Surf 'n Turf Smoked Dinner

Tuesday, June 25, 2024, it was time to smoke some delicious salmon, tripe, pork, potatoes and corn, using my "old school" Texas-style smoker. What could be a better thing to do, when the temperature tops 100 degrees in late June?

Photo: I have the smoker fired up, and I'm smoking great food for tonight's dinner. It's Tuesday, June 25, 2024, over 100 degrees outside, and it's a great day to kick back on the patio and smoke a great dinner.

Photo: Oak wood, which is nearly identical to hickory, abundantly grows in Roseville and western Placer County, so I use oak wood as my choice of fuel, as it burns hot and provides a great taste. I also used homemade charcoal that we made on a recent camping trip to nearby Mariposa County.

Photo: Salmon, pork, tripe, potatoes and corn on the smoker. All of this fine food is simply awesome when smoked over oak wood.

Photo: I'm a happy guy, as I open the pit to show the pork, salmon, tripe, potatoes and corn that have been smoking for six hours. It's time to remove the food from the pit.

Photo: Smoked honeycomb tripe is ready to remove from the pit. What does tripe have to do with today's smoking event? Alright...

When you make menudo you need to pre-cook the tripe, which is an hours-long and stinky endeavour. So... I simply smoke trip when I fire up the smoker, as it gets the job done, and the oak smoke adds another dimension to the menudo, and it saves a lot of time.

I have to admit that I picked out a few pieces of tripe and enjoyed a quick snack of a tripe taco... Please... don't tell mommy...

Photo: Boneless pork ribs and wild Alaskan salmon, ready to enjoy after smoking for six hours. I used homemade charcoal and locally gathered oak wood to fire my smoker, which worked out great!

The salmon was wild Alaskan salmon, caught by my friend Dan Weir on a recent fishing trip to Alaska. He gifted me a few pounds of this amazing fish, which is better than any fish you'll find in your local supermarket! Thanks, Dan!

Roseville and western Placer County is truly blessed, as oak trees are native to our area, which make for great charcoal and smoking. Oak is very similar to hickory, so you know we have great smokin' wood in Roseville!

Photo: Dinner tonight was truly a surf 'n turf event, as I enjoyed wild Alaskan salmon, boneless pork rib, potato, corn along with a jalapeno pepper. From the pork drippings I made gravy, which worked great on the potato, along with a dusting of pepper.

Smoked dinner doesn't get any better, especially when you're smoking over homemade charcoal, and using fresh caught Alaskan salmon gifted by a friend.

Good times and great food, smoked and enjoyed on the patio!