours or until the top is golden brown

I tripled the recipe and if you do use a whole tube of Ritz, makes  it much eaiser

Cheers
Randy