And, Cholula was a good choice for a sauce; one of several that I keep on hand.
Show us what you're cooking...
- Thread starter Mike
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SmokeZilla
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GJ,
You are checking off all to boxes. I have spent at lot of time off HWY17 in the Beaufort/HH Island area over the years. You are in a very special area, especially if you enjoy fresh seafood. Enjoy your relocation.
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Thanks! Had fresh shrimp and oysters myself for dinner tonight. The bad part is that the wife, while she likes it, is allergic to shellfish and yet doesn’t care for most fish, so we need to adapt according.
One of the shrimp boats less than 5 miles from our new casa.
SmokeZilla
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I heard someone mention Conch soup or stew this week!
3 Pork Loins. Cold smoke, got a maze under there, fan running. It’s been curing for two weeks, only Morton's tender quick. Once it loses enough moisture, vac seal then freezer. Pretty impossible to tell when I use it on a charcuterie tray that it’s been frozen.
Pork Loin is the top one on the pic below. It tastes a bit like smoked Canadian bacon.
Add bread, olives, cheese, maybe some pickled peppers - anything goes.
It's great antipasti/charcuterie or even as the meal itself.
Or if you're out of lunchmeat - works great on a sandwich. Stores in the freezer for years.
Pork Loin top, Pork Tenderloin middle, Pork Belly bottom. All just tenderquick and smoke.
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Jvonberg72
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That looks great! Are you willing to share your process? I have never cured or cold smoked meat but we love charcuterie and have always been interested in trying it.
Pork Loin is the top one on the pic below. It tastes a bit like smoked Canadian bacon.
Add bread, olives, cheese, maybe some pickled peppers - anything goes.
It's great antipasti/charcuterie or even as the meal itself.
Or if you're out of lunchmeat - works great on a sandwich. Stores in the freezer for years.
View attachment 21106
Pork Loin top, Pork Tenderloin middle, Pork Belly bottom. All just tenderquick and smoke.
I keep mentioning Morton's Tender Quick because it is just that easy. I believe it's 1Tbsp per pound of meat, directions are on the bag. I've read that 2 weeks of curing gives the fat the best texture, so that's what I've been doing for years. Loins I do about fist size, tenderloins whole and pork belly into about fist width as well. Throw some pieces into a big mixing bowl and add the Tender Quick, Coat it all and transfer to a Ziploc bag. Slide any extra cure in the bowl into the bag and seal it up. Repeat until all meat is coated and in Ziplocs. Store in Fridge. Flip the bags at least every few days, so any liquid flows to the other side of the meat for an equal cure. (I do wash the meat before trimming, so it is a little damp when applying the cure) There isn't always a lot of liquid, nothing to be concerned about.
When 2 weeks is up - dump it all into a cold water bath for about an hour, then let it air dry while you prep the smoker. I cold smoke first round, 12 hours in a maze. It's 35* out there now, so the meat will just ride overnight until I refill the maze and run it again. This is my first time using the recteq as a cold smoker, so if I'm not getting any color in the meat after a few runs, I'm going to transfer it to a smaller grill so I'll have to do it in rotations. I tried once in a drum smoker and the pellet maze just doesn't provide enough smoke for the volume of the drum.
I've done Juniper and Allspice and Pepper and Garlic and probably a few others, simple is best. I've followed recipes out of a Charcuterie book and mixed and ground and used Pink Salt - they taste good too, but I grew up on smoke and salt flavor so that's what tastes best to me. (PS - There is also a bit of sugar in Tender Quick)
Jvonberg72
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Thank you! I plan to give it a try soon.
Overnight update - floor of the grill to first rack puts the meat a little too close to the smoldering pellets. It didn't wreck anything, it just hit with a little more heat than I would like. Color is coming along, I rotated everything and lit another full maze to run today. So when I get to tenderloin and belly, I'll be doing a smaller batch and using the top shelf. The 1070 does seem to be a decent size for a cold smoker though, I'm getting color on the meat.
Welcome to the SC Lowcountry. I’m born and raised here. I have always called it “God’s Country”.
I used to have one of those little Weber gassers. It was a good gtrill for what I wanted it for. I passed mine down to my son-in-law when I bought my Primate gasser.
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True that! As much as we love Kentucky, where I was born, there has been a special connection for us to the Lowcountry for many years now. When our children were little, we would sneak a vacation and go to Charleston. Eventually our daughter and her husband (they met in high school, Kentucky) moved to Beaufort and our son graduated from The Citadel. Even after they scattered to different places, the wife and I came back, and back… we love it here, and while we will miss KY I will always be a UK basketball fan! Good times!
This is about 24 hours of cold smoke. It will darken a bit once I bring them in the house and they warm up and the smoke sinks in better. The couple pieces that have heavy smoke on them are still ok. If the meat gets too much heat it could seal the meat and you won’t be able to dry it out. You won’t get the right texture and worse - too much moisture allows bacteria to grow, reducing shelf life. This will be last post of this batch, just wanted to show the progression.
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I will be doing a 3.30 pound chucky tomorrow, wish me luck as it's been a minute since done one.
Did a tri-tip tonite.
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Beef ribs using MC Holy Gospel, foil packed small potatoes, carrots and onions. Failed to get pics. At my place when the food is ready, get the flock out of the way for the hungry crew to move in.
EDIT: I used W sauce as a binder, very nice.
EDIT: I used W sauce as a binder, very nice.
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It looks awesome. I’ve never knowingly had this sort of cold smoked meat before. I’ve had charcuterie of Italian meats and sausages but this looks (good) different.
Pork Loin is the top one on the pic below. It tastes a bit like smoked Canadian bacon.
Add bread, olives, cheese, maybe some pickled peppers - anything goes.
It's great antipasti/charcuterie or even as the meal itself.
Or if you're out of lunchmeat - works great on a sandwich. Stores in the freezer for years.
View attachment 21106
Pork Loin top, Pork Tenderloin middle, Pork Belly bottom. All just tenderquick and smoke.
So…if I cured some pork using the Morton’s Quick Cure (2 weeks) is that effectively making ham? I don’t have the accessories to cold smoke but if I did a 180F smoke can I get close to what you made? I’m thinking I couldn’t necessarily store or serve it as charcuterie but thinking it still may be tasty. Or am I out deep in left field?
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