Purchased a MES 30 over the christmas /new year period.
Somehow, with floods, family crises, work crises, never got round to using it until now. With the Easter long weekend, finally got round to seasoning the smoker and throwing something in it.
Having recieved the easter newsletter from Jeff, thought I would follow his smoked lamb shanks recipe.
Up till now, I have never smoked before and really did not know what to expect, so bear with me :)
Also, I'm not the most patient cook and tend to be really chaotic with my measurements. Hence, while the rub is essentially Jeff's rub, the measurements may be a little off due to some ad libbing with missing ingredients (also not the most patient of shoppers). Had the option of waiting till I had all the ingredients, or just jumping in the deep end. Chose to jump right on in, otherwise it would be another four months before I get another chance.
And then, during the smoking process, had to fight really hard to not continually open the smoker to just check on the meat.
Net result is the shanks as shown in the photo below.
Personal comments:
- only had them smoking for about 3.5 hours at about 110 Celcius. Should have probably gone for another hour or so. the meat was tender, but not quite melt off the bone tender, specially about the joints.
- may have been a little exuberant with the rub as shown by the bark. However, the taste is amazing. I suspect with my less than careful blending, I may have been a little heavy handed with the pepper, my daughter found it a little hot. Wife loved the taste and the texture of the meat though.
Loved the experience and now that I have actually broken the ice, I hope to be doing more soon :) Wife has already suggested I do the cooking for our daughter's christening, although, not sure how that can be done, given the event is a morning affair and everyone will be over for lunch.
Any suggestions as to what to smoke? Taking it easy for a newcomer.
Somehow, with floods, family crises, work crises, never got round to using it until now. With the Easter long weekend, finally got round to seasoning the smoker and throwing something in it.
Having recieved the easter newsletter from Jeff, thought I would follow his smoked lamb shanks recipe.
Up till now, I have never smoked before and really did not know what to expect, so bear with me :)
Also, I'm not the most patient cook and tend to be really chaotic with my measurements. Hence, while the rub is essentially Jeff's rub, the measurements may be a little off due to some ad libbing with missing ingredients (also not the most patient of shoppers). Had the option of waiting till I had all the ingredients, or just jumping in the deep end. Chose to jump right on in, otherwise it would be another four months before I get another chance.
And then, during the smoking process, had to fight really hard to not continually open the smoker to just check on the meat.
Net result is the shanks as shown in the photo below.
Personal comments:
- only had them smoking for about 3.5 hours at about 110 Celcius. Should have probably gone for another hour or so. the meat was tender, but not quite melt off the bone tender, specially about the joints.
- may have been a little exuberant with the rub as shown by the bark. However, the taste is amazing. I suspect with my less than careful blending, I may have been a little heavy handed with the pepper, my daughter found it a little hot. Wife loved the taste and the texture of the meat though.
Loved the experience and now that I have actually broken the ice, I hope to be doing more soon :) Wife has already suggested I do the cooking for our daughter's christening, although, not sure how that can be done, given the event is a morning affair and everyone will be over for lunch.
Any suggestions as to what to smoke? Taking it easy for a newcomer.
