Smokin' Hot for the Holidays

It’s that time of year again.  The holiday season is rapidly approaching and it’s time to start cooking.  Gifts are wonderful, songs are sentimental, decorations are lovely, but let’s face it, the food is the critical ingredient for a great holiday season.

If you are looking for a unique way to prepare meals that are fast and tasty, look no further, I’ve got the answer.  I received a gift last year that has turned out to be one of my all-time favorite kitchen gadgets, the Emson Infusion BBQ Pressure Smoker.  When Al told me that he had something “big” for my  Christmas gift last year that he was sure I was going to love, I must admit that an indoor smoker was not the first thing that crossed my mind… or the second ,or the third… you get the picture. However, it turned out to be one of the best additions to ever grace my kitchen.  This electric cooker helps me prepare smoked salmon in under 30 min., smoked cheese in 10 min., a whole chicken smoked and cooked to perfection in under an hour.  As of yet, I’ve never failed to get rave reviews from family and friends on these meals.

Preparation is fairly simple, cover your meat in a spice rub, add your wood chips and a little water to the bottom of the pot, set the timer and go. You can use any spice rubs you like.  I make my own so that I can control the salt content.  For salmon and pork dishes, I use a sweeter rub that contains brown sugar in addition to chili, paprika, etc.  For chicken or ribs, I use a spicier rub to turn up the heat a bit.  I’ve stopped buying rotisserie chickens all together.  I just buy a whole chicken and smoke it for 45 min.  Voila! I have great chicken meat for soups and casseroles that has deep flavor and none of the added salt of a rotisserie chicken. My Emson Smoker can hold up to 4 lbs of meat, but there is a larger capacity version available.

The wood chips actually have more influence over the flavors than the spice rub.  The more traditional flavors like oak, mesquite, and hickory all work great, but they tend to be a bit heavy for more delicate dishes.  Alder wood is a perfect fit for smoking salmon and cherry wood or apple wood are great for pork and complement the sweeter flavors of those dishes.

The smoker is not limited to cooking meat.  Imparting a smoky goodness to your favorite hard cheese takes just 10 min on the cold smoke setting.  Smoked corn is delicious with ribs or chicken.  Cold smoked tomatoes add a unique flavor that really jazzes up your salads.

Here are just a few tips to ensure perfect results.  Place the smoker near your oven hood because you are going to want the vent hood on when you open the lid of the smoker.  Use a combination of cold smoking followed by hot smoking to cook fish or veggies.  And finally, always check the rubber seal on the lid to ensure it’s well seated.  If it’s not, the smoking will still succeed, but you will get some smoke escaping into the room as you cook.

So if you want to be smokin’ hot for the holidays, look no further than your own kitchen counter.   Or better yet, come on over to our place and step into the kitchen Thru My Back Door.