cooking thread...

[misfish]

3 hours ago, akaShag said:

That butcher almost certainly will have curing salt and/or Morton's Tender Quick.

 

I just put three pork loins worth of chunks into the smoker for back bacon.  They have been brining for over a week...................

I will ask Doug

Holly smoken. I went with 2 smokes of sweet maple. I had too. OMG.

The honey garlic, on top, was just bang on. The hot was well, HEAT. I am still sweating typing this. What a great smoke IMO

I threw them in the oven to be sure they were done for 1/2 hour at 300 deg.They smoked for 2 1/2 hours at 185 deg.

The taste reminded me of a German sausage that you boil then slice for a sandwich.  I forget the name. 

 

Did I say smokey? Hell ya. Im burping smoke flavor.

 

[akaShag]

Just a whole bunch of awesomeness there, Brian.

Are you thinking of bratwurst?

Doug

[akaShag]

not sure why that post was in bold?????????????????

[leaf4]

Got 27lbs of bird on the go for sandwiches for a pot luck lunch with my extended family tomorrow ?

[akaShag]

That looks FABULOUS!!!

I have a brined turkey in the oven right now, fifteen pounds will be a lot of leftovers, and I am HAPPY with that!

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Doug

[misfish]

Please send me the wings. They look done to me. LOL

 

What are you using for heat ? Dose not look like propane. Could be wrong.

[leaf4]

You are correct, it's my pellet smoker. I did a brown sugar, pepper, salt and garlic powder rub on them.

 

The wings and skin is fantastic, nice sweet & salty combo. Had them on for roughly 3 hours at 350. I'm loving the pellet smoker. I do everything on it now lol

 

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Pit-Boss-820FB-Pellet-Grill-in-Black-71820/205198057

[misfish]

I did a half of a small salmon I caught yesterday morning. I keep cutting the salt portion down, yet I still find it salty. 2 parts brown sugar, and 1/3 salt this time. Yes I washed it good. Maybe it,s cuz Im using sea salt????

[akaShag]

Brian I also asked this question on your other thread, are you brining them, or rubbing them?

I don't think it matters what type of salt you use, I have tried many types.  (NOT pickling salt, I don't think)

Doug

[spincast]

damn that looks tasty. 

i had the same result, just found it was too salty. I now use about  a teaspoon of kosher salt in the brine. like it much better - if you are heat smoking the preservative effect of the salt isn't as necessary (and mine never lasts that long anyway).

 

[misfish]

1 hour ago, akaShag said:

Brian I also asked this question on your other thread, are you brining them, or rubbing them?

As I answered on the other thread, DRY. LOL

 

I am going to go wet next time. See if that makes a difference.

[akaShag]

3 hours ago, misfish said:

As I answered on the other thread, DRY. LOL

 

I am going to go wet next time. See if that makes a difference.

send me an e-mail about this please.  The results from a wet brine and a rub are vastly different.

Doug

[Canuck]

Lion's Mane or Bear Tooth mushroom - Made a fantastic soup yesterday.

Took a walk up north to look for some honey mushrooms.  Didn't find any, but scored on Lion's mane.  Got enough to make a massive soup today.  Delicious.  Didn't take any pics on the logs, and forgot to take some before most was chopped and in the pan.  Cream of wild mushroom soup.  The best part of the fall season.

[smitty55]

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.

 

[akaShag]

back to smitty...............$1.44 a pound plus a hundred bucks worth of your labour, time and knowledge!  Looks awesome.

I cannot recall if I posted this here or not, but I made up a batch with pork tenderloins.  Imagine bacon candy.  Like the loin bacon we make (as in this batch you just did) but sweeter.  Buddy that taught me how to make loin and side bacon said he did not think tenderloin would work because it is too lean.  He was gloriously wrong...........

Doug

[Headhunter]

Brian, try buying salt that doesn't have Iodine in it. Salts like Kosher salt don't have Iodine added. You may find that they will work better than regular salts.

HH

 

[smitty55]

6 hours ago, akaShag said:

back to smitty...............$1.44 a pound plus a hundred bucks worth of your labour, time and knowledge!  Looks awesome.

I cannot recall if I posted this here or not, but I made up a batch with pork tenderloins.  Imagine bacon candy.  Like the loin bacon we make (as in this batch you just did) but sweeter.  Buddy that taught me how to make loin and side bacon said he did not think tenderloin would work because it is too lean.  He was gloriously wrong...........

Doug

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

 

[smitty55]

5 hours ago, Headhunter said:

Brian, try buying salt that doesn't have Iodine in it. Salts like Kosher salt don't have Iodine added. You may find that they will work better than regular salts.

HH

 

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

[misfish]

I am seeing pink salt, and a curing salt. Large bag of  speed cure pink salt at Cabelas is 12 bucks. Very large bag. There is a small bag of  white ,meat curing salt for 2 bucks.

I got next week off. River fishing is prime time, but  I have a full loin. I do not want to screw it up, and dont want to get sick. 

So my question is, do I want the pink, or the white ???????

 

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/94032/wild-west-curing-salt

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/89621/cabelas-speed-cure-1-lb

 

[dave524]

3 minutes ago, misfish said:

I am seeing pink salt, and a curing salt. Large bag of  speed cure pink salt at Cabelas is 12 bucks. Very large bag. There is a small bag of  white ,meat curing salt for 2 bucks.

I got next week off. River fishing is prime time, but  I have a full loin. I do not want to screw it up, and dont want to get sick. 

So my question is, do I want the pink, or the white ???????

 

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/94032/wild-west-curing-salt

https://www.cabelas.ca/product/89621/cabelas-speed-cure-1-lb

 

Those are sodium nitrite , Prague Powder .  Think you want sodium chloride.

[misfish]

6 minutes ago, dave524 said:

Those are sodium nitrite , Prague Powder .  Think you want sodium chloride.

What I read from Smittys link

Footnote: Pink Salt, Prague Powder, Nitrites, Etc.

Regular readers will remember this footnote from it’s original appearance in the Giant DIY Bacon Tutorial. If you already know my take on this stuff, feel free to skip.

Pink Salt, also called Prague Powder, InstaCure or DQ Salt is a curing salt. You don’t use it for flavoring or seasoning – you use it to preserve meat and a little goes a long way.

It’s called Pink Salt because it is dyed pink so no one mistakes it for table salt. It is not the same as Himalayan pink salt! I saw a website telling people they needed to use Himalayan Pink Salt to cure their meats and I almost choked on my slab of pate. Not the same thing! So, to emphasize: Himalayan salt – or any other fancy boutique finishing salt of any color at all – is not what you need here.

There are two standard formulations of curing salt.

Prague Powder #1 (also called InstaCure #1 and DC Cure #1) contains table salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite and is used for sausages, cured meats, pates, deli meats, et.c that are cooked – smoked, baked, roasted, canned, whatever. Basically any cured meat that isn’t long-aged like a dry-cured salami. This is what we use when we make Canadian bacon. You can get it here.

Prague Powder #2 (also called InstaCure #2) is used for long aged dry-cured meats like prosciutto and hard salami. It has table salt, sodium nitrite (6.25%) and sodium nitrate (1%). The nitrate acts as a kind of slow-release preservative for very long-cured meats. We don’t use it to make bacon or other short-cured items.

“Wait!” I hear some of you saying, “Nitrites! Oh my God, evil toxic additives.” Hold on a second – before you slam your laptop lid in disgust, let me break down my position on Pink Salt for you.

Remember our old frienemy Mr. Botulism Toxin? (See: How Not To Die of Botulism) Did you know that botulism was first described “as a ‘sausage poison’ and ‘fatty poison’, because the bacterium that produces the toxin often caused poisoning by growing in improperly handled or prepared meat products.” (Wikipedia.) Even botulism’s name comes from a cured meat product: botulus is Latin for sausage.

Sodium nitrite in the form of pink salt, when used according to established standards, prevents the growth of C. Botulinum and the development of the botulism toxin in cured meats. That’s why it’s in there. As an added bonus, the nitrite enhances color, flavor, and texture in the cured meat.

Okay, so on one hand we have this established risk of botulism growth in improperly cured meat products. On the other hand we might have the potential risk of nitrites. So we have to ask ourselves, what is the risk from nitrites when used according to established guidelines? I believe the answer is – little to none, but of course this is something you should investigate if it concerns you. For more info, I recommend The “No Nitrites Added” Hoax by Micheal Ruhlman. I am, personally, firmly in the pro-Pink Salt category.

---

•  

 

---

Edited October 10, 2018 by misfish

[spincast]

16 hours ago, smitty55 said:

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.

 

that looks killer! care to share your full brine recipe?  I love the  taste the JD chips give - I just find it is a smoother smoke, no matter what the meat. 

[smitty55]

6 hours ago, spincast said:

that looks killer! care to share your full brine recipe?  I love the  taste the JD chips give - I just find it is a smoother smoke, no matter what the meat. 

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

Edited October 10, 2018 by smitty55

[Dozer]

On 10/8/2018 at 9:37 AM, Canuck said:

Lion's Mane or Bear Tooth mushroom - Made a fantastic soup yesterday.

Took a walk up north to look for some honey mushrooms.  Didn't find any, but scored on Lion's mane.  Got enough to make a massive soup today.  Delicious.  Didn't take any pics on the logs, and forgot to take some before most was chopped and in the pan.  Cream of wild mushroom soup.  The best part of the fall season.

Recipe?  Not a fan of hericium on the pan but a soup sounds interesting

[Canuck]

6 hours ago, Dozer said:

Recipe?  Not a fan of hericium on the pan but a soup sounds interesting

Pretty simple recipe. Fried the mushrooms with two chopped onions in 50/50 olive oil and butter. Not much. Just till the water was mostly cooked off. They have a lot of water content.  Then added a bit of tarragon and some herbs de Provence. Not much. And salt and pepper. THen some heavy cream and milk and slow heated to almost boil.  Then thickened a bit with roux. 

Another way I have done them is equally as good. Same starting point but instead of adding cream to make a soup add rice and cream and water to make a risotto.  Then sear some scallops in butter and garlic and put on a bed of the risotto. Plays off the seafood like taste of the lions mane. 

Edited October 10, 2018 by Canuck