We're always trying to find ways to make the two biggest staples of the Paleo diet, meat and veggies, look more attractive on the plate and go down tastier (There's a comparison there, but I think it best to leave that one alone.) In reality, our dinners typically, on an average day, are normal. Very normal. They end up grilled with seasoning and steamed or roasted with seasoning.
This is how I feel about dinner: wanting something glamorous, which my favorite cookbook, Well-fed, easily provides -- but typically, ending up with 'Everday'. I've now discovered, well, actually am still discovering, how to completely fall head-over-flank in love with meat and veggies again. We've started smoking. And while we're still novices, I can see the potential for greatness. Smoking goes hand-in-hand with attentiveness, which makes it absolutely perfect for me. It's perfect because Chris and I are using it to train and expand our attention span. Along with smoking, we are old-fashioned-charcoal barbecuing again. And I'm here to convince you, that, at the beginning of the summer, you need to do the same.
Over the years, because of time, schedules, and flat-out convenience, we've evolved into gas grillers. And this, like everything else in our lives, is designed to bring us more time to add more things into our schedules. By gas grilling, we can cram yet another event or appointment into our already busy days. And for some days, this is exactly what you need. Throw a hamburger on a gas grill, and you are eating in 30 minutes, which might just be at 9:00 at night. But by adding a charcoal grill or a smoker or both to your patio, you have just exponentially increased your meat and vegetable taste variety. There are tons of charcoal and chip types, which will flavor your food unbelievably. We bought "Wicked Good" Weekend Warrior Charcoal Blend, made from tropical timber wood. We added to that a pile of wood chips made from the whiskey barrels used by Jack Daniels. Half an hour to heat up, kabobs, squash, and egglant basted in oil and placed on it, and we were eating crazy flavor in just under an hour. Seriously, make-you-kiss-the-Jack-Daniels-bottle-and-yourself flavor. And I had forgotten, that because of 18 years of busy lives, that charcoal grills are essential in cooking real food, flavorful, lovingly cooked food.
Smoking is the next adventure step up. C'mon, all the cool kids smoke right? If it's smoking a pork butt, a brisket, or a side of wild Alaskan Salmon, yes. It's a commitment - you commit to the relationship with your meat for the greater part of the day, meaning hours and hours. A friend of mine gets up at 5 am to start smoking his meat for the evening. We got 2 pork butts done in 11 hours- meat on the grill at 8 am, eating at 7:30 pm. Smoking blocks the meat from the direct flame of the charcoals or hardwood, and allows the smoke to fill the grill and flavor and cook the meat over hours. The reason it requires a committed partner in the relationship is because the temperature must remain low to cook it at the right speed. Letting it get too hot will dry it out. But, if you give it plenty of attention, your butt can be shredded and perfect too.
There are many investment levels of this adventure. You can run to Wal Mart and get a basic, cheapo charcoal grill and start small. Smokers also can be inexpensive, if they are smaller. You can get a combo, which is what we did. The Big Green Egg is an investment for sure, but it does both, and it bakes - I will be trying the Meatzza on this one eventually. Keep your gas grill, because it's a security blanket, and will let you feed people quickly and conveniently. I'm not giving mine up - it's like a microwave to my charcoal grill now -- sometimes you want or need the microwave. This weekend, we're going for beef brisket, or possibly another pork shoulder/butt. Now go get grilling old school. Fire it up, put the classic tunes on, clear your schedule, and enjoy the day and the people around you. And the more you smoke or grill, I guarantee there will be more people around you to enjoy.
1 comment:
So I know this guy who is pretty good at smoking meat. I should introduce you. There is a lot of stuff From Uncle Carl's Kitchen that you might like!
What time is dinner? I will be nearby tonight at Oakdale.
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