Recent content by doongie

1.5% is a number I’ve seen on these forums quite a few times in the past. I’m aware of others going lower but never followed up because I didn’t find 2% to be very salty. With my new lower sodium diet I’ll likely drop that extra .5% and see what I think. I can always go back to the 2% and...

Ha! Fair point. This was specifically in regard to only my breakfast sandwich, and to make the comparison to crapdonalds.

Low sodium diets often suggest avoiding cured meats, the implication being they are high in sodium and have negative impact on said diet. I’ve done some math and am not so sure I agree the impact is very significant When it comes to home made cured meats. Am I missing something here? Basic...

In my experience, cooking at 225 till it of 140 will not take terribly long, and the texture will be wetter than dried beef. I have learned to start with lower temps, I usually start around 150, and step up temp 10-20 degrees every 30-60 mins to slowly raise the temp, allowing the moisture in...

Welcome from WI. I like to get dry rub from Angelo’s on White Settlement Rd. Ate there a couple times many years ago, and have been getting their dry rub since. I particularly like to use it on dried beef or venison. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/dried-venison-loin.304506/

I’m from Wisconsin, what is this long term storage you speak of? 🤣

I really like the Texas Rub, but I think the Maple is my favorite. It’s subtle but real nice.

I won a whole pork loin in a raffle, so I decided to cure and smoke it. I cut it into 6 roughly equal pieces and tried 3 different flavors. 2 have brown sugar, 2 have maple syrup, and 2 has a texas bbq dry rub that I like. After curing, forming a pellicle before smoking. After smoking...

The best meat I ever ate was Picanha at a Brazilian steakhouse in Chihuahua Mexico. I’ve had it at other places, and while good, or even great, they didn’t compare to the one in Mexico. 10 years later I’m still bragging about it. Elk is excellent. Reindeer in Sweden is excellent. I’ve had a...

Based on personal observation I think the population is dropping, but there’s a lot of factors, not the least of which is extra doe tags and antlerless seasons every year. Based on extra tag availability, the counties surrounding me are dropping in population because they get fewer tags, but my...

CWD is present in most of Wisconsin, and just North and West of Madison are some of the hardest hit areas. Testing is optional but available through the DNR. To date there are no known cases crossing the species barrier to humans. They do act strange, but not till later stages. real late stage...

For the loin, or any real lean chunk less than 4 inches thick, I like BearCarvers dried beef recipe. Basically, cure it, and smoke it slowly to draw out moisture. I’ve found 4-6 hours gives a texture I like. I usually only roll smoke for the first 3 hours or so. I use a beef dry rub I get...

I got some Cero Mackerel from a friend with the intent to smoke it. It was frozen in water in a large ziplock bag. There were 4 filets totaling 5 lbs, skin on. I thawed them in the fridge over a couple days, and changed the water once. I patted it dry, and used a dry brine I saw in a post...

While I am not a sausage maker, I am from Wisconsin, and have been eating bratwurst since the 70’s. I think it’s important to note, bratwurst is not a very specific definition, it is sort of like the term “sausage” in that it can include a wide variety of styles. In Germany I ran into brats...

Quite honestly, I’m a real greenhorn in terms of curing. I can taste a significant difference between the meat I cure with sugar and what I cure without. That doesn’t support either theory though. I would think dissolved sugar would be reabsorbed. It seems even the deep interior of the meat...