Smoking - A New Culinary Adventure for 2011

Smoked Turkey Drumsticks

(St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, Florida)

December 20, 2010

I've spent a bit of time since our winter vacation going through all 1,780 pictures I took while away.  A large number were of course of foods we enjoyed while away.  It didn't take long for a general them to emerge either.  It would appear we focused on BBQ - long, slow, wood smoked BBQ.  It wasn't planned, it just happened that way.  We enjoyed some of the best Q!

BBQ seemed to be available just about everywhere we went.  What was interesting is take-out BBQ was available at venues like Busch Gardens and St. Pete Times Forum.  Pictured are the smoked turkey drumsticks at Boneyard BBQ Company in the St. Pete Times Forum.  They were priced at $8.50 the same price as their BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.  Oh my, did they ever look gorgeous!  We didn't have any because we had eaten at The Luxury Box just across from the Forum.

I have been wanting a smoker for quite some time but after this vacation, I now know I need a smoker!  So I've been doing a bit of research.  I found plans on how to convert an old refrigerator into a smoker similar to what Michael Smith uses.  I found smokers that attach to grills, smokers that stand alone, an electric pressure smoker and several plans for building my own.  I even found a way to smoke meat on the stovetop that I might try just to see how it works.  Smokers tend to be fueled by wood, gas (natural or propane), electricity.  What I want is a wood smoker that uses only wood.  It is supposed to be the best way to smoke meats and fish.  The Ontario Government has annouced that our hydro bills will increase 7.9% annually over the next 5 years so an electric smoker is out of the question.  I'm not sure what style I want yet as to whether movable or stationary.  I'm getting a lot of good ideas from Smoking Meat so I will have a good knowledge base when I get or build my