Summertime...Barbeques, Grills & Smokers!

The spread from the 4th...

 

Canadian Bacon…….Late start this morning with the smoker—but it's all good!
I've had 9 pounds of pork in a brine for 5 days. (Brine: kosher salt, brown sugar, molasses, black peppercorns, bay leaves, allspice berries, maple syrup, sodium nitrate [pink salt]), afterwards netted and hung dry in the fridge for a day & a 1/2 to form a proper exterior ('pellicle'). Now the low-n-slow process begins in the smoker; starting@ 130°F for an hour, then smoke application. I'm using a 'Pitmaster's Choice' of wood pellets (a blend of Hickory, Cherry and Maple). Eventually I'll raise the smoker temp to 170-180°F and bring the internal pork temp to 152°F.

Jut started with the smoke. The A-maze-n pellet tube will slow-burn and yield a slow, steady stream of smoke for about 10-12 hours.

 

So, should I wait until 7:00 or 7:30 until I show up for dinner?

 

OH yay I love to bbs ans smoke meat I was a cook for 25 years,we make our own bacon kielbasa,and hams,
My wife is Polish she was raised to make and smoke these things,and when I was in high school I worked in a slaughter house and meat processing plant back home so I also learned to smoke and make bacon,hames,sausage,salami.

 

I smoke my poultry using pecan or a mix of pecan and Adler and it turns out great.

 

So is mine—however, I'm the one makin' the Polish kielbasa….

 

What is that tube called? I imagine it is full of pellets and you just burn it. Would be great to do a cold smoke for cheese or fish or the like.

 

Dale, I've been a big fan of the A-Maze-n smokers for some time. They're consistent, well-made and do the job well. Ideal for long smokes, cold-smoking and they have a variety of pellet woods or dust to choose from. Reasonably priced as they're built to last forever….I have a variety of them depending upon the need…

 

After nearly 5.5 hours in, the CBs are taking on good color. upping the temps in the smoker a bit to reach the desired internal temp of 152°F. It should be another 2 hours or so.

 

Great! See you in two hours.

 

Regrettably, Mark, these will probably 'rest' overnight in the fridge before serving. This rest helps tame any of the harshness from the long smoke, as well as firm up the pork so it slices well.
Breakfast should be around 6:30am PST.

 

A man that knows meat! And not only bacon.

Darn, I was about to hop into my super-sonic personal aircar and drop by.

 

We make our kielbasa bun size for simplicity,these look beautiful by chance are you using cherry wood to get that color? We use a 60/40 blend of cherry/hickory,my wife says fruit wood is mostly used in Poland,I told her in America we use hickory hence the blend. Take care

 

What type of smoker are you cold smoking in?

 

That batch I believe was a blend of 75% cherry & 25% hickory‚mainly for color. I prefer the fruitwoods with most lightly-flavored meats, especially pork.

Just a basic MasterBuilt XL, with some minor adjustments for hanging meats and a valve control to regulate gas for lower temps. Cold-smoknig presents no issue—although our current heat spell makes it tough to keep it under 90°F…

 

trust me hear in the seattle area I have the same problem we use a bradley smoker wood puck electric, and a Traeger jr. electric pellet smoker.

 

For some reason all my pics on my computer the picture file is to large what is the file size limit?

 

The Pay Off: We all got to try the Canadian bacon this morning—smokey, sweet, slightly salty with everything in balance. Cuts like a dream.
All tasters gave it two-thumbs up and claimed this batch to be my best so far!

 

Do u inject your Canadian. Bacon with brine before you put in brine for 5 days?

 

Not this time, In the past with larger cuts, I'lll inject with brine. My rule of thumb: small than 5" diameter, I usually let it brine with no injecting.