Back to Basics on the Bullet

We fired up the bullet for Memorial Day; opening day for the smoking season, so to speak. And I wanted to do something new. I’ve done brisket, but it takes forever. Same for ribs. I find that ribs take maybe ten hours start to finish, what with shopping, prepping -- tearing off that membrane on the back-- making the rub, and then smoking for around six hours. So after all that time, when the ribs are served, everyone rips into them, and they’re gone in ten minutes. Ten hours of work for ten minutes of feasting. And because of that, lately, when we want ribs, I stop at the Dinosaur and get a couple racks to go. That way the prep time and the eating time are about the same.

My favorite stuff on the smoker is all the fish, but the thing is that Susan is allergic to most fish. And what fun is it to smoke stuff but not have anyone to share it with? So I wanted to try some new stuff -- things we both could enjoy, and maybe things that one doesn’t ordinarily associate with smoking. Here’s what we tried -- sausage, chicken, duck breast and pork chops.

The sausage was very good; we used John’s technique of making big fat logs of sausage meat with no casing. He calls that a fatty. The meat didn’t dry out and instead remained tender and moist. I used Italian sausage and a garlic and herb poultry sausage -- the latter tasting better with the smoky flavor. For the chicken, Susan filled the cavity with orange wedges, and she put a sweet glaze on the outside. It cooked up crispy on the outside, but tender and juicy inside. But the thing was that, even with a smoky flavor, it really wasn’t all that much better than barbequed chicken.

The duck breast was marinated overnight in apple juice and spices, and then cooked around 90 minutes to medium. Not quite as rare as one would serve it off the stovetop. I expected it to hold more of the smoky flavor. Once again, although the duck was good, it wasn’t appreciably better, or even more distinctive than usual. And considering that it seems best when medium rare, I think my preference would be for grilling, not smoking.

So that takes us to the big surprise of this recent effort: by far the best meat off the smoker was the easiest thing to prepare -- the pork chops. I did them two ways: we marinated one overnight using the same apple juice recipe as the duck breast; and I did one with red rub and a touch of sugar. Both were fabulous. I guess I should have expected the chops to be delicious, because it’s the same meat as ribs. But I was surprised how much smokier they were than the chicken. And we used a kosher chicken, figuring that all the fat would be good for retaining the flavors. (Yes, I know. Pork chops and kosher chicken. It’s an incongruent combination.) Anyway, while it didn’t happen for the chicken, the chops were great. Plus, they were easy. Either recipe, the rub or the marinade, requires a minimum of prep time, and little or no worry on the bullet. In fact, I never checked temp or anything. When they looked good, I pulled them out. And with the bone, you get the full barbeque experience.

One more thing. We also slow cooked a small pot of Susan’s famous baked beans in the bullet. They were the perfect compliment to the chicken and chops. So there you have it -- pork chops and baked beans. Back to basics.