ProQ Smokers

Friday, 8 August 2008

Mack’s Potato Bombs

Great for using up left over mash, but I’ve found that there’s seldom any “left over’s” in our house, so I have to make them from scratch.

Ingredients:

10 medium sized potatoes (makes about 35 – 40 1.5 inch diameter balls).

Fillings – Whole olives, salmon, chilli, strong cheese (Danish Blue).

Crust - Bread crumbs, dried herbs, sesame seeds, finely chopped nuts, or any mixture of these.

Method:

Make up some mashed potatoes, remembering to make them a bit drier than usual, as this will make the mixture easier to work with. Let the mash cool. Take a small amount out, roll it between your palms to form balls that are about 1.5 inches (35mm) in diameter.

Make a hole, using your finger, in the middle of the ball (this is where your choice of filling will go, I’ve used good quality olives for this tutorial), insert the filling and close the hole.

Spread your choice of coating for the crust on a chopping board, I wanted a Mediterranean “feel” for these, so I used a mixture of bread crumbs and herbs de Provencal on these. Gently roll the potato balls in the coating mix until they are covered.

Herbed Potato Bomb ready to cook.

Refrigerate the completed “bombs” overnight (this allows the filling to infuse the potato).

Place some non-stick baking paper on the grill of your BBQ or smoker, if you don’t mind missing out on the smokey flavour these can even be done in the oven.

You will want to cook them at around 250°F - 300°F (120°C - 150°C) for 25 – 30 minutes adding your choice of wood for smoke flavour to the fire.

Enjoy!

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Smoked Foods

There are 2 types of smoking, Hot and Cold. These processes are 2 completely different methods for preparing food. Hot smoking cooks the food, whilst Cold smoking is a part of the process designed to cure food that will, in most cases, be cooked at a later stage. No one can be sure of when it all started, but it was probably discovered, by accident, sometime during the Stone Age. In the case of Hot Smoking, you can imagine a group of hunters bringing meat back to their cave and hanging it above the fire they used for warmth. Cold Smoking/ Curing may have been discovered in this manner... picture freshly caught sea fish, being filleted on site and then left to soak in a rock pool for a few hours, before being returned to the cave where it was hung further away from the fire, possibly nearer to the roof, where the smoke gathered. In both scenarios, man might have been pleased with the resulting flavour (he may even have been given a hearty smack on the back, known as a pat, from the people sharing the meal, to show their approval). He may have also noticed, in the case of the fish, that the food lasted a lot longer, without spoiling. As with most men, he more than likely got impatient, whilst waiting for his meal and ended up by first moving the meat closer to the fire (Barbecuing) and finally, by throwing meat directly onto the fire (Grilling).