Smoking

We broke out the smoker on Friday, and smoked a nice hunk of salmon. Easy as pie, just start a fire, dump 1/2 cup whiskey into the water and put the salmon on. Two hours later, it was done, perfectly moist and tender, incredibly tasty.

Today I took it to a meeting with paper thin slices of red onion, capers, dill (lots of dill) and a cream cheese spread made with chives, scallions and yes, dill! Served with rye bread and lemon wedges. Looked beautiful, tasted better.

The best part? There was just enough left for our dinner. What a treat. Love them capers.

We'll do some kielbasa and maybe a turkey breast if we can get started early enough. Smoking isn't like throwing some burgers on the grill. You have to check the fire, check the progress, add more charcoal. It's a process. Of course the salmon, smoking quickly, was easy.

I wasn't sure what would chips I was using, because the bag had lost its label. Maybe apple or alder. Whatever it was, it went perfect with the salmon. A mild smokey flavor, not overkill.

So, here's to a summer of activity on the grill and with the smoker. Maybe I'll try to smoke some mozzarella. Now, there's a thought.

Grapeshot