Rubbed Smoked Pork Ribs - © smoking-meat.com

Happy Canada Day! Celebrate With Us, Eh?

Happy Canada Day! It’s not only Canada’s annual birthday, this is the 150th and Canadians all over the world are letting the locals in their locales know it. Here at home, I’m getting ready to feed a crowd, tending a pile of meat on the smoker for 10-12 hours and making signature summer salads…

Tim Hortons Poutine Donut - © 2017 Tim HortonsTim Horton’s Canada Day Poutine Doughnut. Messy, but uniquely good!

To start…

Tim Horton’s in  the U.S. is bringing customers at all locations a special taste of Canada: A Poutine Doughnut. It’s a Honey Glazed Doughnut topped with Potato Wedges, Cheese Curd and Gravy. Sounds weird,  but a littler sweet is all it would take to raise Poutine from perfection to ‘ethereal’… But this delight is available for only one day – today. So get out there and get one! Available all summer are classic Canadian Maple Timbits and the unique Maple Bacon Iced Capp(uccino).

My take…

I’m going all out this year for Canada Day BBQ, putting a whole, 10 lb. / 4.5 kg Beef Brisket and 10 lb. / 4.5 kg of Pork Ribs on the smoker. Erin and I rubbed them up yesterday with our special Red Canada Day Spice mix – not that different from your average Texas blend, but with extra Sweet Paprika and Cayenne to jazz things up a notch and make the Brisket and Ribs an even brighter red! We’ll honour the Canadian Flag (Red and White) at the table by placing thin slices of the Brisket between slabs of our own home-made Country Bread – a simple, basic recipe that has a great crumb and a distinctive hearty heft, to soak up the juices.

We’re also going Red and White with my Confetti Cole Slaw (Red and ‘White’ Cabbage) and my Signature Canada Day Potato Salad (Baby Red Potatoes and creamy, Herby dressing featuring Celery Seeds and a dab of Mustard).

And to drink?

Canadian beer, of course. I like craft Beers but most folks will probably go for something small-batch-but-easily-available, such as Sleeman’s, Steamwhistle or Big Rig. Never hard of them? You’d have to be from somewhere nearby where I live! And you’d be blessed…

Go for it!

Have a great Canada Day. Any U.S. cousins thinking of moving up here if Trump gets re-elected, come on out and join us and see what we’re all about! We may be a little country, but we know how to party big…

~ Maggie J.