- Mar 23, 2009
- 436
- 325
So just over two weeks ago the word PORKSTRAMI flashed into my head. I was so shocked that I hadn't thought, seen, or heard of this before. I immediately got to work doing some research. I found a few threads here, and a recipe or two elsewhere, so I set to work. I don't inject/brine my stuff, so this would be my first trip into the Brine-Zone. Using the math that I got from
daveomak
I worked up what I would need for the brine/cure. I've been on Keto for over a year and a half so instead of actual sugar I used splenda, because frankly I wanted to be able to try the crazy creation. Funnily enough it didn't dawn on me until I typed this previous sentence that while splenda is a 1 to 1 replacement for sugar, it could have really effected the chemical reactions going on during it's two week soak. I should probably research the possible dangers of that.
Ignoring my obvious ignorance I mathed out and weighed everything per Dave's guidance.
I will note that I weighed and used ice as part of my water to help get it nice and cold.
Meat: 4589g
Water: 2295g
M+W: 6884g
Salt: 137g
Splenda: 68.84g
Prauge: 17.21g
I injected some of this cure into the butt to help promote a consistent cure inside out. Everything went into a 2 gallon Ziploc bag, to which I squeezed as much air out. That bag went into a second Ziploc, and then into a plastic bowl with a locking lid. It was at this point I realized how about crap I was about taking pictures during the process, and I'm pretty sure I'll never get any better at it. Too focused on the task at hand, and secondary stuff in just too inconsequential to matter apparently. I then stashed it away in a fridge, and everyday I would rotate/massage this bag to make sure I was getting an even brining.
15 long agonizing days later I finally got to see the results of my patience. The butt was surprisingly very firm, I'm assuming it's from the brining process. I found a rub recipe from amazingribs for a "Katz" style pastrami. I made some small adjustments, omitting the whole spices, opting for all ground instead as it would be pulled and not sliced like traditional pastrami. I also subbed out the brown sugar for a keto friendly brown sugar substitute called swerve. This was the first time I've used it, and was interesting to work with. I got the smoker rolling, rinsed, dried, and rubbed down the butt. I cook hot and fast with wrap, so once I got my smoke temp up to 225 and climbing I threw the but on. I did remember to take picture this time.
I cooked the butt from 10ish, might have been closer to 11 when I got it on, until it hit the 160s at 3:30. My WSM didn't seem to want to get much past 260 during this point, probably because of rain/cool temp. But I'm fine with 260s, so I just let it ride and foil panned/covered it to power through the stall. I remembered to take a picture again!
At 6:30 the probe read 205, I pulled the foil back and pressed on it to check it's tenderness. And boy was it. I let it rest 45-60 minutes before I set to work shredding. It had a beautiful pink color all the way through and was super tender and moist. And my dummy brain remembered more pics!
Overall the meat had a nice flavor, I had my folks try it because I tend to be flavor blind after smoking, and I had done a test run for comp ribs the day before so it was even worse. I hadn't told them what I was going for as far as Porkstrami, but after dad tasted it and said it had an interesting flavor I explained. He agreed that it was definitely comparable to that. I though the flavor was what I was looking for, slightly sweet with that somewhat hammy taste and beautiful color. The thing I didn't care for was the rub. I'm not sure if it was the use of the brown sugar substitute, or if I'm interested in more of just a peppery no sweetness needed rub. But next round I'll probably omit the sugar from the rub, and maybe double up on the black pepper.
I have to say I'm pretty happy with the result, and see where I want to make changes. Dad says he prefers my normal pulled pork, which I assured him wasn't going away. I'm really just looking for a "special" type sandwich to offer on occasion. I told him it'd probably be good on some toasted rye with sauerkraut, Russian dressing /thousand island, and melty cheese to help balance out the sweetness that the brine imparted. I've got some low carb bread and the thousand island, need to pick up some kraut and I'll give it a try this week sometime.
daveomak
I worked up what I would need for the brine/cure. I've been on Keto for over a year and a half so instead of actual sugar I used splenda, because frankly I wanted to be able to try the crazy creation. Funnily enough it didn't dawn on me until I typed this previous sentence that while splenda is a 1 to 1 replacement for sugar, it could have really effected the chemical reactions going on during it's two week soak. I should probably research the possible dangers of that.Ignoring my obvious ignorance I mathed out and weighed everything per Dave's guidance.
I will note that I weighed and used ice as part of my water to help get it nice and cold.
Meat: 4589g
Water: 2295g
M+W: 6884g
Salt: 137g
Splenda: 68.84g
Prauge: 17.21g
I injected some of this cure into the butt to help promote a consistent cure inside out. Everything went into a 2 gallon Ziploc bag, to which I squeezed as much air out. That bag went into a second Ziploc, and then into a plastic bowl with a locking lid. It was at this point I realized how about crap I was about taking pictures during the process, and I'm pretty sure I'll never get any better at it. Too focused on the task at hand, and secondary stuff in just too inconsequential to matter apparently. I then stashed it away in a fridge, and everyday I would rotate/massage this bag to make sure I was getting an even brining.
15 long agonizing days later I finally got to see the results of my patience. The butt was surprisingly very firm, I'm assuming it's from the brining process. I found a rub recipe from amazingribs for a "Katz" style pastrami. I made some small adjustments, omitting the whole spices, opting for all ground instead as it would be pulled and not sliced like traditional pastrami. I also subbed out the brown sugar for a keto friendly brown sugar substitute called swerve. This was the first time I've used it, and was interesting to work with. I got the smoker rolling, rinsed, dried, and rubbed down the butt. I cook hot and fast with wrap, so once I got my smoke temp up to 225 and climbing I threw the but on. I did remember to take picture this time.
I cooked the butt from 10ish, might have been closer to 11 when I got it on, until it hit the 160s at 3:30. My WSM didn't seem to want to get much past 260 during this point, probably because of rain/cool temp. But I'm fine with 260s, so I just let it ride and foil panned/covered it to power through the stall. I remembered to take a picture again!
At 6:30 the probe read 205, I pulled the foil back and pressed on it to check it's tenderness. And boy was it. I let it rest 45-60 minutes before I set to work shredding. It had a beautiful pink color all the way through and was super tender and moist. And my dummy brain remembered more pics!
Overall the meat had a nice flavor, I had my folks try it because I tend to be flavor blind after smoking, and I had done a test run for comp ribs the day before so it was even worse. I hadn't told them what I was going for as far as Porkstrami, but after dad tasted it and said it had an interesting flavor I explained. He agreed that it was definitely comparable to that. I though the flavor was what I was looking for, slightly sweet with that somewhat hammy taste and beautiful color. The thing I didn't care for was the rub. I'm not sure if it was the use of the brown sugar substitute, or if I'm interested in more of just a peppery no sweetness needed rub. But next round I'll probably omit the sugar from the rub, and maybe double up on the black pepper.
I have to say I'm pretty happy with the result, and see where I want to make changes. Dad says he prefers my normal pulled pork, which I assured him wasn't going away. I'm really just looking for a "special" type sandwich to offer on occasion. I told him it'd probably be good on some toasted rye with sauerkraut, Russian dressing /thousand island, and melty cheese to help balance out the sweetness that the brine imparted. I've got some low carb bread and the thousand island, need to pick up some kraut and I'll give it a try this week sometime.
