smoked chicken thighs

According to my Google photos January 12th , a warm weather day to get out do a bit of yard work, and some smoking. Since I had some chicken thighs, a no brainer. I can always used smoked meat in a few recipes. lump charcoal with a cup or so soaked mesquite wood pellets.

just a bit of rub before smoking.

the smoking is done, stir up the flames to grille up some chicken  breast for the Boss Lady (was that a coincident that the spell checker suggested a different spelling?  i won’t reveal the wording!)

getting towards sunset

chicken breast complete

smoked chicken thigh sandwich

like they say, “You eat with your eyes first ! “

 

Smoke roasted tomatoes

Peak harvest of tomatoes now, what to do ?

Nice weather so instead of using the oven indoors, fire up the smoker to roast tomatoes.

Prep the grille, a charcoal starter with fresh hardwood and a mix of leftovers from the last fire.

Mesquite pellets, a cup or two , fill the cup with water, the pellets will swell absorbing the water for maximum smoke output.

Not more than a few days from harvest, some within hours. I’ll reserve the cherry tomatoes for another use. Quartered the larger tomatoes.

Adding some garlic to the mix

Salt, fresh ground pepper blend and a few red pepper flakes.

Toss with a bit of olive oil.

Prep the perferated pan with oil to prevent sticking.

When the hardwood is ready, pour out to the charcoal pan, here at the lowest level. Add the soaked pellets, cover and let it come up to temperature. Sit the perferated pan atop and cover.

Smoking up, the hose is used to soak the ground below the grille. Avoiding flare-ups from unwanted embers from igniting anything. The bottom of the charcoal pan is screened for maximum air flow. A metal pan pan at ground level holds a small amount of water, a repurposed base from a water heater.

Oh ! I happen to have some dough around. Ready the flat bread ! A plastic mat with semolina give the dough ball bearing moveability with out sticking , like a pizza peel.

Tomatoes are done in about an half hour. The handle on the pan folds so it can fit in the grille when covered.

I did turn the tomatoes gently about 15 minutes to expose more of them to the smoke. Some took on a nice char. Set the tomatoes over a pan or plate after grilling to let the juices drain. I hand peeled the skins, just pull them off, if you like. Combine peeled tomatoes with juices. (After you sip a sample).

Added a few pieces of hardwood. Slap on the dough.

Meanwhile back at the ranch, I’m going to pulse up the tomatoes, I did eat several pieces before processing ! Looking good ! Added a pinch or two of sugar to balance , that’s all folks!

Pulsed up on the chunky side.

Since I have the grille up to temp a final addition of hardwood, might as well use it to bake a loaf of bread from the batch of dough.

Whattah think next ? ……..

……….. Of course !

The flat bread, smeared with the smokeyness of the tomato, fresh picked Russian red kale

Microplane some parm, a decorative side of sweet cherry tomatoes and kale leaf. Olive oil drizzle of course !

Crispy flat bread uuuummmm!

About 25 minutes later……..

Done! One container of tomato sauce in the freezer, the other in the fridge. Tomatoes plants still flowering.

Smoking it

Just some chicken and pork. Figured I’d do a bit of BBQ. Made the rub for the season. Didn’t get to make the BBQ sauce so I used sweet baby Ray’s , a bit too sweet for my taste so I just served it on the side.

Let the rub stay on the meat at least overnight

Fire up the coals , get the temperature in the zone

I go heavy on the smoke

Just about done

The coals were still going strong so a few potatoes were smoked after the meat. I used mesquite pellets, I add some that have been soaked in water and some dry to temper the temperature. Also a sprayer bottle of water is used to regulate the temperature of the coals.

The meat is refrigerated so I gave a small supply of smoked meats for meals.

Beer marinated smoke roasted chicken half

Back to the grille,   Tandoor oven

 1/2 of a chicken

Beer marinated smoked chicken….

 1 , 12 oz can beer, light American ale

Measured by eye

Rice wine,

rice vinegar

Parsley

Red peppercorns

Black peppercorns

Ginger garlic paste

Chopped onions

Water to top off

Place chicken in 1 gallon bag or suitable container.

Let rest several hours refrigerated.

Mesquite smoke pellets added periodically as necessary to charcoal embers some pellets soaked with water depending on smoker temperature. About 350-400 Fahrenheit 55 minutes.

The next day leg and thigh served with rice, shredded broccoli and Brussels sprouts.

with BBQ sauce.

The salad that sticks to your ribs

A hearty meal is know by the phrase “stick to you ribs”, inferring  that a meal will stay with you after consumption and fill you up not wanting more for quite some time. (Just in case that phrase is new to you).

I actually had ribs with this salad, incorporating salads into your menu need not be boring, serve as a side dish once and a while to replace the starch component, pasta, potatoe etc. 

The ribs come as a leftover from a celebratory meal, dry rubbed and slow roasted over charcoal and mesquite pellets. A rite of summer, learning that BBQ the day before and then high heat grilling briefly the day of the meal is the best way to go time wise. Not all in the family goes for the ribs, (or chicken) like this so left overs are available. Even though I like the spicy fire finish of the BBQ sauce, two ribs sufficed. 

I can’t take credit for the salad , on warm days,  heating the kitchen is a factor in planning meals so Diane made the salad. I mearly added the ribs and BBQ sauce . (Recipe will be posted later.)

One of the few times I utilized bottled dressing , Vadalia onion .