andouille indeed have fun
we got back from PA christmas around 4pm on Monday. By 7:30 I had 5 pounds of andouille stuffed and nestled into the fridge, ready for action. Tonight was the trial of my new propane setup for the smoker and here's how it went.

The hookup went fine after some tinkering and I realized that the connection from the regulator hose to the burner should be more than hand tight. I used a bit of TFE tape (although I think there's special stuff for propane connections) and cranked her down. I also turned the gas on very low and put soap solution around the connections to check for leaks. Happily I found none.

The burner worked well although at the lowest flame I could get it was prone to getting blown out so I couldn't keep it on really low. But it was about 26 degrees out so I had plenty of heat to make up in the smoker. Getting up to 130ish wasn't a problem, in fact I think the burner would be too hot if I try to use it in the warmer months, unless I can figure a way to reduce it's output even further than just by turning the valve down low.

I fashioned a wind screen out of tin foil to shield the bottom and that seemed to work fine. One of the problems I faced was what to put the wood chips in. I needed something to sit level on the burner but small enough to fit within the diameter of the smoker. I first tried a small cast iron frying pan, but that was too dense and wasn't getting hot enough to smoke the chips. I then tried just a sheet of heavy duty tin foil but that quickly disintegrated leaving me with a hot, smoldery mess to deal with. I finally settled on a cookie tin (thanks Amy!) which was perfect. It conducted the heat directly enough to get a good smoke but also didn't fall to pieces. I felt just like Goldilocks, after she finds the right bed but before the bears eat her.

In all it was a 3 hour smoke with the 1st hour on cherry wood and the rest on maple. I hadn't used the cherry before and I found the smoke kind of fruity and perfumey which I didn't think would suit the andouille. It would be good with poultry I bet but I was happy that I still had some maple around. Supposedly pecan wood is the authentic smoke wood for this and I'd love to try it some day. Perhaps Reen and I can make a drive to Peoples Woods in Rhode Island some time.

Next up is to fry some chicken and then finish off the gumbo. Man do I enjoy doing this.