Smoke on the water

Happy Independence Day everyone! Thought I’d kick off my first post on a recent barbeque adventure I shared with our glorious Administrator.

Last Sunday Tony and his other half came to visit me for some fishing and some brisket. The question was how we were going to cook it and fish at the same time. So being a fan of MacGyver and knowing Tony’s love of building things we decided to hot smoke it in this.

That’s right, a giant cardboard tube. Last summer I did an internship at a local vodka distillery that had started making horseradish vodka and this is how it was delivered. Seeing the tube for what it could be I snagged one before it was tossed and waited for this moment to let it shine.A quick trip to grab some hardware and we were set. A few aluminum rods to hold the grill in place, a large grill grate to hold over the smoke and fire and a few other odds and ends.Below you can just make out a small grill that we used to heat the smoker. Above that was a tray with water to keep the heat a little more indirect and make the environment a little more moist.Every hour or so we would put a few more handfuls of charcoal and hickory chips in through the handy side door to keep the temperature between 275°F and 225°F. After 6 or so hours we added corn and potatoes and the feasting commenced.

It was a lot of fun to be able to do this since Tony and I have had many fishing and cooking adventures, just never at the same time.

Other news on that day, my unattended pole decided to make off with some other fish, never to be seen again. So another trip to the store, new rod in hand I managed to catch something.Well it was better than nothing. At least the food was damn good. Cheers!