For some reason, most of the research I do into the origins of cooking always leads me back to China. Don\’t get me wrong, Chinese food is great but why always China? Or is it to do with the fact that most of my research is into the barbecue smoker? I started researching kamados and […]

The Slavic Jews created Pastrami and is related (if not developed from) a product called pastrama which is a highly seasoned, smoked pork that\’s very traditional and famous in the European country of Romania. Pastrami is not made from pork but beef and it became very popular in the Jewish delicatessens all over Europe and […]

I\’ve had a number of charcoal grills in my time and even made may own on a couple of occasions but I\’ve still to find the perfect charcoal grill, in other words something that caters for all needs. Charcoal is a challenge in itself, for many it\’s simply just too much hassle and they prefer […]

It was my father who bought the family their first charcoal grill way back in 1974. I remember it well, we bought it whilst camping in France and we\’d taken some advice from one of our French neighbors on the camp ground. Looking back I have fond memories of that grill, it cooked many a […]

I\’ve been smoking meat for many years and researched the process. Some advice I have found to be invaluable but other information has been of little used or plain wrong. Here\’s we\’ll discuss meat and how to prepare it for smoking. The process of smoking can be broken down into three stages and the first […]

I\’ve been researching the process of both hot and cold smoking for many years and during that time I\’ve learned a lot, much of it from information freely available over the internet. In contrast however I\’ve also read a lot of rubbish that has led me astray and in these instances I\’ve had to find […]

Knives matter but most kitchens have at best mediocre knives that may be dull and have never been sharpened. For most people, this is probably fine, as few people really love food and cooking. There is a big difference between being into food and loving to eat! My family kitchen growing up had perfectly adequate […]

These old fashioned butter cakes are still very tasty and this mocha butter cake is no exception. What is even better, with one of the modern electric stand mixers it becomes very easy to make these cakes. It is not necessary to do all the beating and mixing by hand as a stand mixer can […]

What is it about pot racks that add so much style to an otherwise average kitchen? It really is like magic. Sure, you have to put in a little thought to make sure you pick the right rack for your decor. Is a hanging pot rack perfect for your kitchen or would a wall mounted […]

A quality mixer is usually a big purchase commonly costing over 200 dollars. If you’re open to spending that kind of money you\’ll want to buy a model that will last for quite a while. The KitchenAid Artisan KSM150 is one of the top models around for good reason. KitchenAid has been around since 1919 […]