9 SOUTHERN CUISINE
The Family Table By Lorie Thompson
I love camping. When My Uncle, JL McKay, was alive, he would organize family camping trips to Tugalo Lake. The entire clan would come! My friend, Charlie Burns, would join us and announce that for the weekend, his name was “Charlie McKay, Ramey, Thompson, Burns,” naming all of the families represented. Back in those days, access to Tugalo required a tough 4-wheel drive and a lot of effort to get to the lake, but very often, we would have the lake to ourselves. The weekend highlights would include fishing, storytelling around the campfire, great food, and lots of laughter. Our family still loves to camp. Mountain Man and I have changed our camping style over the years. We started in our 20’s with two backpacks. We migrated into Jeep camping a few years later and then into taking the pickup truck. After we had children, a camping trip required that we take the Tahoe and the truck pulling a boat full of gear to carry it all! We still camp, but now, our children have taken over “hosting” and bring most of the community gear and food. So, it is much easier for us to go and we are going more often. A large part of the fun of camping is outdoor cooking and sharing meals. When we have a large group comprised of several households, we share breakfast, cooking it in the camp. We all bring snacks and lunch items to share. Each family unit will provide an evening meal for everyone. One of my favorite first evening meals is smoked brisket. I prepared it before heading to our campsite and keep it hot in a homemade “Cambro” until supper time. Paired with potato salad and a green salad, it makes a beautiful evening meal. Let me tell you how I made it. Brisket takes some planning. It is a big cut of meat and takes time to prepare. I chose an 11.5-pound brisket that I bought at Sam’s Club. One day before your trip or serving date, take the brisket out of the refrigerator and allow it to come up in temperature. Rinse the meat in cool water and pat dry with a paper towel. Trim the thick areas of fat. Because of the very long cooking time, you should leave a good amount of fat on the meat but trim it up to a thinner line. You can season with any seasoning you choose. If I am only making one brisket, instead of making a rub, I will sprinkle on the seasonings and then “massage” it into the crooks and crevices. Turn the brisket with the fat cap side down—season liberally with garlic salt, and pepper. Then add paprika, cumin, and brown sugar. Turn the brisket over and season the other side. (Add back a few pieces of the thin, fat trimmings on areas with no fat to keep it from drying out.) Make a “boat” out of double-thick heavy-duty
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