Captain's Log, Stardate 10.23.2007
My husband made a smoker, thanks to Alton Brown from the Good Eats program on the Food Network. He has also connected with some guys online who smoke meats quite often, to get tips and tricks.
I thought his first efforts quite tasty, but I can also tell that he’s gotten better. He recently roasted a pork shoulder, and I took pictures because ... well, because I could.
He made the smoker out of a couple of terra cotta pots.
He has gone very high-tech. He has a remote thermometer with an alarm that goes off when the meat reaches the right temperature. I think it's just an excuse to feed his gadget-addiction.
Here is the pork shoulder on the grill in the smoker. Underneath is a hotplate (very safety conscious, I know) with a metal pan full of woodchips. The chips smoke, the temperature inside the pot rises, the meat cooks, as he says it, "low and slow."
A few more pictures of the smoker, with our dog, as usual, trying to see what's going on.
"Come on, Mom! Can't I have some?"
The meat is incredibly tender when he takes it out of the smoker. It can literally be shredded with two forks, no knife needed. And of course, the smokey flavor is awesome.
It’s probably shortening our lives by a few years with all the fat, cholesterol, and carcinogens from the smoke, but hey—live large! Anyone who’s tasted Captain Caffeine’s smoked pork can testify it’s worth it.
My husband made a smoker, thanks to Alton Brown from the Good Eats program on the Food Network. He has also connected with some guys online who smoke meats quite often, to get tips and tricks.
I thought his first efforts quite tasty, but I can also tell that he’s gotten better. He recently roasted a pork shoulder, and I took pictures because ... well, because I could.
He has gone very high-tech. He has a remote thermometer with an alarm that goes off when the meat reaches the right temperature. I think it's just an excuse to feed his gadget-addiction.
Here is the pork shoulder on the grill in the smoker. Underneath is a hotplate (very safety conscious, I know) with a metal pan full of woodchips. The chips smoke, the temperature inside the pot rises, the meat cooks, as he says it, "low and slow."
A few more pictures of the smoker, with our dog, as usual, trying to see what's going on.
"Come on, Mom! Can't I have some?"
The meat is incredibly tender when he takes it out of the smoker. It can literally be shredded with two forks, no knife needed. And of course, the smokey flavor is awesome.
It’s probably shortening our lives by a few years with all the fat, cholesterol, and carcinogens from the smoke, but hey—live large! Anyone who’s tasted Captain Caffeine’s smoked pork can testify it’s worth it.
Alton would be quite proud of the Captain. I discovered Mr. Brown in May and my kids loved watching him (for about 3 months - then it fizzled out). He is both educational and entertaining. Did you see his episode on coconut cakes where he brought out the serrated cake knife? It's one of our favorites.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
I love Alton Brown. Have you seen his road trip show. He is a trip!
ReplyDeleteSo...when do you bbq the dog?
ReplyDelete