Low and slow..aka..For love of smoke...

The leaves are turning and I am
starting to feel a chill in the air, so it
it must be time to put away the charcoal grill. No never, never, never.....I grill year round all the way through winter, until spring has come again. The smell of smoking meat in the winter is intensified by the cold air. There is something primal about fire and cooking meat over it. I am no anthropologist, but I think it is hardwired in our souls..the connection between our early existence and fire is so intertwined that it can never be seperated.
When I grill in fall and winter I choose large more primal pieces of meat, whole chickens, turkeys, prime ribs, sirloins, beef briskets, pork shoulders, picnic hams, legs of lamb etc. Build a hot fire, while it burns down a bit, rub the meat down and go low and slow for up to six hours depending on the type of meat it is, letting the gentle heat and the smoke go to work. This sort of time scale gives me more time to sit by the fire with a hot cider or hot chocolate, a good book and the company of my family. Maybe roast some root vegetables, spaghetti squash or the like, bake a loaf of bread and wait for the meat to simply get done. This is a patient deliberate method of cooking that requires a little planning and an full afternoon to enjoy. Keep some charcoal on hand this fall and winter, broom the snow and ice off your grill or smoker and cook low and slow with some heat and smoke. You will be amply rewarded for your patience....Until next time