Smoking Meat

One of my first priorities after moving to Brooklyn (yeah, yeah, we'll see whether the blog title stays put) in a house with a yard was getting myself a smoker. After two years of delicious smokery courtesy the Wolf-Ferrari house, a change of location demanded that I get my own carcinogenic deliciousness up and running. So it was that, for my birthday, I bought myself a Brinkmann Gourmet Electric Smoker– very basic, no temperature gauge or even on/off switch, but electric, two big racks and only $70.

After assembling and curing it, I determined that yesterday would be the first trial-run of the big red beast, and so assembled a range of meats and preparations to see how it all went.

Long story short: super-awesome.

Long story slightly longer: preparations and results for each given meat, below, in order of awesomeness.

1) Spanish Mackerel

Background: I'd had it in my mind to smoke some fish, and so stopped by the fishmongers at the Ft. Greene Farmer's Market on Saturday looking for a likely victim. The lovely, greasy Spanish Mackerel was a perfect prospect, and so I picked up three filets.

Preparation: To start with, I went just with a super-simple fish smoking technique –

1. Liberally sprinkle kosher salt onto plate
2. Place filets on plate
3. Liberally sprinkle kosher salt on filets
4. Let sit for 10-15 minutes
5. Wash off salt with cold water, transfer to dry plate and pat dry
6. When ready to smoke, transfer to large sheet of aluminum foil
7. Place aluminum foil on grate of smoker, and smoke for ~2 hrs.
8. Enjoy!

Verdict: Hot out of the smoker, the mackerel was simply divine – no longer greasy, the fat had kept the fish moist and tender, the smoke providing a lovely counterpoint to the salt and sweetness of the fish. And then today, chunked out and eaten on top of a poppy-seed bagel with cream cheese, the fish was just about as good a bagel-topping as I've ever had. Highly, highly recommended

2) Whole Chicken

Background: No picture, because we demolished the bird entirely. I got a nice, free-range, small (~3 lbs.) bird, because who doesn't love a chicken?

Preparation: Super-basic. Covered in olive oil, salt, pepper, and smoked for four (4) hours right on the grate. 

Verdict: It only misses first prize because the mackerel was so transcendent, but this was basically a perfect bird. The skin was a deep golden brown, crispy but not overly so, and the meat inside was just outrageously juicy and tender. I am very, very much looking forward to cooking down this carcass for stock, and to repeat performances smoking birds.

3) (tie) Pepper-rubbed Turkey Thighs 

Background: Also from the bounty of the Farmer's Market, these big ol' turkey thighs (3+ lbs.' worth) were meant as an experiment in de-boned poultry, and also as fodder for tacos and sandwiches for the week.

Preparation: I went with a (mostly) dry rub for these, made of

• 1 tbs. chili powder
• 1 tbs. paprika
• 1 tbs. cayenne pepper
• 1 tbs. cumin powder
• 1/2 tbs. cinnamon powder
• 1 tbs. maple whiskey
• 2 tbs. apple cider vinegar

coated them, placed them in a Ziploc, and marinated overnight. Put them on the rack and smoked for four (4) hours as well.

Verdict: Very nice, though room for improvement – maybe more of a marinade and a little oil will help hold more moisture in (not really much in the way of skin on these guys). Great smokiness comes through in the meat, and the rub firmed up nicely into a spicy and flavorful crust all around.

3) (tie) Chicken Liver Pâté

Background: After once accidentally discovering how awesome smoked liver is, I've become an enormous fan of this mostly-overlooked-currently-in-this-country-among-some-audiences organ. At least when it comes from birds.

Preparation: Having had great success with making a pâté with sherry after the fact, I decided to go traditional and soak the livers in booze (ha!) the night before –

1. Wash 1 lb. livers, and transfer to glass bowl
2. Pour four (4) oz. sherry over them, and mix gently
3. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight
4. When ready to smoke, drain livers in colander (but don't rinse – just let excess liquid off)
5. Get a large sheet of aluminum foil (or aluminum pie plate), and create circular ridge
6. Place livers in pie plate or foil approximation thereof
7. Put container on rack of smoker, and smoke for ~3 hours
8. Let cool, and transfer to bowl; mash thoroughly with fork
9. Cover, and transfer to fridge
10. Serve chilled or room temperature
11. Enjoy on bread or crackers! 

Verdict: Very flavorful, and a great success. Also nice to make ~12 oz. of pâté with ~$3 of ingredients.

5) Tuna

Background: Figured I'd use one of the more-traditional smoked fishes as well, so picked up a small steak.

Preparation: I sliced the steak in half, for smaller pieces, and used the same prep as the mackerel –

1. Liberally sprinkle kosher salt onto plate
2. Place steaks on plate
3. Liberally sprinkle kosher salt on filets
4. Let sit for 10-15 minutes
5. Wash off salt with cold water, transfer to dry plate and pat dry
6. When ready to smoke, transfer to large sheet of aluminum foil
7. Place aluminum foil on grate of smoker, and smoke for ~2 hrs.
8. Enjoy!

Verdict: Not bad, but not a runaway success. Came out a little dry – could definitely use a nice marinade to keep moisture in and add some other flavors.

6) Chicken Heart

Background: Well, there were giblets with the chicken, and I'm not one to waste food.

Preparation: Just put it on the aluminum foil, similar to the livers.

Verdict: Smoky! Very, very meaty and chewy. But, there's a reason you don't really see chicken hearts on menus most places.

...

So, all in all, an excellent start. Stay tuned for additional adventures in smoking, and if you've got wood or meat to devote to the cause, let me know!

Chicken Liver Paté

For reasons that are probably a bit beyond my comprehension, I've gotten incredibly into liver recently. Specifically bird liver which, astoundingly, is just about the cheapest part of the bird you can buy. So armed with the larger part of a pound of smoked chicken liver (courtesy a friend's smoker), I proceeded to make some paté.

Chicken Liver Paté

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb. chicken liver, smoked
• 3 cloves elephant garlic, roasted
• 1/2 onion, chopped, caramelized
• 2 oz. cream sherry
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1 tbs. butter

Procedure

1. Chop all ingredients finely
2. Melt butter in saucepan, add garlic
3. Add onions, liver and pepper; stir thoroughly
4. When hot, add sherry and cook down, mushing all ingredients together to a delicious goo
5. When gooey, remove from heat and let cool for a few mintues
6. Throw 'er in the food processor or blender
7. Get everything out, put in a container and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours
8. Serve on crackers and eat the hell out of it

Verdict

Duh. Obscenely decadent and delicious.

Alternately, if you prefer it in the original French, there's

Dominique's Foie Gras via Claire

Ingredients

large goose liver (500g)

salt

white pepper

sugar

cognac

Procedure 

Rajouter sel, poivre blanc, muscade râpée, une pincée de sucre, deux cueilleres soupe d’alcool, porto, cognac, armagnac, tu couvres d’un film, et tu laisses macérer une nuit.

In your bowl, put salt, white pepper (I'm fairly sure I used regular), a pinch of sugar, 2 tablespoons of alcohol (porto, cognac, armagnac), cover with the transparent plastic, leave in the fridge one night.

Le lendemain, tu prends du film étirable, l’enrouler une douzaine de fois, comme un saucisson, fermer les bords avec le fil de fer. Il faut absolument fermer hermétiquement.

The next day, take some transparent plastic film, wrap up the liver a dozen times (I used to do 20 times), close the ends with twisty-metallic thingees. It HAS to be impermeable.

Faire bouillir 5 L d’eau dans une grande marmite, quand l’eau bout, tu éteints, et tu plonges ton foie dedans, et tu le maintiens au fond. Mets le couvercle. Quand l’eau est froide, ton foie est cuit. Il faut le retirer. Puis, l’enrouler dans un torchon et le laisser dans le frigo 5 a 8 jours (8 c’est mieux).

Get your biggest pot, and put 5 litres of water, bring to a boil (it might be easier to get your kettle's help on this, 5L is a lot of water). When the water boils, turn the stove off, place your liver at the bottom--keep it there (mine floated, so I had to submerge it under a couple of bowls-get creative). Cover the pot and leave it be. Once your water is cold, the liver is ready (it will take hours, of course). Take it out of the water, wrap it pretty snuggly in a kitchen towel, place it in the fridge for 5 to 8 days (8 days is better).

Bon appetit!

Bon appetit!