Got together with some friends who are interested in learning to smoke meat and we launched an ambitious undertaking. We wanted to have something for a Mothers Day Dinner for the women and came up with the idea of smoking Italian Sausage for that evenings dinner and smoking a piece of Brisket and a big ol Turkey breast. 3 Meats at once.
So by early in the afternoon we had the Turkey on one side of the grill
and it had been olive oiled and rubbed with a poultry rub we found and mixed up, the Brisket which I slathered up with prepared mustard and used
a Kroger Garlic & Peppercorn hard crust rub, and the Italian Sausage right out of the pack just to see how they would fare with the Hickory smoke
we would blast them with.
We figured the Sausages would be well cooked and smoked within 3 hours
and I fixed up a sauce of tomato, green pepper, and onions spiced up like the ones you buy on the mid way at the State Fair's from the concessions.
The Turkey would be held for Sunday, Mothers Day (today) and the Brisket for one evening this week when we'd want to tear into it.
So we fired up the minion in a rather large charge of briquettes and got up a head of smoke from the wet hickory wrapped in foil.
The Turkey had been brined over night and was ready to be rubbed. I had used my syringe on the Brisket the night before and pumped it with a mix of Dales marinade and Worcestershire Sauce. I hit it about every square inch and gently pumped the sauce to it and allowed it to rest for a bit before placing it a gallon zip lock to sit in the fridge overnight.
So by the next day we would be ready to put these in the smoker and
have at it.
This is how the Turkey Breast Came out
Carved open it was super juicy and oh did it smell good. Warmed it in the oven for today's Mothers Day Dinner.
Then we sliced it up to plate it and it was like cutting butter it was so tender.
But more about the Mothers Day Dinner later. This just covers the story of the Turkey.
The Italian Sausage smoked up nice and the smoke just took it into another realm. With the tomato sauce, Peppers & Onions I had steamed some steak buns to put these together with. To go with it we had mustard potato salad, baked beans, and bread & butter pickles with some Iced tea.
But here is a picture of them in the bowl. They were lighter before the smoking. These had chicken in them as part of the meat and I'd never seen Italian Sausages like that before. Don't know where they got them.
As for the Brisket, here it is with the beginnings of the rub applied over the mustard.
The fine rub stuck nicely to the mustard and I didn't lose much during the smoking.
Here the finished Brisket has rested and I cut the two tips to wrap up for
the others to take home and give their friends and family a taste.
On the right side tip a slice is set up so you can see it.
But as for today's Mothers Day dinner, we had the Turkey and it was juicy
and tender and with a lovely smokey flavor. Steamed some squash, green beans, and we soaked some corn on the cob in a white wine brine
before roasting it on the grill.
This soaked corn was a whole new experience. Y_U_M !!
When the corn starts coming in with the husk on it we'll experiment more
with the wine soak. Presently it has the husk removed. Farmers market here we come.
For desert we had some strawberries which were sliced and generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Then topped with about a teaspoon or so of Balsamic Vinegar. If you haven't tried this......hold onto your tongue.
It is an interesting flavor experience. Talk about layers of flavor !!!
Saved the Turkey carcass to pick the remaining meat to make Turkey hash with and put the
rest into a stock pot with water to make stock from.
So by early in the afternoon we had the Turkey on one side of the grill
and it had been olive oiled and rubbed with a poultry rub we found and mixed up, the Brisket which I slathered up with prepared mustard and used
a Kroger Garlic & Peppercorn hard crust rub, and the Italian Sausage right out of the pack just to see how they would fare with the Hickory smoke
we would blast them with.
We figured the Sausages would be well cooked and smoked within 3 hours
and I fixed up a sauce of tomato, green pepper, and onions spiced up like the ones you buy on the mid way at the State Fair's from the concessions.
The Turkey would be held for Sunday, Mothers Day (today) and the Brisket for one evening this week when we'd want to tear into it.
So we fired up the minion in a rather large charge of briquettes and got up a head of smoke from the wet hickory wrapped in foil.
The Turkey had been brined over night and was ready to be rubbed. I had used my syringe on the Brisket the night before and pumped it with a mix of Dales marinade and Worcestershire Sauce. I hit it about every square inch and gently pumped the sauce to it and allowed it to rest for a bit before placing it a gallon zip lock to sit in the fridge overnight.
So by the next day we would be ready to put these in the smoker and
have at it.
This is how the Turkey Breast Came out
Carved open it was super juicy and oh did it smell good. Warmed it in the oven for today's Mothers Day Dinner.
Then we sliced it up to plate it and it was like cutting butter it was so tender.
But more about the Mothers Day Dinner later. This just covers the story of the Turkey.
The Italian Sausage smoked up nice and the smoke just took it into another realm. With the tomato sauce, Peppers & Onions I had steamed some steak buns to put these together with. To go with it we had mustard potato salad, baked beans, and bread & butter pickles with some Iced tea.
But here is a picture of them in the bowl. They were lighter before the smoking. These had chicken in them as part of the meat and I'd never seen Italian Sausages like that before. Don't know where they got them.
As for the Brisket, here it is with the beginnings of the rub applied over the mustard.
The fine rub stuck nicely to the mustard and I didn't lose much during the smoking.
Here the finished Brisket has rested and I cut the two tips to wrap up for
the others to take home and give their friends and family a taste.
On the right side tip a slice is set up so you can see it.
But as for today's Mothers Day dinner, we had the Turkey and it was juicy
and tender and with a lovely smokey flavor. Steamed some squash, green beans, and we soaked some corn on the cob in a white wine brine
before roasting it on the grill.
This soaked corn was a whole new experience. Y_U_M !!
When the corn starts coming in with the husk on it we'll experiment more
with the wine soak. Presently it has the husk removed. Farmers market here we come.
For desert we had some strawberries which were sliced and generously sprinkled with powdered sugar. Then topped with about a teaspoon or so of Balsamic Vinegar. If you haven't tried this......hold onto your tongue.
It is an interesting flavor experience. Talk about layers of flavor !!!
Saved the Turkey carcass to pick the remaining meat to make Turkey hash with and put the
rest into a stock pot with water to make stock from.
Comment