The first smoke of the season is always special but this one was a little more meaningful. We were using our new Mountain Weber Smoker for the first time. As you have seen from past posts we were doing just fine with the regular Weber grill using indirect heat but this summer we are taking it to the next level. These ribs were inspired by a Thai pepper pickle recipe we created using fish sauce, vinegar, lemon grass and Thai chilies. This recipe is hot like most Thai food is so if you can’t handle the heat cut down on the chilies.
Danny and I have started playing a new game when we make dinner. It is very similar to the Food Network show “Chopped”. Danny picked out ingredients, presented them, and I had to cook a dish with them. These ingredients weren’t as difficult as you see on the show but this is a great way to challenge yourself to be creative.
This idea was completely made up by yours truly. A couple days ago I heard about someone grilling avocados so my mind went straight to smoke. I thought about how good the creamy avocado flavor would taste with some hickory smoke. Danny and I went to the store to get ingredients. As we were walking out there was a huge bin of watermelons. It occurred to me that instead of the tomatoes used in the guacamole we could use watermelon. This dish was really flavorful. We ended up pairing it with some grilled pork tacos. The only thing I might change and Danny does not agree with this is that I would use one fresh avocado not smoked to keep some of the original flavors. He thought it was perfect this way. Try both!
