Forcemeat Ingredients600g (1.3 lb) Minced (Ground) chuck
400g (0.88 lb) Minced (Ground) Pork shoulder
Small bunch of Fresh Oregano (I think any herb would work, but be careful using rosemary or sage – possibly too strong)
A dash of Tabasco
A couple of good dashes of Henderson's Relish (if not available use Worchester Sauce)
1 tbs Dijon Mustard
Sea Salt to taste
16 rashers of dry cured belly cut bacon
Filling Ingredients
1 Red Pepper - sliced
1 Green Pepper - sliced
1 large red onion – sliced
4 cloves of garlic - minced
3 Spanish semi-cured Chorizo sausages - cubed
1 tbs Smoked Pimentón (Spanish smoked Paprika)
1 tbs Cumin seeds - Dry roasted in a pan before hand
Sea Salt
Oil/fat for sautéing
A good quality farmhouse mature cheddar
Note:- In hindsight, I think 800g (1.76 lb) of the forcemeat would have been a better fit for the lattice as there is a small bacon gap underneath the sausage using the 1kg (2.2 lb) as listed above.
Step 1
Sauté the peppers, onions, garlic and chorizo until cooked, then add cumin seeds and salt to taste. The Pimentón may not be necessary due to it being in the chorizo, but I love the Smokey flavour so added with the salt and cumin.
I sautéed the filling in duck fat, but use what ever oil is available.
(http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p559/stevepostill/image.jpg) (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/stevepostill/media/image.jpg.html)
Step 2
I prepared the forcemeat for the fatty by simply combining all of the ingredients and mixing will. After a little experimentation, I found the 60% chuck 40% pork was perfect for me. I fried a little bit of the mix to check for seasoning also.
Henderson's Relish is possibly not available over the pond as I've never seen it outside the north of England; it's similar (But I think vastly superior!) to Worchester Sauce, but each to their own as they say.
Step 3
After allowing the filling to cool, I shaped the forcemeat, using a baking tray as a measurement aid. I used a nice amount of the filling and topped with some lovely Isle of Mull unpasteurised mature cheddar.
(http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p559/stevepostill/image-1.jpg) (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/stevepostill/media/image-1.jpg.html)
Step 4
I sealed up the sausage and applied the bacon lattice as demonstrated by Habanero Smoker here;
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?669-Bacon-Weave-101
(Thanks Hab!)
(http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p559/stevepostill/ff059fe9-53b7-441a-8bd2-1fb947fda9d9.jpg) (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/stevepostill/media/ff059fe9-53b7-441a-8bd2-1fb947fda9d9.jpg.html)
(http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p559/stevepostill/image-3.jpg) (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/stevepostill/media/image-3.jpg.html)
I've left it in the fridge overnight and will be popping it in the smoker tonight. It will be going in the OBS @ 225 deg for a 2 hour smoke until the internal temperature reaches about 170.
Extra recipe?
I had a little extra filling left, so I think I will de-bone a whole chicken tonight, stuff it with the remaining Pepper/Chorizo mix, maybe bulk it out with some couscous, Bulgur wheat or rice cooked in chicken stock maybe add some cooked chick peas. Roll & truss the chicken with good quality butchers string and smoke it with the fatty. After the smoke, crisp the skin up with a brushing of duck fat then under the grill.
In theory, it should work...
looking good
Really good start!
Looks like good eats
I can't wait to see the final Product!
Turned out a treat.
As said before, I think the tweaks I would make are;
Use less forcemeat. Would allow a complete wrap of bacon and allow for more filling – Definitely more cheese.
I think a splash of vinegar in the filling would complement it, probably something like a Balsamic Vinegar.
Here is the finished product;
(http://i1155.photobucket.com/albums/p559/stevepostill/image-4.jpg) (http://s1155.photobucket.com/user/stevepostill/media/image-4.jpg.html)
Looks delicious ;)
Real nice looking fatty.
I would love to take credit, but the thanks for the Bacon Weave 101 pictorial goes to OU812.
Quote from: Habanero Smoker on August 13, 2013, 02:00:04 AM
Real nice looking fatty.
I would love to take credit, but the thanks for the Bacon Weave 101 pictorial goes to OU812.
Apologies Hab... Thanks OU812!
That looks good, no pics of the cut open fatty??
Sorry Saber,
Amateurish mistake... The fatty already decimated by family and friends by the time my error had registered.
That looks better than I imagined. What did the cook time run for something like that? Did the Bacon come out Crispy?
Cooking time was about two hours. I didn't have time to heat the Bradley up, so smoked it on the kettle.
Bacon was beautiful and crispy.
Quote from: Mani on August 13, 2013, 07:14:43 AM
Sorry Saber,
Amateurish mistake... The fatty already decimated by family and friends by the time my error had registered.
Sounds like a good excuse to make another :)
Quote from: Saber 4 on August 13, 2013, 06:25:13 PM
Quote from: Mani on August 13, 2013, 07:14:43 AM
Sorry Saber,
Amateurish mistake... The fatty already decimated by family and friends by the time my error had registered.
Sounds like a good excuse to make another :)
I will accept that challenge!
For the next fatty, I was thinking of a Moroccan style one... Ground lamb, spiced with Coriander & Coriander, a touch of turmeric and maybe some homemade harrisa paste.
Stuff it with Couscous which will be mixed with dried apricots for sweetness, pine nuts, chickpeas and coriander leaf (Cilantro) and caramelised onions.
Hopefully it will work, just debating the bacon, as I'm not sure it will go with lamb.
Spiced with coriander and coriander? I meant coriander and cumin!
Quote from: Mani on August 14, 2013, 12:22:11 AM
Quote from: Saber 4 on August 13, 2013, 06:25:13 PM
Quote from: Mani on August 13, 2013, 07:14:43 AM
Sorry Saber,
Amateurish mistake... The fatty already decimated by family and friends by the time my error had registered.
Sounds like a good excuse to make another :)
I will accept that challenge!
For the next fatty, I was thinking of a Moroccan style one... Ground lamb, spiced with Coriander & Coriander, a touch of turmeric and maybe some homemade harrisa paste.
Stuff it with Couscous which will be mixed with dried apricots for sweetness, pine nuts, chickpeas and coriander leaf (Cilantro) and caramelised onions.
Hopefully it will work, just debating the bacon, as I'm not sure it will go with lamb.
Moroccan sounds good. Ordinarily I would say bacon goes with everything, however you may be right about the lamb, unless of course you want to whip up a batch of lamb bacon or beef bacon with a Moroccan inspired rub. Or you could mix beef and lamb and go for a Greek Gyro twist. Have fun with it and keep us posted
Lamb bacon?!?
Shame on you sir! You shouldn't be allowed to put thoughts like that in my head at this hour ;D
How do you go about making that? I'm pressuming it would come from the lamb crown?
Quote from: Mani on August 15, 2013, 12:58:04 AM
Lamb bacon?!?
Shame on you sir! You shouldn't be allowed to put thoughts like that in my head at this hour ;D
How do you go about making that? I'm pressuming it would come from the lamb crown?
I just finished a beef bacon from the short plate that I did a dry and wet cure on, the consensus was the dry cure was the best. I would think any large muscle group you could get that had some fat content could be dry cured into a lamb bacon, you could use a morocco spice rub on it after curing when you go to smoke it. We don't see much more than lamb chops around here in the stores so you would have a much better shot at it than we would over here. Keep us posted if you go for it ;D
Nice looking fatty!!! Bet it tasted great. And, I'll be watch for the lamb bacon post!
Spoke to the local farmer, he's suggested a lamb breast for lamb bacon, although he confessed he had never seen or tasted it!
I think my first pass at the lamb fatty (Minus the lamb bacon) should be this weekend. The farmer does lovely rare breed sheep, raised, slaughtered and sold by him. He has suggested Hogget rather than lamb (Up to 1 yr old - Lamb, 1 -2 hogget, older than 2 - mutton). I was going to go for salt marsh lamb, but I think the smoke would overpower it's delicate taste, so probably go for a rare breed fell hogget.
We are fortunate up here that we have a good mix of Cow, pig and lamb... I don't think our menu is as beef dominated as is stereotypical in Texas, but a good mix of all...
Thanks for the info on age, I had never even heard of a hogget. your plan sounds good can't wait to see the results, we are definitely a beef dominate state with pork coming in a strong second with the usual chicken, turkey and of course the baby goat for cabrito scattered in there in various amounts. As it cools down from the 100's F I'll start supplementing our diet with copious amounts of feral hog.