If you're looking for protein snacks, look no further. Today I'm in "vacation" mode and showing you several small bites that you can prepare in advance and take with you. These recipes are really practical because you can eat the food easily and at any time, even in the car.
To prepare all my meats, I use the XXL Vertical Smoker with WIFI from Camp Chef; it really is a beautiful machine. In fact, a vertical smoker is the ideal tool for those who want to "produce", in the sense of cooking several foods at the same time because it is made for that. A vertical smoker also stabilizes the temperature very very well and offers good air circulation. The XXL from Camp Chef is therefore really reliable, practical, stable and it can even be used year-round (it is possible to put an insulating cover over it). In fact, it is perfect.
An XXL smoker, as you might expect, also means that there is a lot of space inside, so you should know that all the meats I am talking about today can be cooked at the same time in the same smoker. Also, you should know that a smoker is very practical because it allows you to dehydrate meat (the smoke transforms the pH of the meat and makes it drier) and, thanks to dry marinades and smoking, to obtain a result that tastes really good. Now that all that is said, here is how to prepare tasty little protein bites:
(FYI, if you want to get the same results as me, I recommend using pecan pellets to make these recipes.)
Bacon Rind Chicharrones
Ingredients :
Bacon rind (pig skin)*
Avocado (or olive) oil, to taste
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Booster BBQ Québec flavor enhancer , to taste (optional)
Appalaches BBQ Québec X La ferme Monette dry marinade , to taste
Quebec BBQ Explorer dry marinade , to taste
Preparation :
Preheat the smoker to a temperature between 350 and 375°F.
Cut the bacon rind into slices of a certain width, then cut the slices again to make cubes. Place the cubes in a bowl.
Pour avocado (or olive) oil over the cubes of rind and stir everything together so that the oil is well distributed.
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For more pronounced flavors, sprinkle the Booster flavor enhancer on the rind cubes and mix everything manually (optional).
Sprinkle Appalaches dry marinade over the meat cubes, then mix everything together. Do the same with Explorer dry marinade.
Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour to ensure that the salt penetrates the meat well and “unclogs” everything.
Place the rind cubes on the top rack of the smoker (the ambient temperature inside the smoker is higher here) and cook for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the skin is very crispy.
* You can find it in butcher shops or possibly in grocery stores, but you will probably have to ask the butcher in the latter case.
Chicken Skin “Chips”
Ingredients :
Chicken skin**
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Flavor enhancer Booster , to taste
Dry marinade Jerk Jamaican BBQ Quebec , to taste
Tex-Max BBQ Quebec dry marinade , to taste (optional)
Preparation :
Preheat the smoker to a temperature between 350 and 375°F.
Slice the chicken skin into squares, making sure to keep the skin as stretched as possible to form the “chips.”
Sprinkle with Booster flavor enhancer, then Jamaican Jerk dry marinade on both sides of each “chip”.
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For a spicier result, add, in addition (and last) Tex-Max dry marinade on both sides of the “chips” (optional).
Place the "chips" on a plate and leave it in the refrigerator for about 30 to 45 minutes. Make sure the skins are well spread so that the salt penetrates, "unclogs" and dries each "chip" well.
Place the skins on one of the smoker racks and cook until they are really dry and crispy.
**You can "skin" a whole chicken or ask a butcher for chicken skin to get some.
Steak Jerky
Ingredients :
Beef top sirloin tip
Booster BBQ Québec flavor enhancer , to taste
-
Argentina BBQ Quebec dry marinade , to taste
Texas BBQ Quebec dry marinade , to taste
Preparation :
Preheat the smoker to a temperature between 350 and 375°F.
Cut the top sirloin tip horizontally (as if you were cutting thick slices of jerky).
Sprinkle Booster flavor enhancer on top of the meat slices, then add Argentina dry marinade and a little Texas dry marinade. Do the same on the other side of each slice.
Place the slices on one of the grills in the smoker (ideally the one under the chicharrones so that their fat runs onto the “steaks”) and let them cook.
Brisket Jerky
Ingredients :
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Brisket (beef brisket) previously sliced, vacuum-packed and frozen (doing it this way makes the meat incredibly tender because the water has frozen and "broken down" the fibers of the meat)
Texas BBQ Quebec dry rub (or other dry brisket rub), to taste
Montreal BBQ Quebec dry marinade (or another dry marinade for brisket), to taste
Preparation :
Preheat the smoker to a temperature between 350 and 375°F.
Sprinkle Texas dry rub, then Montreal dry rub (or other brisket dry rub) on both sides of each brisket slice.
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Place the slices on one of the smoker racks and cook until they are well smoked and dried (the cooking time required to achieve this will vary depending on the type of smoker used, the thickness of the slices and the outside temperature).
Happy BBQ!
