“There’s no good sandwich meat in America!”
Dziadek has stated several times. And that’s critical, for sandwich meat — cold cuts, in other words — is a cornerstone of the Polish diet.
What else are you going to eat for breakfast?
Nothing fills you up for the day like, say, a head cheese (which, for the uninitiated, is pretty much what it sounds like) sandwich with a cup of hot tea.
What are we left to do? Dziadek decided there’s only one solution: make our own cold cuts — which requires a smoker. Which requires a cinder block foundation and a 55-gallon drum. Yes, we’re going high class.
Yesterday, we dug out the foundation, mortared the cinder blocks together, began making the necessary modifications to the drum, cut down a dead oak, and went to Home Depot at least half a dozen times.
Today, we build the fire pit and attach the drum to the base. And eventually paint it.
Aesthetic concerns aside (how much does that privacy fence cost again?), I’m looking forward to having homemade ham.
I’m curious: how long is Dziadek sticking around in the States? How much head cheese and sandwich meat will be made and consumed before he leaves? These questions keep me up at night.
Okay, not really. I’m just nosy.
He leaves in a little over a week. Cruise back through the posts and you’ll see he’s been here for an extended visit. It’s the Polish way. :)
There’ll be no head cheese made in this house, thank you very much. Besides, that’s not smoked. It just came to mind…
Regardless of why, it’s always a good thing to get out and do stuff. In all my 67 years, I’ve never built a smoker and I’m looking forward to seeing yours – especially in operation :)
I knew he’d been here for a while. I wasn’t sure how long the smoker would be operational. I assume you plan to continue to use it after he’s gone. At least you’ll know what your sandwich meat is made from!
We’re going to do a lot of smoking, I hope. Homemade ham — who could ask for a better Christmas present?!
Smoked turkey is supposed to be good too! Wonder how long it would take to do a 15 pounder?
I don’t know. We’ll try it. We’ll also try smoking some salmon.