along with the pleasure of a fine shave how many of you guys get down with smoking meats and in general any goodies low and slow?
Yup, smoking a brisket this Saturday. I normally smoke some type of protein at least once a month year round...even in the Michigan snow and cold. A little trickier maintaining a temp, but not too difficult as long as I keep an eye on it.
I've been smoking meats for some time. Some beef, occasional poultry—mostly pork. Recent surgery has prevented me from participating in it as much as I'd like over the past 18 months or so, but post-surgery, I'm 'chomping at the bit' to get back into serious sausage-making and smoked goodness… heres are photos of some items that found their way into my smoker…..vegans, be forewarned! canadian bacon…. Brisket..of course! Beef jerky -10 pounds hanging Kielbasa & summer sausages all getting 'beautified'…. Spicy meat sticks! Venison sticks…. God's gift to all mankind…Bacon! one of my favorites….smoked liverwurst (braunschweiger) Smokin' bologna Smokin' some pastrami…
@HolyRollah my mouth is watering....seriously.....nice looking spread of beautiful tasty protein! Can't wait for Saturday....
Fair Warning: very Non Vegan train wreck below. Well...since I am from N Alabama...it's bone in pork shoulders or spareribs. Wood is mostly oak, scented with pecan and hickory. Temp between 220-230, it's done when it's done. I mostly do these in the summer and during college football when I can. I will be visiting near Murray in the spring, and a close friend there will be doing a young goat in the old way. With any luck a little burgoo to boot. I really love regional USA BBQ, and KY has some neat stuff going on in BBQ. Only one question. Will Big Blue lose even a single game in the SEC this year?
Nice work! It all looks perfect...do you keep your pastrami cure/rub fairly traditional when you smoke it? And smoked Braunschwieger is serious smoker street cred. Kudos! Edit: I spy gluten-free seed crackers... What brand? Just wanna know if it's something I have not seen before. (You may recall celiac) Another edit: wow. impressive.
I've been smoking since about 2002. Wish I had pictures anywhere near what's above. I've had to cut back alot due to pancreatitis and a messed up Gallbladder (got it taken out last week). Hopefully I'll be able to have some fun with it soon.
Yes, nothing fancy—pretty basic salt/sugar/spices & cure. It's been a while, but after curing for about a week or so (depending upon the brisket size), its ready for the smoker! Good stuff! My wife has always loved the stuff. I'm a recent convert. The homemade stuff is far superior to that grey tubed stuff one finds in the local supermarket. Pork livers & jowls…boy howdy! I think those were your basic 'Crunchmasters'™ brand multi-grain GF cracker—available most anywhere or online.
"Pulled pork" in Alabama parlance is the resulting pile of ready to serve shredded or pulled pork. It is usually prepared from a cut of meat called a "pork shoulder" in said Alabama parlance. Most AL BBQ joints just call it "Pork". The cut may be sold in Cali as "bone-in pork shoulder", "Boston Butt", or a variety of other names. So when talking about smoking, I tend to call it pork shoulder, but is typically served as pulled pork in AL, TN, N GA and most of the Carolinas. You see it chopped or sliced in S GA parts of Florida. The true variations are in sauce base (ketchup vs. vinegar), dry rub treatment, wood selection and sides/condiments. AL is unique for white sauce for smoked chicken. It's all over the northern counties, seldom seen elsewhere in the country. And nothing ruins chicken like too much smoke.
I'm a ham n egger compared to Kevin, but regularly use my kamado as a smoker. Im on my way to to work, but here is a pulled pork sandwich from a Boston Butt I did recently. And a Ham I smoked about 2 weeks ago.
Usually its referred to or labeled as pork shoulder or pork butt in these parts. I prefer bone-in vs 'pre-boned' especially for long-smokes and the pulled pork. My biggest challenge is finding a decent gluten-free bun for a proper pork sandwich (see Dale's mouth-watering photo above). most Gf buns are dry and puck-like vs the soft, spongy variety. Plentiful pile of pinkish porcine pullings…..a good mix of bark & lean. BTW: my younger brother spent a dozen+ years in Charleston and simply couldn't abide the Carolina mustardy BBQ. I suppose he spent too many years in San Antonio and developed a taste for the Texas-style of tomato & chile, beefy BBQ. I'm open to any & all regional variations—although I do find the Kansas City-style a bit sweet.
Pork shoulder likely gave rise to the phrase "high on the hog"...Bone-in certainly has more flavor. Beautiful pellicle formation on that shoulder in the pic. TX and KC both use beef cuts and tomatoes, I tend to prefer pork BBQ from the south with vinegar sauces. But like you, I appreciate all styles. Good stuff.
Speaking of meat candy: Try adding a little maple syrup to your bacon right before you pull it out of the skillet. Drain the rendered fat first, add a tablespoon or two of syrup and continue to fry for another couple of minutes. Damn, my mouth just watered.
And you guys rock now I now have more folks to share my craft with along with a good shave, all my picks are currently lost in space but when I recover them or make new ones I'll be glad to share, swap recipes and techniques. I'm currently rocking out a home made UDS ( ugly drum smoker) and been turning out some amazing Q, low and slow brothers, my most recent foray was turkey breasts and deer sticks and summer sausages.
