Master Temperature Control by First Smoking Cabbage
If your smoking experience is limited to inhaling stimulants, you may be intimidated by the cooking method of the same name. If that sounds like you, I have a recommendation: Before you smoke pork shoulder, ribs, or any other type of meat, smoke the cabbage first.
Add a large old kale to it for self-confidence. This is especially useful if you are using a charcoal grill or any other smokehouse without precise temperature control. Locking and stabilizing the ambient temperature inside your smoking device can be quite tricky if you’re used to numbered oven dials (and who isn’t?) And if you use a Weber kettle or even one of them. their simple charcoal smokers, you will have to manage the temperature by opening and closing the vents at the top and bottom of your smoker. It’s not difficult, but it takes some getting used to.
Why cabbage? Cabbage is cheap. Whole kale costs less than a pound of any meat – even the most discounted pork shoulder doesn’t come close to kale’s low cost. It is unlikely that you will run into such problems on your first attempt at smoking that you ruin your kale – or even pork shoulder, for that matter – but if you really messed up your kale, it’s not a big loss. All you “wasted” was a few hours of your time and possibly $ 1.50 worth of ingredients. (A pork shoulder bite? Devastating.) Smoking cabbage instead of an expensive piece of meat relieves some of the stress of your first smoking experiment, which means your brain is more likely to learn, and you are more likely to. enjoy the learning process.
And the smoked cabbage is delicious too. They are soft and savory (and obviously smoky) and create the perfect summer side, especially when seasoned with something cool and creamy. There are many recipes for smoked cabbage, so choose the one that works best for you. (I love this one stuffed with butter and bacon.) However, I would go with a recipe that keeps the kale intact — the essence of smoking kale is to get you in the habit of keeping the smoker’s temperature constant for some time. over a long period of time, and this is the moment you miss if your quartered cabbage is smoked in just 60 minutes.
I would also recommend – no, commanding – getting some kind of thermometer to control the temperature. The small dial that sits on top of the grill or smoker is very imprecise, especially if it sits directly over the coals. (Mine was tilted by about 150 degrees!) I have a thermometer with two sensors that allows me to measure the temperature of a food and a smoker at the same time, which is very useful. Whether you smoke kale or a large piece of meat, temperature control is an important part of the equation, and the equations may not work as well if your numbers are wrong.