I like to smoke...

I borrowed a friend's smoker to smoke a pork butt for my birthday last month and cannot get enough of it. I am smoking meat at any chance I get. Last week it was bone in pork chops. Last night was chicken and tonight was pork loin chops. The smoker is such a beautiful thing. The slow cook and the infusion of smokey goodness produces great flavors and textures that you cannot get when you grill on direct heat. Sure you need to have time and patience, but if you plan ahead you can easily produces high quality smoked meat for your family and friends.



For this chicken I rubbed it down with some ground rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper, ground mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, and a little paprika. I chose to use hickory chips for the smoking process to get that great hickory flavor. The bird was in the smoker for about an hour and a half before I flipped it over and continued to smoke. Unfortunately I had to finish this particular bird in the oven because the natives were getting restless, but I would have smoked it for another hour and a half on the second side. For the pork chops I went with a real simple salt, pepper, mustard, and onion rub. It allowed for the porky goodness to really come through on the plate. With about thirty minutes left I spread a liberal layer of my apricot dijon mayo (courtesy Pioneer Woman) and allowed the chops to finish on the smoker. Both meats, when removed from the smoker were tented in foil and allowed to rest for a good ten minutes.



A smoker is not complex cooking, but can produce some incredible results. The rub and the sauces that you pair with your smoked meats can be equally as important to your end product. This apricot dijon mayo was extremely easy and well worth the effort. You simply use equal parts apricot preserves, mayo, and dijon mustard. Whisk them all together and bam, your sauce. Smoking is a cooking method that all people love and is not used by many people at home. If you are interested in the smoking look out for a smoker at your local garage sales, you could score a real gem. Happy smoking!!