Smokin'

Back home in Tennessee, one of our new favorite things to do is smoke some meat. We've mostly done ribs and chicken on our $35-smoker and it works great.  We missed the smoker in Florida so we decided, at that price, we could get one down there.  And we didn't even have to haul it home to Tennessee this March!  Our friends in the park that have a mobile home, offered to keep it and a few other things for us so we'd have less to bring back and forth.  

The smoker's recipe book has a WONDERFUL marinade recipe for Jamaican Chicken.

Marinating the (rather) large chicken breasts

Jamaican Chicken Marinade

1/2 c. chili sauce (I used Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce available at most grocery stores)
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt (I always use less)
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1/2 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced 
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil.

Marinate for 3-4 hours.  I think we may have even done ours overnight.

On to the grill

The cook

Very moist and delicious!

One of the first things we do when we get to Florida is go to our favorite fish market, I C Sharks, to pick up some fresh seafood.  This year we tried rock shrimp and stone crab claws.  The crab claws are expensive but so delicious.  When we went back to get some more a couple weeks later, there were none because the water temperature had gotten colder and the octopuses were eating them.  Yes, octopuses is an acceptable pluralization.

Anyway, the rock shrimp is about half the price of regular shrimp and is good, too. They use them a lot in pasta dishes but they're good cooked just like regular shrimp, too.

Stone crab claws and rock shrimp 

Not to be discouraged, we looked for other foods to smoke.  Again at I C Sharks, we bought a piece of salmon, a piece of mahi-mahi, and a piece of amberjack.  The amberjack is the bigger lighter piece below.  We soaked the mahi-mahi and the amberjack overnight in vinegar and water.  We wished we had soaked the salmon also. 

My favorite is the beautiful white amberjack although they all were delicious!

We always stay 2 nights in Panama City Beach on the way home so I can visit my favorite quilt store and we can stock up at our favorite fish market there.  We bought a 2-pound fish called scamp that they recommended, to bring home and smoke.  Can't wait to try it!

Scamp at Buddy Gandy's Seafood in Panama City Beach