Bob Rondeau's Smoking Secrets

Bob Rondeau isn't only a talented bank executive, an EVP with Flagstar Bank. He is also a foodie like me, and a smoking maven on top of everything. I'm gratified that he was willing to share his secrets with us, and have been inspired to buy a smoker to follow his recipes.

Smoked Turkey

Season an 8-10 lb. turkey with salt, pepper, thyme, fennel and a little bit of sugar.

Soak cheese cloth in apple or cranberry juice well. Drape the cheese cloth on top of the turkey.

Smoke the turkey at 30 minutes per lb. (assuming smoking temperature of 210F), roughly 2 hrs for an 8-10 lb. bird.

For the moisturizing liquid (which you put in a bowl at the bottom of the smoker), Bob likes to use white wine.

Bob uses a Bradley smoker (which you can find on www.cabelas.com) that self-feeds wood chips into the smoker every 15-20 minutes.

Smoked Beef Tenderloin

Season your roast with salt and pepper.

Soak the cheese cloth in melted butter and garlic. Drape over the roast. Cook to liking.

Hillbilly Turkey

Place your seasoned and cheese cloth covered bird on a full beer can and grill approximately 2 hours (preferably over charcoal or wood).

I was surprised at how well this turned out.