Who doesn’t like food cooked in a smoker, especially BBQ? Here are five mouthwatering BBQ recipes to try in your electric smoker — or convince you to buy one.
Picture this: it’s summer, and the weather outside is beautiful. For the first time, in quite a while, you can spend an entire day outdoors enjoying the warm sun. As some families prepare for week-long vacations and others pack their cars for the beach, you decide to set up your electric smoker.
BBQing in the summer brings a feeling of home and family. It’s the perfect way to get the entire family together, including a few friends, and create memories to last a lifetime.
You bring out your electric BBQ smoker and begin to start it up, but you’re tired of cooking the same couple of recipes each time. You want to do something different this time and really impress your guests. What electric smoker recipes can you try, though?
You’ll need something unique but scrumptious, and that’s where we come into play. Continue reading below for 3 of the best smoker recipes to try right now!
1. Maple-Cured Smoked Salmon
If you want to create a complete BBQ experience for yourself or your guests, then you’ll want to start with an appetizer. Maple-cured smoked salmon is a perfect Hors d’oeuvre to greet your guests with. This recipe will make enough to serve about 6 people as an appetizer.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to get started.
- Wood chips (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
- 2 fresh salmon fillets (all pin bones removed)
- 1/3 a cup of maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon ground pepper
- 3/4 a cup of Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups of maple sugar or regular granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons fresh and finely grated lemon zest
To go along with the salmon, you might also want to grab grilled bread, crackers, cream cheese, or something else.
Directions
Here are the steps to follow when making your salmon.
- In a mixing bowl, mix together the pepper, salt, sugar, and lemon zest. Use your fingers to smooth out any lumps caused by the sugar.
- Ensure all pin bones are removed from the salmon. Place 1/3 of the mixture on a baking sheet with edges. Salmon should be placed skin-side down on the sheet.
- Use the rest of the mixture to cover the salmon. Drizzle maple syrup over salmon. Cover in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.
- Remove salmon from the plastic wrap and rinse with cold water. Pat dry using a paper towel and place it on a wire rack in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Place the smoker on 250 degrees and brush the grate with oil. Place fish on the cooking grate, skin-side down. Cook for about 40 minutes (140 degrees internal temperature of salmon).
When the salmon is done, you can remove it from the smoker and allow it to cool until it’s room temperature. Serve and enjoy!
2. Bacon-Wrapped Sausage
Bacon goes well with all things BBQ, and it wouldn’t be a true BBQ if bacon wasn’t involved. In this recipe, you’ll learn how to make bacon the star of the show.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to get started.
- 1 lb of thick-sliced bacon
- 1 lb of Italian sausage (flavor of your choice)
- BBQ sauce (your choice)
- BBQ rub (your choice)
- Toothpicks
You can also grab a few toppings of your choice, such as cheese or hot sauce.
Directions
Here are the steps to follow when making your bacon-wrapped sausage.
- Create a 5×5 bacon weave. Lace your bacon strips together to create the weave, and sprinkle the rub on top. If a bacon slice rips during weaving, you can replace it using another bacon strip in the package.
- Place the sausage on the bacon weave and spread it out evenly until it reaches the edges of the bacon. Sprinkle the sausage with the rub. Then, add your other selected toppings to the sausage (cheese, hot sauce, more bacon bits, etc…)
- Begin to roll the bacon over the sausage, creating a wrap. Use toothpicks to hold the wrap together. Sprinkle wrap with the rub.
- Set smoker to 225-250 degrees. Cook for a few hours and until meat reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees. When there’s about 30 minutes left of cooking, brush the wrap in the BBQ sauce.
Cut the wrap into 1/2 inch slices and serve!
3. Sweet and Salty Ribs
The best electric smoker is one that can cook up all different types of meals. From a few appetizers to savory diner meals, your smoker can do it all! Sweet and salty ribs are a great diner to try and have enough flavor to be delicious without BBQ sauce.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to get started.
- Pork, baby back ribs
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Pepper
- Kosher salt
- Paprika
- Brown sugar
You can also pick up your favorite BBQ sauce to use as well if desired.
Directions
Here are the steps to follow when making your sweet and salty ribs.
- Rinse the ribs and pat dry. Remove the membrane for more tender meat. Mix together all of the spices in a bowl.
- Place ribs on a cutting board and cover them in the rub. Place in your smoker and set to 180 degrees.
- Cook for 5-6 hours or 145 degrees internal meat temperature.
When finished cooking, remove the ribs from the smoker and serve!
Which Recipes Will You Try in Your Electric BBQ Smoker?
Your electric BBQ smoker is convenient and a breeze to use, but now it’s time to try a few new recipes! Which recipes from this list will you try? Try one or try them all!
We’re sure you’ll love all of them. For more delicious recipes and other helpful topics, be sure to visit my page frequently
