Tag: Smokers
Reuben Kielbasa
Reuben Kielbasa
I give all the credit in this creation to the Lord Cheeba, as it guides me to come up with these left field ideas of culinary masterpieces. And here it is: the Reuben Kielbasa. This sausage consists of homemade ground corned beef chuck(because brisket is too expensive to grind), sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and pumpernickel breadcrumbs. The sausage is twisted into kielbasa-sized rings, then hung and smoked for 4 hours. From here, you can grill or pan fry the kielbasa. It can be eaten with sautéed cabbage and fried eggs. It is great on a bun with even more sauerkraut and thousand island dressing. The kielbasa can even be used on a charcuterie board. Anything you don’t plan on consuming in the next week should be wrapped in freezer paper and frozen down.
Equipment
- large bin for brining
- meat grinder
- blender
- sausage stuffer
- Electric Smoker
- meat hooks
Ingredients
- 1 gallon water
- 1 cup salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp pink curing salts
- 8 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp allspice berries
- 1 tbsp whole cloves
- 4 bay leaves
- 5 lbs chuck roast
- 16 oz sauerkraut drained
- 8 oz Swiss cheese small cubes
- 1 small rye or pumpernickel loaf processed into breadcrumbs
- 1 bunch parsley chopped
- hog casings
Wood Chips
- hickory
Instructions
- Mix the brining ingredients together in a large bin.
- Add in the chuck. Brine for 10 days.
- Cut up the chuck into cubes for grinding.
- Grind the corned beef Chuck on a coarse ground grinding plate. Thoroughly mix in the sauerkraut, swiss, pumpernickel breadcrumbs, and chopped parsley.
- Squirt the sausage into the hog casings. Twist the sausage into bologna sized rings; about 1lb each.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Hang the kielbasa by meat hooks from the top rack in your smoker. Add the wood chips. All the wood chips to ignite for 10 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 160 degrees.
- Smoke the kielbasa for 4 hours.
- Immediately place the kielbasa in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process. Drain and freeze whatever you don’t plan on cooking in the next week.
Smoked Beer Brined Cornish Hens
Smoked Beer Brined Cornish Hens
Smoking cornish hens needs to occur more often on your dinner table. These hens were brined in beer, onions, and garlic for a day, then smoked with hickory and applewood for about 2 1/2 hours. The hens turn out unbelievably juicy and full of smokey flavor.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 2 cornish hens
- 4 cups beer
- 1/2 onion diced
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 2 bay leaves
Wood Chips
- 1/2 hickory
- 1/2 applewood
Instructions
- Mix all of the brining ingredients together. Brine the cornish hens in a gallon sized storage bag for 24 hours.
- Remove the hens from the brine and place on a rack. Dry out in the refrigerator overnight.
- Let the hens rest at room temperature for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the hens in the smoker.
- Smoke the hens for 2 1/2 hours. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Cayenne Honey Glazed Smoked Meatloaf
Cayenne Honey Glazed Smoked Meatloaf
Growing up, meatloaf and mashed potatoes with meatloaf gravy was one of my favorite meals. I can’t remember the last time I’ve even thought about making it…until I got a smoker. This might be the best meatloaf I’ve ever eaten. It was flavorful, moist and juicy, and gone after 3 meals. The beauty of meatloaf is that you can throw just about anything in it. I think there are couple of necessities that a good meatloaf requires. Regardless of what meat you use, it shouldn’t be lean. Anything more than 85% lean meat will be dry. Meatloaf will need a filler and a binder; that being breadcrumbs and an egg. This will keep the meatloaf tender. For flavoring, grated carrot, celery, and onion really make the loaf taste more luxurious then it really is. Beyond that, you can add any seasoning that suit your taste buds.Smoking the meatloaf slowly adds so much smokiness to the loaf, you’ll wonder why you don’t see more people doing this. I used hickory wood for the smoking process, but pecan, mesquite, oak, or applewood are all equally good depending on the flavor your going for. After adding all of the ingredients and forming the meatloaf, it weighed about 4lbs. This took 2 hours of smoking before the glaze was applied, plus an extra 30 minutes to allow for caramelization.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 3 lbs 85% lean ground beef
- 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 medium onion grated
- 1 medium carrot grated
- 1 stalk celery grated
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
Cayenne Honey Glaze
- 3 tbsp honey mixed with a pinch of cayenne
Meatloaf Sandwich
- 1 tbsp butter
- 2 slices leftover meatloaf 1” thick
- 2 slices wide pan bread
- 2 slices provolone cheese
- 1/4 cup onions sliced into rings
- tomato sliced
- bbq sauce
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Add all of the meatloaf ingredients in a bowl.
- Thoroughly mix.
- Form into a loaf. Cut cross hatches into the top.
- Allow to rest at room temperature for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the meatloaf in the smoker.
- At the 2 hour point, brush the meatloaf with the cayenne honey. Smoke for 30 more minutes.
- Allow to rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
