Smoking/Curing Thread

[Blobby's Murder Knife]

I am starting to become a smoking/curing autist, so figured if there are others, we can post our wins and fails in here.

I cold smoked a side of salmon and it was delicious. I want to do whole trout next.

I bought a 20lb beef brisket about a month ago and smoked the flat end. It turned out pretty good, but I have no way to long term keep 10lbs of whole brisket in the freezer, so I thawed it out and am about to start the brining process to make corned beef and pastrami. This is my first time doing either, so I am nervous. I am using the smoker adaption for this recipe to make the pastrami. Otherwise, this just makes corned beef. I am using 5lb cuts of the point for each application.

https://leitesculinaria.com/94487/recipes-homemade-pastrami.html

Edit: I trimmed my point cut and it took out a whopping 3lbs 10oz of fat. I am rendering it now. I ended up with 3lbs or so of cuts for brining, so now they are brining in the fridge for the next five or six days.

 

[Skitarii]

As much as I like picking out a nice huck of pigs' feet to throw over the smoker, I can't help but contemplate that food this good was the standard fare of peasants until canning and refridgeration became viable on a mass-scale. Makes me wonder what other "peasant" goods will be held to high esteem in the future when the only people manufacturing them are cottage artisans

 

[Blobby's Murder Knife]

As much as I like picking out a nice huck of pigs' feet to throw over the smoker, I can't help but contemplate that food this good was the standard fare of peasants until canning and refridgeration became viable on a mass-scale. Makes me wonder what other "peasant" goods will be held to high esteem in the future when the only people manufacturing them are cottage artisans

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Hipsters destroyed things like oxtails and beef heart. Honestly, why does it cost so much for what used to be considered the trash part? SMH.

 

[Skitarii]

Hipsters destroyed things like oxtails and beef heart. Honestly, why does it cost so much for what used to be considered the trash part? SMH.

Find a jamaican vendor, they usually sell their oxtails for cheap, and they'll do it even if the other vendors in town crank up their prices

 

[Blobby's Murder Knife]

Find a jamaican vendor, they usually sell their oxtails for cheap, and they'll do it even if the other vendors in town crank up their prices

I'll look into it. I don't live in an area with any significant Caribbean population, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I love goat and goat patties, enough reason to seek something like this out.

 

[Skitarii]

I'll look into it. I don't live in an area with any significant Caribbean population, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I love goat and goat patties, enough reason to seek something like this out.

Oddly enough, I always found patty recipes tastier when they used non-jamaican ingredients. Goat patties need that combo of tumeric, cumin, cinnamon, tahini and other med seasonings

 

[Blobby's Murder Knife]

Oddly enough, I always found patty recipes tastier when they used non-jamaican ingredients. Goat patties need that combo of tumeric, cumin, cinnamon, tahini and other med seasonings

I wish goat was more popular as a meat. The only place I regularly find it is at a discount grocery who markets it as halal. Then it is only meat bones. I like gamey tasting meat, so I guess that makes me a weirdo. It has to be a genetic thing as my kid is the exact same besides being eyes rolling out of head picky about anything else. However, for both of us, the gamier the meat, the better.

 

[a terminal posture]

I have made home-made corned beef and it tasted just like higher quality corned beef from the store. Honestly, not really worth it since brisket is overpriced now and I usually pick some up a couple of corned beefs for sale after St Paddy's and that's all I'll need for a year.

 

[F-35 Lightning II]

Gonna smoke a nice sized chuck roast tomorrow, got it sitting in the fridge with salt and pepper on it rn, gonna toss some potatoes in the smoker as well, and they should finish around the same time.

 

[Catler]

Does salting fall under "curing"? I'm a big fan of anything salted, I've always got some salt pork around. Most people don't like it these days and it's mostly a forgotten thing, but I'm a big fan.

 

[Blobby's Murder Knife]

Does salting fall under "curing"? I'm a big fan of anything salted, I've always got some salt pork around. Most people don't like it these days and it's mostly a forgotten thing, but I'm a big fan.

It is a form of curing, so yes. Salt pork is also great. I make it from time to time and use it in baked beans.

 

[Hippopatumus]

Big fan of smoking. I have gone through a number of smokers and my favorite is this:

Great bbq grill, absolute classic in every way. You can make every single type of bbq in these, including cold smoking if you get creative.

This is my daily driver:

(in copper, natch)

It uses the mini-propane tanks to start coals with. Clean, fire, bbq. Excellent.

The webers are a little small for some cuts, but unless you cook for large groups, they are perfect. You can do pork shoulder for ten or ribs for three.

 

[Skitarii]

Smoke crack/crack cures

 

[CHARizard]

Big fan of smoking. I have gone through a number of smokers and my favorite is this:

View attachment 3362758

Hey brother! This is my "daily driver" smoker as well for the time being! I plan on getting some kind of pellet smoker in the near future though. This season I havnt really smoked anything with pork prices being so high in my area. I did learn to make my own sausage a few months ago though so once I can snag some cheap cuts I am going to be smoking a ton of them.

 

[Hippopatumus]

Hey brother! This is my "daily driver" smoker as well for the time being! I plan on getting some kind of pellet smoker in the near future though. This season I havnt really smoked anything with pork prices being so high in my area. I did learn to make my own sausage a few months ago though so once I can snag some cheap cuts I am going to be smoking a ton of them.

They really are great little cookers. I'll stick with mine for a few more years until I finally graduate to a offset. I hear the siren song of the pellet grills, they make incredibly consistent bbq, but I like the challenge of tending a fire too much.

I cry a little bit when I pull a piece of meat out of my deep freeze and look at the price tag. Yesterday I got some pork shoulder out and I had 2 packages in there, $22 and $44.

Tonight's dinner:

12LB pork shoulder seasoned with yellow mustard and dry rub the night before. Smoked with hickory chunks. I started off at 200F for 3 hours and then 300F for around eight. Ran out of coals at 198F internal temp. Meat absolutely fell apart.

 

[CHARizard]

Hey brother! This is my "daily driver" smoker as well for the time being! I plan on getting some kind of pellet smoker in the near future though. This season I havnt really smoked anything with pork prices being so high in my area. I did learn to make my own sausage a few months ago though so once I can snag some cheap cuts I am going to be smoking a ton of them.

I got really frustrated with using my Weber for smoking. Checking it every fucking hour because of temp fluctuations, having to wake up at 3am to have a pork butt ready for a cookout at 12, I was done. It got me a lot of use but I think I will just retire it to grilling duty. Luckily Best Buy put pellet smokers up for sale and I managed to get a Pit Boss Navigator 1150 for $650. I know theres a big stigma of off sets vs pellet smokers, but I really just want to set and forget my cooks. It arrives tomorrow and I am excited to get it built for some butts and chicken this holiday.

 

[Blobby's Murder Knife]

I am just starting drying my first stab at making breasola. I covered it in mold spores I bought correct for this particular application and hope they take. I am actually really hoping the weather stays cool the next few weeks and doesn't get above 80F for random reason X. I fucking love breasola so I hope it turns out. I have never seen it for sale in the US.

 

[Señora Airi]

Reviving the thread, but finally smoked some ribs for the first time. I just rubbed Cajun seasoning on it, and did it for 3.5 hrs with mesquite and apple, wrapped for the last half hour.
Turned out pretty decent, though I know I need to practice more. Pork butt is more my forte.