smitty55

That's an interesting marinade. I'm envisioning long strips of 1/4" tenderloin overnite, and then into a birthday gift from my daughter to break it in. I've had two top loaders in the past, still have one working unit, last pan is about burned out, even with foil. A small cast iron sorta works, but it's not a strong smoke, you can tell by the vents.

Have you tried Windfinder? I find it to be fairly accurate. Cheers

Yea looks good for sure. I've always cut my jerky cross grain and narrower strips so I can rip a piece off and then work on it. You prefer it it that way I take it? I bet it takes a lot more jaw work lol.

Hmm, I couldn't find the ratio of curing salt in the mix but I think it's safe to say that close to 90% of that is just flavouring, you could add your own for far less money. For instance if you go by the recipe that I use it would take 100g of cure for 10 qts of brine, so just 2 or 3 bucks. I would just go visit a butcher who does any smoking. Cheers

Sure no prob, here's the base recipe I use. https://nwedible.com/how-to-make-canadian-bacon-at-home/ One thing for sure is that from now on I will be brining the meat for for much longer than the recipe calls for, like I did this time. After chatting with Doug I'm sure that's why there was much more flavour to the meat this time, besides the smoke. He does it for 7 days and his mentor actually goes 10 days. One more thing. I got my curing salt from a local butcher, it wasn't pink. He wasn't sure exactly what the nitrite ratio was but told me for 10lbs of meat to use 2oz of cure, so I used 56g instead of the 40 the recipe calls for. Cheers

Totally agree with that. I don't even think I have any regular salt in the house. Pickling salt and Himalayan for sure and I think wifey has some sea salt which I believe does naturally have some iodine, but nothing like table salt. Cheers

Yea I remember you posting that a while back. I too would have thought them too lean. My freezer is due for clean out soon and I'm sure there's some tenderloins in there somewhere, I'll have to try that for sure. Dougie is your recipe much different than this one? https://nwedible.com/how-to-make-canadian-bacon-at-home/ If so maybe I'll try yours for the tenderloin if you could pass it on. Tks bud. Cheers

Well I didn't do anything crazy different this time for my pork loin brine but OMG did it ever turn out great this time, my best one yet. It did sit for a full six days this time instead of 3-4 and I added lots of fresh thyme this time as well as the usual double the garlic and extra fresh bay leaves. Maybe it was the Jack Daniels smoker pellets in the first two pans. Whatever it was, the bacon on a kaiser I had last night was the best I've ever had, along with a great bowl of homemade tomato soup made with my own tomatoes. For $1.44 lb it's definitely the best deal for the money I could ever get.

To tell the truth I wouldn't worry about temp so much. That setup will promote stale smoke. The main idea is to smoke and flavour them anyways, they can always be finished in the oven or grill or pan. I bought my first Big Chief smoker back in the 80's at Laurentian Trading Post in Ottawa and on a good day in the summer you might hit 160°, so it's a warm smoke at best. I've never had to finish anything but pork loins in the oven, they get to around 125° after 4-5 hours. On windy days a good tall windbreak sure does help a lot, both in retaining heat but also allowing the smoke to naturally flow out of the vents, which is how they are designed to work best. Speaking of which, I'm glad I visited this thread tonight because it reminded me that I've had two loins in brine for 6 days now. lol So they are now rinsed and dried and resting on my kitchen table on racks over a cookie sheet. Later I will put them in the basement fridge overnight and into the smoker tomorrow. Looking forward to some fresh Canadian bacon. I might even be able to trade some for smoked steelies. That's a good trade off for me. Cheers

Seafoam's history goes back decades before it hit the general consumer market in your local ctc or auto shop but it's been around since the 30's when it was developed for the marine industry. The American military has used it for ages so you know it must be good. Btw the DeepCreep is an excellent penetrant for rusted bolts. Cheers

Seafoam will stabilize fuel for up to two years. It also prevents phase separation which can happen using ethanol fuels. Cheers

No link

Hmm, I've never thought of soaking pork in juice as a marinade. I do pork chops in my big chief all the time, generally I dry spice for a couple of hours and then into the smoker. Vacuum seal the rest after saving a few and freeze. Only takes a few minutes in the pan after that as they're half cooked already. Funny enough, the one spice that has stayed with every batch since I first tried it on a whim is curry powder. Who'd a thunk. Misfish I highly recommend you try making your own smoked "Canadian " bacon. I've done it twice now and the results are excellent to astounding. Because my Big Chief barely hits 150 I finish them off in the oven. I basically follow this recipe but add extra garlic, peppercorns, bayleaf, thyme. The ratio of curing salt is paramount. https://nwedible.com/how-to-make-canadian-bacon-at-home/ I saw fresh loins at 1.44lb today at Freshco. I know what I'm doing next week now. Good time too restock on mince too.

Carleton Place now has a safe area right outside the cop shop dedicated for buyers to meet sellers from online ads. Good idea imo. Cheers

Totally agree Dougie. I've been smoking fish for 30 years and I always leave the skin on. Never had an issue with it, but to each their own. Cheers

For sure it is recommended to let the pellicle form on the fillets before going into the smoker. Help keep the meat together. I use a brine and find that it's usually between two and three hours before it gets that shiny sticky coat on it. My big chief smoker has seem plenty of fish over the years and I always leave the skin on my fillets which also helps keep things together. Plus my dog loves it lol.

Good stuff. That company has been around for a long time. Back in the 90's they serviced my Lowrance 1510B paper graph and did a great job. New transducer and tuned to it. Never would have figured they did riggers too. Cheers

Wtg Curt. I see you even made Shane's FB page. Cheers

Like Sparky I'm a big fan of using gang trolls for trout. I use the 48" 7 blade Big Hammer for summer Lakers, and smaller ones like in the video for Specks and Bows on inland lakes. The bottom line is that they call in fish from a much greater distance and then once fish get closer the flash from all the blades further enhances the illusion of a school of baitfish. Once you find the cool water depth, trolling covers so much more of the lake and your lure is always in prime depth as opposed to casting. If we catch a fish then we'll circle back and redo the run. Sparky those are nice trout for sure. Well done, I bet it took a good while for your your smile to go away after that venture. I have lot's of gang trolls, but I never had one with Chartreuse beads. I take it you like that one, do you find it makes a difference? Also, have you ever tried a ford fender gang troll? It can be run at a bit slower speed to get more depth on those deepest sections of the lake with more thump than the willowleaf blade. Cheers

I would go with Shoe Goo, that's what it's made for. Cheers

Tons of them out there. https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/best-free-video-converters/ Cheers

Quite often leaking rivets when dry will end up with a white hazy ring around the head of the rivet. A couple of shots with a bucking tool may be all you need to do. Cheers

I'm really surprised no one has mentioned hair jigs for smallies. I guess they've been around for too long hehe. A very versatile year round lure for SMB. I think it would be easy enough to use out of a yak as well Here's a good read for you Dutch. http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/catching-smallmouths-with-hair-jigs/ Cheers

Love the pics Scuro, specially that sunset one. My first thought was looking north from Thompson island toward Corbeau, but I couldn't make out the little island in the pic. Where did you stay? Did you fish for Walleye much? That's a real shame about the Laker fishing, certainly not the norm. However, unsettled weather and specially that heavy pollen dump would certainly have an effect. Even then, only one fish at 20" is real bummer. Like you I'm not happy at all about the 65cm minimum size for trout, in fact I haven't been back there since. It was always our main reason for visiting Kipawa and we used to really enjoy our feeds of fresh trout fillets after the morning fish. Regardless, I envy you getting two weeks in up there. Every time I went there for a week the thing I wanted most was to stay for another. Floater there is no daily fishing rate on Kipawa. You'd need to be in the zec for that. Also I wouldn't worry at all about warm water. First week of August was always my favorite time to go. If anything the fishing is more stable for Lakers and Walleye, as the thermocline is well setup and the Walleye are well established into their summer haunts. Plus the swimming is great and best of all no skitters and black flies. Drew, yea it's similar to Temagami, but much more secluded, tranquil, intimate even, and there's just something about that waterway and it's character that Temagami can't touch. It's hard to explain, there's like this magic touch that seeps into you and keeps drawing you back. Ask Scuro, he's done his fair share of traveling to fish and he just went back there for two weeks. The watershed just screams explore too if you look at maps, full of islands and narrows, it takes many years to learn it well, a big reason why I love trolling for Greys. Its how I toured the lake over the years and learned all the different runs and hot spots and even found some good Walleye structure too along the way. For trout it's certainly not a trophy fishery, that's never been my goal there, but it's always been a good fish. Carl at Alwaki had his 22lb on the wall behind the bar. But being just over 4-5 hrs away from Ottawa, it was like paradise being so close. I had one in the boat over 10, and it won the biggest of the week at the Corbeau Lodge weekly derby for my partner. Same year I got my PB Walleye, over 11lbs. Lol my 14ft tinny took the whole thing. As for Walleye are Walleye, yea maybe but Kipawa Walleye seem special.hehe... Again I don't know anywhere within a 5 hour easy drive for a vacation where you can have shots at 40+ fish evenings anchored and sipping a pint. Big ones are there too though I find best to target at night. Bunk I'll leave with this. For a close drive family vacation for your clan I can guaranty you a memorable experience. Either Alwaki at 14 miles or Kipawa Lodge at just over 20 will be more than you could want. Cheers

I had to laugh at that one. You might be surprised. I went and picked up some eggs at the farm down the road at 6:15 this evening. Two pairs of real dirty crocs at the door. I see them there all the time. Easy to hose off. I don't think they wear them at milking time though. Cheers