However, having COVID-19 and losing my sense of smell and taste seems like as good as excuse as any for a brief pause. As much as I was tempted to transition the blog into providing reviews of the appearance of food, I’m not sure how helpful it would have been for people interested in how it tastes.
As my laughing gear is pretty much working as normal again, I’m ready to get back in the saddle.
Alongside Hang Fire, London’s Smokestak makes the best American-stye barbecue I’ve eaten in the UK. Like many restaurants they’ve recently set up a web shop to help make (burnt) ends meet. It features delights such as whole smoked Aylesbury peking duck (£48), 15-hour brisket buns (£30) and treacle cured smoked gammon (£60).
National chilled courier deliveries take place on Fridays with free delivery on orders over £75.
We ordered the four-pounder smoked meat box (£65) as it seemed to give us the biggest bang for our buck. We supplemented it with a couple of Welsh rarebit jacket potatoes (£5) to snag free delivery.
Our box was generously loaded with two 1lb packets of brisket, two 1lb packets of pulled pork as well as pickles and sauces. With the addition of some carbs it would comfortably feed eight people; we froze half the meat to enjoy at a later date.
With simple re-heating instructions, our meat warmed through in the oven in around half an hour.
15-hour smoked beef brisket was absolutely top drawer - crusty of bark, smoke-ringed and seriously soft and juicy of texture, it was beefy and smokey in equal measure.
A tender tangle of native breed pulled pork shoulder tasted of quality pig and aromatic woodsmoke.
It was belting stuffed into toasted Friends in Knead brioche buns alongside some pickles and BBQ sauce.
Crisp skinned jacket potatoes had been hollowed out and filled with a creamy and chivey potato mix. They were topped with grilled rarebit which delivered a good hit of cheese and delicate warmth of mustard.
Fresh cleansing pickles…
and fiery pickled birds eye chillies provided vital cut through.
Hot mustard sauce and sweet barbecue sauce were both nice examples of their type.
The smoked meat from Smokestak is first class. If you’re looking for an American barbecue hit at home then I very much recommend placing an order.
The Details:
So sorry to hear that you had covid and lost your taste and smell! It's the thing I fear the most from it (apart from getting a bad dose of it and being really ill of course)
ReplyDeleteSo pleased it's come back!
Yeah, I was really worried my taste and smell wasn't going to come back for ages. Really pleased it has!
Delete