Smoked Mini-Bear-Loaves (All Beef)
Here's another one I did while I was AWOL.
This one has a "Real Bear View" in it ( a picture with Bear in it ).
I needed something to take with me to my Annual Beth Steel Reunion Picnic (Sept 8).
I took some Bear Loaf before, and all the guys loved it, so that is my choice.
This will go good with Mrs Bear's Deviled Eggs, that she always takes along.
She'll probably bake some kind of cake too, as usual.
I'll make this a Step by Step, because this stuff is Awesome!!!!
This will be a small batch, as I only had 7 pounds of ground Beef, but I will use the same percentages as in my (Mild-hot) Smoked Bear Loaf.
Also, this batch will be in smaller 8" X 8" pans & not as deep as the bigger pans I use for my Signature "Smoked Bear Loaf".
I will slice these a little thicker to make them less fragile when handling.
7 Pounds of Ground Beef (80-20).
Dry Mix:
Black Pepper----------------------------3/4 TBS
Red Pepper Flakes----------------------3/4 TBS
Cayenne Pepper------------------------3/4 TBS
Mustard Seed---------------------------3/4 TBS
Fennel Seed (slightly crushed)--------1 tsp
Anise Seed-------------------------------1tsp
Italian Seasoning------------------------2 tsp
Garlic Powder----------------------------1tsp
Onion Powder----------------------------1tsp
Wet Mix:
Tender Quick (cure)---------------------1 3/4 ounce
Soy Sauce--------------------------------3 ounces
Ice Water---------------------------------3 ounces
Stir until TQ is dissolved, and put in fridge.
NOTE: Any amounts of the ingredients above can be changed to suit your tastes, except the TQ.
The amount should be 1/4 ounce (1/2 TBS) of TQ per every pound of Ground Meat.
Prepare Foil Pan (8" X 8"), by covering the inside with plastic wrap, leaving enough extra on the outside to cover the meat after you put it in the pan.
Mixing:
Now spread your 7 pound batch of Ground Beef in whatever your going to mix it in (I use a large bowl).
I like to poke a whole bunch of holes in the ground beef with my fingers, before I pour the seasoning in.
Mix the Dry Mix, with the Wet Mix together, and pour it over all of your ground beef.
Now Mix & Mix & Mix & Mix & Mix, until it is mixed as good as possible, and gets a little on the sticky side.
Panning:
Now pack as much of the meat mixture as you can get into the first 8" X 8" foil pan.
Press it down real good & work it a little to get rid of as many air pockets & cracks in the meat as possible.
Level it out nice, and fold over the excess plastic wrap to cover well.
Do this in more 8 X 8 pans, until you use up all of your mixture.
In this case 7 pounds fit exactly into 3 level fillings of my 8 X 8 pans.
Cover the pans with the excess plastic wrap ends.
Put these pans in the fridge for at least a few hours to overnight.
Prepping for smoking:
6 hours later I removed my three pans, unwrapped, and flipped them over on my smoking racks.
Then I put them in my meat fridge, uncovered, over night, to begin drying the surfaces.
The smoke will adhere better to a dry & tacky surface.
[[[[ If you don't have an extra fridge with room, I would take them out the next day, put them on the racks, and put them right in the smoker. Then I would turn the heat to about 140˚ for 2 hours, without smoke]]]]
Smoking Day:
6:30 AM---------Pre-heat MES 40 to 140˚.
6:45 AM---------Remove racks with meat loaves from fridge, and put them in your pre-heated (140˚) smoker.
7:30 AM---------Put full AMNS (lit on one end) on bottom bars, to left of chip drawer.
11:00 AM-------Internal temps at 116˚-------Bump Smoker Temp to 160˚.
2:00 PM---------Internal Temps at 138˚-------Bump Smoker Temp to 180˚.
4:00 PM---------Internal Temps at 153˚-------Bump Smoker Temp to 190˚.
7:00 PM---------Internal Temps at 161˚ to 169˚------Remove from smoker.
Note: I use these gradual temps because I can avoid temp spikes this way.
If I could not adjust my temps easily, I would keep my smoker temp at 150˚ for 6 to 8 hours.
Then move up to 180˚/190˚ to finish, pulling when the internals get above 160˚.
Cooling:
Remove, and allow to cool down to 100˚, by soaking in cold water.
Then run some hot water on them to rinse off any fatty oils that came to the surface.
Pat dry well with paper towels, and put in fridge for two days (wrapped).
Next day slice however you want.
Eat some---Wrap & freeze some---Enjoy All
Thanks For Looking,
Bear
Dry mix and wet mix (with TQ):
Dry & wet mixes combined, and holes poked in ground beef:
Cure and seasoning added:
All mixed real good:
Plastic wrap in pan before packing meat in:
Meat packed in as tight as possible, trying to avoid voids:
Covered, and into fridge for at least a few hours to over night:
My AMNS filled with Hickory dust, and one end lit:
All set, and ready to go:
A peek through my favorite window:
LOL---I once built a 21' wide Mahogany (stain) on Cherry (wood) Entertainment Center that was this same color:
Three Little Loaves ready for slicing:
All sliced up:
Closer look:
All packed up for eating & freezing.
Big pack for my Beth Steel picnic:
Here's all the guys at last year's "22nd" Annual Beth Steel Reunion Picnic (Bear in back with black Veitnam Vet hat on):
Here's another one I did while I was AWOL.
This one has a "Real Bear View" in it ( a picture with Bear in it ).
I needed something to take with me to my Annual Beth Steel Reunion Picnic (Sept 8).
I took some Bear Loaf before, and all the guys loved it, so that is my choice.
This will go good with Mrs Bear's Deviled Eggs, that she always takes along.
She'll probably bake some kind of cake too, as usual.
I'll make this a Step by Step, because this stuff is Awesome!!!!
This will be a small batch, as I only had 7 pounds of ground Beef, but I will use the same percentages as in my (Mild-hot) Smoked Bear Loaf.
Also, this batch will be in smaller 8" X 8" pans & not as deep as the bigger pans I use for my Signature "Smoked Bear Loaf".
I will slice these a little thicker to make them less fragile when handling.
7 Pounds of Ground Beef (80-20).
Dry Mix:
Black Pepper----------------------------3/4 TBS
Red Pepper Flakes----------------------3/4 TBS
Cayenne Pepper------------------------3/4 TBS
Mustard Seed---------------------------3/4 TBS
Fennel Seed (slightly crushed)--------1 tsp
Anise Seed-------------------------------1tsp
Italian Seasoning------------------------2 tsp
Garlic Powder----------------------------1tsp
Onion Powder----------------------------1tsp
Wet Mix:
Tender Quick (cure)---------------------1 3/4 ounce
Soy Sauce--------------------------------3 ounces
Ice Water---------------------------------3 ounces
Stir until TQ is dissolved, and put in fridge.
NOTE: Any amounts of the ingredients above can be changed to suit your tastes, except the TQ.
The amount should be 1/4 ounce (1/2 TBS) of TQ per every pound of Ground Meat.
Prepare Foil Pan (8" X 8"), by covering the inside with plastic wrap, leaving enough extra on the outside to cover the meat after you put it in the pan.
Mixing:
Now spread your 7 pound batch of Ground Beef in whatever your going to mix it in (I use a large bowl).
I like to poke a whole bunch of holes in the ground beef with my fingers, before I pour the seasoning in.
Mix the Dry Mix, with the Wet Mix together, and pour it over all of your ground beef.
Now Mix & Mix & Mix & Mix & Mix, until it is mixed as good as possible, and gets a little on the sticky side.
Panning:
Now pack as much of the meat mixture as you can get into the first 8" X 8" foil pan.
Press it down real good & work it a little to get rid of as many air pockets & cracks in the meat as possible.
Level it out nice, and fold over the excess plastic wrap to cover well.
Do this in more 8 X 8 pans, until you use up all of your mixture.
In this case 7 pounds fit exactly into 3 level fillings of my 8 X 8 pans.
Cover the pans with the excess plastic wrap ends.
Put these pans in the fridge for at least a few hours to overnight.
Prepping for smoking:
6 hours later I removed my three pans, unwrapped, and flipped them over on my smoking racks.
Then I put them in my meat fridge, uncovered, over night, to begin drying the surfaces.
The smoke will adhere better to a dry & tacky surface.
[[[[ If you don't have an extra fridge with room, I would take them out the next day, put them on the racks, and put them right in the smoker. Then I would turn the heat to about 140˚ for 2 hours, without smoke]]]]
Smoking Day:
6:30 AM---------Pre-heat MES 40 to 140˚.
6:45 AM---------Remove racks with meat loaves from fridge, and put them in your pre-heated (140˚) smoker.
7:30 AM---------Put full AMNS (lit on one end) on bottom bars, to left of chip drawer.
11:00 AM-------Internal temps at 116˚-------Bump Smoker Temp to 160˚.
2:00 PM---------Internal Temps at 138˚-------Bump Smoker Temp to 180˚.
4:00 PM---------Internal Temps at 153˚-------Bump Smoker Temp to 190˚.
7:00 PM---------Internal Temps at 161˚ to 169˚------Remove from smoker.
Note: I use these gradual temps because I can avoid temp spikes this way.
If I could not adjust my temps easily, I would keep my smoker temp at 150˚ for 6 to 8 hours.
Then move up to 180˚/190˚ to finish, pulling when the internals get above 160˚.
Cooling:
Remove, and allow to cool down to 100˚, by soaking in cold water.
Then run some hot water on them to rinse off any fatty oils that came to the surface.
Pat dry well with paper towels, and put in fridge for two days (wrapped).
Next day slice however you want.
Eat some---Wrap & freeze some---Enjoy All
Thanks For Looking,
Bear
Dry mix and wet mix (with TQ):
Dry & wet mixes combined, and holes poked in ground beef:
Cure and seasoning added:
All mixed real good:
Plastic wrap in pan before packing meat in:
Meat packed in as tight as possible, trying to avoid voids:
Covered, and into fridge for at least a few hours to over night:
My AMNS filled with Hickory dust, and one end lit:
All set, and ready to go:
A peek through my favorite window:
LOL---I once built a 21' wide Mahogany (stain) on Cherry (wood) Entertainment Center that was this same color:
Three Little Loaves ready for slicing:
All sliced up:
Closer look:
All packed up for eating & freezing.
Big pack for my Beth Steel picnic:
Here's all the guys at last year's "22nd" Annual Beth Steel Reunion Picnic (Bear in back with black Veitnam Vet hat on):
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