Smoking Meat (20 page)
To stuff each trout, layer a slice of the butter and one-quarter of each of the garlic, onion, lemon, and lemon balm (if using) into the cavity. Tie loosely with butcher’s twine to keep the stuffing from falling out during the smoking process.
Make a foil boat for each fish by folding a 12- × 12-inch piece of foil in half, then in half again so that you end up with a 3- × 12-inch piece of layered foil. Fold over about 1 inch of each end of the long strip, then pull open the center to form a sort of “boat.” Place each fish in a foil boat and set aside while you set up your smoker.
SMOKING
Prepare your smoker for cooking at 210°
F
to 225°
F
. If you are using a charcoal, an electric, or a gas smoker, make sure to have enough smoking wood chips or chunks to produce smoke for about one and a half hours.
Once the smoker is ready, place the foil boats of fish on the grate. Insert a digital probe meat thermometer at about the one-hour mark. Remove the fish as soon as it reaches 145°
F
or the fish begins to flake (after about two hours). The flesh will also turn slightly opaque when the fish is done. Remove the butcher’s twine carefully. Serve the trout in their foil boats.
Smoked Salmon
While I do not consider myself an expert on the smoking of fish, I feel I have mastered salmon. We make it quite often in our home; the family usually just stands around the kitchen counter grabbing pieces of the cooked fish. Keep the smoke light and the heat low, and the reward will be a big smile on your face once you’ve tasted the result.
RECOMMENDED WOOD
Apple or alder
ESTIMATED COOK TIME
4 to 5 hours
SERVES
4 to 6
BRINE
1 gallon cold water
1 cup kosher salt
¾ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
4 cloves garlic, crushed
FISH
3 to 4 lb salmon fillet
PREPARATION
Place the water into a large plastic container. Add the salt and stir until it is dissolved completely and the water becomes clear again. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
Place the salmon fillet into a nonreactive plastic or glass container and pour enough brine over the fish to cover it completely. Add the garlic, then cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate it for about two hours.
After brining, rinse the fish thoroughly with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Allow the surface of the fish to dry until it forms a pellicle, a tacky surface that helps hold in the natural juices of the fish. This could take as much as two hours. I recommend placing the fish in the refrigerator for this process.
Once the pellicle has formed, place the salmon on a piece of parchment paper that is slightly wider than the fish. Leave the fish on the counter while you set up your smoker.
SMOKING
Prepare your smoker for cooking at 150°
F
to 160°
F
. If you are using a charcoal, an electric, or a gas smoker, make sure to have enough wood chips or chunks to produce smoke for about two hours.
Once the smoker is ready, place the salmon with the parchment paper on the grate. Insert a digital probe meat thermometer at a 45-degree angle into the thickest part of the fish so you can monitor the temperature while it cooks. Smoke cook for about four to five hours, or until the fillet reaches an internal temperature of 145°
F
.
Serve the fish as soon as it is done, or let it cool and use it to make
Abi’s Salmon & Chive Spread
.
Abi’s Salmon & Chive Spread
When I smoke salmon, this is usually how we use up the leftovers. If you don’t brine the salmon before smoking it, you may need to salt the spread lightly to taste. For an extra-special treat, try the spread on small pieces of melba toast—my personal favorite!
MAKES
about 2 cups
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
¼ cup chopped fresh chives
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup
Smoked Salmon
, flaked
In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, chives, lemon juice, and cumin. Fold in the smoked salmon and serve with crackers.
Smoked Mahi-Mahi
When I think of mahi-mahi, I think of Hawaii and tropical flavors, so it only makes sense to smoke this fish with citrus wood, if available, and finish it with refreshing
Pineapple Salsa
. Be sure to brine the fish before smoking for best results.
RECOMMENDED WOOD
Orange, alder, or apple
ESTIMATED COOK TIME
2 hours
SERVES
4
BRINE
1 gallon cold water
1 cup kosher salt
¾ cup lightly packed light brown sugar
¼ cup pineapple, crushed (fresh or canned)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
FISH
2 lb mahi-mahi fillet
1 Tbsp coarsely ground black pepper
¼ cup
Pineapple Salsa
PREPARATION
Place the water into a large plastic container. Add the salt and stir until it is dissolved completely and the water becomes clear again. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved.
Place the mahi-mahi into a nonreactive plastic or glass container, and pour enough brine over the fish to cover it completely. Add the pineapple and garlic, cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap, and refrigerate it for about two hours.
After brining, rinse the fish thoroughly with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. Allow the surface of the fish to dry until it forms a pellicle, a tacky surface that helps hold in the natural juices of the fish. This could take up to two hours. I recommend placing the fish in the refrigerator for this process.
Once the pellicle has formed, sprinkle the pepper onto the fish and place it in a shallow pan. Leave the fish on the counter while you set up your smoker.
SMOKING
Prepare the smoker for cooking at 210°
F
to 225°
F
. If you are using a charcoal, an electric, or a gas smoker, make sure to have enough wood chips or chunks on hand to produce smoke for about one hour.
Once the smoker is ready, place the pan of mahi-mahi on the grate. Insert a digital probe meat thermometer at a 45-degree angle into the thickest part of the fish. Smoke cook for about two hours, or until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 145°
F
.
Cut the mahi-mahi into individual portions of about 4 to 6 ounces, and spoon the Pineapple Salsa over the fish immediately before serving.
Cajun-Smoked Frog Legs
I know this recipe may be somewhat unconventional, but I have smoked frog legs on several occasions, and they are quite tasty. Be sure to soak them in milk overnight to get rid of any gamey taste before you smoke them. This recipe calls for Cajun seasoning, but you could simplify things by applying only a light dusting of salt and pepper and basting with butter to keep them moist.
RECOMMENDED WOOD
Apple, alder, or pecan
ESTIMATED COOK TIME
2 hours
SERVES
4
3 lb frog legs
4 cups whole milk
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp Cajun seasoning (such as Tony Chachere’s Original Creole Seasoning)
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
PREPARATION
Soak the frog legs in the milk for at least 24 hours to remove any gamey flavor. When the frog legs are finished soaking, rinse off the milk and pat the legs dry with a paper towel.
Lay the frog legs in a disposable aluminum pan or cookie sheet with about a half inch of space between each leg. Coat the legs generously with the olive oil, then sprinkle each with the Cajun seasoning. Leave the frog legs on the counter while you set up your smoker.
SMOKING
Prepare the smoker for cooking at 225°
F
to 240°
F
. If you are using a charcoal, an electric, or a gas smoker, make sure to have enough wood chips or chunks to produce smoke for about one and a half hours.
Once the smoker is ready, place the pan of frog legs on the grate. Smoke cook them for about two hours, or until they are tender and the meat easily separates from the bone. About halfway through the cook time, brush the melted butter on the frog legs to keep them from drying out while they cook.
Serve the legs immediately after cooking for best flavor.
Tips for Fantastic Flavor
Why use sauces, marinades, brines, & rubs
What would smoked meat be without the accompanying sauces and rubs we are all so fond of? I know many folks who say that if you need sauce then the meat is not smoked or cooked correctly. Well, while the meat should be able to stand on its own, I love how complementary barbecue sauces and rubs bring out the special savory flavors of ribs, brisket, steaks, and even fish and poultry.
I think we can all agree that dumping barbecue sauce all over meat does not magically turn it into barbecue. I have seen this maneuver at restaurants, and I just want to scream, “It’s fake! Get out while you can!” Sure, I’d be labeled as a madman, but I’m not half as crazy as those who believe that anything other than real smoke and fire can produce real barbecue. Barbecue is so called because of the way it is cooked and the smoke flavor that is imparted in a low-heat, slow-cooking atmosphere. No amount of sauce or rub will ever be able to put that kind of magic into play on a piece of meat.
Now that we have established that . . .
There is a place for all kinds of sauces, marinades, brines, and rubs in a smoking kitchen, and I will show you in this chapter how to use these wonderful concoctions properly to turn what could be ordinary into something quite fantastic!
Making your own sauces & rubs
Yes, I said it: you can make your own sauces and rubs and say goodbye forever to the store-bought stuff that just doesn’t have that special homemade flavor. This chapter provides several tried-and-true recipes, but I encourage you to step outside the box and experiment with different ingredients to come up with your own homemade blends. Nothing will make you prouder than when someone eats something you created and says, “Man, you ought to bottle this stuff up and sell it!”
For sauce, begin with a little ketchup or a can of stewed tomatoes, and just start adding things you like or that you think sound good. Write down everything you do in a special notebook and keep it handy. Once you try your creation on a piece of meat, you might decide to cut back on the molasses or add a little more Tabasco, and you should note those changes in your book. Over time as you make changes to the recipe, you are bound to develop something really delicious.
The same goes for rubs. Start with ingredients like brown sugar, various ground peppers, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, salt, etc. in varying proportions based on what you think sounds good. Taste and adjust over and over until you come up with something you really like. Keep the salt to a minimum and add only enough to bring out the natural flavors of the other spices. Give the rub a good name and you’ve got a winner on your hands. Once again, don’t trust your memory; be sure to write down everything you do.
If you enjoy using store-bought sauces and rubs, I won’t hold it against you. There are tons of choices, and I recommend you be adventurous and try different products until you find the ones you really like and know the ones you can live without.
Dry, lumpy brown sugar
Brown sugar is a key ingredient in many rubs, but if your brown sugar looks really dry or lumpy, do
not
throw it away. Put it in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds and then check its consistency. Repeat this process three or four times until it is as soft and silky as when it came fresh from the store.
How to store dry rubs
Dry rubs can be placed in a Ziploc bag and set in the freezer for up to 12 months. This will keep all of the ingredients fresh and in tip-top shape until you are ready to use the rub. For larger quantities, you could also use a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid.
Applying rub to meat
In recent years, my method for applying rub is to allow it to slip through my fingers at a steady pace onto the meat I am preparing, but there is a much easier way. Pour the rub into a plastic bottle with very large holes (like the one you would use for red pepper flakes) and shake the bottle over the meat evenly. Since there is no silicon dioxide or other anti-clumping agent in homemade rub, you may have to whack the bottle against the edge of a counter once in a while to loosen the rub.
A great way to coat smaller pieces of meat with a spice rub is to place the rub with an equal amount of canola or olive oil in a Ziploc bag. Add the meat, close the bag, and shake or roll it to coat the meat. If your meat has a skin (as with poultry), this will get the rub under the skin. It also eliminates the need for a sticking agent, like the mustard called for in many of the recipes in this book.