Thread: Sausage and Smoke Cooking

I live in wine country and there is a small company nearby that sells wine making supplies to the wineries. They take back the used French oak barrels and repurpose the staves into tea light holders and the tops and bottoms into cheese boards. I dropped by one time to ask if they had any off cuts and was shown their rather larger burn pile.

I was able to fill a large contractor garbage bag with red wine soaked French oak. They make great smoke in my Weber charcoal barbecue.

To me, Oak produces a great heat and it does add the wood flavor to the meat. Not a strong one in my opinion, which is what I prefer. Meat with a hint of smoke, not smoke flavor with a hint of meat

In my opinion excellent meat needs nothing but maybe a little salt.

When I get a spiced/sauced meat it might taste good but the first thing I think of is what are they covering up.

I’ve had these two belly halves in the fridge curing for almost a week. I plan on smoking them Friday.

Originally Posted by OCDshaver

I’ve had these two belly halves in the fridge curing for almost a week. I plan on smoking them Friday.

Freaking YUM!

Gents,

I made Chris's recipe (Mother's BBQ) for Pulled Beef sandwiches this weekend. The beef was tender and delicious. Total cook time ~ 6hrs (3hrs uncovered and 3 hours covered) , low and slow that's how I like it!
It was cold in CO this Sunday so no WIP images, sorry.
For your reference here is his recipe:
https://youtu.be/AVoT_Bg_rJA

OCDshaver, I’d love to hear what your rub is if you don’t mind sharing.

Originally Posted by jfk742

OCDshaver, I’d love to hear what your rub is if you don’t mind sharing.

As far as seasoning goes, black pepper. That's it. The cure contains more. But not much in the way of flavorings. In the end, you want to taste the meat and the smoke. Here is the cure percentages. Measure in grams. For every X number of grams of pork, multiply by percentage to determine the amounts for the cure. Rub it over both sides of the belly and ensure that it remains in contact with the meat for at least seven days. Flip the bellies every day to redistribute the cure. After seven days, rinse it of the cure, pat it dry with paper towels, and allow it to rest uncovered in the frige for 12 to 24 hours. Hot smoke to 150.

Kosher salt .0222222
pink curing salt .005333
Brown sugar .0222222
Maple syrup .0266666
Pork belly 1

All finished. Made my breakfast so much better.

Gents,
This past weekend I decided to make/smoke "French chicken drumsticks" aka chicken lollipops.
I followed Malcolm's recipe:
https://youtu.be/_Jt0c4cMN8o
Two hours on the smoker with cherry wood pellets @ 300F then moped them with bbq sauce for about 15-20minutes. Turned out great, family loved it, especially kids!
Here are a few pictures: