Hello, from Utah

[loticlover]

Hey Everyone-

So we we're visiting friends in WY last week and they shared some amazing smoked products. This week was our anniversary and guess what my wife got me to celebrate? ...A Bradley smoker! Not sure if this is the best model, but it sure looks like a great place to start!

:sausage:

I live in Logan, UT...small college town in a mountain valley at about 4500'

We both love to cook, have an extensive library on the subject (we read cook books for fun). We love to garden, and try to put up as much produce as possible. We are also both scientists, which means that we tend to dive pretty deep into trying to understand the underlying chemical transformations that take place during cooking, smoking, etc. All of this is to say that we love trying new things and are not afraid to fail.

Curious...Does anyone here also sous vide? Seems like a natural fit.

More importantly, we love meat! Being increasingly disappointed in the quality of "factory farm" products, we've taken to ordering from local producers. This year we're getting 1/2 of a heritage hog, a grass fed lamb, and 1/4 of an elk (long story)...but I'm impatient, so yesterday I ordered a pork belly and a raw ham...being even more impatient, I started pulling stuff from the freezer to smoke tomorrow: local hot dogs, local sausages, a sous vide then frozen briscuit and some bourbon.

Anyhow...Looking' forward to learning more and sharing my experiments! Great site!

Cheers!

:grilling_smilie:

 

[s2k9k]

to SMF!!! We're happy you found us! You've come to the right place, we have over 40,000 members and over 800,000 posts so you should be able to find almost anything you want to know. Remember the search bar at the top can be your best friend for finding answers fast!

Would you do us a favor and update your profile to include your location, Thanks!

You might want to check out Jeff's Free 5 day E-course it will teach you all the basics and a whole lot more!

 

[nivekd]

...from one Utahn to another...great forum here, you'll love it.

 

[davidhef88]

Welcome !! Glad you decided to join us. Looking forward to seeing some pics.

 

[jrod62]

:welcome1:

 

[vegassmokeout]

 

[loticlover]

Thanks everyone! I'm looking forward to learning, sharing, and having fun!:yahoo:

My first two attempts at hog belly cures should be done this weekend. Nothing overly creative as I'm just learning, but my bacon-freak 6-year old is sure psyched about trying some of "his own" bacon..major bragging rights on the first grade playground...who knew?

I'm ending my VERY LONG day with a cocktail made with some smoked bourbon...Not sure if you all have experimented with this, but I'm seeing some very interesting possibilities...

Cheers!

 

[isosa]

Welcome Lotic!

While it is true I must say I joined a little while ago too.

I is all the good there is to have a partner with whom to share interests. Congrats on that.

Please elaborate on the smoked bourbon. That is something new to me. Well everything is -I hve only smoked brisket, one piece of cheese and nuts-.jaja

Cheers!

 

[smokinhusker]

Hello and welcome to SMF!

 

[roadkill cafe]

Welcome aboard LoticLover. Glad you found us. You're gonna love it here. Lots of great infomation and advice. Not to mention the folks are very friendly and always willing to share. The smoked bourbon sounds very interesting. Not only have I never tried it, I've never even heard of it. Please elaborate on the process. Again,

 

[Dutch]

Wow the Utah contingent is sloowly growing in numbers.  Welcome Loticlover from Midvale, UT.  Mighty pretty county Cache Valley is-my pioneer ancestors helped settle parts of Cache Valley and a number of them are buried in the Logan Cemetery.

You ever make it to the Cache Valley Cruise-in in July?  We try to get up there for the car show.

 

[rtbbq2]

.........Yes the 5-day ecourse is packed with good information. Even if you are a seasoned cook and smoker, you will pick up a few new tricks. Glad you are here with us...

 

[loticlover]

Thanks everyone...

Roadkill, with regard to the bourbon...A few weeks ago I got my new smoker and was looking to break it in...I started digging through the freezer, pulling out misc packages thinking, "I can smoke that..". Later I was making a drink and remembered reading about a drink that called for smoked bourbon and thought that is sounded intruiging. Most of the recipes that I read online used a smoke gun...Instead, I turned the smoker down at the end of the smoke a put a stainless steel bowl of bourbon in the smoker (I think it was in there for about 40 minutes) It worked, but perhaps a little too much smoke so I've been using it in small ratio as I experiment with various recipes. Next time I'll leave it in for a more subtle flavor. More experiments are needed, but there are definitely some intruiging possibilities.

Dutch, small world! The Cruise In parade passes by my front door! We typically make this an excuse to watch the cars, then BBQ with friends, then fireworks for those who are still around at dark (for the kids of course :30: ). You're welcome to join us...the more the merrier!