smokin’ eggs

Our Easter ham was amazing this year, and it’s because my husband has taken up smoking. It started with his finding a Brinkmann vertical water smoker in his parents’ garage a year or so ago. They’d collected it somehow, but had no use for it so he took it off their hands. He researched smoking online, found a website he liked, and a hobby was born.

This year’s holiday ham–bone-in and spiral-cut per website instructions–was first basted generously with a locally sourced maple syrup. Next step was a light coating of a cranberry maple rub I had picked up on a recent trip to Colorado. The ham then smoked over boubon-soaked barrel chips for three-ish hours. The final result was beyond amazing and I’m thrilled to have leftovers for sandwiches and the like.

Crazy-good ham aside, this post is really about everything else that was smoked that day. My girls and I joked that if we stayed in one place too long, my husband would have put us on the smoker. He threw all of the following (though not all at once) on the smoker that day: a handful of carrots and leeks (part of the roasted veggie side dish I was making), hazelnuts, peanuts, almonds, pork chops, corn-on-the-cob, and eggs.

My husband had read somewhere that peeled hard-cooked eggs could be smoked. Being the day before Easter, we had plenty of hard-cooked eggs around. We peeled a dozen and he put them directly on the smoking rack. They smoked for about 45 minutes, then came off the rack a mustard yellow with gorgeous grill marks. Cut in half, the inner whites were brilliantly white and the yolks golden. The layers of color were dramatic. Sprinkled with freshly ground pepper, the eggs made a great hors d’oeuvre while we waited for the ham to finish. The slight smokiness went well with the neutral, savory flavor of an egg. They’ll make fantastic deviled eggs and egg salad for sure.

Eggs are known for their versatility, and this discovery only adds to their repertoire. We’ll be playing this one again soon. And who knows what my husband will find to throw on the rack when he starts up the smoker again.