11th Commandment: Thou shall not say “ I’ve nothing else to smoke”. So you have all the beef, pork, poultry and cheese that you had in the house all smoked and put away. Now what, you are having smoking withdrawals and your smoker feels ignored. Go to the kitchen cabinets and grab your wife’s gourmet crackers along with the Ritz, Cheeze-It’s, (many types, all good) that bag of croutons and the tortillas.
Warning: It is very easy to over smoke bread type products. The more porous the product the less smoke time needed to finish.
Special equipment needed:
Collapsible steamer baskets, deep fry basket or metal colander. You can use anything with holes that will allow smoke to flow.
Apple, Alder or wood of your choice.
Preparation:
Cheeze-It’s or croutons – Place in container 2 to 3 inches deep.
Ritz crackers or other crackers of that type. Lay 2 to 3 layers of crackers in containers. Don’t overcrowd.
Flat breads and tortillas may be laid directly on racks.
We would all like to be able to smoke brisket, ribs and butts like the SmokinOkie. This will give you the basics that he has learned over the years that has helped him produce his award winners.
Keep good notes as this is a way to learn how to choose wood, the importance of monitoring the smoke, color and density along with controlling the heat without spending a lot of money if it doesn’t meet your expectations. Remember as the Smoke says “ It’s done when it’s done”.
I will normally wait until a good plume of smoke is exiting the vents before introducing the product.
According to your taste, crackers may be done in 10 to fifteen minutes. Croutons will be done in 5 minutes or less. A subtle taste is all that is needed.
Use the smoked tortillas to make burritos using that pulled pork you just did.
MaxQue, if you are reading this, try smoked croutons in a Caesar Salad on a couple of your customers. If they don’t tell you it was the best Caesar you ever made. Send me the check; I will pay for their salad.
This is longer than I’m sure you expected but I’m smoking those Cheez-It’s and had nothing else to do. Hope this helps, have fun.
Tom
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