Skip to main content

Feasting: Project Smoke Premieres on PBS

Feasting is our column dedicated to cooking, grilling, eating and discovering what’s on the menu across America and the world.

There are hundreds of cooking shows out there, from the traditional to those that go a little out of the box. And though BBQ is the subject of many, there was never a program that focused solely on smoking. Until now, that is, as Project Smoke just premiered July 4th weekend on PBS.

Project Smoke

Hosted by Steven Raichlen – a five-time James Beard Award-winner, author of the internationally best-selling Barbecue Bible cookbook series and the man credited for reinventing modern BBQ – the 13-week series focuses on both traditional and cutting-edge smoking techniques with episodes on everything from cold smoking to using wood, spices, herbs and even hay.

“Smoking is the new grilling,” Raichlen says. “Project Smoke focuses on the iconic smoked foods, such as Texas brisket, Carolina pulled pork and Scandinavian smoked salmon, plus dishes you would never dream you could smoke, from cocktails to dessert.”

Related: Feasting: BBQ With Franklin Premieres on PBS

Each 30-minute episode is sure to make your mouth water as you learn to smoke everything from prime rib, Jamaican jerk chicken and homemade pastrami to smoky Manhattans and cheesecake. Set in Arizona’s stunning Sonoran Desert, Raichlen has an awesome collection of smokers on deck so you can watch him work his magic on everything from an upright barrel smoker to a wood-burning grill. And with an emphasis on grass-fed beef, heritage pork, wild seafood and organic poultry and produce, where their food comes from matters just as much as how they cook it, which we can always stand behind.

Project Smoke

So what are some of the amazing recipes you’ll learn watching Project Smoke? The first episode covers Smoking 101 with essential techniques to make things like smoke-roasted chicken with horseradish dip and smoked baby back ribs with prickly pear barbecue sauce. Episode 2 focuses entirely on shoulders and bellies from house-cured pastrami to barbecued lamb shoulder. And if seafood is more your style, the Surf Meets Turf episode features dishes like smoked shrimp cocktail with chipotle orange cocktail sauce and smoked planked trout with caper dill sauce.

Hungry yet? To find out when the series airs in your area, check listings on pbs.org.

Food photos by Richard Dallett

Topics
Amanda Gabriele
Amanda Gabriele is a food and travel writer at The Manual and the former senior editor at Supercall. She can’t live without…
Study signals bad news for seafood lovers hoping for fewer canceled crab seasons
Crab season's outlook continues to appear less than ideal. Here's the latest scientific reveal
Crab on display at the store.

Climate change is kind to nobody, or thing, but it has been extra hard on certain sea creatures as of late. With canceled crab seasons and struggling populations in various spots all over the globe, shellfish are now being dealt an unfavorable hand of cards by way of a dramatically warming planet. Turns out that heatwaves hit the oceans, too, and that doesn't bode well for some of our favorite seafood friends.

Recent research suggests these marine heatwaves, or extended stretches wherein the ocean water temperature is well above the average, will negatively impact life even at the base of the food chain. Researchers looked specifically at the Atlantic mangrove fiddler crab, a species enjoyed by all kinds of animals, from waterfowl and fish to humans. Data was collected in three coastal locations — Brazil, Norway, and the U.S. — and the findings are not promising, especially for those who like cooking with shellfish.

Read more
Why Italian food absolutely deserves to be UNESCO-recognized
As Italian cuisine becomes even more iconic, it's achieving UNESCO status
Plate of pasta

 

Italian food is incredible stuff. From hearty pasta dishes to remarkable wine, the cuisine at large is among the best on earth. And now, it's (almost) a UNESCO-recognized genre of food.

Read more
Perfect for any man cave, this 130-can beverage cooler is $50 off
The Insignia beverage cooler holds 130 cans.

Mancave, office, patio, game room, theater room, or heck, even just a bedroom, these are all perfect places to stow a mini fridge. Why? Because of sheer laziness, maybe a little, but also because it's super convenient to have your beverages and snacks available right there, right when you want them. You don't have to make a trip to the kitchen or anywhere else. Whether for wine,  beer, or soda, the best wine coolers and fridges are strangely compact but sizable at the same time -- the latter meaning they can hold a few cans or bottles. They're also available at a great price, like the Insignia 130-can beverage cooler available for a discount at Best Buy, right now. Normally $370, you can get it for $320 thanks to the current deal and save $50 in the process. The 115-can variant is also on sale, for $250 saving you $50, as well. Hurry and check those deals out, they won't last forever.

Why You Should Buy the Insignia 130-Can Beverage Cooler
Okay, so, maybe Insignia's 130-can cooler didn't make it on our list of the best beverage coolers for 2023, but that's okay because it's not just comparable, it has a lot of additional features that make it worthy of your attention. For example, the touch controls and LED display make it easy to adjust temperature settings and keep an eye on your cold storage. Plus, there are three fully-adjustable wood-trimmed shelves for the interior, which you can use to organize your snacks, beverages, and whatever else you might store inside.

Read more