Today, I'm smoking something very special. My wife surprised me with a Wagyu Rib Roast that she had picked up from Fresh Sensations at Carindale. As this was my first wagyu, I wanted to treat it very carefully and with respect, so for the rub, I decided to use just salt and pepper and use it sparingly. I used mesquite pellets as my smoking agent.

I wanted to smoke some tomatoes so at 1:13pm, the pit went on, with the tomatoes added about 20 minutes later. At 2:55pm, the wagyu meat went on and the tomatoes went into a tupperware container for later. To pass the time, my son and I played a couple of games of Get Bit and Takenoko.

At 5:05pm, the internal temperature hit 77C with the rangehood sitting at 300F. I took the meat off to rest and when it came time to eat, it was fantastic. The smoke was great, the meat was tender and juicy -- in fact, it all got gobbled up that night. I also tried one of the smoked tomatoes and whilst it had taken on the flavour of mesquite, but it was too overpowering and they just didn't taste very good. Too bitter. I'll have to remember that for next time.

We also had a bit of fun today with marshmallows. My son got to try his first toasted marshmallows, but being a kid, he loaded his stick up with mallows and it caught on fire, the stick dropped, I caught it (slightly burning my hands) and then fed it too him. He had melted marshmallow all over his face and he thought it was just great.

The other week, we went to Super Butcher and picked up a rack of lamb. Today, was the day I get to smoke it. After having just done the successful smoked tomatoes, the lamb when on at 2pm. The night before I marinade the lamb rack with lemon juice and rubbed it with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Basically, I didn't want anything too overpowering, I wanted the full flavour of the lamb to come through.

The rangehood was sitting at about 300F for the entire cook and at 3:20pm, the internal temperature of the lamb hit 77C. I then double wrapped it in alfoil and covered it in it's jus. At 3:30pm, it hit 90C, so I spritzed the lamb with some lemon juice and put it back on. Funnily enough, the internal temp went down to 78C and 15 minutes later was back up to 90C. I spritzed it again and it went down to 81C, but quickly went back up.

At 4:20pm, I put the veggies on -- carrots, mushrooms, onions and potatoes. Meanwhile, the lamb's internal temperature was sitting at 84C and not moving.

During this cook, I've found playing the odd tabletop or board game has been a great way to pass the time. My son and I played The Game of Life (80s board game) today ... he ended up with 6 kids ! However, I had a better paying job (Doctor), so I won :) Oh I should also mention that my wife brought out a batch of vietnamese spring rolls she'd whipped up. Nice to have something different to snack on when doing a cook.

At 5:20pm, the lamb went off to rest and I checked the veggies, which unfortunately, weren't ready yet. When it came time to eat at about 6pm, I took them off. The lamb was fantastic and juicy. It didn't get much of a smoke to it, but the rub was subtle and tasted great. My wife also commented that the rub wasn't as pepper-y as usual. I think that's because I've been doing lots of chicken -- note to self, tone down the pepper on the next chicken cook.