Home Cured and Smoked Pork Chops

Ever had a smoked and grilled pork chop?  You end up with the best of both worlds: a nice hammy taste with a grilled, crispy pork fat flavor.  Pork heaven on a plate for sure.  So, since we have been on a pork curing kick around here lately and our butcher had pork rib roasts on sale for $2.99/lb, we decided to experiment.

First, we picked up a nice looking pork rib roast from Dave's Country Meats...

We rinsed with water, patted dry, and removed the membrane from the back of the bones.  Then covered all surfaces 1/4 cup of kosher salt, placed in our non-reactive pan, covered with foil, and place in the refrigerator for some happy time...

Every other day we drained the water pulled out of the meat by the salt, reapplied a fine coating of fresh kosher salt, and placed back in the frig.  After 6 days of curing, I removed from the frig, rinsed the roast throughly, and allowed to soak for 2 hours in cold water to remove all of the excess salt...

After 2 days...

Starting to look "hammy"...

After 6 days...

Don't you see the inner pork chop just trying to get out?

At this point, I lit my smoker and brought to a temperature of 190 F.  Then, I added hickory to the ash pan for my smoke flavor.  Then, I inserted a temperature probe into the roast from the back, between two rib bones and placed on the smoker...

I smoked at 190 F until the internal temperature of the meat was 155 F.  Then, I plunged the meat into a cold water bath to stop the cooking process, patted dry, and put in the refrigerator to cool overnight for slicing...

Here is the sliced product...

My slicing turned out to be a bit of a "hack" job.  I couldn't cut through the rib bones as the chine bone was still in place.  So, after 3 ugly bone-in chops, I removed the bones and sliced for boneless chops.

It was too cold to grill, so we vacuum packed for grilling at a warmer date...

Just by visual inspection, they look great.  They look hammy and juicy, and they smell perfect.  I cannot wait to try them on the grill.  I will report back after the grilling is done...

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

The Many Faces of Pizza

To think that how we make pizza here in the US is like how the rest of the world makes it would be like sticking your head in the sand.  They are many other regional recipes, even within small countries, that demand to be tried.  I am blessed with being able to travel overseas for my job.  I thought I would take you on a quick world tour of pizza and how it is made outside of the U.S. of A...

First stop is Mannheim, Germany.  First pizza up is a traditional Alsace Flammkuchen.  Alsace is a region in Southwest Germany.  This area includes Strassburg and Frieburg.  Over the years it has been in German and French hands so many times that the older people speak both languages fluently.  An Alsace Flammkuchen consists of a sauce made out of a sour cream base.  No cheese is added.  Just thinly diced and sauteed ham, onion and parsley on a thin crust...

The crust is crispy, the ham is perfect, and the onions help to bring it all together into a great taste treat.  Served with a dry Riesling, it is the perfect light dinner or summertime treat.

As cultures mingle, so do flavors.  A second Flammkuchen that I sampled was one of a Spanish variety...

Again, a thin crust with a sour cream base.  The toppings were thinly sliced chorizo and finely diced pepperoncini.  Spicy and tart, the sour cream helped to cool the hot spice of the chorizo.  I washed this masterpiece down with a dark wheat beer...

Last stop is Italy for a piece of traditional pie...

When this slice was delivered to my table, I thought a second slice would be in order.  I was so wrong. A nice dense and chewy, yet crispy crust was covered with delectable toppings and more than enough to satisfy my hunger.  No sauce here.  The traditional way at this pizzeria is to drain fresh crushed tomatoes and lightly season with garlic, salt, and pepper.  On top of the tomatoes was placed fresh mozzarella and fontina cheese.  This was finally topped with thinly sliced, locally sourced salami.

This culinary delight was washed down with a local Italian beer.  It might look like your standard American Crudweiser, but foreign lagers are all modeled after German recipes.  Full boded, crisp, and full of taste, it is the perfect thirst quencher for a heavy, spicy meal.

Just writing this post I can taste these three great meals.  I can't wait for the next time I get to try another pizza in another far away place.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Yes, Deer...

Get it, deer?  A doe, a deer, etc...  Anyway, a friend of mine processes his own deer every year as it has gotten very expensive to have one butchered and processed into bologna and hot sticks.  When he makes the bologna, he usually just slow bakes in the oven to bring the temperature up to 155 F internal.  This year, he asked if I would smoke it for him.  So, I give you, Smoked Deer Bologna...

The basic recipe for the stuffing was 25 lb of ground venison, 10 lb of ground pork (our deer comes very lean and fat free around here), bologna spices, and a proprietary hot pepper blend for some kick.  Just stuff in natural casing, tie off the ends, and bring to an internal temperature of 155 F in a 190 F oven.  I chose oak wood for the bologna because oak mingles very well with pork fat.

So, I fired up the smoker and brought to a temperature of 190 F.  Then, we hung the rings of bologna on wooden dowel rods, string side up.  I only used oak for the first 3 hours of the smoke...

6 hours and 15 minutes later, the internal temperature of the bologna was 156 F.  Here is what it looked like...

The smoked added a nice deep red color to the bologna.  We placed the bologna in a cooler and covered with ice to stop the cooking process.  When he got home, my friend individually vacuum packed each ring and froze to enjoy throughout the year.  We sliced one for our enjoyment and some quality control.  The pepper blend added a nice kick to the bologna goodness.  I would love to fry up a few pieces for a nice sandwich.  The oak flavor was present, but not overpowering.  A nice accompaniment with the spices added to the meat.  Overall, Larry said it was the best deer bologna he had ever made.  Another satisfied customer!

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Home Cured Bacon, Step by Step

Once we purchased our larger smokers, one of the things on our bucket list to try was homemade, cold smoked bacon.  Bacon is good, bacon is great, bacon is addictive!  Last year when we made some, the results were great.  I used Hi Mountain Buckboard Bacon cure last year, then when we smoked the bacon, we just took to a lower temperature than called for in the box recipe.  This year, I wanted to try and cure the bacon the old fashioned way: with salt only.  We are trying to get away from those nitrates that you find in regular cured meats.  So, I talked with some people at work who cure and preserve some of their venison from hunting season and applied it to homemade, cured bacon.  Here is the process, step by step, and the results.  I think you'll like what you see...

First, we purchased a 5 lb pork belly from Dave's Country Meats...

As you can see from the side, it is a blank canvas, just ready to become tasty bacon...

All I did to prepare this belly for curing was to rinse well with water, pat dry, and cut a small flap of meat off of the back to make the piece of meat uniform...

Looks a lot like ribs without the bone?  Well, you are right.  Another name for pork belly is pork side.  It comes from the side of the pig and is part of where the spare ribs come from.  You could actually cook this piece of meat like ribs.  That just might be a future post...  But, I digress...

Next, I placed the pork belly in a non-reactive container large enough to hold 5 pounds of future, bacony goodness.  I just happen to have a ceramic wash basin that has been in the family for years and was passed down to me by my mother.  It is perfect for mixing large batches of stuffing, etc...

Into my spice shaker, I placed 1/4 cup of sea salt, 1 tbsp of sage, and 1 tbsp of turbinado sugar.  One of the pros of curing your own bacon is that you can add whatever flavors you would like.  I was going for more of a traditional savory/sweet taste with my first experiment.  But, you could add garlic, dried ground peppers, cracked pepper...  The possibilities are endless.

I thoroughly seasoned both sides of the belly making sure to cover all surfaces, placed aluminum foil on the top, and put in the refrigerator for 24 hours.  After 24 hours, here is what the belly looked like...

And here is the liquid that was extracted from the meat due to the salt...

A closer inspection of an outside piece of the belly shows that the salt is doing what we want: removing the liquid...

The belly at this point is feeling firmer due to the reduced water content and turning that red color that comes from the curing process.

At this point, I washed and dried the container and re-seasoned the belly with 2 tbsp of sea salt, 1 tbsp of sage, and 1 tsp of turbinado sugar.  Then, I covered with foil, and put back into the refrigerator for 24 more hours...

This process was repeated every other night for a total of five days.  After the fifth day, I soaked the meat in cold water for about an hour to remove as much of the salt as possible and patted dry.  Here was the pork, ready for the smoker...

At this point, I heated up the smoker to 175 F and added hickory to the ash pan.  I placed the belly on the top rack and the meat received a generous 12 hour smoke.  I added hickory to the ash pan every hour to ensure the belly was getting a healthy amount of smoke.  We like smoke around here!  Here is what the belly looked like after the 12 hour smoke...

I covered the pan with foil and placed the bacon outside to cool so that it would firm up for slicing, about 4 hours at 28 F outside.

We have a smaller slicer, so we cut into quarters so that it would fit on the slicer...

Sliced heaven on a plate...

Vacuum packed and ready for the freezer...

A couple of test slices, fried up for quality control...

The flavor was outstanding.  The outside pieces were a bit salty, but the rest was perfect, bacon goodness.  In the future, I am going to experiment with different flavors and smoking woods to find the perfect slab of bacon.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Hearty Southwestern Chicken Soup

Soup is great in the winter time.  Over Thanksgiving, I boiled down the leftover turkey carcass and made some stock.  I had a gallon or so left over in the freezer, I decided to do some experimenting this past weekend.  I give you, Southwestern Chicken Soup...

First, I removed the frozen broth from the bag, placed in a pan, and melted on low heat...

While the broth was melting, I took 1 pound of dried pinto beans, placed in a colander, rinsed out the dirt, and sorted to remove the stones...

Once the broth was boiling, I added the beans along with 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tbsp of diced garlic, and simmered for three hours...

While the broth and bean mixture was simmering, I brought a pan of water to boil and added 3 chicken thighs.  Then, I simmered for 20 minutes and cooled in the refrigerator.  Once the chicken was cool to the touch, I removed the skin and gristle, then removed the meat from the bone and shredded.

After the beans were nice and tender from the simmer, about three hours, I added to the broth:

1 quart of canned tomatoes, drained.  If you don't have any canned tomatoes, one, 16 oz can of store bought diced tomatoes would work nicely.
1, small can of diced, green chilies.
1 packaged of corn that we had blanched over the summer and froze for the winter.  It was about 8 oz.
The shredded chicken...

I mixed it all up and let simmer for about 20 minutes to mingle the flavors.  Then, I added salt to taste...

The soup was exactly what I was looking for.  Nice chunks of chicken and lots of pinto bean goodness.     The green chilies added the southwest flavor that I was looking for.  I served with some crusty bread for a nice dinner and lunches during the week.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Smoked Steelhead, Part Deux...

I love smoked fish.  It is actually one of the things I was looking forward to most when we upgraded our smoker equipment.  Around to holidays I like to slow smoke all types of fish to have throughout the year for stews, dips, and just to snack on in the summer.  One of my favorite types of fish for the smoker is steelhead.

Steelhead is a close cousin to a salmon.  It is sort of like a cross between a salmon and a trout.  I think they have more complex flavors than your garden variety salmon.  Slightly more fatty than a salmon, it is perfect for smoking.

So, to smoke one of these taste treats, I made a batch of brine.  I played around with my usual brine to try something different, and here is what I came up with:

Steelhead Brine

6 cups Water
½ cup Salt
⅓ cup Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Tbsp. Pepper
⅔ cup Sugar
½ cup Brown Sugar

Bring to a boil and cool...

This is the time of year where I love my alternate freezer...

While the brine was cooling, I rinsed and patted dry my fillets...

Then, the fish go for one last overnight swim in the brine...

The next day, I lit my smoker and brought to a temperature of 150 F.  While I was waiting on the smoker to come to temp, I removed the fillets from the brine, rinsed with water, patted dry, and placed on a cookie rack until shiny.  This takes about 1-2 hours.  Allowing the fish to dry a bit and take on that shiny appearance allows the fish to take on more of the flavor of the smoking wood...

I placed some Alder (courtesy of my friend Darrell in Seattle) in the ash pan and put the fillets on the top rack...

I shut the smoker door and came back 12 hours later...

The white that you see is the fat rendering from the fish.  That is a good indication that you are close to done.  At this point, I tried a suggestion that my friend Mark in MN told me about...  I drizzled some honey on one of the fillets and started to ramp the temperature up to 180 F.  Note:  Darrell has also suggested using brown sugar.  I will try this the next time I smoke up some steelhead...

The ramp time for the temperature is slow.  I went from 150 F to 180 F over a two hour time frame.  Once I hit 180 F, I removed the fillets.  The shiny one out in the front is the honey glazed fillet...

I let the fillets cool for about 15 minutes, then flipped them over and peeled off the skin.  At this point, it comes right off the meat...

I then broke the fish up into equal portions, vacuum sealed, and put in the freezer for use at a later date...

I was very happy with this batch of steelhead.  The taste was wonderful.  What Alder does to steelhead should be criminal (in a good way).  Most of the fat is rendered, but there is just enough that mingles with the smoke flavor.  Serve with cheese, crackers, and some good dipping mustard, and you have a great appetizer that everyone will enjoy.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill

Slow Smoked Fresh Kielbasa

It is the holiday time of year and during that time, my local butcher (Dave's Country Meats) has some products that you cannot get year round.  One of the these tasty treats is fresh kielbasa...

In the winter time, he tends to make ring kielbasa and in the summer he makes patties for grilling.  Each have their good points.  I like the ring kielbasa for smoking and the patties for grilling out.  Either way, his homemade kielbasa is outstanding.  Perfectly seasoned with spices that you can actually see, unlike the store brands.

So, when I was picking up other holiday treats, I picked up a five pound ring to smoke.

First, I bought some untreated dowel rods and cut them down to size so that they would fit across the top rack of my smoker.  They are perfect for hanging any sausage.

I cut the ring in two pieces so that I could do two types of cooks.  More on that later.  First, I brought my smoker temperature up to 165 F and added oak wood in the ash pan for smoke flavor.  Take my word for it, oak wood goes very well with any type of sausage.  The fat just soaks up that oaky goodness.

Once the smoker was up to temp, I arranged my kielbasa on the dowels for placement in the smoker.  As you can see, I attracted a lot of attention...

Then, I took the dowels outside and hung on the top rack of the smoker...

It was a very cold and snowy day...

For 3/4 of the ring, I smoked for about two hours until the internal temperature of the sausage was 150 F.  This leaves the sausage about 15 degrees F short of being safe for consumption.  Again, I attracted a lot of attention...

I plunged the kielbasa in cold water for 10 minutes to stop the cooking process...

Then, I rinsed with fresh water, patted dry, cut into bun sized pieces, and vacuum packed for summertime grilling...

The remaining kielbasa stayed in the smoker until it's internal temperature reached 165 F.  This internal temperature thoroughly cooks the sausage but leaves the fat intact.  Remember, don't eat any sausage that has not been cooked to at least 165 F internal temperature...

As you can see, the color of the sausage is darker due to the longer cooking time, the added smoke, and the partial rendering of the fat.  These tasty treats were cut up and will be served with cheese and crackers for a nice appetizer over the holidays...

There you have it, two different ways to cook and serve fresh kielbasa that you can buy at your local butcher.  Both are excellent ways to prepare this tasty polish treat.

Thanks for stopping by...

Bill