Smokin'

As I find with so much of our life at this stage, things tend to fall into patterns and cycles. Now is the smoking season when I fire up the Yoder and smoke the meat and fowl we will enjoy throughout the year.

I have commented in past posts that the decision to have purchased a smoker that can easily handle enough food to feed a small platoon, a very hungry girl's volleyball team or your family of hungry stoats has influenced how I use it. Initially part of the reluctance to use it was because it was a bit of a pain to clean and set up. But like so much else, I have got that figured out. No, the reason is that we just don't eat that much meat or fowl. And it seems a waste to crank it up for something small....it uses the same effort and fuel whether there is a two pounds being smoked or 30 pounds. It is also something that you can't use in cold weather as it works at a very output of heat and when the cast iron unit itself is ice cold there is no way it can get heated up to temperature

This means I use it maybe four to six times during the summer and when I do, I make a lot of whatever I am making and then freeze small portions or the rest of the year. A couple of weekends ago I made ribs. This weekend was pulled pork (12 pounds of it). Next week I am doing poultry - most likely 6 bone-in whole chicken breasts (we use the meat for salads and sandwiches) and 2 ducks. I experimented with duck last year and was quite pleased. I will use the meat for cooking, will turn all the skin into cracklings and will make a broth from all the bones. I actually have entertainment coming up in October with this in mind.  I am planning to make a smoked duck risotto using both broth and meat with the cracklings sprinkled on top of the finished dish.