Alright Y'all! After a few attempts and tweaks I think this is ready to share...
First off, HUGE shout out to
Bearcarver
for the inspiration! In another Post I did with Pork Belly, Bear said I should make pretzels. I thought on it for a bit and came up with a plan. After a test run the other day I had a game plan and went for it.I tried various thicknesses and parts with different fat to meat ratios, cook times, temp and think I have a repeatable recipe down. First all the pics and comments(on top):
Sliced up about 3/8" thick 3/8"-1/2" wide
Tossed in a bowl with Wooster sauce for binder
Tossed with rub of choice. I used Pitfaced On Point
Pretty straight forward on how to make these... shape into pretzel onto a wire rack for easier handling.
Onto the Pitts & Spitts with Pecan pellets in the hopper and smoke tube
Progress pic about an hour in
2.5 hours at 265°F (internal was right around 195-200) they had the right color and crispness is what really determined doneness.
OK... The other details...
265° seemed to be a great temp to cook them and get the to the right doneness and crispness and rendered-ness haha. 2-2.5 hours total.
Too much fat will curl up and lose the shape but fat is needed for the flavor and texture. No toothpicks or anything needed. they hold the shape really well by themselves luckily! As for the thickness, too thick made them blobby and not look the right way. Too thin and they got crisper but lost that belly succulence. This size was the best combo I could find and am happy with the results!
Next up was the decision of what to eat them with. If they're gonna be Texas Pretzels they HAVE to have fresh Queso and Chuy's Jalapeno Ranch. I found some recipes online for the ranch and just wung it with the queso; Velveeta, Cream Cheese, Green Chilis, Tomatos, splash of milk to thin.
These were soooo good! The Queso put them over the top! The ranch was really good but the queso is where it's at for sure. I'm really happy I pursued these after Bear suggested it! I thought about these for days on end on how to execute, what to serve with, how to get a good pic... haha. I have made and eaten probably 30+ of these so I better lay low for a bit and avoid the Dr.
Be warned, they are addicting.I'm off to go take a small cholesterol coma now.
Cheers Y'all!
