For Father's Day (a week early), my lovely bride purchased me a Cookshack smoker and I had the opportunity to set it up and use it today to smoke two Chuck Roasts. I've always been a grill guy; steaks, chicken, pork chops, etc. but then a friend introduced me to smoked m
eat and I was hooked. I've had brisket out of a smoker that should be illegal in most states….tasty beyond description. Of course, most BBQ is complemented quite nicely with a good bourbon or rye whiskey and today was no exception. I mean, what could go wrong with smoked meat and bourbon?
I used two rubs for the meat; an apple wood on one and rib rub on the other just to try both and see which one does a better job of adding and enhancing the flavor of the meat. I used a single 2 oz piece of apple wood in the smoker to keep the amount of smoke on the light side. I put the roasts i
n the smoker at 9:30 a.m. and pulled it out at around 2:45 p.m. I wrapped the meat in foil and then wrapped them in a beach towel so it could sit for about 30 minutes. When it was time to eat, unwrapped and unfoiled the meat and sliced away. I will admit the meat was a little on the dry side and I know the reason why so I'll make adjustments on the next round. We added a nice brown sugar BBQ sauce on the meat to moisten it up a little. All in all, a nice inaugural start to the smoking season.
I paired the BBQ with a nice low proof rye bourbon. Julio's Liquor offers a number of single barrel bourbon's and ryes each year and they did a single barrel Jefferson's that was quite nice. It's got a nice rye pop up front and then about mid palate moves to creamy moderate finish. The sweet BBQ and the rye bourbon was a very nice duo. I think a Baby Saz or Thomas H. Handy cut to a sensible proof would also make nice selections with a pork should
er or a brisket.
For those of you that like to BBQ and drink bourbon or rye with your meal, give us your best or favorite pairings.
