Braciole

A few days ago, I had pulled one of the two halves with sauce from the freezer and defrosted it. I then put it in a saucepan over low heat with a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce and a little bit of sugar to knock down the acidity. The smoke aroma took over the house. This made me worry if the smoking process was too overpowering. After letting it bubble down some, I removed it from the heat and put it in the fridge for a few days. Doing this tends to let the ingredients settle together and enhance the flavors. I cut down the braciole so it could be more easily dispensed.

I heated it and served it over pasta. The smoke flavor came out nicely. It didn't hit me over the head like I was worried that it might.

Lessons learned -

1. My mother had some of the leftovers and she suggested toasting the pine nuts for better flavor.

2. The whole strategy of using tomato sauce to keep the meat from drying up during the smoking process and then adding more after wards seems to work well without being too much.

3. I think next time I'd get more creative with the contents. The pesto didn't seem to cause issues like I thought it would, but I'm still planning on using other ingredients.