Homemade Bacon, Polish Kielbasa, German Bratwurst, And Pastrami
- Thread starter Chasin' Dreams
- Start date
tinboatrobb
Well-Known Member
How long at 125?I make bacon all the time low and slow is best i do mine about 125 ish in chamber..then smoke for a hour let it cool over night then slice
IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
Brat Recipe Please & Thanks!
Thanks in advance.
Nog - not to far off of sausage time
Thanks in advance.
Nog - not to far off of sausage time
fish brain
Crew Member
You only run it under smoke for one hour? Maybe I can cut my time down some as I do four pans of chips in my Big ChiefI make bacon all the time low and slow is best i do mine about 125 ish in chamber..then smoke for a hour let it cool over night then slice
wolf
Well-Known Member
i have a excellent one nog i may share with ya LOL
wolf
Well-Known Member
I do for about 4 or 5 hours then smoke for a hour to be honest from what ive learned in the last 15 or so years doing this one thing I have learned and can share every time doing meat is different as humidity in air, air temp moisutre content of products especially game meat is tricky. all make a difference some days it goes quicker some days seems forever quality takes time and rushing makes a ****** product thats why i say low and slow
yes thats all I need for mine as if it gets too much smoke alot of people dont like it from after doing probably 4000 lbs of bacon less it perfect at that amount ... hope that helps you fellow foodies
Good luck Wolf
IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
Bring it on Buddy!!
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
Brats-Enough for about 6-7 lbs of sausage
3 tablespoons sea salt
1/2 cup dried milk powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground white pepper
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
2 teaspoons mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground coriander
6 grams of cure #1 (For cold smoking only-not needed if just making fresh then freezing before cooking) powder (Progue powder #1) Do the proper amount for the amount of meat you are using
If you want to make beer brats I used approx 1.5 cans of beer use your discretion for the consistency of the meat before stuffing the sausage.
If you want to add cheese make sure you cut it up small enough not to clog your sausage stuffer blade
NOTE*** A lot of recipes call for the addition of Mace spice. Our family doesn't like Mace spice so I don't use it in my sausage mixes. You can also use Nutmeg if Mace is too strong for you. If adding Mace you can add about 1/2 teaspoon to this mix.
Cut the meat into cubes. Semi freeze the pork in freezer before combining with the herbs/spices. Working quickly, grind the mixture through a 1/4 inch (6mm) die. Grind half of the ground mixture a second time. Put in fridge right away to get very cold again after grinding.
Note: It is imperative that the meat be at a constant cold temperature so that the fat doesn't get too soft. You should be able to see clear definition between the lean meat the specks of fat in the ground mixture.
Mix the ground meat with some beer until the texture is smoother for stuffing the cases with. If not using beer then you will most likely need a bit of very cold water usually. You want a soft/smooth mixture that will easily go into the casings.
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
The amount of smoke flavor on your meats depends on a few things; the type of wood you are using, the temperature of the meat you are smoking (this fact is debated by a lot of pro smokers), and how long you smoke for. Some say the colder the meat, the more smoke it will absorb. And the more done the meat gets the less it will absorb. I'm still on the fence about that one but I find my meats taste a lot smoother of smoke flavor if I add smoke only for the first few hours of smoking weather it be cold or hot smoking meats/fish etc.
After lot's of experiments with every kind of wood you can imagine smoking with I find that, that is the single most important factor in what flavor of smoke and how strong of smoke flavor your meat will have. And the amount of time you are adding that smoke to the meat/fish/cheese etc.
Some woods leave a very strong flavor like Mesquite, Pecan etc. Hickory can be medium to strong depending on how long you smoke for. Oak is one of my favorites and it's a medium smoke flavor but very smooth I find. I have used so many different fruit woods and I like a lot of them but my favorites are apple, cherry, and peach. They are a lot softer/lighter smoke than some of the others I mentioned. Not much worry in over smoking with some of these lighter fruit tree smokes as long as the wood is very dry and cured well. Badly dried/cured wood also makes for bad smoke/bitter flavors. Another wood I like is Maple and we have a lot of Big Leaf Maple on our property so when I want a sweet but more medium smoke I also use that but not much as it will flavor the food quickly like Oak does. Same kind of medium but smooth smoke flavor.
Another tip is don't let too much black creosote build up in your smoke chamber, smoke house cause that bad bitter flavor will make it's way onto the meat. As well as any burnt meat juices, fat etc that burns on hot metal in your smoker. This can completely ruin the flavor of the foods you are smoking. A good tip I do is to put a pan of boiling hot water (when hot smoking) under the meats so that their juices drip into the water instead of onto hot metal. If cold smoking you don't have to worry about that as much but I still put a tray of cold water under the meat cause some juices will drip off.
Cold smoking is done at temps under 90 f usually and hot smoking at higher temps where fats/meat will start to break down as the cook goes on. I have smoked all the bacon so far hot smoking but so many folks are saying cold smoking is the way to go to save all of that flavor, and makes for better cooking so I'm giving it a go. The Heritage pork farmer I get my pork from swears by it and his family hasn't hot smoked bacon for over 20 years now. I've tried their bacon and it's the best I've had in my life and I'm pretty finicky when it comes to the meat we eat.
My smoker can smoke as low of temps down to about 46-50f especially in winter time so that's around the temp I'll be cold smoking this trial batch at. I've got 3 more bellies to pick up later today so I'll be experimenting with more brine recipes too for those bacon slabs.
Another tip is that if your smoker doesn't want to get low enough to cold smoke on it's own you can add trays of ice to your smoker box to help drop the temp. You will be surprised how quick adding a bunch of ice will drop your smoke box.
After lot's of experiments with every kind of wood you can imagine smoking with I find that, that is the single most important factor in what flavor of smoke and how strong of smoke flavor your meat will have. And the amount of time you are adding that smoke to the meat/fish/cheese etc.
Some woods leave a very strong flavor like Mesquite, Pecan etc. Hickory can be medium to strong depending on how long you smoke for. Oak is one of my favorites and it's a medium smoke flavor but very smooth I find. I have used so many different fruit woods and I like a lot of them but my favorites are apple, cherry, and peach. They are a lot softer/lighter smoke than some of the others I mentioned. Not much worry in over smoking with some of these lighter fruit tree smokes as long as the wood is very dry and cured well. Badly dried/cured wood also makes for bad smoke/bitter flavors. Another wood I like is Maple and we have a lot of Big Leaf Maple on our property so when I want a sweet but more medium smoke I also use that but not much as it will flavor the food quickly like Oak does. Same kind of medium but smooth smoke flavor.
Another tip is don't let too much black creosote build up in your smoke chamber, smoke house cause that bad bitter flavor will make it's way onto the meat. As well as any burnt meat juices, fat etc that burns on hot metal in your smoker. This can completely ruin the flavor of the foods you are smoking. A good tip I do is to put a pan of boiling hot water (when hot smoking) under the meats so that their juices drip into the water instead of onto hot metal. If cold smoking you don't have to worry about that as much but I still put a tray of cold water under the meat cause some juices will drip off.
Cold smoking is done at temps under 90 f usually and hot smoking at higher temps where fats/meat will start to break down as the cook goes on. I have smoked all the bacon so far hot smoking but so many folks are saying cold smoking is the way to go to save all of that flavor, and makes for better cooking so I'm giving it a go. The Heritage pork farmer I get my pork from swears by it and his family hasn't hot smoked bacon for over 20 years now. I've tried their bacon and it's the best I've had in my life and I'm pretty finicky when it comes to the meat we eat.
My smoker can smoke as low of temps down to about 46-50f especially in winter time so that's around the temp I'll be cold smoking this trial batch at. I've got 3 more bellies to pick up later today so I'll be experimenting with more brine recipes too for those bacon slabs.
Another tip is that if your smoker doesn't want to get low enough to cold smoke on it's own you can add trays of ice to your smoker box to help drop the temp. You will be surprised how quick adding a bunch of ice will drop your smoke box.
IronNoggin
Well-Known Member
CD: Many Thanks for the recipe. Copied.
Good intel on the smoking end of things too.
Cheers!
Nog
Good intel on the smoking end of things too.
Cheers!
Nog
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
No problem
getbent
Well-Known Member
He is cold smoking Dave...your Big Chief is hot...
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
Maple brown sugar thyme bacon is in the cold smoker after 10 days of brining. 34F now that's what i call cold smoking 
4 hrs of apple wood smoke then out to get sliced up. This smaller slab is an experimental run to see how my family likes this brine recipe and the cold smoking. I've got three more full pork bellies that i'm going to be brining and smoking after this one is done. Will be doing more brine flavor experiments. 
4 hrs of apple wood smoke then out to get sliced up. This smaller slab is an experimental run to see how my family likes this brine recipe and the cold smoking. I've got three more full pork bellies that i'm going to be brining and smoking after this one is done. Will be doing more brine flavor experiments.
fish brain
Crew Member
It only ever gets to 110 degrees, Roy says he Runs at 125. How hot should my Big Chief get?
wolf
Well-Known Member
You would have to get a thermometer and attach it to the smoker I use this one that ive permantly attached to or use a infrared gun to see the temp I use both. the marks you see on the bottom is when I make and incubate my homemade dry cure salamis (that a whole different ball game)the temp in that pic was to show my buddy what temp I finish off my smoke temp at for hams and pepperoni etc...
wolf
Well-Known Member
Chasin I do agree with alot you said a few thing no when I worked in a commercial operation I went to clean the walls of the brick a bit and the owner freaked on me!!! LOL
and I remember when I became friends with the chefs/ instructors back in 88 when I took my culinary degree they said never ever clean a smoker. Mr wilhelm would have kicked my butt!!!!! ... I DO however agree and stuff that can be burnt like a burner etc hell yeah keep that clean or at min rig up a drip tray to catch all that stuff..
The way ive designed my smoker my heat and smoke are not in chamber so its really not a issue but I do clean it once a year on the bottom I have a tapered bottom with a grate and hole in the bottom that any juices empty to a pan outside the smoker ignore the pepperoni here lol but you can see what I mean
Also ive tried alot of woods I just like plain old alder I have acres of the crap on property but I have a wood stove that I cut little kindling size pieces into it .. As I have a hard time paying for wood chips especially the amount I would need.
As for smoke I was taught by many to heat first open up the pours of the meat then smoke?? hence why I go slow and slow hams are heated for almost 10 hours and after 5 hours bring temp up to 160 ish for last 5 hours as thats where Ive found the internal temp after that time is about 154 as fat will melt at about 172 so like you said be mindfull not to go past that . smoking is fun once you make a few mistakes and learn from them trust me I have destroyed a bit of my own meat treats a few times...I really thank NOG for really getting me going on all of this
and I remember when I became friends with the chefs/ instructors back in 88 when I took my culinary degree they said never ever clean a smoker. Mr wilhelm would have kicked my butt!!!!! ... I DO however agree and stuff that can be burnt like a burner etc hell yeah keep that clean or at min rig up a drip tray to catch all that stuff..
The way ive designed my smoker my heat and smoke are not in chamber so its really not a issue but I do clean it once a year on the bottom I have a tapered bottom with a grate and hole in the bottom that any juices empty to a pan outside the smoker ignore the pepperoni here lol but you can see what I mean
Also ive tried alot of woods I just like plain old alder I have acres of the crap on property but I have a wood stove that I cut little kindling size pieces into it .. As I have a hard time paying for wood chips especially the amount I would need.
As for smoke I was taught by many to heat first open up the pours of the meat then smoke?? hence why I go slow and slow hams are heated for almost 10 hours and after 5 hours bring temp up to 160 ish for last 5 hours as thats where Ive found the internal temp after that time is about 154 as fat will melt at about 172 so like you said be mindfull not to go past that . smoking is fun once you make a few mistakes and learn from them trust me I have destroyed a bit of my own meat treats a few times...I really thank NOG for really getting me going on all of this
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
Wolf I used to think the same thing about not worrying too much about cleaning my smokers but a while back that changed for me. But if you are cleaning once a year that's most likely not too bad as long as you don't see a lot of build up in the smoker of creosote, soot, grease, ash etc..
In the late 90's I was contemplating getting a gov inspected smoking/cooking facilty. I was set up at a home shop very well on a small commercial scale already cause I was smoking a **** ton of fish for native friends of our family (yes I know, they have their own big smoke houses on their reservations
) for our family, for commercial fisherman close to our family, and for co workers back then. I had a 60 amp three phase rotissary commercial smoker. It could fit 800 lbs of meat in it but I mostly used it for fish back then. I got all my ducks in a row to get gov. inspected cert and even swapped our property to city water which cost thousands and thousands back then cause there wasn't a hook up on our street. Long story short is it all went sideways cause of our neighbors. I passed all the stuff, got the courses I needed, etc etc but the city ended up having to disallow it cause of one **** head neighbor. That's the major reason we ended up moving to a very private 5 acre property in the woods lol. No more dick head neighbors to worry about. So anyways back then I was smoking so much fish and I started getting reports back from people that they started getting an odd bitter smokey flavor with the fish. My wife noticed the same thing. I hadn't eaten any of the last couple batches so I tried some. Yup a very metallic, bitter flavor. So I did some reading up on what could cause that. It was the build up in the smoker. Lot's of info online now about that too but back then the internet wasn't filled with info about it. I ended up talking to a friend that worked at a restaurant that smoked their own meats and he told me yup, creosote, ash, food oils, etc etc will do that. I gutted the smoker, soaked it in oven cleaner with three treatments, power washed it, rinsed it all out, let it heat up for 20 hrs with no food in it then started over again on my next batch of fish. Next batch was perfect, mellow, smooth tasting smoke flavor on the fish. Everyone that got fish on the next batch said it was perfect and no bitter metallic flavor anymore.
I ended up selling that commercial smoker in a food equip auction and that was the end of my semi commercial smoking venture. I almost leased a commercial warehouse to continue it on but I already had another business I was building up at the time to concentrate on so I went that way instead.
Some links about the importance of keeping smokers clean:
Get Perfect Thin Blue Smoke Every Time With These 6 Tips
“The more smoke the better, I always say!” If I only had a dollar for every time I heard that while standing around your smoker with family and friends. It is a commonly held belief
www.smokedbbqsource.com
Why Do I Get a Bitter Flavor on Smoked Meats?
Without proper airflow, your plate of barbecue may taste bitter and give you a numb tongue. Poorly ventilated, smoke results in harsh creosote.
Out of all the woods I've smoked with I've never yet tried alder. And that's odd for me cause we have acres of it right in our back yard. Somehow that one has escaped me for using. I grew up using certain kinds and have stuck with the ones I like the best and I use different ones for different meats and fish but I am going to try the Alder cause after you mentioned it I read up some on it and it sounds like it must be close to an apple type smoke flavor for smooth sweetness if no bark is on it. I've got a bunch of it dead fall and wind fall on our property. We have friends that are arborists and have their own wood chipper that I use in trade for smoked foods when I want to chip up a bunch of our maple on our property. So I'll do some alder next time too.
Fats will start to melt usually from 130 to 140, not 172. And I've read some studies on some meats and types of fats that will melt lower at 120 to 130.. If cold smoking I'm always way under 90f. Hot smoking it all depends on what type of meat or fish I'm smoking will dictate the temp I will smoke at. Different cuts need different temps.
Some info on the meat science and fat melt temps:
Basic Meat Science For Cooks
What is meat and how does cooking alter it? Discover the science of what meat is made of, including water, fat, protein, connective tissue, salt, and other minerals. And find out what happens when meat meets heat.
amazingribs.com
As for the meat taking on smoke flavor at different temps differently; I've done so many experiments with this that I just have my own system I follow all the time now. I have found it doesn't matter at all as long as I use the certain amount of pans of chips for how much smoke flavor I want. But I do that at the beginning of my smoking/cooking and stop when I know from past experiance I have used enough smoke. I also go by the color of the meat and what it looks like, how much bark has been built etc.. Fish is very different from pork, beef, cheese etc.. Fish will take on smoke a lot easier than tighter meat tissues of pork, beef etc.
I have found if I wait too long into my cooking to add smoke then I may not get the desired smoke flavors I'm after. But saying that, that's why I usually have 4 or 5 different chips on hand if I want a mild smoke, medium smoke, or heavy smoke flavor.
Chasin' Dreams
Well-Known Member
This trial batch of cold smoked bacon turned out amazing! Best ive made yet and so different than hot smoked bacon. Much more even cooking, better color, more flavor. I will be cold smoking all my bacon batches from now on.
On my next batches my family has requested trying an apple brine and a heavier maple flavor brine. So i will be making up a couple new custom wet and dry brines to try out.
On my next batches my family has requested trying an apple brine and a heavier maple flavor brine. So i will be making up a couple new custom wet and dry brines to try out.
wolf
Well-Known Member
I dont find that at all as im making alot of pepperoni and summer sausages and it defiantly is up near the 150 ish mark and I heat in oven to finish it all off and then into a ice bath to whap it down. I read alot of what len poli has to write that guy is a guru when it comes to that...
Your info on fat is being cooked at high heat likes steak etc Im talking about pepperoni and sausages garlic coils and smokies everything i was taught WAY back when and then the commercial sausage place I worked always heated up to the 155 mark and we made over 300 lbs a week. but it was also a low and slow process... and that old guy always heated product first and then smoked Ive never tried it the other way as the product is perfect the way I was taught But will admit always wondered if you could smoke then heat .. to scared to run my meat LOL
Here is the summer at finish temp of 157 defiantly no fat melting . What len poli always suggest at 155 to kill the bad stuff
Now a story of my misfortunes went thru all the steps and water got a little to warm up at that 170 mark and I watched this beautiful product get destroyed in a millo second all fat went WOOOSSSHH and i was left with dry cardboard
Sounds like we both have the passion which is AWESOME thanks for sharing your tid bits of info too much appreciated
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