This was a simple box with attached smoke generator. I bought some smoking pellets and thought this would be easy, however failed miserably with the smoker not producing enough smoke, and not brining the fish beforehand. The only thing I ever managed to do well were 2 chicken breasts which were simply yummy. The journey towards smoked food heaven had begun....
Being a thoughtful type my wife to be bought me a Smoky Jo course for Christmas 2010, which was just what I needed to learn a bit from the masters (mistresses does not seem quite right). I took the course in May 2011, and that is where the love story / smoking addiction began. Following the course we hot smoked some fish and vegetables, and also cold smoked some trout to great success in a snowbee with a cold smoke generator.
However the addiction got worse and the words still ring true from the missus, "If I had known it was going to cause this much hassle I would not have bought you the present" Her objections are not with the food, but with the new addition to our family:
Franchesca!
Born on a quite sunday in a back garden in Warwick, Fran lives outdoors next to the vegetable patch, and comes complete with working chimney.
Franchesca was put to the test for my birthday BBQ, where we smoked 2 sides of a 13lb Trout, sausages, garlic, bacon, peppers, cashew nuts and pistachio nuts. All were met with universal approval from guests! And the leftover trout still graces our scrambled egg breakfast.
It has been a great experience after the Smoky Jo course with 2 particular triumphs in the smoking department:
1) Smoked Beef Goulash - made in the same way as normal goulash but I cold smoked the beef for 4 hrs beforehand. Just make sure you cook it slowly. Also leaving it in the pan and eating it the next day infuses the paprika and smoky beef in better.
2) Smoked Chicken Caesar Salad - Added an extra edge to a classic.....lovely!!
Thanks to Smoky Jo and Georgina for the inspiration, the adventure continues.
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