Post Pics of your Smokers!!

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Post by sawhorseray » Sat Apr 05, 2014 21:47

I don't see a handrail on that flight of stairs. Am I missing it, or is a handrail not present? RAY
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Post by ssorllih » Sat Apr 05, 2014 22:51

The handrail is mounted on the brick wall.
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Post by ssorllih » Sun Apr 06, 2014 00:03

Now you can see it. Image
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Re: Post Pics of your Smokers!!

Post by Reggie » Mon Dec 15, 2014 23:45

JerBear wrote:I'm hoping to build my first smoker in about 3 weeks and am looking to poach some ideas. I've looked at a lot of stuff online but I prefer to look at real-word applications so care to show what you've built or purchased?
Here's mine. A 55 Gallon drum "upstream from a fire pit. I buried an old 6" woodstove pipe that was damaged in a chimney fire. If I'm lucky enough to renovate this, I'll probably use chimney tiles next time and maybe build a wood structure. Pics show some bacon I smoked this weekend. Last year, I cold smoked - keeping the temp below 100 degrees, but the fire wanted to rage this year so I smoked this at @ 130 Fahrenheit for about 5 hours. I cured with brown sugar, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and ground bay....with a tablespoon of Moton's Tenderquick per 3 lb. slab.Image
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Post by redzed » Tue Dec 16, 2014 05:44

Wow Reggie those are beautiful slabs of bacon! Where the heck did you source such thick specimens?

Congrats on your smoker. Lots of the guys on the Polish forum have drum smokers and produce wonderful stuff. It takes time and many sessions in mastering the art of smoking in one of these. Can post a cross section of one of the slabs? To me it looks like the temp was a bit higher than 130. And I'm not an expert with Morton's TQ, but in adding one tablespoon of the stuff per 3lbs, was there enough nitrite there to safely cure the bacon?
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Post by Reggie » Tue Dec 16, 2014 11:36

redzed wrote:Wow Reggie those are beautiful slabs of bacon! Where the heck did you source such thick specimens?

Congrats on your smoker. Lots of the guys on the Polish forum have drum smokers and produce wonderful stuff. It takes time and many sessions in mastering the art of smoking in one of these. Can post a cross section of one of the slabs? To me it looks like the temp was a bit higher than 130. And I'm not an expert with Morton's TQ, but in adding one tablespoon of the stuff per 3lbs, was there enough nitrite there to safely cure the bacon?
Wow, I think I made a mistake in the curing. In this recipe: Brown Sugar Bacon Recipe it calls for a teaspoon of pink salt per pound of meet. When I read the back of the Tender Quick bag, it called for 1 Tablespoon per pound of meat. I think I may have tripled the ratio using the pink salt amount without it registering that the tender quick method would have required 3 Tablespoons per 3 pound slab instead of just 1. I had 18 Pounds of belly and brought half of it to a friend who works with me on this. We fried up a bunch of it yesterday and it was good....so far no botulism. I froze my slabs to slice later. Do you think I need to worry? By the way, I buy a hog every thanksgiving from a farmer in Madisonville, TN named Steve Lee. This year's hog was 350 pounds.
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Post by Reggie » Tue Dec 16, 2014 14:46

Reggie wrote:
redzed wrote:Wow Reggie those are beautiful slabs of bacon! Where the heck did you source such thick specimens?

Congrats on your smoker. Lots of the guys on the Polish forum have drum smokers and produce wonderful stuff. It takes time and many sessions in mastering the art of smoking in one of these. Can post a cross section of one of the slabs? To me it looks like the temp was a bit higher than 130. And I'm not an expert with Morton's TQ, but in adding one tablespoon of the stuff per 3lbs, was there enough nitrite there to safely cure the bacon?
Wow, I think I made a mistake in the curing. In this recipe: Brown Sugar Bacon Recipe it calls for a teaspoon of pink salt per pound of meet. When I read the back of the Tender Quick bag, it called for 1 Tablespoon per pound of meat. I think I may have tripled the ratio using the pink salt amount without it registering that the tender quick method would have required 3 Tablespoons per 3 pound slab instead of just 1. I had 18 Pounds of belly and brought half of it to a friend who works with me on this. We fried up a bunch of it yesterday and it was good....so far no botulism. I froze my slabs to slice later. Do you think I need to worry? By the way, I buy a hog every thanksgiving from a farmer in Madisonville, TN named Steve Lee. This year's hog was 350 pounds.
Image Image Image Image

OK, I added a cross section pic of a half slab and sent a picture of my thermometer reading. I stayed with it most of the day and it was between 100 F and 130 F the whole time.
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Post by redzed » Wed Dec 17, 2014 06:28

Reggie wrote: I think I may have tripled the ratio using the pink salt amount without it registering that the tender quick method would have required 3 Tablespoons per 3 pound slab instead of just 1.
Reggie, Morton's TQ and Cure#1 are not interchangeable. When using MTQ, follow their recipies and do not add additional salt. I know that folks have used MTQ for decades (my wife's parents used it on the farm 50 years ago), but I would not use it on bacon since it contains sodium nitrate. And sodium nitrate is not allowed to be used in bacon the US.

You are lucky in being able to get a hog that size each year. What other smoked products have you made or will be making?
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Post by Reggie » Wed Dec 17, 2014 12:35

redzed wrote:
Reggie wrote: I think I may have tripled the ratio using the pink salt amount without it registering that the tender quick method would have required 3 Tablespoons per 3 pound slab instead of just 1.
Reggie, Morton's TQ and Cure#1 are not interchangeable. When using MTQ, follow their recipies and do not add additional salt. I know that folks have used MTQ for decades (my wife's parents used it on the farm 50 years ago), but I would not use it on bacon since it contains sodium nitrate. And sodium nitrate is not allowed to be used in bacon the US.

You are lucky in being able to get a hog that size each year. What other smoked products have you made or will be making?
I definitely made a mistake with the cure. It tastes good though so I hope I don't get some bug in the course of eating it. Started out by making 25 lbs. of Summer Sausage, and 10 lbs. of Semi-Dry Pepperoni using a 50% Pork, 50% Venison ratio and Marianski's recipes. Also made 10 lbs of Smoked Andouille (Len Poli recipe) and 10 Pounds of Semi-Dry Smoked Polish (Marianski recipe.) Also made 10 lbs. Spanish Chorizo (Marianski) and 20 lbs. Traditional Bratwurst (Michael Ruhlman)....omitted the veal in the Bratwurst. I'm fixing to brine and smoke the neck bones / back bones. Use womens' nylons to hang them on the smoke sticks. The biggest revelation this year though came when I put the lard I rendered last year into a cast iron dutch oven and made some fried chicken. It came out perfect and I will be frying with 2 parts lard / 1 part vegetable oil from this point forward. I render the leaf fat in a crock pot to make the lard. Pics below are of Spanish Chorizo in foreground and Pepperoni at far corner.Image Image
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Post by Devo » Wed Dec 17, 2014 17:15

MORTON TENDER QUICK
and
MORTON SUGAR CURE
NOTE: Morton Tender Quick is not a meat tenderizer, or should either be used as a seasoning. These two premixes are essentially the same, and can be used interchangeably. Both are considered fast cures. The difference between the two is that the Sugar Cure has added dextrose and a packet of spice mix. They both contain a combination of high grade salt, sugar, plus both sodium nitrate (.5%) and sodium nitrite (.5%).

Like cure #1, these premix cures have been developed as a cure for meat, poultry, game, fish and sausage that require short curing times, and will be fully cooked. They are NOT interchangeable with cure #1; they measure differently. Unlike cure #1, you don't use any additional salt when making sausage.

NOTE: Morton Tender Quick is not a meat tenderizer, and the Sugar cures are not seasonings. These are cures that only should be used in recipes calling for curing meat fish, and poultry. They can be used in recipes that call for cure #1, but because they are measured differently and the salt they contain, they are not directly interchangeable with cure #1, or cure #2, saltpeter or Morton Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure.

MORTON SMOKE FLAVORED SUGAR CURE
Also know as Morton Sugar Cure Smoke Flavored. This cure premix is not recommended for sausage, but it is listed so that the user does not mistake or confuse this with Morton Sugar Cure (plain). This is a slow cure, and the cure reaction takes longer with Morton Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure than with cure #2 or Morton Sugar Cure (plain) or Morton Tender Quick. This premix is formulated especially for dry curing large cuts of meat like hams, or bacon, that need to be cured over a long period of time.

It contains salt, sugar, sodium nitrate (1%), propylene glycol, caramel color, natural hickory smoke flavor, a blend of natural spices and dextrose (corn sugar) - it does not contain sodium nitrite. The smoke flavor and spices comes in a separate package and can be added if the flavor is desired. This cure doesn't`t have to be mixed with additional salt; and it should not be used for a wet brine (pickle) solution.

NOTE: This is not interchangeable with cure #1, or cure #2, or saltpeter or Morton Tender Quick or Sugar Cure (plain).
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Post by Reggie » Wed Dec 17, 2014 22:36

Devo wrote:MORTON TENDER QUICK
and
MORTON SUGAR CURE
NOTE: Morton Tender Quick is not a meat tenderizer, or should either be used as a seasoning. These two premixes are essentially the same, and can be used interchangeably. Both are considered fast cures. The difference between the two is that the Sugar Cure has added dextrose and a packet of spice mix. They both contain a combination of high grade salt, sugar, plus both sodium nitrate (.5%) and sodium nitrite (.5%).

Like cure #1, these premix cures have been developed as a cure for meat, poultry, game, fish and sausage that require short curing times, and will be fully cooked. They are NOT interchangeable with cure #1; they measure differently. Unlike cure #1, you don't use any additional salt when making sausage.

Devo, thanks for the best primer on MTQ that I have ever seen!

NOTE: Morton Tender Quick is not a meat tenderizer, and the Sugar cures are not seasonings. These are cures that only should be used in recipes calling for curing meat fish, and poultry. They can be used in recipes that call for cure #1, but because they are measured differently and the salt they contain, they are not directly interchangeable with cure #1, or cure #2, saltpeter or Morton Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure.

MORTON SMOKE FLAVORED SUGAR CURE
Also know as Morton Sugar Cure Smoke Flavored. This cure premix is not recommended for sausage, but it is listed so that the user does not mistake or confuse this with Morton Sugar Cure (plain). This is a slow cure, and the cure reaction takes longer with Morton Smoke Flavored Sugar Cure than with cure #2 or Morton Sugar Cure (plain) or Morton Tender Quick. This premix is formulated especially for dry curing large cuts of meat like hams, or bacon, that need to be cured over a long period of time.

It contains salt, sugar, sodium nitrate (1%), propylene glycol, caramel color, natural hickory smoke flavor, a blend of natural spices and dextrose (corn sugar) - it does not contain sodium nitrite. The smoke flavor and spices comes in a separate package and can be added if the flavor is desired. This cure doesn't`t have to be mixed with additional salt; and it should not be used for a wet brine (pickle) solution.

NOTE: This is not interchangeable with cure #1, or cure #2, or saltpeter or Morton Tender Quick or Sugar Cure (plain).
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Post by Cabonaia » Tue Dec 23, 2014 21:55

Reggie wrote:The biggest revelation this year though came when I put the lard I rendered last year into a cast iron dutch oven and made some fried chicken.
Hey Reggie I got that revelation too. I started raising my own pigs a couple years ago, and when it's your own pig you don't want to waste anything. So I rendered all the fat I didn't use in sausage, including back fat, which came out to quite a lot of lard! We use it for everything - even cookies. And yeah, fantastic for frying chicken, fish, fries, whatever. Makes a great roux. And it turns your iron skillets into Teflon.

I notice that your bacon is on the fatty side - I got bacon like that a few pigs ago, when I let them get up in the 325 lb range. I liked it, but my wife cut off a lot of the fat before frying the bacon. So I diced that fat and rendered it down, and it made great crunchies for salad. And I slaughter them now at 250 lbs. and still get all the lard I need.

Enjoyed seeing all the stuff you made with your pig. Nice work!

I thawed out some offal today and am going to make... something spreadable (still researching).

Christmas cheer,
Jeff
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Post by Reggie » Wed Dec 24, 2014 19:41

Cabonaia wrote:
Reggie wrote:The biggest revelation this year though came when I put the lard I rendered last year into a cast iron dutch oven and made some fried chicken.
Hey Reggie I got that revelation too. I started raising my own pigs a couple years ago, and when it's your own pig you don't want to waste anything. So I rendered all the fat I didn't use in sausage, including back fat, which came out to quite a lot of lard! We use it for everything - even cookies. And yeah, fantastic for frying chicken, fish, fries, whatever. Makes a great roux. And it turns your iron skillets into Teflon.

I notice that your bacon is on the fatty side - I got bacon like that a few pigs ago, when I let them get up in the 325 lb range. I liked it, but my wife cut off a lot of the fat before frying the bacon. So I diced that fat and rendered it down, and it made great crunchies for salad. And I slaughter them now at 250 lbs. and still get all the lard I need.

Enjoyed seeing all the stuff you made with your pig. Nice work!

I thawed out some offal today and am going to make... something spreadable (still researching).

Christmas cheer,
Jeff
Thanks for the Christmas cheer Jeff. I bought some Kahn's brand Braunschweiger at a local discount grocery store last week and it is some of the best stuff that I have put into my mouth in awhile! I tried making liverwurst about 5 years ago and it came out really bitter tasting.....maybe like bile, but after tasting this Braunschweiger, I may give it another try next year!
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