On day 8 of the challenge, we had shrimp smoked in our Grapevine & Cherrywood blend.
We actually smoked the shrimp on day 7, along with a wheel of brie. We'd planned a quick overnight getaway on day 8 (to take in some beautiful fall colors) and wanted to bring along a delicious Wine'd Up in Smoke dinner to enjoy out in nature. And, of course, we wanted to keep the challenge going!
Smoking the shrimp: As we nearly always do, we started by marinating the shrimp in the fridge for a few hours in salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic (the "spog" marinade). Then we put the shrimp on skewers and smoked them using the Grapevine & Cherrywood blend for smokers. (There's a Grapevine & Cherrywood blend for grills too.) And that's it. Other than watching the shrimp to make sure they weren't overcooked, it wasn't much work for such delicious results!
Chef's Tip: The biggest mistake people make with shrimp is overcooking it. The secret is to cook it until it loses its translucency. Once the shrimp has become white all the way through, it's ready.
Once smoked, we grilled up some vegetables to serve with the shrimp, made a few twice baked potatoes, and we had our dinner all ready to go.
We actually bring our own food with us quiet often on trips. When we're headed to more remote locations, rather than hoping to stumble across a decent dining experience, we bring along our own 'sure thing.' Then we just need to find a beautiful location (shady park, lovely hotel patio, beautiful overlook) and we have all we need to create a nice evening and a lasting memory. In tonight's case, we opted for the shady hotel back patio area, since we wanted to heat up our food in the room's microwave first.
To see what we did with the remaining shrimp, check out tomorrow's dinner: cherry smoked shrimp tacos
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To find out more about the Wined Up in Smoke blend used in this recipe:
