Smoke & Spice: Cooking with Smoke, the Real Way to

[A Patric]

Hi all,

I have owned this book for some time now and absolutely love many of the recipes. However, I find that the ones that I have tried are so good that I keep going back to them without trying new ones. What are some of your favorite recipes from this book and why? Maybe hearing about them will be the push I need to try others.

Tomorrow I'll be smoking spare ribs, tenderloin, sausage, and pineapple. I'll be making the peach-jalapeno sauce, and the KC baked beans along with corn on the cob and smoked/roasted garlic for a nice baguette.

So what do you like to make out of the book?

[Peter the eater]

I have not heard of the book, but I am a bit intrigued . . . what exactly are you doing tomorrow and why? Maybe you should post some process pictures.

[A Patric]

I have not heard of the book, but I am a bit intrigued . . .  what exactly are you doing tomorrow and why? Maybe you should post some process pictures.

←

While I'm sure that smoking of some sort does take place in Nova Scotia, I don't know if there is any type of cuisine there that approximates the traditional smoked meat barbeque that has many forms in many southern states of the US, and in Missouri as well. Bascially the technique is hot-smoking, as opposed to cold-smoking that might be used for uncooked sausages, salmon and other fish, and sometimes other raw pork products that will later be cooked. Hot-smoking, rather, actually cooks the meat while adding smoke flavor (usually from Hickory, apple, cherry, or other hardwoods). The meats, prior to smoking, are generally subjected to a "rub" of a mixture of salt and spices, and/or a marinade, and then sometimes are basted with a flavored "mop" during the cooking process. The temperature is kept quite low at about 200-225F on average, and generally the meat takes many hours to fully cook as the collagen breaks down and the resulting meat becomes quite tender and flavorful.

Then, of course, there are a wide range of side-dish traditions that include multiple types of bread or bread-type items, vegetable dishes, bean dishes, cole slaw, special desserts, etc. Beer is the common drink of choice.

"Smoke and Spice" covers a wide variety of food preparations of this barbeque tradition. What I will be doing is smoking some meats and making some traditional barbeque side-dishes.

I was hoping that some people who are familiar with the book would have favorite recipes to share.

Unfortunately I won't have the time to take photos and post them, but there are many excellent photos of hot and cold-smoked meats here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=25900

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=79195

The first is about hot-smoking pork shoulder, and the second is about many different items, many of which are smoked.

Enjoy!

Edited April 21, 2007 by A Patric (log)

[A Patric]

Since this book is a James Beard award winner I am surprised that no one has it. Do you think it is a case of the majority of the US not being in areas with a prolific barbeque tradition? To be honest, I haven't really paid much attention when travelling around the country regarding whether barbeque restaurants even exist to any large extent in places on the east and west coast. Perhaps chains more than anything else?

Any thoughts?

[C. sapidus]

Since this book is a James Beard award winner I am surprised that no one has it.

I have the book, but we do not (yet) have a real smoker. The Jamisons take a purist approach to smoking, so I will probably not use the book until we have the proper equipment. We have been approximating with a propane grill, smoke pellets, etc. I have my eye on a Weber Smoky Mountain, though, so I will be reading this thread with considerable interest.

The Jamisons' book came out in 1994, so that could also be a factor in lack of responses. Is Smoke & Spice still in print?

Do you think it is a case of the majority of the US not being in areas with a prolific barbeque tradition?

←

Barbecue tradition is probably a factor. We are on the northern fringes of barbecue country. There are a number of chains in town, but trailer smokers appear in parking lots and at outdoor events during warm-weather weekends.

[A Patric]

Since this book is a James Beard award winner I am surprised that no one has it.

I have the book, but we do not (yet) have a real smoker. The Jamisons take a purist approach to smoking, so I will probably not use the book until we have the proper equipment. We have been approximating with a propane grill, smoke pellets, etc. I have my eye on a Weber Smoky Mountain, though, so I will be reading this thread with considerable interest.

The Jamisons' book came out in 1994, so that could also be a factor in lack of responses. Is Smoke & Spice still in print?

Do you think it is a case of the majority of the US not being in areas with a prolific barbeque tradition?

←

Barbecue tradition is probably a factor. We are on the northern fringes of barbecue country. There are a number of chains in town, but trailer smokers appear in parking lots and at outdoor events during warm-weather weekends.

←

Hi C,

Well, it looks like there was a recently published new edition that is updated and expanded with 100 new recipes (do I sound like an advertisement?), and it was published in 2003.

Smoke and Spice

It is over 500 pages now.

One of the great things about this book, in addition to the excellent recipes and the fact that it tries to give equal space to traditions from every barbeque region, is that there are always "liner notes" about different restaurants where one can try excellent barbeque that is an example of a certain style.

I have learned about restaurants that were practically in my backyard, but with which I wasn't yet familiar For example, there is a blurb about Hayward's in Kansas City with a statement that they make some of the best beef burnt ends in the country. Just recently I tried them out, and indeed, they were better than any restaurant burnt ends that I'd ever had...by far, and they were quite inexpensive too. In fact, the only better ones that I have tried were made by me, using a recipe from Smoke and Spice where you use a whole packer-cut brisket, then after hours and hours of smoking, separate the top layer of meat from the bottom and then smoke the top one even longer. By the time it is done, it is so black that it does look literally burnt, but in actuality is so meltingly tender and flavorful that I cannot even come close to putting the experience in words. That recipe, IMO, with its special rub and particular timing and method is worth the price of the book alone.

I hope that you get to try out some of the recipes with your smoker-to-be, because so many of them are amazing.

Alan

[Marlene]

We also have the book, but we haven't actually made anything out of it yet. Now that the weather is getting nicer, maybe it's time to dust off the smoker and pull the book out.

[A Patric]

We also have the book, but we haven't actually made anything out of it yet.  Now that the weather is getting nicer, maybe it's time to dust off the smoker and pull the book out.

←

You'll be happy you did!

[A Patric]

Anyone working from the book yet?

Tomorrow will be:

-Smoked brisket, with an eye on the amazing burnt end recipe from the book which takes the top part of a packer-cut brisket and smokes it again! (the best burnt ends I have ever had are because of this recipe), and then smoked-brisket hash for breakfast Sunday morning, which I have yet to try.

-Smoked hamburgers with hand-chopped beef and just a slight sprinkling of a texas rub

-Home-made ranch-style texas sauce (this has nothing to do with ranch dressing)

-Home-made strawberry shortcake using the buttermilk biscuit recipe from the book

-Peach-mango salsa using a combination of a family salsa recipe and the peach-jalapeno BBQ sauce from the book.

All of these recipes are from the book, or are influenced by the book, which is quick becoming one of my top three or four favorites.

Edited April 28, 2007 by A Patric (log)

[dls]

I received my current smoker for Christmas, 2005 and the book was included as a bonus. Early on, I referred to it frequently but had pretty much forgotten about it until I came I noticed this thread.

I flipped through the book and came across a few a few recipes that, although modified for personal taste, have become family favorites......

-Carolina Sandwich Slaw - P. 62. For pulled pork sandwiches

-Cha-Cha Chorizo - P. 96. Made as patties, it's an excellent breakfast sausage.

-Spicy Asian Flank Steak Salad - P. 294. This is extremely good, even if prepared without the greens as a salad.

-Bar-BQ Ranch Sauce - P. 353. With a few mods, this has become the "Go-To" BBQ sauce in our house.

All in all, "Smoke & Spice" is an excellent reference book for smoke cooking. Both novices and those with many years of experience of cooking by this method will find a ton of recipes, tips, and helpful techniques.

Thanks for starting this thread and jogging my memory, A Patric. I think that I'll be doing the flank steak today.

[Marlene]

We'll be smoking ribs today using the bourbon glazed ribs recipe from the book.

[LEdlund]

I've had the book for years and have used it regularly. I don't have it in front of me but I know the macaroni salad from that book is my go-to version for picnics.

[A Patric]

Marlene,

How were those ribs?

[Marlene]

They were great, actually.

This one is a bit blurry, but you get the idea.

I think we pulled them off the smoker a touch too early, but they were still fabulous. We've bought another smoker to take to the cottage this summer and this book will be going with us!

[lcdm]

I have the book, but have not used it much. Now that the weather is warming up I've pulled it out to see what I can make this weekend. I have made "The Renowned Mr. Brown" recipe with great success. Until I started looking at the book again I had forgotten how many non-BBQ recipes there were in the book (like for deserts, sides and drinks).

Marlene those ribs look delicious!!

Lisa

[snowangel]

I know that the Jamison's have a couple of other grilling books out, and I'm wondering if anyone has experience with them.