Don’t know what to cook in your smoker? We have a few ideas! Read on to discover the best recipes for your smoker.
Smoked Christmas ham
What’s the real meaning of Christmas? Good food! And what’s better than the classic smoked ham? Here’s what you’ll need:
5-6kg of gammon
1 large carrot
2 celery sticks, cut in half
1 tbsp of olive oil
400g glacé cherries
1 tin of pineapple chunks
2 tbsp of whole cloves
4 tbsp of maple syrup
1 pack of cocktail sticks
Drop a couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the bottom of your water pan, then add your carrots and celery sticks. Toss them to coat in the oil.
Arrange the vegetables and make a stand for your gammon to rest on. Place your gammon on top, fat side up.
Oil the fatty side of the gammon with olive oil, and add some black pepper.
Fill the water pan with hot water. You’ll need just enough to cover your vegetable stand and touch the bottom of the gammon. Add your cloves to the water. Seal the pan as tightly as possible with kitchen foil.
Place the water pan on the top stacker of the smoker, and shut the lid. Cook for 3 hours. This gives your smoker time to steam salt from the gammon and start cooking.
After 3 hours, take the water pan out and remove the foil. Let the gammon cool a bit before placing on a chopping board.
Score the fatty top of the gammon diagonally, and then the same in the other direction to create diamonds.
Push a cocktail stick through a cherry, and a pineapple chunk. Then push the sticks into each diamond on the gammon joint.
Place the water pan back over the fire and top it up with hot water. Place the gammon onto the grill, and glaze liberally with maple syrup.
Cook for 1½ hours, and then rest your ham under a tinfoil tent for 10-15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Smoked lobster tails
Wanting to cook something a little more… fancy? How about smoked lobster tails? It’s simple but all-so-posh. Gather together:
4-6 lobster tails
1/4 of a cup butter
4 of cloves garlic
Start by opening your lobster tails with poultry or heavy-duty kitchen scissors. Pop out the meat from the shell by running your finger along the inside of the lobster.
Melt the butter with garlic cloves. Drizzle this over the meat on the inside of the opened shell.
Then place the lobster into your smoker and cook for 45 minutes, or until the internal temperature registers 135 degrees.
Remove from your smoker and rest for a few minutes. Then slide a fork underneath the lobster meat and lift it out and onto the top of the lobster tail shell.
Serve with additional garlic butter, and dig in!
Smoked mac and cheese
Meat lovers aren’t the only ones that can cook with a smoker – herbivores can join in to! Try our vegetarian mac and cheese. Grab:
1/4 cup of unsalted butter
1/4 cup of flour
2 cups of milk
2 cups of grated sharp cheddar
2 cups of grated Colby cheese
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
500g of macaroni
1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley
1 cup of Panko breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons of butter, melted
Cook the macaroni to al dente.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour to the butter and whisk until smooth. Slowly add the milk, continually stirring until fully incorporated.
Reduce the heat to low and add the cheese, salt, and pepper into the saucepan. Continue to stir the mixture until the cheese has melted. Add the cooked pasta to the saucepan and stir until the pasta is completely coated with the cheese sauce. Then remove the saucepan from the heat.
In a small bowl, toss the Panko breadcrumbs with the melted butter.
Coat the inside of an aluminium BBQ tray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the mac-and-cheese into the tray and spread it out evenly. Top the mac-and-cheese with the Panko breadcrumbs.
Set the tray in the centre of your smoker’s grill, and put the lid on.
Allow the mac-and-cheese to smoke for approximately 40 minutes, or until it’s bubbly and golden brown
Remove the smoked mac-and-cheese from the grill. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve immediately. Delicious!
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