I first joined this Forum looking for ideas for built-in smokers, for the new outdoor kitchen, to go with the new outdoor pool! Well all the pool builders pissed us off, plus it was in the middle of pool-build mania (otherwise known as COVID Pandemic!), so we lost interest…$hit!
And I sort of lost interest in the Forum. But then a few weeks ago I get this strange feeling that I want to learn more about advanced meat prep and smoking. Not sure where that came from. I’ve always been a pretty good backyard smoker; even famous in the family ranks! Heck, the best brisket I ever ate was one I also cooked!, on a 55-gallon converted drum, while staying at a multi-family beach house rental at Crystal Beach, TX! I made two briskets and a buddy made two racks of spares, and it was all gone in minutes!
And now here I am, hanging out sometimes hours per day, reading and learning. I absolutely love cured, smoked, exotic (method) meats, but I never realized with just a little know-how and tools that it really is easily achieved!
So here’s my first product. I am very pleased with the 8 lb Pork Loin I scored for $1.67/lb and ended up packaging 4 lb sliced and into the freezer. (the rest I have kinda munched on shared, etc…). It was wet-cured for 10 days and has a nice sweet and smoky hint from the brown sugar. Simple, by the book, tasty result!
And then there’s the top half of a butt roast I dry-cured in a bag for 10 days, and wasn’t at all impressed with the results. It was too salty, and I admit I rushed the soaking process when it came out of cure. But the texture and the early slices I got were just not appealing. More on that later…and looking for tips…
All was not lost on the butt roast, however. For most of the bottom half I rolled and tied into a small roast and smoked for several hours and it was very yummy. Plus I had about 1.5 lb of scrap and made some breakfast sausage, from a recipe I found here, for sure!
The last pic is my finished product. The new-found hobby also inspired me to open the Food Saver vacuum sealer my late mother-in-law gave us for Christmas several years back. I know, I know…should’ve been using it already! God rest her soul….
Rick
And I sort of lost interest in the Forum. But then a few weeks ago I get this strange feeling that I want to learn more about advanced meat prep and smoking. Not sure where that came from. I’ve always been a pretty good backyard smoker; even famous in the family ranks! Heck, the best brisket I ever ate was one I also cooked!, on a 55-gallon converted drum, while staying at a multi-family beach house rental at Crystal Beach, TX! I made two briskets and a buddy made two racks of spares, and it was all gone in minutes!
And now here I am, hanging out sometimes hours per day, reading and learning. I absolutely love cured, smoked, exotic (method) meats, but I never realized with just a little know-how and tools that it really is easily achieved!
So here’s my first product. I am very pleased with the 8 lb Pork Loin I scored for $1.67/lb and ended up packaging 4 lb sliced and into the freezer. (the rest I have kinda munched on shared, etc…). It was wet-cured for 10 days and has a nice sweet and smoky hint from the brown sugar. Simple, by the book, tasty result!
And then there’s the top half of a butt roast I dry-cured in a bag for 10 days, and wasn’t at all impressed with the results. It was too salty, and I admit I rushed the soaking process when it came out of cure. But the texture and the early slices I got were just not appealing. More on that later…and looking for tips…
All was not lost on the butt roast, however. For most of the bottom half I rolled and tied into a small roast and smoked for several hours and it was very yummy. Plus I had about 1.5 lb of scrap and made some breakfast sausage, from a recipe I found here, for sure!
The last pic is my finished product. The new-found hobby also inspired me to open the Food Saver vacuum sealer my late mother-in-law gave us for Christmas several years back. I know, I know…should’ve been using it already! God rest her soul….
Rick
