Knifemaker
Not me
So....was it good?
Smokers (BBQ - not grilling)
- Thread starter Fred W
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Finally got around to slicing up the back bacon loins yesterday afternoon. Busted out my antique Rival food slicer, and opted to set the slices fairly thin, about 1/8" thick. The cold meat sliced up quite neatly.
Not sure what the variation of color in the meat is from, maybe uneven smoking? Should probably have flipped the meat around in the pit more often, but the flavor is out of this world. Meathead's recipe calls for using garlic powder in the brine, and I would encourage you to try that, it really adds a nice 3rd dimension. The bacon is salty and smokey flavored and the garlic gives it that little extra je ne sais quoi. Wife said it is better than store bought Canadian Bacon. I'd have to agree. And now we have enough to last most of the winter (if we don't give too much away to the kids)
Cooked up a batch of blueberry pancakes (with real maple syrup of course!) so the wife and I had breakfast for dinner last night.
Not sure what the variation of color in the meat is from, maybe uneven smoking? Should probably have flipped the meat around in the pit more often, but the flavor is out of this world. Meathead's recipe calls for using garlic powder in the brine, and I would encourage you to try that, it really adds a nice 3rd dimension. The bacon is salty and smokey flavored and the garlic gives it that little extra je ne sais quoi. Wife said it is better than store bought Canadian Bacon. I'd have to agree. And now we have enough to last most of the winter (if we don't give too much away to the kids)
Cooked up a batch of blueberry pancakes (with real maple syrup of course!) so the wife and I had breakfast for dinner last night.
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Knifemaker
Not me
Looks good there Fred. I think the difference in color is due to different densities in the meat itself....you can see the darker red stops at the line of fat.
I may add some garlic to the brine I'm going to use on our Thanksgiving turkey. Always thought only the salt really penetrated....
I may add some garlic to the brine I'm going to use on our Thanksgiving turkey. Always thought only the salt really penetrated....
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Blind Squirrel
Well-known member
From what I understand (from watching Alton Brown) is that the salt pulls the moisture out at first, then it penetrates and can bring other things in along with it as the meat reabsorbs the salty liquid.
I bet you are right about the color. It didn't really bother me anyway.
There is brine and then there is curing brine. When you do a turkey you would use far less salt per gallon of water, and the meat is only in the brine for about 24 hours or so. When curing you leave it in there about 2-3 days per inch of meat thickness so the salt (and nitrite) penetrates the meat to the center.
I do not know how far the garlic penetrates the meat, but when I pulled the cured meat out I rinsed it very thoroughly to reduce the saltiness on the outside of the loins, and yet there was still good garlic flavor, so I guess it must penetrate some. Maybe as Scott suggested the salt and water carry some of the garlic with it.
One other thing to consider: Because I was using tap water to make my curing brine, and the meat would be submerged in it for a week, I wanted to at least bring it to a boil to kill off any bugs. I did that after adding the salt, curing salt (Prague powder), sugar and garlic powder, so the garlic powder got heated and dissolved more than if it were just dumped into the cold water. The only downside is it takes forever for the heated brine to cool back down to fridge temps, and you definitely do not want to be sticking your germy meat into any luke warm brine baths.
08FJR4ME
-WYNPRO-
Fred,
Now it's time to invest in a vacuum sealing unit to keep all those goodies fresh for a long time. That's if you don't have one already. I keep looking at them. For now I double bag everything.
Dave
Now it's time to invest in a vacuum sealing unit to keep all those goodies fresh for a long time. That's if you don't have one already. I keep looking at them. For now I double bag everything.
Dave
Knifemaker
Not me
Speaking of bags.... I've been a big fan of those oven proof cooking bags for roasting turkeys for awhile now. Although I have only cooked store bought frozen birds In them, they do seem to not only shorten cooking time a bit, but seem to do a good job of keeping the bird tender and juicy.
As this will be my first time cooking a fresh turkey, hence the plan to brine it overnight (and yes I am aware of the difference between curing brines and normal wet brines) I'll be using the oven bag again.
I do use a "rub"... a mix of poultry seasoning, paprika, garlic and onion powder, and brown sugar. I don't go overboard coating the bird, I just put the mix in a shaker and lightly dust with it, after lubing the whole turkey with butter.
I use an aluminum pan and fill the bottom of the bag with stalks of celery, so the bird doesn't sit on the bottom of the bag, and I shove peeled oranges and apples in the birds cavities. This adds more moisture to the inside of the bag. We don't eat the apples or oranges, but I take the drippings, strain them and my wife makes a gravey from it in a seperate pan.
We rarely eat the dark meat. I put a probe in the breast and pull the bird when it hits 160F.. I guess the only reason we like doing a whole bird rather than just a breast, is as Meathead said, we just like the "Norman Rockwell" look of a whole roasted turkey...
As this will be my first time cooking a fresh turkey, hence the plan to brine it overnight (and yes I am aware of the difference between curing brines and normal wet brines) I'll be using the oven bag again.
I do use a "rub"... a mix of poultry seasoning, paprika, garlic and onion powder, and brown sugar. I don't go overboard coating the bird, I just put the mix in a shaker and lightly dust with it, after lubing the whole turkey with butter.
I use an aluminum pan and fill the bottom of the bag with stalks of celery, so the bird doesn't sit on the bottom of the bag, and I shove peeled oranges and apples in the birds cavities. This adds more moisture to the inside of the bag. We don't eat the apples or oranges, but I take the drippings, strain them and my wife makes a gravey from it in a seperate pan.
We rarely eat the dark meat. I put a probe in the breast and pull the bird when it hits 160F.. I guess the only reason we like doing a whole bird rather than just a breast, is as Meathead said, we just like the "Norman Rockwell" look of a whole roasted turkey...
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Rarely eat the dark meat? Sacrilege!!
Send it all to me. That's my favorite parts. The breast meat is som much drier and less flavorful.
Not too sure how I'd like the turkey bags. Seems like the meat would be more stewed or braised than roasted. But then again... I'm a dark meat eater! And I can't bust on anything if I haven't tried it at least once.
For Turkey Day, Mrs W runs the whole show. We're looking for a fresh 20 pounder for next Thursday. We will brine the bird, but cook it traditionally in the indoor electric oven. The only critical concession is we pull it out based on a digital probe internal temp so as not to kill the breast meat.
Maybe some year when the whole fam damily isn't coming for the traditional feast I'll get to BBQ my Turkey Day birdie. But this year isn't that year.
Send it all to me. That's my favorite parts. The breast meat is som much drier and less flavorful.
Not too sure how I'd like the turkey bags. Seems like the meat would be more stewed or braised than roasted. But then again... I'm a dark meat eater! And I can't bust on anything if I haven't tried it at least once.
For Turkey Day, Mrs W runs the whole show. We're looking for a fresh 20 pounder for next Thursday. We will brine the bird, but cook it traditionally in the indoor electric oven. The only critical concession is we pull it out based on a digital probe internal temp so as not to kill the breast meat.
Maybe some year when the whole fam damily isn't coming for the traditional feast I'll get to BBQ my Turkey Day birdie. But this year isn't that year.
TomInPA
Well-known member
I am getting pretty psyched to get into Sous Vide. I just bought new burners and deflectors for my stainless steel grill and ordered a custom sized GrillGrates. Fred, something to think about for the family feast.
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eflyguy
Well-known member
Start another topic if you have questions.. I've been using sous vide for a few years, have many grateful converts. I use a couple of immersion circulators (Anova)..
Wow, great intro video. I'm intrigued.
Start the thread, I'll subscribe!
PS - I have Meatheads book and he doesn't go into Sous Vide in it at all.
Start the thread, I'll subscribe!
PS - I have Meatheads book and he doesn't go into Sous Vide in it at all.
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TomInPA
Well-known member
Done https://www.fjrforum.com/forum//index.php/topic/170476-sous-vide-the-adventure-begins/
I found the Sous Vide as a result of looking at Meatheads hardware and accessories. But that might be a discussion for the new thread.
I found the Sous Vide as a result of looking at Meatheads hardware and accessories. But that might be a discussion for the new thread.
Knifemaker
Not me
Well, I too am intrigued by the Sous Vide thing...as it was mentioned somewhere back in this thread I have put it on my list for my next cooking gear purchase. And luckily I have some huge pots it could go in. I do need to smoke some more things before I move on (pork shoulders, brisket, and might try the Canadian Bacon thing at some point)
To be honest Fred, I always rip the legs off the turkey and take them for lunch at work.
Those Grillgrates look kinda cool too. I have a four burner Jen-Air gas grill that I've had since 2005. I've replaced the burners two times,
Modified it a bit, And cooked a buttload of food on it over the years. One of the burners (#2) has kinda crapped out...the control is messed up.. but only cooking for two, it hasn't been a problem... I'm still a newbie with smoking stuff, but been really happy with the custom reverse pit I have had for just over a year now. I do 99.99% of the cooking at home. That was the deal when we got married, she does the lawn stuff, I do the cooking.
I'll likely pick up one of those Sous Vide devices for Christmas, so I'll join in the other thread then...(although I'll be following it till then)
Not sure what real difference it makes using the oven bag other than the meat seems juicier. The bag is vented, so the skin still can be crisp, but I guess it's not so much as "stewed" but some kind of compromise between "baked" and "braised".... which l tell you, gives good results..
To be honest Fred, I always rip the legs off the turkey and take them for lunch at work.
Those Grillgrates look kinda cool too. I have a four burner Jen-Air gas grill that I've had since 2005. I've replaced the burners two times,
Modified it a bit, And cooked a buttload of food on it over the years. One of the burners (#2) has kinda crapped out...the control is messed up.. but only cooking for two, it hasn't been a problem... I'm still a newbie with smoking stuff, but been really happy with the custom reverse pit I have had for just over a year now. I do 99.99% of the cooking at home. That was the deal when we got married, she does the lawn stuff, I do the cooking.
I'll likely pick up one of those Sous Vide devices for Christmas, so I'll join in the other thread then...(although I'll be following it till then)
Not sure what real difference it makes using the oven bag other than the meat seems juicier. The bag is vented, so the skin still can be crisp, but I guess it's not so much as "stewed" but some kind of compromise between "baked" and "braised".... which l tell you, gives good results..
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TomInPA
Well-known member
Knifemaker, I'd bet we have the same grill. I just bought 4-new burners for $19, and added a new set of heat deflectors for $20. On top of this I'm adding the 19 x 10.5 GrillGrates, and removing the OEM stainless grate from 1 of 3 sections. I have been a bit lazy about maintaining this nice stainless grill, but this makes it better than new, and for pretty low costs. The goal is to make the gas grill, work as a kick-ass sear and smoke machine, and hopefully finishing Sous Vide meats and veggies, in addition to traditional grilling. I see the GrillGrates as a game-changer compared to the exising stainless steel grates. Not bad for about $60. I used a discount code SHARE16 , and got 10% off. I'm getting the 20" grates, custom cut to 19" lengths. No extra cost, and the discount code pays the shipping.
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Knifemaker
Not me
Mine uses cast iron burners (the originals were bronze)
https://www.grillparts.com/jenn-air/by_category.asp?src=base&product_id=CIT&gclid=CLm958zsr9ACFUU2gQodVdwNMg
There's a store here that sells the parts. Problem with burner two is the control valve/switch is bad. To replace it I'd have to dismantal most of the grill as all the controls are ganged. Looks like a PIA job.
But the burners 1, 3 and 4 work fine. Only use 3+4 most the time anyway.
I will look into those Grillgrates, however. If I need extra grilling space I have a tiny Webber clone I can use
https://www.grillparts.com/jenn-air/by_category.asp?src=base&product_id=CIT&gclid=CLm958zsr9ACFUU2gQodVdwNMg
There's a store here that sells the parts. Problem with burner two is the control valve/switch is bad. To replace it I'd have to dismantal most of the grill as all the controls are ganged. Looks like a PIA job.
But the burners 1, 3 and 4 work fine. Only use 3+4 most the time anyway.
I will look into those Grillgrates, however. If I need extra grilling space I have a tiny Webber clone I can use
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I have an old Weber Silver (basic) model 3 burner gas grille, which has been out on my deck year round for the past 20 years. It has had all of the guts replaced twice now. Last go around I splurged for the cast iron grates. Though some folks (like meathead) echew them, I like the grate marks they make on meat when you are searing. I recently added a small cast iron smoker box (from Home Despot) that I can throw some wood chips in, and just rest it right on the "flavorizer bars", to add a little smokey flavor to steaks and chops. (on-topic content!)
My sister in Maine bought the same grille about a year before me and leaves hers out uncovered (I cover mine religiously) and had the aluminum bottom half corrode out on hers. She contacted Weber and they sent her a new one free of charge! I'll probably be doing the same when mine goes out someday.
My sister in Maine bought the same grille about a year before me and leaves hers out uncovered (I cover mine religiously) and had the aluminum bottom half corrode out on hers. She contacted Weber and they sent her a new one free of charge! I'll probably be doing the same when mine goes out someday.
Knifemaker
Not me
Other than the fact they can rust, not sure what's wrong with cast iron grates. I think mine are stainless steel, although to look at them you'd never know it everything else on the grill is stainless, except for the burners.
It has one of those rotisserie burners along the back, that I've never used, and a side burner I think I used one time. I used to cover it the first few years I owned it, but after the cover fell apart I never got another. I doubt I'll ever replace the grill, if it totally dies, I'd likely just buy a regular size Weber and go back to charcoal.
The smoker uses expanded metal for the food grates, which can rust too....I stick a wire wheel in my electric drill/driver and clean them off when I need to, and the other parts that pick up rust, notability the top of the FB, I touch up with high temp paint.
I expect both cookers to outlast me anyway.....
Edit...OK...I had to know why he doesn't like cast iron grates...
https://amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/guide_to_grill_grates.html
everything else on the grill is stainless, except for the burners.It has one of those rotisserie burners along the back, that I've never used, and a side burner I think I used one time. I used to cover it the first few years I owned it, but after the cover fell apart I never got another. I doubt I'll ever replace the grill, if it totally dies, I'd likely just buy a regular size Weber and go back to charcoal.
The smoker uses expanded metal for the food grates, which can rust too....I stick a wire wheel in my electric drill/driver and clean them off when I need to, and the other parts that pick up rust, notability the top of the FB, I touch up with high temp paint.
I expect both cookers to outlast me anyway.....
Edit...OK...I had to know why he doesn't like cast iron grates...
https://amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/guide_to_grill_grates.html
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Knifemaker
Not me
Well, I'm going for it this Sunday. I bought a 7.04 pound Bone In Pork Shoulder Butt Roast, and am going to get up early Sunday morning, fire up the propane burner, and hope for the best. The package says "contains up to a 4% solution of salt and water" -- so guess I don't need to brine it. Will just do a bit of trimming and adding my saltless rub.
The temperature is only supposed to get up to 51, so I'll see if I can get the pit up to 225-235. Wish me luck!
The temperature is only supposed to get up to 51, so I'll see if I can get the pit up to 225-235. Wish me luck!
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eflyguy
Well-known member
Keep us posted! I'm about to fire mine up to finish up some bacon that's been curing for a couple of weeks..
eflyguy
Well-known member
I rotate and swap around periodically to get good smoke coverage. I need a different rack for this kind of thing..
