Smoked chicken, potatoes and cabbage

Tuesday, April 05, 2022, it was time to fire up the smoker, and enjoy some great smoked chicken drumbsticks, potatoes and cabbage, smoked over locally-gathered oak wood.

Photo: After enjoying my daily 8+ mile hike, I fired up the smoker around 09:00 in the morning on Tuesday, April 05, 2022. Today worked out to be a great day to smoke!

Photo: In my area, Roseville, CA, oak wood grows native, and if you know anything about barbecue or smoking, you know that oak wood is similar to hickory. Like hickory, oak wood works with everything! I gather up oak wood that grows locally, bring it home, buck it to size, and it makes for great wood for smokin' or for my grill.

I had some apples that were way too ripe to enjoy, so I threw them into the fire to add a touch of sweetness, and a slightly "fruity" flavor to the smoke. Orange peels, banana peels, peppers, onion skins or whatever you have on hand would work wonders with the smoke.

Photo: After about six hours smoking at a temperature of around 250 degrees, I open the "pit' with a smile. Now it's time to remove the smoked food and allow it to rest before cutting.

Photo: Cabbage, potatoes and bacon-wrapped chicken drumsticks. Today's meal was just one of these "use the leftovers" type of meal, as I had a bag of russet potatoes that were beginning to sprout, and the wings were culled from the freezer, having been stashed there for a couple of months. Alright... I "sprung" for the cabbage, but I already had butter, garlic, onion and jalapeno pepper to stuff it with, so it all worked out.

Photo: Along with finding chicken drumsticks in the freezer, I found bacon, so I wrapped four of the six chicken legs - I had four slices of bacon - with bacon to enjoy. The drippings made for a great base for gravy...

Photo: There is NOTHING finer in the world than a head of cabbage, when you fire up your smoker pit! When I fire up the "pit," cabbage is always a "gotta have" as it makes a perfect companion to anything you want to prepare on your smoker. By the way... cauliflower works great for a side dish, instead of cabbage!

Today, I cored the head of cabbage and stuffed it with diced jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic and butter. I grilled it, along with the chicken and potatoes, which made for a perfect side to my meal.

Photo: I'm totally "old school," so I took the drippings from the smoked chicken, added a bit of butter, and stirred in cornmeal to make a roux. After a bit of chicken broth, left over from previous smoking and barbecue dinners... I had gravy to complete my dinner!

Photo: Smoked chicken drumstick, wrapped with bacon, in the style of Mexico, baked potato, cabbage and gravy. Smoked over locally-grown and harvested oak wood, in my "Oklahoma style" smoker. Alight, the gravy was prepared on the kitchen range, using drippings from the chicken, and with chicken broth from previous dinners, with cornmeal for thickness and texture. This was an "old school" dinner any way you look at it.

Such a great way to enjoy a relaxing day on the patio, along with a dinner, prepared using "rustic" and "old school" techniques. It all works out for dining enjoyment at my palce!