Today is a rainy, damp day.  I'm at home alone.  I have a pot of soup simmering on the stove.  The smokey rich scent fills the kitchen.

Wait!  Smokey scent?  

Yes, let me explain.

Whenever my mother made a pot of soup, she bought a chicken and boiled it.  This made a lovely, clean, light soup, wonderful just as a broth with carrots and noodles, or cappelletti.  My grandmother often made soup differently.  She always roasted the chicken first.  One night she served it for dinner, the next day she made soup out of the carcass.  Her soup had a deeper color and flavor.

Using the carcass of an already cooked bird does the same thing for soup that browning the meat does for stew.  It adds a caramel richness and deep flavor.  The added bonus is that you actually want to eat the meat.  Frankly, soup meat is tasteless.  We never discard a carcass after a barbecue.  We pop them in the deep freeze for later.  Thanksgiving is like Carcass Christmas to me, and I've been know to sneak away from many a meal with turkey bones squirreled away in my trunk.  

When friends have a new baby, we always come visit with a meal.  Our favorite is to hot smoke a chicken.  Pull off the breast and make soup from the rest.  We bring a meal of chicken breast, and sides and soup for a future meal.

Making great soup isn't hard.  It just requires time and a few tips.  

What makes the best soup?  Any bird at all!  I've used chicken, turkey and duck.  I've used them separately and together.  After a barbecue, I sometimes can't identify which bones are which and just freeze them all together.  Chicken makes the lightest soup.  Turkey is my personal favorite.  Duck makes a strong broth which is better for cooking into risotto, couscous or gravy than as a broth.  No one has ever given me a pheasant, but I love their meat so I bet they make great soup!

Your Freezer is your Best Friend!  Most people barbecue in the hot months, not usually when you want soup.  Just pop all those bones in the freezer.  Remember to break them down first, or you'll have a huge frozen turkey that won't fit into the pot.  Remember to label the bags, too.

Be Patient.  Bones need to simmer for over 3 hours before the collagen begins to extract.  The collagen is what gives a great bowl of broth that silky, rich feeling in your mouth.  A good fowl soup should look like jelly when chilled, and that takes time.  By three hours of cooking you've gotten all the flavor, but not until four hours will you get that super richness that makes a great stock.

Careful with the Salt.  When using a pre-cooked carcass, don't salt until the end.  The bird was salted when cooked, maybe even brined or marinated so there's already salt there.  Wait until the end to salt the pot.

Here's my recipe:

Fowl Soup

Ingredients:
1 large (or 2 small) poultry carcass
1 large carrot, snapped into pieces
2 celery sticks, snapped into pieces
1 large onion, cut into quarters
12 cups of water
sage
black peppercorns
salt

Directions:
Break up the bones and place in a large stock pot, or crock pot.  Add the carrot, celery and onion.  It is not necessary to peal the onion.  The skins will give a great color to the soup.  Add about 3 quarts of water, sage (dried or fresh) and several whole peppercorns.  Using whole makes it easy to strain them out at the end.

Simmer for about 3 hours with the lid on.  Taste and salt as necessary.  The soup may still taste a little weak at this point.  Remove the lid and sinner another hour.  Strain the soup into another pot and discard all the solids.  You should be left with between 8 and 10 cups of soup.  Let cool.  

I measure my soup into freezer bags, placing 2 cups into each bag and freeze them flat on a cookie sheet.  Then the bags can be stored in the freezer stacked flat or upright.  I've found 2 cups is the amount I most often want for cooking, but you could freeze 4 cup quantities, too.

So this is the story as I remember it.  I was out for the day with some friends while my husband was at a bachelor party.  I get a call on my cell phone from him and our fellow back-yard bbq host, Kevin, saying we have a new member of the team.  Don't I get to meet him first?  I asked.  Well, no, we already asked him to join.  But he made these great things called strabeneros, and when you taste one, you'll understand why we didn't consult you.  I can't wait, I said.  Oh, well, they're all gone.  But he'll make them again!

Chuck’s Strawbaneros

Ingredients:
1 pint   Strawberries
1 or 2   Habaneros, finely minced, seeds removed
2 tbl     Balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp  Butter
¼ cup  Sugar
2 oz      chocolate

Directions:

Hull the strawberries and set them upside down on paper towels to drain.

Cream the butter with the sugar.  Stir in the habaneros and vinegar.  Taste for flavor balance.

Fill each strawberry with a small amount of filling.

Dip the strawberry tips into melted chocolate.

Being from New England, Autumn means apple cider doughnuts.  This is Cris's take on a classic.  If you can get good quality apple cider from your local orchard, these will be better than if you use filtered cider from the grocery store, but either way, you'll get a better doughnut than any chain store can offer you.

Ingredients

Doughnuts
2                      Red Apples, like Cortland or McIntosh
1 ½ Cups       Apple Cider
3 ½ Cups       Flour
4 tsp                baking powder
¼ tsp              baking soda
1 ½ tsp           ground cinnamon
1 tsp                salt
¼ tsp              nutmeg
2/3 Cups        sugar
3 T                  vegetable shortening
1                      large egg, plus 1 egg yolk
¼ Cup            Buttermilk
1 tsp                vanilla
Vegetable oil for frying

Glaze
1 Cup              Apple Cider
¼ Cup            Confectioners Sugar

Topping
1 Cup              Sugar
2 tsp                Cinnamon

Directions

1.       Core and chop apples, do no peel.  Combine with 1 ½ Cups of cider in a medium pot over medium heat.  Cover and cook until soft, about 8 minutes.  Uncover and cook until the cider is almost completely reduced, about 5 minutes.  Puree with an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.  You should have about 1 cup.  If you have more, boil to reduce further.

2.      Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, 1 ½ tsp cinnamon, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl.

3.      Beat 2/3 cup sugar and shortening with a mixer until sandy.  Beat in the egg and egg yolk.  Mix in the apple mixture, scraping the bowl.  Beat in half the flour mixture, then the buttermilk and vanilla, then the remaining flour mixture.

4.      Scrape dough onto a floured piece of parchment paper and pat into a rectangle about ½ inch thick.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

5.      Make the glaze: Simmer the remaining 1 cup cider in a small saucepan until reduced to ¼ cup.  Whisk in the confectioners sugar until smooth and glossy.  Set aside.  Make the topping:  Mix the remaining 1 cup granulated sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon and set aside.

6.      Heat 2 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with paper towels.  Cut the chilled dough into rounds with a 2 ½ or 3 inch biscuit cutter, then cut out the middles with a 1-inch biscuit cutter.  You can also use a doughnut cutter, or cut the dough into rounds without the hole.  You can even just cut the dough into squares with a knife.  Any shape will taste good.  (We have a cookie cutter shaped like an apple!)

7.      Cook 2 or 3 doughnuts at a time, frying 1 or 2 minutes per side until golden brown.  Drain on paper towels.

8.     Dip one side of each doughnut into the glaze and dip the glazed side into the cinnamon sugar.  Serve warm.

The origins of this recipe came from a chef in Philadelphia who called himself the Punk Chef.  I've tweaked it a bit.  This is truly an awesome sauce.  Feel free to tone down the heat by using different combinations of peppers.  If you replace the habaneros with a large poblano, the sauce will be much milder.  Leah prefers a combination of jalapenos and seranos for the best flavor.  When choosing a beer, choose whatever you are willing to drink because you will have three quarters of a bottle left.  Leah likes to use a winter wheat or a red ale because either pairs well with the orange juice.  You can also skip the beer and use an extra ¼ cup of OJ.

Leah’s Punk-Ass Wing Sauce 
 
Ingredients

3                      jalapenos
3                      habaneros
1 clove            garlic, minced
¼ Cup            beer
1 Cup              Franks Redhot Sauce
1/2 Cup          orange juice
3 T                  Grated ginger
                        Butter, optional

Directions
Roast the peppers on the grill or under the broiler until the skins turn brown.  Let cool slightly and rub off the charred skin.  Don’t rinse them or you will wash away all the lovely roasted flavor.  Remove the seeds and veins and mince very fine.  NOTE: This is a good time to wear food-prep gloves.  If you don’t, you run the risk of ruining your contact lenses when you take them out later!

Sweat the peppers and garlic over medium heat in a dry pan.  They should get very soft.  Some may stick to the pan, but they should not burn or brown.

Deglaze the pan with the beer.  Add the hot sauce and orange juice and simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove from heat and add the ginger.  Let it cool completely.  Once cool, add water to make it the consistency you want.

To serve, toss cooked chicken wings with the sauce, or mix the sauce with a tablespoon or two of melted butter and then toss the wings.  Melted butter will tone down the heat a bit.

This Chicken recipe is very versatile.  It's sweet and flavorful, but not spicy so it appeals to all palates.  I make it with chicken wings every year for a charity event,  We've won in competition with it on legs, too.  You could use it on parts or a whole bird.  It works well on the smoker with a fruit wood like apple or peach, but would do just as well on a grill or in the oven.

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp      Herbs de Provence
1 tbsp        Lavender
1 tbsp        Dried sage
¼ cup       Garlic powder
¼ cup       Onion powder
2 tbsp       Sugar
1 tbsp        Toasted fennel seeds
1 tbsp        Toasted coriander seeds
1 ½ tsp     Black pepper
                  Oil for rubbing on the wings
                  Agave syrup for glazing

Directions:
Grind each ingredient separately to a soft powder.  Combine all the dry ingredients. This will give you a very consistent rub.

Brine the chicken wings for 30 minutes in a standard, unflavored brine. If you aren't going to brine your chicken, add 2 tbsp of salt to the rub.
NOTE: a standard  brine mixes 1 cup sugar and 1 cup salt in a gallon of water.  A whole chicken should be left in the brine for about 4 hours.  Parts or wings can be brined for about an hour.


Dry the chicken and coat with a little oil.  Sprinkle on the rub and let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature.

Place chicken on your cooking method of choice (smoker, grill, oven) and cook until chicken reaches 160 degrees.

Brush agave syrup on the chicken and cook an additional 10 minutes.  At this point temp the chicken and check the glaze.  If you would like it stickier or sweeter, add more agave.  Cook the chicken until it reaches 165 degrees.

This is our winningest recipe!  Whenever Cris has made it, it has taken second place.  What could it possibly need to push it into first?  Perhaps some caviar on top?

2nd Place Shrimp

Ingredients:

1/2 lb              lump crabmeat
1 tsp                Shrimp Rub, plus extra for garnish (recipe below)
2 Tbsp             unsalted butter
1/4 cup           yellow onion, minced
2 Tbsp             celery, minced
2 Tbsp             red bell pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp             flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 cloves          garlic, minced
2 Tbsp            mayonnaise
2 Tbsp            Egg Beaters
1 1/2 Tbsp      lemon juice
½ Tbsp          Worchester sauce
½ Tbsp          hot sauce
1/2 cup           Ritz cracker crumbs
                        salt and pepper
10 to 20         strips of bacon
10 to 20         large shrimp (size 16-20), shelled and deveined, but with tail on, butterflied

Directions:
Place crabmeat in a bowl and season with rub.

Melt the butter in a small pan and sauté onions, celery and bell pepper until softened.  Add parsley and garlic.  Stir for one minute more.  Let cool.

Mix cooled vegetables to crab meat.  Add mayonnaise, egg, lemon juice, Worchester sauce and hot sauce.  Stir gently so as not to break up the crab too much.  Stir in cracker crumbs.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place about 1 Tbsp stuffing into each shrimp. Sprinkle with extra rub.

Par-cook the bacon in a skillet or microwave.  You want the fat to get translucent, but the strips should still be pliable.  Let cool slightly.

When the bacon is cool enough to handle, wrap a strip of bacon around each shrimp letting the tail stick out.  Secure with a toothpick.

Grill the shrimp on each side until the shrimp is cooked and pink and the bacon is crispy.

Shrimp Rub

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp         black pepper
1/2 Tbsp         onion powder
1/2 Tbsp         Cayenne
1/2 Tbsp         oregano
1/2 Tbsp         Thyme


Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and place in a small airtight container.

What's written here will be pretty obvious, but still I make these mistakes all the time so it bears repeating...

1. Store rubs in airtight containers.  Rubs are mostly salt and sugar, both ingredients that will absorb moisture and cake or clump.  Use containers that seal well with rubber gaskets or tight fitting lids.  I always forget that the soup containers from the takeout restaurant have holes punched into the lids. 
2. Use a container that is appropriately sized.  Don't put a cup of rub into a quart container.  Even if it seals well, you've just locked enough moist air into the container to clump up the works.
3. Glass or Plastic?  This is difficult because both have pros and cons.  Plastic containers are light weight, don't break, come in a variety of sizes, often stack well and can be written on in marker.  Glass containers won't absorb the smells, tastes or colors of rubs and are see-through.  I use both.  If you think a plastic container will impart flavors to a new rub, fill it with white vinegar for a few hours and rinse.  (Keep the vinegar.  You can use it again, or put it in a spray bottle to sanitize your kitchen surfaces.)  
4. Make sure the container is dry!  Nothing is worse that dumping a rub into a jar to realize that there was a little water in the corners, and not your rub is stuck there.
5. Label your containers!!  Really, I can't put enough exclamation points here.  This is my major sin, and I commit it over and over again.  You would think that once one has coated a piece of pork with the cinnamon cocoa powder meant to coat the chocolate truffles, one would never make the labeling mistake again, but apparently not.

This is the rub that started it all so it seems only fitting that it be the first recipe we share.  This is the brisket recipe that my friend, Ryan, a Texas native, gave to me when he taught me to smoke my first brisket.  It's simple, and it's delicious.  It's also great on popcorn!

Ryan's Texas Brisket Rub
Ingredients:
¾ c        Paprika
¼ c        Black pepper
¼ c        Chili powder
¼ c        Salt
¼ c        Sugar
2 tbsp    Garlic powder
2 tbsp    Onion powder
1 tbsp     Cayenne pepper
 
Combine all ingredients and mix well.  Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.  Sprinkle onto brisket and let the meat sit for at least 6 hours.  This draws moisture out of the meat which helps make a nice bark.