Smoker for Christmas

[irishjigs]

Hi All,

In searching the forum I saw some great smoker recipes that I will be sure to try out with my new electric barrel smoker I got for Christmas!

I would like to break it in with something this weekend...are there any quick, smaller dishes I could make with it on a Saturday afternoon? It will be just me and the girlfriend and we would be going shopping for the meat that morning. So maybe any ideas on the cut of meat or fish along with the type of wood is what I'm looking for. Any and all thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Gregg

[Jim Almquist]

A nice turkey breast is always a good thing cause of the leftovers and is very simple. I will smoke for 3 hours then finish in the oven.

[thirdeye]

Gregg,

If you have never smoked a fatty, you might throw one or two on with whatever else you decide to do. They are a super simple cook and are delicious.

Fatties are logs of pork breakfast sausage, either 1# or 2# size. Jimmy Dean, Bob Evans or Farmland brands are all good. You just remove the plastic, season with at least black pepper or if you have a favorite rub, use some of that. Put in your smoker around 225° and smoke until the internal temperature is 170°. Turn a couple of times. This takes 2-1/2 to 3 hours. You need a drip pan underneath to catch some of the fats that render out. When they are up to temp, remove and wrap in foil for an hour and let them rest. This allows the moisture to redistribute. Then slice and enjoy. Great for snacks, and wonderful when reheated for breakfast. Serve with biscuits. You can roll your own out of any type of bulk sausage, Italian is one of my favorites. Form a log, then wrap it in plastic wrap, knot one end and twist the other end to firm it up. Refrigerate for a couple of hours then unwrap and smoke. This is a great way for folks that don't care for natural casings to enjoy sausage.

[irishjigs]

thirdeye,

those look really tasty. I'll have to do that. I always buy the "fatties" when they are on sale, and use the Italian stuff for my red sauce. I have a couple maple flavored that I don't know what to do with...I think you just gave me a wonderful snack!