good to see you're catching up on the Thermapen wagon. how is it doing for you? is it the MK4 or just the older one?
Home Cookin' The BBQ/Smokers/Smoked Meats Thread...
- Thread starter notbob
- Start date
good to see you're catching up on the Thermapen wagon. how is it doing for you? is it the MK4 or just the older one?
I thought i told you i got one a few months back. Its the older model. I actually find myself using it for just about everything i cook. I also bought a couple of thermopops to give as gifts
leftwngr
Prospect
Yeah, it was a lot to prep. Fun cook though. I cook for 20-30 pretty regularly, but that was the first time I did anything that big. Had 3 pans of pulled pork and 2 pans of brisket. All wiped out in short order.
It's a big cooker but it is really fuel efficient, so that whole cook went off with about 10 lbs of charcoal.
Still waiting for the LGK cookout.
leftwngr
Prospect
My fave is to use a thermoworks needle probe. It is actually faster than the thermapen but not as easy to carry. Sharp!
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LetTigerIn
Lurker
I shouldn't have looked at those pictures. Now I'm hungry!!!!!
gotta make that happen!
leftwngr
Prospect
made to order... Bacon!
So one of the drawbacks I've found to my cooking hobby is that my family enjoys making requests. Recently, I got hit up for a bunch of home cured bacon, so I figured I'd document it and share it here. Thanks for looking.
A big slab of pork belly... just shy of 12 lbs.
View attachment 5548
Into a wet cure of my own mixing involving among other things... bourbon. mmm... bourbon.
View attachment 5549
a week later, it is on the smoker for a few hours. This is 3 hours in.
View attachment 5550
After the smoke, it's slice and test time. Cure went through evenly, so I was happy.
View attachment 5551
Into the deli slicer and then packed in about 1lb. packs. An 11.89 lb. raw belly yielded about 10.5 lbs. of slices and roughly a half pound of end pieces.
View attachment 5552
I have become the family bacon servant.
So one of the drawbacks I've found to my cooking hobby is that my family enjoys making requests. Recently, I got hit up for a bunch of home cured bacon, so I figured I'd document it and share it here. Thanks for looking.
A big slab of pork belly... just shy of 12 lbs.
View attachment 5548
Into a wet cure of my own mixing involving among other things... bourbon. mmm... bourbon.
View attachment 5549
a week later, it is on the smoker for a few hours. This is 3 hours in.
View attachment 5550
After the smoke, it's slice and test time. Cure went through evenly, so I was happy.
View attachment 5551
Into the deli slicer and then packed in about 1lb. packs. An 11.89 lb. raw belly yielded about 10.5 lbs. of slices and roughly a half pound of end pieces.
View attachment 5552
I have become the family bacon servant.
What temp do you smoke your bacon at? My next project is bacon and i cant decide if i want to try cold smoking or hot smoking.
Maybe i will go that route. Currently i have 15lbs of brisket on its way to becoming pastrami so when that is done im gonna try bacon.
Homemade pastrami is by far my favorite thing to make on the smoker. Its probably not as fancy as some of you guys. I'll be a corned beef, let is soak in fresh water for 3-4 days to bring the brine out, then pack it full of pepper and corriander, and put it on the smoker at 225. I forgot the internal temp, but man oh man, that stuff is delicious.
when I grow up, I wanna be like you.
leftwngr
Prospect
ha... nice. It's rough trying to explain why the fridge looks like a science experiment all the time though. My wife... she's great, but I think she firmly believes I am from space.
leftwngr
Prospect
Here's my recipe for a maple/bourbon bacon:
Tools:
Large zip lock bags
Smoker
Meat thermometer
Ingredients:
Raw pork belly (skin off)
Cure: (for every 1lb. of raw pork belly)
1.5 tsp of Kosher Salt (table salt will be too salty)
0.5 tsp of Pink Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
1.5 tsp of coarse black pepper
3 tsp of brown sugar
2 tsp of maple syrup (the real kind)
1 tsp of bourbon (or whisky will do too)
? cup of distilled water
Instructions:
I personally like to do a whole 10 lb. belly in a full size food pan, but that can be a bit difficult, so...
Cut or buy the belly in about 2 – 3 lb. chunks.
Mix enough cure ingredients into zip lock bag large enough to hold pork belly chunks.
Put it in the bag and store it in the fridge for 7 days. You should flip the bag periodically and give the meat a light massage to ensure the cure gets in everywhere.
After a week in the cure, throw away the liquids in the bag and replace with clean water. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes. This will take out a lot of the salt so it isn’t so salty. Some like it saltier, but that’s up to you.
Get smoker to 180-200 F (use your choice of wood. I like apple, cherry, or hickory.)
Take pork out of water and pat down with paper towels.
Put on the smoker fat side up when temperature is reached. Leave it on for about 3 hours or until the internal meat temperature is about 135 F.
Remove and place back in fridge overnight. This will cool it down to make it easier to cut.
After it cools, slice it in the direction so that it looks like bacon. (you’ll know what I mean)
Cut it thin or thick. Up to your preference.
Fry it up at low to medium heat so as not to burn the edges (maple syrup burns) and enjoy.
Tools:
Large zip lock bags
Smoker
Meat thermometer
Ingredients:
Raw pork belly (skin off)
Cure: (for every 1lb. of raw pork belly)
1.5 tsp of Kosher Salt (table salt will be too salty)
0.5 tsp of Pink Curing Salt (Prague Powder #1)
1.5 tsp of coarse black pepper
3 tsp of brown sugar
2 tsp of maple syrup (the real kind)
1 tsp of bourbon (or whisky will do too)
? cup of distilled water
Instructions:
I personally like to do a whole 10 lb. belly in a full size food pan, but that can be a bit difficult, so...
Cut or buy the belly in about 2 – 3 lb. chunks.
Mix enough cure ingredients into zip lock bag large enough to hold pork belly chunks.
Put it in the bag and store it in the fridge for 7 days. You should flip the bag periodically and give the meat a light massage to ensure the cure gets in everywhere.
After a week in the cure, throw away the liquids in the bag and replace with clean water. Let it soak for at least 30 minutes. This will take out a lot of the salt so it isn’t so salty. Some like it saltier, but that’s up to you.
Get smoker to 180-200 F (use your choice of wood. I like apple, cherry, or hickory.)
Take pork out of water and pat down with paper towels.
Put on the smoker fat side up when temperature is reached. Leave it on for about 3 hours or until the internal meat temperature is about 135 F.
Remove and place back in fridge overnight. This will cool it down to make it easier to cut.
After it cools, slice it in the direction so that it looks like bacon. (you’ll know what I mean)
Cut it thin or thick. Up to your preference.
Fry it up at low to medium heat so as not to burn the edges (maple syrup burns) and enjoy.
Takes some finagling but it fits. I wanted to make sure i had room for a 24lb turkey or a whole packer for pastrami.
leftwngr
Prospect
Been meaning to try a pastrami. I have a huge stainless steel stock pot but to get it into my fridge means removing shelves and relocating food. Not to mention a giant ugly piece of meat curing in the fridge. Wifey will call the white coats on me for sure.
Thats pretty much what i have to go through. We have an extra fridge in the garage though so it isnt a big deal
Now Chirping
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