Shannon Johnson’s Smoked Conecuh Sausage and Cheese Platter

Yields 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb. Conecuh Original Smoked Sausage, or mild flavored smoked sausage of choice

• 1 lb. oak smoking chips, soaked in water for an hour and drained

• 16 Ritz crackers

• Dry rub of choice, to taste

• 4 oz. cheese sauce

(I like white cheddar)

• 2 oz. dill pickles, sliced

Directions

Preheat smoker to 250°. While your smoker is heating, cut sausage into two equal-length pieces and reserve. Once smoker is heated, add sausage, and then add drained wood chips directly to the heat source and close the lid. Smoke for 25 minutes with the lid tightly closed, monitoring the temperature, and adjusting as needed – do not open the lid to peek. While sausage is smoking, arrange Ritz crackers on a metal baking sheet or pan that will fit in your smoker. Spray both sides of the crackers lightly with cooking spray and season each side with the dry rub. When the 25 minutes has elapsed, add the cracker pan to the smoker as far away as pos - sible from direct heat and smoke for 10 minutes. While the sausage and crackers are smoking, place cheese sauce on a double boiler or in a microwave oven and warm for service. Set up a cutting board, your favorite slicing knife, a suitable platter, and a ramekin or sauce cup – the quirkier of a setup the better. Remove the sausage and crackers from the smoker, and while allowing the sausage to rest, add warm cheese sauce to the ramekin or sauce cup. Arrange crackers in a dense pile or row on the platter to keep them warm. Drain pickle slices and pile tightly on the platter. Slice the sausage in half-inch slices and pile on as well. Serve the cheese sauce alongside the platter, so your guests may dip both sausage and crackers in the warm richness.

“The key to making great barbecue is time – give yourself plenty of it. Plan ahead, then relax and settle in. Smoking and barbecuing should never be rushed. As most of the time involved is ‘inactive,’ it allows for relaxing with a cold beverage, playing fetch with the dog, reading a book, or catching up with friends. If you’ve done it right, you and your guests will taste the time invested. Maybe, just maybe, your dog will benefit too.”

–Shannon Johnson