Smoked | I Can Cook That

Smoked Chicken Wings

Note: I was sent samples of Bear Mountain BBQ Wood Pellets in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.

I’ve mentioned many times in the past how much I love to grill, but last summer I began dabbling in smoked foods. I don’t own a smoker, so I just use my grill, and Bear Mountain BBQ Pellets make it super simple to do so! Last year I made an awesome recipe for Smoked Potato Salad using Bear Mountain’s Gourmet Blend. This time around, I’m sharing a more traditional smoked food recipe: Smoked Chicken Wings!

My husband is kind of chicken wings obsessed. His current favorite wings dry rubbed smoked wings from our local pizza place, Pizza Plus, so I decided to try to make some of my own at home. I used Bear Mountain Bold BBQ Pellets for this recipe, but their Gourmet Blend would also work.

Ingredients (makes 3 lbs wings, or 2-4 servings. Multiply as needed):

1/2 tablespoon each:
- smoked paprika
- Hungarian paprika
- chili powder
- garlic powder
- onion powder
1 teaspoon each:
- salt
- ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon each:
- cumin
- ground mustard
3 lbs wings
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 cups Bear Mountain Bold BBQ Pellets
blue cheese dip, for serving

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Smoked Potato Salad with Bacon and Sriracha Mayo

Note: I was sent a sample of Bear Mountain Gourmet Blend BBQ Wood Pellets in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.

I absolutely love grilling, and love to grill anything I can get my hands on. I do not have much experience with smoking foods on my grill though. So when Bear Mountain contacted me about trying some of their wood pellets, I couldn’t wait to get started!

Smoking adds an additional layer of flavor to your grilled foods that can completely change the taste of a dish. If you’re new to smoking your food, wood pellets are a great “intro” option – you don’t have to soak them ahead of time and they can be used on any normal grill. Bear Mountain offers a bunch of different blends to pair with poultry, seafood, lamb, pork, beef and vegetables. Their wood pellets don’t use any fillers, binders, or bark so their premium all-natural wood pellets deliver a perfect, clean smoke – every time. They’ve also refined the pellet-making process, creating the perfect pellet structure with only 5% moisture. This means that Bear Mountain pellets grant the perfect burn, infusing mouth-watering flavor with little ash to clean up.

I was looking through Bear Mountain’s recipes for a little inspiration and was intrigued when I cam across a recipe for potato salad that smoked the potatoes on the grill before tossing them in a yummy sriracha mayo.

I decided to add some bacon to further highlight the rich, smoky flavor of the pellets. The result is this amazing Smoked Potato Salad with Bacon and Sriracha Mayo!

Ingredients:

2 pound red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
1-2 cups Bear Mountain Gourmet Blend BBQ Pellets
4 slices of cooked bacon, finely chopped
1 to 2 tablespoons sriracha, depending on your preferences
1 cup mayo
1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped scallions

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Smoked Chicken Riggies

Chicken Riggies is a pasta dish native to Utica, NY consisting of chicken, peppers, and rigatoni in a spicy tomato-cream sauce. So why exactly is a Philadelphia-based blog posting a version of Smoked Chicken Riggies?

I had my first taste of this dish while visiting Utica earlier this year and loved how comforting the dish is!

A few months prior, I also had the opportunity to try some dishes from Cry Baby Pasta, an Italian restaurant that recently opened in Queen Village. Since then, I’ve been back for dinner as well, the food it awesome!

The restaurant, owed by restaurateurs Bridget Foy and Paul Rodriguez, offers a casual and warm atmosphere with a menu focusing on Italian fare prepared by husband-and-wife team chefs David Gilberg and Carla Concalves. (Gilberg and Concalves’ previous restaurant Koo Zee Doo was one of my absolute favorite restaurants in Philadelphia!)

The menu’s Italian fare is a mixture of traditional Italian dishes along with influences from Gilberg’s upbringing in Rochester, NY. Favorite items of mine include the meatballs with tomato and smoked ricotta, Bainbridge greens (Gilberg’s twist on Utica greens), the grilled sardine brochette, and, of course, the Rigatoni with vodka sauce, pancetta, smoked chicken and cherry peppers– an elevated version of Chicken Riggies.

My version, Smoked Chicken Riggies, is an at-home version of Cry Baby Pasta’s dish. Chicken Riggies (especially when using smoked chicken sausage and pancetta) has a ton of flavor and comes together in no time, perfect for weeknight meals!

Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package fully cooked smoked chicken sausage (can substitute in shredded rotisserie chicken)
1 (16 oz) box rigatoni
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 oz diced pancetta
2 shallots, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more, if you like it spicy)
1/2 cup vodka (can substitute in chicken broth)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
salt, to taste
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, plus more for garnish

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Beer and Cheddar Soup with Grilled Polska Kielbasa

Messaging below is intended for ages 21+ and is intended to be enjoyed responsibly, in moderation. This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #OktoberOnTheFarm #CollectiveBias

I’m celebrating Oktoberfest a bit late on my blog, but the weather has just starting feeling fall-like this week! Oktoberfest is a 16-day festival held in Munich, Germany at the end of September/beginning of October that is famously known for its beer drinking and accompanying eats.

When I think of Oktoberfest, I immediately imagine beer, pretzels, and yummy wursts (or sausages). One of my favorite sausages (although it’s not German) is Kielbasa, especially when grilled.

Hillshire Farm® Polska Kielbasa is made with beef, pork, and turkey with a blend of natural spices to really bring the flavor. I wanted to play off of the smoky flavor as well as pay tribute to Oktoberfest with a Beer and Cheddar Soup to pair with the Grilled Polska Kielbasa. I found Hillshire Farm Polska Kielbasa in my local Walmart.

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons salted butter
1 leek, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup flour
4 cups low sodium chicken stock
12 oz Oktoberfest beer
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon smoked hot sauce (can also use liquid smoke)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon dry mustard
12 oz extra sharp yellow cheddar cheese, shredded
1 Hillshire Farm® Polska Kielbasa
the juice of 1 lemon, optional
olive oil for drizzling, optional
chives, finely chopped, for garnish

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Smoky Portuguese-Style Mussels

Mussels are one of my favorite quick meal options — they take just 5 minutes to cook! This recipe for Smoky Portuguese-Style Mussels infuses the broth with turkey kielbasa and smoked paprika before steaming the mussels in the broth, resulting in a really flavorful dish. The broth is really spectacular, so be sure to serve this dish with a sliced baguette. (Note: the whole dish takes about 30 minutes to cook.)

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons canola oil
4 ounces chopped turkey kielbasa
1 1/4 cups chopped onion
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 pound red potatoes (I used assorted baby potatoes)
2 cups unsalted chicken stock
1/2 cup white wine
40 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
4 lemon wedges
parsley, for garnish
1/2 baguette, sliced

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