NOTE: This is a yearly diary to herald the beginning of Summer and the glorious outdoor cooking traditions summer brings.It's Memorial Day Weekend For many, it is the "unofficial" start to grilling season. For me, though, only extreme blizzard like conditions will keep me from my grill. There are times, for instance, where I will get up at 4:00am to prep my grill for the day's cooking alchemy. Why at 4:00am, you ask? Because I'm not here to talk about grilling. That's another diary. I'm here to talk about grilling's Noble Cousin:
Barbecue.
Specifically, the technique used to create barbecue: Smoking.
People have smoked food for years all over the world. Smoking imparts incredible flavor, as well as preserves and dries whatever is smoked. The list of delectable items by country and smoking techniques would boggle the mind. They range from "standard" items like meat, fish, and poultry, to things like salt, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. There are even smoked teas.
Jump below the Orange Smoke Cloud and learn more