Hobbies and Holidays

It's hard to believe that Independence Day is almost upon us! Where has the time gone? Soon we'll be talking about Fall and making fruit wines. But let's try to stick to the present rather than worrying about the future.

Will you be participating in the American tradition of grilling this 4th of July?  As of right now, the weather in Western New York is looking a little iffy, but we won't let that stop us.

Now seems to be the perfect time to explore a new hobby, doesn't it? Grilling food is a favorite pastime of Americans, but why not try smoking your meat this summer? I discovered this flavorful spin on grilling a couple of years ago and now, our grill sits in the corner of our garage collecting dust.

There's a popular show on TLC called BBQ Pitmasters that I watch faithfully in the summer months. People all over the United States get together and compete for the grand title and a big cash prize, but that's not why I watch. I watch for the amazing recipes and techniques these people use in smoking.

I think we've smoked just about every cut of meat available in the past two years and each one has turned out amazing with a unique flavor. It can take time to get used to cooking 'low and slow' as the BBQ'ers call it, but the combinations of flavors you can create is just about endless.

One thing we've tried new this year is injecting our meat before smoking it. Holy crow! What a great way to add flavor and tenderness to the meat! We have a great marinade injecting kit available here. I bought this to get us started with injecting and it's worked out great!

If you want to get your toes wet before going out to buy a smoker, you can try the smoker bag, which can be found here. It's a portable and easy way to try out some smoked foods.

We also have cedar grilling planks that work great on the grill and give you a hint of wood flavor. They can be found here.

Do you make your own sausage? If you do, did you know that you can smoke it? It turns out delicious! We have a variety of sausage kits here as well.

There is some great information on BBQ and Grilling here.

Whatever the occasion, we hope you find reason to enjoy the great hobby of grilling and smoking. Stop by and we'll get you going in the right direction! What's on your menu for the 4th of July? Share in the comments below!

Happy 4th of July!!

 

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