Where There's Smoke, There's Food

We kicked off “smoking season” at my friend Butch’s house.

Joe, an avid hunter, had some quackers and venison sausage in the freezer. Butch had made bacon (I mean made, as in from scratch, from pork belly) and I had some pulled lamb (a story for another day). We made an afternoon of it and had a total-protein dinner.

The closest thing to a vegetable was a loaf of Butch's freshly made whole wheat bread. 

Wild duck is quite unlike the shrink-wrapped Long Island birds that come from the store. Coming from the smoker, they looked scrawny and dry but they were full of flavor. Duck meat is deep red and juicy and very harmonious with smoke. I think I’ll call duck “the other red meat.”

The cheese was great: A tangy asiago and a variety of Swiss I’d not had before that Joe spotted, nutty and creamy.