What We’re Smoking (or Grilling, or Curing)!

[folivier]

DW picked up a couple pork loins yesterday. Tomorrow I'll inject them with an unsweetened cherry juice infused with garlic. Then I'll put them in the smoker with just a light coating of Tony Chachere's seasoned salt. I pull them off when they are still pink. Once done I'll slice them about 3/4 to 1" thick and vacuum seal and freeze them. These are great when we want a quick piece of meat either with sides or on a salad. Just a quick sear in a skillet and they're tender with a nice hint of smoky flavor.
Also have a couple butts and rib racks that I'll do next week. Most of this will be vacuum sealed and go in the freezer for this summer.

[Markola]

Here’s what we’re smoking but I haven’t tried any grilled yet!

[ATTACH]

[skipro33]

Bacon wrapped pork loin


Roast beef


Beef short ribs AND brisket flat


Prime Rib


All products of my CookShack SM0025 smoker;

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobbieB Did up some sous vide drumsticks for supper. Salt & pepper & garlic powder, 155F for 3 hours, then whipped 'em on the hibachi for the skin browning / crisping. Amazing, going on regular rotation. Next time pics, we ate the evidence this time.

So, you got that sous vide thing working for you!

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by folivier DW picked up a couple pork loins yesterday. Tomorrow I'll inject them with an unsweetened cherry juice infused with garlic. Then I'll put them in the smoker with just a light coating of Tony Chachere's seasoned salt. I pull them off when they are still pink. Once done I'll slice them about 3/4 to 1" thick and vacuum seal and freeze them. These are great when we want a quick piece of meat either with sides or on a salad. Just a quick sear in a skillet and they're tender with a nice hint of smoky flavor. Also have a couple butts and rib racks that I'll do next week. Most of this will be vacuum sealed and go in the freezer for this summer.

I was thinking about doing Canadian bacon which uses the pork loin. Then I discovered that my homemade bacon pretty much had that flavor - I think because it’s hot smoked.

I still might try it. If I do, I’ll try to find a heritage pork loin.

[doneat54]

We do salmon on the grill almost weekly, our local grocery store gets great seafood. Skin side down, on med-lo heat, do not flip it, brush with olive oil, fresh lemon juice and sometimes finely chopped basil. When it's done perfectly, a thin metal spatula slips right between the fish and the skin.



Other staple is swordfish, but we try not to eat it more than about once a month because of mercury. Brushed with melted butter, minced garlic, toasted sesame seeds and finely chopped parsley. Grilled on med, flipped once. Served with a mandatory fine chardonnay.

[Gumby]

Smoked spare ribs for dinner last night. I just have a simple propane fired cabinet smoker, but it does a great job. I have no idea how we managed to survive before we got a smoker.

[CardsFan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardsFan I mentioned this in the other thread, but I am about to make some corned beef, and probably smoke the point for burnt ends. I plan on using the Amazing Ribs recipe (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...ed-beef-recipe). Any one tried this? Any recommended tweaks? Seems pretty simple. Will cut the flat in half. Might make pastrami from one. Depends on how big they are after trimming.

OK. The brisket is in the brine, and I smoked the point 2 days ago (sorry, no pics. I took a couple but am too lazy to upload right now).

The point was small, and cooked in less than 7 hours (Texas crutch for the last 2). Used the Amazing Ribs recipe for burnt ends with some of it (fried in fat from the brisket). Absolutely "Amazing". The rest is in the freezer for a later day.

Corned beef will be ready mid week. DS and DDIL are coming in town for the weekend, so may keep it until then.

[audreyh1]

Cool!

[skipro33]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardsFan I mentioned this in the other thread, but I am about to make some corned beef, and probably smoke the point for burnt ends. I plan on using the Amazing Ribs recipe (https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...ed-beef-recipe). Any one tried this? Any recommended tweaks? Seems pretty simple. Will cut the flat in half. Might make pastrami from one. Depends on how big they are after trimming.

Ever make pastrami? I love the stuff I've made! A couple of my secrets; after smoking, wrap in cheese cloth and place in a glass dish with heavy bricks on top of it. You want to compress it for a few days in the fridge. Makes for a very dense pastrami that holds together well when slicing paper thin if you like that. Then vac seal it and freeze for later. When ready to serve it as pastrami, take it out and place in a pan with a wire lift to keep it off the bottom of the pan. Then add cola to the pan and cover with foil. Place in the oven and steam the crap out of it. Remove and slice when it gets to 160 degrees. Some folks don't wait that long, so sample as you go for effect. The steaming is what makes corned beef turn into pastrami. The cola is very sugary and really adds a great flavor to the pastrami.

Cheers!

[CardsFan]

Update.

Corned beef was great. Will definitely do it again.

Pastrami will be next.

Gotta buy another brisket.

Oh. And some whole short ribs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardsFan OK. The brisket is in the brine, and I smoked the point 2 days ago (sorry, no pics. I took a couple but am too lazy to upload right now). The point was small, and cooked in less than 7 hours (Texas crutch for the last 2). Used the Amazing Ribs recipe for burnt ends with some of it (fried in fat from the brisket). Absolutely "Amazing". The rest is in the freezer for a later day. Corned beef will be ready mid week. DS and DDIL are coming in town for the weekend, so may keep it until then.

[Surewhitey]

Just prep'd this baby for tomorrow. 14 hrs @ 225 starting at 4am...16 lbs of man-meat.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I was thinking about doing Canadian bacon which uses the pork loin. Then I discovered that my homemade bacon pretty much had that flavor - I think because it’s hot smoked. I still might try it. If I do, I’ll try to find a heritage pork loin.

It's basically the same meat as belly bacon but with much less fat. Sort of like a small ham. That is good or bad depending on how you'll use it. Bacon at our house is mostly an ingredient in other dishes. Sometimes DW uses regular bacon in a stir fry type dish. The Canadian bacon gets used especially in soups.

Buckboard bacon, made from a shoulder aka butt is intermediate in fat.

I cold smoke all of it, lately for 24 hours. So it gets cooked before becoming an ingredient. I think 24 hours would be too long for our taste if we were eating the bacon by itself.

[braumeister]

Smoked a pork butt today and had a very pleasant surprise. For the first time, I recently bought one from a "heritage breed" in the spirit of Blow That Dough, since there was a sale on at D'Artagnan. Never did that before because I always thought it wouldn't be worth the extra money. Boy, was I wrong! Absolutely the best I've ever had, so I'll be doing that a lot from now on. Who knew?

[CardsFan]

Curious.

What is the price premium for a heritage breed?

Around here, a bone-in porkbutt is normally less than $2 per pound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by braumeister Smoked a pork butt today and had a very pleasant surprise. For the first time, I recently bought one from a "heritage breed" in the spirit of Blow That Dough, since there was a sale on at D'Artagnan. Never did that before because I always thought it wouldn't be worth the extra money. Boy, was I wrong! Absolutely the best I've ever had, so I'll be doing that a lot from now on. Who knew?

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CardsFan Curious. What is the price premium for a heritage breed? Around here, a bone-in porkbutt is normally less than $2 per pound.

Yeah, that's why I'd never done it before. Including the shipping cost, it was a little over $7 a pound. But I think it was worth it, at least now and then.

[jcfradio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 I was thinking about doing Canadian bacon which uses the pork loin. Then I discovered that my homemade bacon pretty much had that flavor - I think because it’s hot smoked. I still might try it. If I do, I’ll try to find a heritage pork loin.

What I find works best is to get the pre-cured pork loins (called Canadian peameal bacon up here). I wash off the peameal, rub with a sugar maple rub that I have and then smoke it at 225 F with maple or hickory for about 1 1/2 hours until it reaches 135 F internal temperature. Too much longer makes it too smoky for our taste. Using the pre-cured loins, keeps them pink and moist. I will often do 3 or 4 at a time when I cooking ribs or pork shoulder.

[OldShooter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcfradio What I find works best is to get the pre-cured pork loins (called Canadian peameal bacon up here). I wash off the peameal, rub with a sugar maple rub that I have and then smoke it at 225 F with maple or hickory for about 1 1/2 hours until it reaches 135 F internal temperature. Too much longer makes it too smoky for our taste. Using the pre-cured loins, keeps them pink and moist. I will often do 3 or 4 at a time when I cooking ribs or pork shoulder.

The majority of the loins we get in the US have been jazzed up 20% with a water & salt solution, which is argued to improve juiciness. It does, but more importantly it allows the seller to charge for the weight of the water. I wonder if maybe your pre-cured loins are also jazzed. If you cure your own and are able to get unjazzed loins, then you can inject with whatever flavor, seasoning, and salt pleases you.

[Gumby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcfradio What I find works best is to get the pre-cured pork loins (called Canadian peameal bacon up here). I wash off the peameal, rub with a sugar maple rub that I have and then smoke it at 225 F with maple or hickory for about 1 1/2 hours until it reaches 135 F internal temperature. Too much longer makes it too smoky for our taste. Using the pre-cured loins, keeps them pink and moist. I will often do 3 or 4 at a time when I cooking ribs or pork shoulder.

If you are concerned about too much smoke taste, you can just stop putting wood chips in the burner tray or take them out. I usually smoke most things for about the first 1-2 hours. From then on in, I don't add more wood chips and it's just slow cooking until the meat is done, which for certain cuts like briskets could be many more hours.

[jcfradio]

Quote:

Originally Posted by OldShooter The majority of the loins we get in the US have been jazzed up 20% with a water & salt solution, which is argued to improve juiciness. It does, but more importantly it allows the seller to charge for the weight of the water. I wonder if maybe your pre-cured loins are also jazzed. If you cure your own and are able to get unjazzed loins, then you can inject with whatever flavor, seasoning, and salt pleases you.

Old Shooter. I agree that the precured loins are injected as are most meats that you find in sealed cryovac packaging, including pre-packed pork loins. The key word to look for on the packages here is "seasoned" which means that you get to pay for the added water. The one way to get un-seasoned meats is to go a butcher. I do cure my own pork bellies for bacon, but using he pre-cured loins for smoked back bacon, saves me the extra step, space and time of curing the loins. Plus when I buy the cured loins on sale, it is cheaper than buying a loin and curing it myself.