quote:

Originally posted by xantom:
Finally got the bacon made.

Your pictures are making me hungry

What temp did you smoke at and what was your target temp for the bacon?

I'm a little behind you, I've got a 9 pound pork belly curing in the fridge now. Planning on rinsing off the cure on Thursday, drying overnight and smoking on Friday or Saturday depending on how much free time I have.

My current thought is to smoke at 200F and pull it when the internal temp reaches 150F.

quote:

Originally posted by xantom:
Finally got the bacon made.

You slice it before freezing it?
(Assuming you do freeze)

I will just freeze the cured slab and slice it later when I start to use it and keep it in the fridge.

Been making bacon now for more than a year now and will NEVER go back to store bought!

quote:

What temp did you smoke at and what was your target temp for the bacon?

I tried to keep the smoker around 225. I pulled them when they reached 150.

quote:

You slice it before freezing it?
(Assuming you do freeze)

I will just freeze the cured slab and slice it later when I start to use it and keep it in the fridge.

Been making bacon now for more than a year now and will NEVER go back to store bought!

Yes we slice it, bag it with a food saver, and freeze. I prefer it this way but see your point. My wife wouldn’t want to slice bacon either. Four whole pork bellies is a lot to slice up, but worth it IMO. It took me about 4 hours to slice and bag all of it up including clean up time. I will never go back to store bought bacon, unless in a pinch, either. Once you have it dialed in there is no comparison.

I took all the odds and ends and cubed them up for beans and other dishes.

Do you like Bacon?
Do you like Ribs?

How 'bout Bacon Ribs ? AKA Pork Belly attached to Ribs.

Makin' Bacon:


Stage Two: Smokin the ribs:
]

Final Result:


My only complaint is I used too much salt.

Will be better next time but cannot complain.

Looks pretty tasty!

Finished my first attempt at bacon this weekend!









Half smoked with apple and the other half smoked with pecan.

It's a little sweeter than I'd like, so I'll be tweaking the recipe a bit next time but it's still pretty darn good.

Clear at the bottom of page 7??? You fellas need to get your smokers fired up.

Made up a batch of kabanosy the other day. Polish Slim-Jims...only much better. Ground up butt, blend of spices, heavy hickory smoke for two hours at 140F and finished with a poach to 154F. Then, hung to dry out in the shop for a few days at ~50F. Meat candy!

I only have "after" pic, need to find it. Last weekend for the first time made beef belly burnt ends.

About a 4# beef belly from Porter Road. (Love those guys BTW. Link to belly: Linky )

Trimmed up a bit of the fat side, rub, smoked like brisket at 225 until around 190. Let cool for a little bit to be able to handle, then cut into 1" cubes, tossed in a little bit of rub, then tossed in sauce, put back on smoker for about an hour in open pan.

Unfreakingbelievable!

Cooked some pork ribs and chicken thighs on the BGE the last couple of days. Seasoned them with SPG and smoked at about 250° for 2 hrs. Then melted butter into about a half cup of Frank's red hot sauce, poured it on the meat. Wrapped the thighs and ribs in foil (separately) and put them back on for 2 to 2 1/2 more hours. That Frank's/butter mix is mighty fine. Give it a shot.

I am having severe separation anxiety from my trailer smoker as it is in the pole barn up at the lake staying nice and cozy and dry and I am 70 miles away. I know she feels the same. It's always a great reunion in spring!

I have a quick question. Was planning on turning a corned beef corned beef into a pastrami. I pulled it out of the freezer yesterday afternoon and set it on the shelf to start to thaw. It’s still in the vac packaging. Forgot to put it in the fridge. 67 degrees this morning. This is coyote bait now, right?

quote:

Originally posted by TBH: It’s still in the vac packaging. Forgot to put it in the fridge. 67 degrees this morning. This is coyote bait now, right?

Coyote bait? Not in my house, but I'd throw it on the smoker as-is today.

I've never done pastrami, but I'd be inclined to toss it if it's been at room temp for that long. Is it cured with nitrates or just salt? Cooked?

Thanks guys. I’m of a mindset of when in doubt…But my wife and I tend to disagree on when food goes bad. I also contacted a local butcher looking for several opinions. He said by law he has to recommend throwing it away. But cooking the meat up to 195+ will kill any and all bacteria. He also said there is a possibility of a slight change of flavor if the bacteria had a chance to grow, and compared it to aging beef.

So, depending on how it looks and smells tomorrow, guess it will end up on the smoker first thing. I was gone all day today, or would have jumped on it.

Party Ribs...

My brother sent me this YT short. He made a batch and said they were really good so I tried them today. I was not expecting them to be as good as they were.



https://youtube.com/shorts/JrE...?si=H211QRFhvp2QWBHS

I cut the ribs and seasoned with coarse salt and coarse pepper, then I put them in the fridge for about an hour. I used John Henry's Pecan Rub on them right before I put them on the smoker. I used hickory and cherry at about 150 for 2 hours. I flipped them about an hour through and sprayed a few times with apple cider vinegar/water. I used butter and Stubb's Sweet heat in a covered foil pan for 1 more hour at 350 in my oven. We uncovered them and let them rest for about 15 minutes.











These were way better than I expected. I will definitely be trying this again. I would like to tone down the sweetness and add a little more kick to the next batch.

As I celebrate my 2nd week of being laid off, I've had to modify the meats that I smoke.

Here is some hickory/apple smoked teriyaki chicken feet.

Lots of flavor in those. Best wishes, brother.

Thanks Jeff! Yeah, they are tasty but a lot of work. My wife loves them.

Do you buy yours precleaned/preskinned or do you have to do that?

I'm a big fan of chicken feet. I use them in my stock and soups. Very good for you and very tasty. Cleaning/skinning them can be a bit of a pain, but it's worth the effort.

I've heard that some Oriental markets sell them preskinned, but since I live in the sticks 500 miles from the nearest Oriental market, I grow my own.