Up in Smoke — In the Kitchen with Becca

Ever have everything change in a matter of hours? Then things kept changing for days and weeks until you no longer knew what was up or down? And it takes an entire month to recover from? Yeah, that was my June.

To celebrate the end of the craziest month of my life and all of my best laid plans going up in smoke, I decided to get my smoker out and enjoy a 4th of July feast to welcome in a new month and a new beginning.

What’s on the Menu:

Smoked Chicken Quarters
Pit Beans
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Strawberry Galette
Spiked Sun Tea

**Smoked Chicken Quarters**

**Takes**: Active- 2 hours. Inactive- 24 hours
**Makes:** 8 Chicken Quarters
**Mise:** Water, 1 cup Sugar, 1 cup Salt, 1/2 cup Soy Sauce, 4 Bay Leaves, 1/3 cup Peppercorns, Butter, Parsley, Garlic, Shallot, 1-2 Tbs Honey.
1. In a large bowl or pot, add 1 cup salt, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup soy sauce, Bay Leaves, and Pepper Corns. Pour in warm water and stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Add chicken. Marinade over night or up to 1 day.
2. In the morning, remove chicken, dry entirely with paper towels, place on platter uncovered in fridge until ready to cook.
3. Place in 200* Smoker, using wood chips of your preference (I used Apple) and smoke for 1-2 hours, or until internal temp is 150 (once removed, it till continue to rise until 165, so I pull chicken out at 150 to avoid drying out).
4. About 20 minutes before chicken is done, melt butter, parsley, crushed garlic, sliced shallot, and 1-2 Tbs of honey together and brush on chicken. Brush again once chicken is removed from heat.

**Pit Beans**

**Takes**: 24 hours
**Makes:** 16 Servings
**Mise**: 1 cup dry red beans, 1 cup dry kidney beans, 1 cup dry black beans, 2 Bay leaves, water, salt, pepper, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, molasses, garlic powder, ketchup, bbq sauce (I used Stubbs Origional), Yellow Mustard, 6 Strips of Bacon or a Ham Hock, Bourbon, 1 Yellow onion diced, 1 bell pepper died, 1-2 jalapenos diced.
1. Add beans to colander, rinse, and pick out any bad beans. Then, in a pot, add beans and add hot water to cover. Add 3 Tbs of salt and Bay Leaves. Cover and let sit on counter overnight.
2. The next morning, drain and rinse beans. Put in a pot and add salt, pepper, apple cider vinegar, bourbon, garlic powder molasses, ketchup, bbq sauce, and mustard. Add water until beans are almost covered. Add chopped onion and peppers. Bring to boil. Taste as you go and add ingredients until to your desired taste (I prefer less sweet, more vinegar). If using a ham hock, add now. Cook for 1-2 hours.
3. Once beans have started to soften, transfer them into a sturdy alluminum tray. Place bacon on top. Add to smoker and smoke for 6-8 hours, or until beans are soft.

**Smoked Jalapeno Poppers**

**Takes**: 1 hour
**Makes:** 20 Poppers
**Mise:** 10 Jalapenos, 1 Block Cream Cheese, 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Dried Parsley, Salt, Pepper, 20 stripped of regular bacon, tooth picks.
1. Prep the Jalapenos by putting them in half length wise and de-seeding them using a spoon. Set them aside.
2. Mix the cream cheese, shredded cheddar, onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, salt and pepper together.
3. Fill the jalapenos with the cream cheese mix. Wrap in a bacon slice. Secure with a toothpick.
4. Cook in smoker for 30-50 minutes or until bacon is crisp.

**Mexican Street Corn Salad**

**Takes:** 30 Minutes
**Makes:** 12 Servings
**Mise**: 4 Ears of Corn, 1/4 cup Mayo, Juice of 1 Lime, 1 cup crumbled cojita cheese, 1/4 cup chipped cilantro, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 yellow onion diced, 1 jalapeno diced, 1/2 red bell pepper diced, salt, pepper.
1. Either on a grill or grill pan, grill corn. Cool. Then remove kernels from cob.
2. In a bowl, mix mayo, lime juice, salt, pepper, and cayenne together. Add cheese, onion, peppers, corn. Mix.
3. Chill and Serve.

**Strawberry Galettes**

**Takes**: 2 hours
**Makes:** 3 Medium Galettes
**Mise:** 1 cup white flour, 1/2 cup almond flour, 1.5 Tbs sugar, pinch of salt, 1 tps cinnamon, 3 Tbs water, 1/2 cup butter. 1 lb of diced strawberries, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar, white chocolate for shaving.

Do this but replace blueberries with strawberries: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOsRjMgkW_k&t=124s