Soma (pronounced “Shoma”, it’s a Hungarian name) wanted to smoke a Thor’s Hammer, which is a specially prepared beef shank. That’s because we were selling them at the markets all summer, telling our customers “It’s a novelty cut. Good in the smoker.” What Frank said. But we’d never actually smoked one.
As we got down to the last Hammer in the freezer this fall, I could see Soma had his eye on it. Bone-in cuts often get a hole in the plastic, breaking the vacuum seal. He waited patiently until I put this one in the discard pile. Then he took it home.
On smoking day, I was supposed to visit Soma and Flynn where they’ve been staying up along the Foothills, but one thing led to another. Instead, they brought the finished Hammer down the next day so Mary and I could sample it. On the way down, a rabbit decided to skirmish with Flynn’s car, and lost.
I imagine her saying a prayer, then asking Soma to fetch the hunting knife. For sure she rummaged around in the back of her car and found something to wrap it in. They showed up at our door, Soma carrying the smoked Thor’s Hammer and Flynn carrying a mysterious bundle. When she brought it into the kitchen, I noticed two hind legs sticking out, speckled with fresh blood. “You brought me a bunny?”
She nodded solemnly. I asked if she knew how to dress it. “It’s already gutted.” I dug around in the drawer to find the old filet knife. Flynn immediately tested the blade on her finger and cocked her head, dubiously. So I also pulled out a whetstone and she set to sharpening. Then I went to organize the vegetables while she skinned and washed her kill. For roasting, she selected our Dutch oven, a deep cast iron pan with a heavy lid, adding chopped fennel root, shallots, garlic, herbs, butter, and salt.
Once it was in the oven, Soma started carving the Thor’s Hammer. He had soaked it in brine for nearly a week before the smoking. It looked, smelled, and tasted something like a ham. It was delicious cold right off the carving board, but we also warmed some in butter in a skillet. That too was excellent.
We were so excited about the rabbit we kept taking it out of the oven. I discovered that freshly-killed rabbit is superb rare. It had a soft, chewy texture, tender and flavorful. Flynn took the remainder home for a stew the next day.
The cast iron pan with the drippings and vegetable remains was tucked into the fridge overnight. In the morning, I put it back on the stove and cooked the best fried eggs.
Days later, Soma called to give me the final word on the carved smoked Thor’s Hammer. With its dense texture and potent flavor, its highest and best use, he opined, was as a sandwich meat.
