Pickled Bacon-on-a-Stick and SMF/Unity Gatorbeans

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Hamdrew

Smoking Fanatic
Original poster
Jan 17, 2021
589
882
Split a slab in half last Friday, so 9 day dry cure- One with just sugar+salt+cure1. It got rubbed with powdered pickling spices ( mustard seed, allspice, coriander seeds, cloves, ginger, red pepper flakes, bay leaf, sage and cinnamon). The other got cured with the pickling spices, and only black pepper and cayenne for its rub. The latter won unanimously without telling either "judge" the difference. The smoked pickling spices give it a really strong breakfast sausage-y profile, and of course very bacon-y; Has become probably my favorite rub for cured ribs.

Smoked on the WSM with mostly cherry, one tiny chunk of apple. I use the exhaust to control temps and fudged up a little bit: For 225*F i close two intakes and barely crack the third which is positioned opposite the door. Exhaust about 1/8th open. One lit/ashed over chimney (barely full for Weber/standard size, mine is very old and smaller) will hold that temp for another 6+hrs, BUT the charcoal ring needs to be right up against the intake, and that is where I went wrong today. Lit a dozen more coals, but it was pretty much stuck at 210*F and I did not want to risk dirty smoke. 3:2:0.5'd, foiled iwith fake butter, pineapple jelly, a little coconut oil, and a little Country Bob's BBQ sauce) n the oven at 250*F to compensate, and the last bit 275*F to caramelize the glaze (foil juice+ Country Bob's)

Beans had onions, garlic, watermelon, strawberry, peaches, pineapple, and one little cherry. Also some unpictured Kraft Catalina dressing. Added some cilantro about an hour before cutting heat, and when that happened mixed in a lot more cilantro and some more finely diced watermelon. VERY refreshing, "judges" were in disbelief that it was half fruit but understood that's why they were so tangy yet crisp/thirst-quenching.

[TL;DR:
Pineapple BBQ Bacon-on-a-Stick and Jake's+Peaches+Ham's Gatorbeans]
 

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I love the sound of this! Big like!
Dry-curing might've given it a better texture, but man just 1-3 nights (1 for tight STL's, 3+ for fat full slabs) in Pop's brine make what's already awesome (ribs) even better. I also can't stress how good ground/powdered (i use my spice coffee grinder) plain/storebought pickling spice is.. I have cooked a LOT of ribs, and tried about everything from every corner of the planet I can get my hands on for rubs. The pineapple jam was a good wrap, but I bet it'd be even better with some cinnamon-y/holiday spice rub. I bet the best for these ribs would include Fenugreek and maple syrup.
 
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Reactions: disco
Both very creative for sure. I’ve yet to try the cured ribs buts it’s on the list.
TBH i never watched that vid/read the recipe, just Googled to make sure that yes, watermelon does go with bbq sauce. Figured it would as good as it is on the side of a plate, and all.
$1.90 spares at Aldi's, <$10/lb for prague 1. lol i'll send you a gallon ziplock with cure+sugar+salt (just add water+ribs) and you won't go back. Overnight ham (pork) chops, 1-2wk for canadian/back bacon
 
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Reactions: indaswamp
$1.90 spares at Aldi's, <$10/lb for prague 1. lol i'll send you a gallon ziplock with cure+sugar+salt (just add water+ribs) and you won't go back. Overnight ham (pork) chops, 1-2wk for canadian/back bacon
I’ll have to check our Aldi for spares. I do sugar sub in mine but would do something very similar
 
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Reactions: Hamdrew
I’ll have to check our Aldi for spares. I do sugar sub in mine but would do something very similar
I like it a lot better at Pop's full salt and half sugar. So a gallon brine is getting 1c of each, 1qt gets 1/4c each. Have not tried Swerve/Splenda but Stevia needs a little less than sugar IME
 
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Reactions: jcam222
Looks Great, Ham!!
Nice Job!
Like.
I made Bacon-on-a-Stick about 10 years ago, right after Pops did, but I TQ Dry cured mine, and only cured it for 48 hours, just to get the Flavor & not take it to a Full Cure. Great Stuff!
Like This:
Bacon-On-A-Stick


Bear
 
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Reactions: Hamdrew
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