Smoking

[slacmac]

So I have been doing a bit of smoking lately and loving it. Been doing ribs, cornish game hens, chicken, pork butt, and chops. I usually just use McCormicks rub on my meat with a little cayenne pepper to spice it up. It's good, but I was wondering what anyone else uses for rubs, recipe's and whatnot for smoking? Like, what's your favorite thing to smoke, how you cook it and what you put on/in it when you do? I'll smoke a shoe if it will taste good, just want to try something different =)

[Azith Evertoon]

Not really a comment about smoking in general, but just a suggestion. Stop buying Cayenne Pepper. Instead buy something thats in a green can called "Tony Chachere" .

http://www.cajun-shop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=TCP

McKormick owns the brand now so you can find it anywhere. for 'heat' flavor its everything you need in a can.

[Velkyn Azurel]

Hello ^^

One of the best hot peppers (pimentos) I know is called Bonda Man' Ja(c)k (stands for the Creole: Madam Jack's bottom).
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/harry.mongongnon/images/baillif/piment.jpg

It is hot, hot... and hot.
As it is a creole thingy, maybe some Cajuns took it as well... so you might find it in Cajun groceries, or at your favorite Chinese grocery if there is a West Indian community in your vinicity ^^
Handle it with care, never ever take it with your bare hands once slit, the juice will burn your skin (no joke, i'm freaking serious). Take it and manipulate it by the tail. If you get burnt by contact (eyes, skin), run to the closest water source and rince... and rince... and rince again ^^
It's a tasty pimento, and to me almost anything else tastes like flat water close to it ^^

You can slice a small part of it (of the size of half a nail), and plunge the said part in a marinade ( a 'bath").
The marinade can be composed with
- lemon juice + herbs
- olive oil + herbs
- yoghourt
- honey or anything of your like.

Or, if you have a bucket (a big amount of meat) or a dish you want to boil, you can plunge an entire bonda man jack... up to you to slice it a little bit to release more of its perfume in your dish.
Anyway, it is a strong... I mean a strong thing, so, it's definitely not for sissies ^^
You can also smoke all sorts of fishes if you want ^^

[Azith Evertoon]

Velkyn seems to be making a common mistake here. Sure Tony's is hot, but theres no point in making something actually painful to eat.

The Key to good Cajun food is to make it just the right amount of heat. Here are the signs to determine if you have had good cajun food.

1) Are your sinuses clear?
2) Did you tear up at least once during the meal?
3) When your finished do you feel warm?
4) You could have a piece of pecan pie afterward.

Bad Cajun food signs are :

1) Immediate Heartburn.
2) Pain.
3) You cant eat anything else after it.

Be warned that good or bad...shortly after you will have massive gas.

[Shawee]

I am a Cajun and many of the things you hear about cajun cooking with Tonys and other spices etc. are mostly not true. I say that because that is not how my mother and her mother cooked. I will sometimes add some cajun spice like Tonys, but not often. Cajuns cook mostly with natural flavors. We rely much on natural flavors from onions, bell peppers, celery, AND seafood to make most of the famous dishes. You know what makes the best gumbo in the world? Oysters. You dont have to add any spices to a gumbo made with oysters. In fact, you dont even need to keep the oysters in the gumbo if you dont care for them.. It is the natural fluids from the oysters that make the Gumbo the best in the world.. Throw in some shrimp and Crab meat and i will tell you it is the best thing you will ever eat in your life.
Anyway, a little Louisiana hot sauce every now and than dont hurt no body I say..LOL.

To smoking, I have smoked rabbit, deer, and believe it or not i even smoked nutria with my grandfather when we trapped fur, and i was young, many years ago. I personally dont like using a rub when smoking meat. I like to rely on the natural flavors. The kind of wood chips you use makes a difference. They need to be soaked adequately and that should be all you need.

[Azith Evertoon]

Shawnee I was born in New Orleans :) Yeah sure mom used cayenne, But she greatly loved using Tony's as it covered alot of bases without going crazy about the heat and tobasco can always be added after the meal is cooked to your taste.

I just think for people trying to cook cajun food who dont have the benefit of a mom who taught them how to spice things properly, that tony's is a much safer way to spice your food. Much less chance of going underboard or overboard and making the gumbo uneatable.

[Velkyn Azurel]

Velkyn seems to be making a common mistake here. Sure Tony's is hot, but theres no point in making something actually painful to eat.

This pepper is not painful to eat. Just painful is you are careless at manipulating it ^^
It's the pepper I prefer by far ^^
And it gives you no gas ^^

Oh, reading this thread, I discovered the gumbo dish... I only knew the gombo, which is a plant.

[Azith Evertoon]

There are lots of different gumbos Velk,

Personally I was always more partial to Chicken Gumbo to Seafood.

The key is getting the roux just right and using exactly how much you need to use.

Its hard! Mom always made it look so easy....

[Velkyn Azurel]

Mmmh, it looks interesting to try.

I think I'll try the schrimp gumbo recipe sometime soon ^^
Reading the wiki page I heard that the etymology of the word comes from the gombo... which may explain why clams juices are used (the gombo is a visky plant, with a bitter taste)

Oh, and as speaking of creole/cajun recipes... I know some of them from the French side and I think I should try to give you a recipe or two ^^;

[Azith Evertoon]

If you can find roux in a jar at the store your better off then trying to make it yourself (if your a newbie). It looks like a jar of oil filled with mud...lol

[Velkyn Azurel]

Roux is easy to make, so it will be okay ^^

The only thing I may have hard time to find is clam juice. I'm no clam fan and the only cans I know are with tomatoes.
I wonder if I could replace them with gombos, if they have the same properties than the clam juice.

[Azith Evertoon]

.....
Roux is easy?

....

[Shawee]

There are really two basic types of Gumbo. Okra Gumbo and what we Call file' gumbo. The file' comes from the sassafrass tree. Either one you can add what you want. It is really hard as Azith points out to make distinctions because gumbo has taken on a whole new concept with many versions and twists. But the basics are the same. For example, my mom will not use file' in an Okra gumbo because the okra works well to add thickness.
The difference to me is that you dont typically use seafood in an okra gumbo and the Okra gives it a different flavor. Chicken is the most common meat added. Although, An okra gumbo with shrimp is pretty good. I never tried cooking an okra gumbo.

[Velkyn Azurel]

Yep, roux is easy.

I found you a recipe:
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/4/Basic_Roux61055.shtml

No big deal, really. Unless you have a crappy eletric heater, in which case it will be impossible to temperate the heat.
I made it a couple of times to eat it with schrimps and avocado ^^

[Azith Evertoon]

The idea of roux is easy...yes. its oil and flour. But everytime i try to make it like mom did i spend an hour stirring the mixture (just like mom or dad does) standing over the stove so that nothing burns and yet i either end up with a roux thats too greasy which makes the stew/gumbo taste nasty or overdone and it makes the gumbo taste burnt. It has to come out exactly the right color and texture...recognizing that is the hard part for me. I use a black iron heavy skillet, lightly pan fry the chicken for my gumbo in the same pan, THEN drain excess grease and use the rest of the grease, add flour so the chicken bits are part of the roux. when the roux is ready, cook some chopped onions till translucent and add the roux...let this cook a little longer on a low fire, then put the mixture into a pot of water, add the chicken and seasoning, then let it cook for awhile.


See how vague your link is? :

Heat oil in heavy pot or Dutch Oven. When oil is hot, gradually add flour, stirring constantly until well mixed. Lower flame and continue stirring until chocolate brown. When roux is chocolate brown, removed from pot and set aside. If roux remains in the pot it will continue to cook and get too dark.

[Velkyn Azurel]

See how vague your link is? :

Hey, easy ^^
I just gave your the first link in English language I found; sorry for not having searched ang given you the best recipe of the planet. I have my own version of roux in French/creole, so I don't have to search for one. Just trying to help ^^

Reading you, the first thing that comes to my mind is: watch your fire. Your burnt taste is maybe due to the oil you use, which may be not adapted to it, or your fire being too aggressive. Or maybe your pan burns your dish...
The thing is I have no hard time making my own roux. I'm maybe extremely lucky or gifted afterall ^^

Many recipes coming from west indies implies cool temper. They require a lot of time to cook and to prepare. You sometimes need a whole day to make little things that are eaten in 5 minutes.

I'll post a few things on it ^^

[slacmac]

Didn't know you could smoke Gumbo or make a roux in a smoker!!!!!! Wanted this thread to be about smoking meats and veggies (or whatever) and how people smoke theirs.

[Azith Evertoon]

Yeah we kinda stole your thread. sorry bout that :) It's hard to stay focused on one kind of food :)

[Kaane Feiwong]

add some liquid smoke to your roux.

[Proetus]

http://forums.moreflavor.com/

Scroll down past the beer and winemaking you will see a food section. Great BBQ posts in there.

[Massif]

You can also buy smoked salt or smoke your own rock salt if you want to get smoky flavor into food. You can make things like smoked salads this way. Yes, weird idea. Yes, delicious.

RE: Cajun derail - to all you Cajuns: more Cajun recipes plz.

Seriously. That stuff is so damn good. Also, gotta say that I also like Tony Chachere's.