1st Fattie...crash and burn?

[kit s]

Ok did my first fattie and this post is to let others know that not all turn out great as most post here usually just record of those good times cause we have a tendency to only post the wow stuff.
So to relate to some of those not so wow moments here are some the problems I had.
Got to thank GMC 2003 for tutorial(s) because without his presentation of steps it might have ended up with an even a bigger pooh pah.
First problem did not get meat lined up on the parchment paper (i mean shis how could i miss almost the whole sheet when I flipped the meat on to it).
Working through that started my filler ( breakfast sausage, shredded cabbage, cheese ).
Then came the fun part trying to roll it into a log. Kept have stuffing escape. Finally got it done and had a decent looking log. Turned around and oh shiest there were the seasonings that i wanted to season the inside with and well yep forgot as I was so focused on the log part.
Well can't undo log now so over came that problem with my brine injector needle. After doing the bacon wrap (almost ran out of bacon in fact had sort of fudge and it is a god thing bacon will stretch a little when it has reached room temp. ) Note to self have more bacon than what you will need.
Ok got it tight t the log and injected log with the brine of soy, maple syrup garlic powder and ginger.
Smug here.
Stuck in refer until cook time.
Well got the old kettle fired up (used chunks of hickory for smoke as bacon was hickory smoked) and covered.
Well then it went south again (next time turn off the phone). Kid called had a crises and by the time I got the fixed my poor little fattie was almost brunt. Bacon sort of had that burnt end look.
Still moved on. Glazed with wild sage honey and soy...let rest.
Cut it open and well were in the heck was all the filling. I mean some of it was there, but i sure thought I had a heck of a lot more inside that critter.
Served on a bed of rice. Side of my ever present chilies.
Actually not a bad flavor but a little drier than desired. Oh well maybe next time.

 

[Gary Uk]

I'm sure all of us have had things go wrong, I know I have
As long as it was edible its not so bad and I am sure things will go a lot smoother next time.
To be honest if it wasn't overcooked it looked pretty good.

 

[kit s]

Thanks Gary and your right...just sharing that not all will go smooth.

 

[motocrash]

Doesn't look bad to me...I have posted failures/not so pretty cooks also.

 

[chilerelleno]

That's not burnt, just well done, and people strive to get crisp baconin the smoker.
Looks good enough to me, maybe you're being a little too tough on your job.
Practice, tweak the recipe and you'll get where ya want it.
Yes, fillings in stuffed items seem to shrink big-time.

It took me several trials and errors with fatties to get the skills down.

 

[kit s]

That's not burnt, just well done, and people strive to get crisp baconin the smoker.
Looks good enough to me, maybe you're being a little too tough on your job.
Practice, tweak the recipe and you'll get where ya want it.
Yes, fillings in stuffed items seem to shrink big-time.

It took me several trials and errors with fatties to get the skills down.

Well done (chuckle) that's a nice way to put it. Oh I will try again. Just had to kick something do to the frustration and well my butt seemed like the logical choice. Did make some bone head mistakes.

 

[kit s]

Doesn't look bad to me...I have posted failures/not so pretty cooks also.

Well guess the club is not as empty as I thought.;)

 

[chilerelleno]

Seriously, it doesn't look burnt to me.
Well done, a little overcooked, but not burnt.
The glaze should've made the bacon just fine.

We're always our worse critics.

 

[R Blum]

I've never made one but this looks fine to me.

 

[banderson7474]

I mistakenly smoked pork ribs and was under the impression that they are done with the meat shrinks showing the bones. Turns out for some reason the meat didn't shrink and I wayyyyyyyyyyy over cooked them...almost jerky like. I didn't try ribs again for 6 months.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

You did a great job on that bacon weave. The fattie looks just fine but if you say it was overcooked then I get that. It just sounds like you got a bit distracted during the cook. I've only done one of these but it did come out really tasty. I did a breakfast version and had some great advice and watched a few YouTube videos about these. My advice on the rolling part is to start with the sausage or ground meat in a one gallon bag. Roll that out with a rolling pin in the ziplock bag after you make very small cuts on the bottom corners for air to escape from. IT will end up perfectly flat and thin. You want the sausage really cold when you roll it out. Slit the sides of the bag and after you put your stuffings in place then roll and tuck with the plastic bag. The plastic bag can be tugged out as the fattie rolls up and you need to keep rolling. I only used parchment for the bacon weave. What I did with the bacon weave was to roll it and a 45 degree angle so that the pattern ended up diagonal. That gave me more room on the edges to tuck in on the ends to completely cover the ends. I felt like it worked better that way. Then roll it in foil and keep it cool until it hits the smoker. Also use a probe in the fattie and when it hits 165 the alarm will tell you when to take it off so that you are not overcooked. Just a few things you can try if you want. I loved the results and am looking forward to trying a few variations. Mexican, pizza, chili dog are just a few that come to mind. Have fun.

George

 

[chilerelleno]

Mistakes
Lawyers send theirs to prison
Doctors bury them
Cooks? We gotta eat them

 

[Geebs]

That looks like a really good fattie to me! I have learned to really load the middle with stuffing. I like my meat really cold when I wrap it, otherwise it seems to want to fall apart. Took me a few times to really get the hang of it. I also dont do the weave and just wrap bacon around the outside.

 

[SmokinAl]

I think that fattie looks fantastic!
Great color & I bet that bacon was crispy!!!
Al

 

[SonnyE]

If you can eat it, it is not a mistake.
A mistake would be something you put in the trash can and your buddy finds it, never to be lived down.
I always eat my cooking. That way, the next time it see's the light of day, nobody would recognize it or be able to guffah about it. Except corn, corn looks the same either way, except it is embedded.
I like my bacon crisp, therefore it looks fine to me.
Where I tend to screw up is I always seem to remember I meant to oil my dehydrator racks about 2 or 3 down into loading them. Oh Joy! Oh Rapture! I get to wash them twice! Then start over.... :mad:
I'm doing a 2.02 pound load of London Broil Kikkoman Teriyukkie for the 4th of July Washington State fireworks front yard extravaganza. Money going up in smoke. LOL!
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs tonight. Grandpa's ribs tomorrow. :)

 

[chopsaw]

I think it looks fine . I've seen worse passed off as
" good "

 

[kit s]

Mistakes
Lawyers send theirs to prison
Doctors bury them
Cooks? We gotta eat them

Ha Ha...tha's a good one :)

 

[kit s]

If you can eat it, it is not a mistake.
I always eat my cooking. That way, the next time it see's the light of day, nobody would recognize it or be able to guffah about it. Except corn, corn looks the same either way, except it is embedded.

Amen to that...

 

[kit s]

I think that fattie looks fantastic!
Great color & I bet that bacon was crispy!!!
Al

Yes it was crisp....well in a few place a little to crisp lol

 

[kit s]

I mistakenly smoked pork ribs and was under the impression that they are done with the meat shrinks showing the bones. Turns out for some reason the meat didn't shrink and I wayyyyyyyyyyy over cooked them...almost jerky like. I didn't try ribs again for 6 months.

Been there too.