Question to ponder - new technique.

[Caneyscud]

Question to ponder.

When does fine cuisine, gourmet food, etc... cease to be so uppity?  When you put it in the smoker?

In a constant quest for good food, I report on my first experiment with my new idea.  BBQ confit!

Been seeing some great prices on pork tenderloins at Sams recently.  I like them several ways, but the wife does not care for them, for some reason.  However, she does like pork bbq.  So was thinking about confit.  Don't typically confit such a lean cut as a tenderloin, but I said what they hey!

My theory
To do a combo technique of smoking and confit on a very lean piece of meat - not usually used to low-n-slow - in an attempt to produce some very succulent, very flavorful and savory smoked meat from something you can't usually bbq.

Technique theory
Sprinkle tenderloins with favorite rub
Take a foil half pan.
Put in at least 2 pork tenderloins
Fill with melted lard to 1/2 to 3/4 up tenderloins
Put in 225 deg smoker
Smoke for 20 minutes, then rotate them 1/4 turn
Smoke for 20 minutes, rotate 1/4 turn
Smoke for 20 min., rotate 1/4 turn
Smoke for 20 min. rotate 1/4 turn
Fill with more melted lard until completely submerged 
Keep in smoker for an additional time until done. 
Try to keep 250 deg.
Should take total of 3 or 4 hours.


Did it two weeks ago.  As my smoke generator was still drying out - I used the Bandera.  Put the pan on the lowest shelf so was probably 300 deg or so - for some reason, did not think to check the oil temp.

Did the following different than above
Used canola oil because the can of lard I though I had contained something indescribable - wasn't lard.  Canola was only thing I had.
Temp was probably 300 or above
Did a light rub with some Monterrey steak seasoning - easiest thing to get.
cooked for 4 hours.
Also put a couple of pieces of hog jowl into the oil

Results
Not what I hoped for because of temp and time in the cooker.  But the technique seems very, very promising.  Essentially at that time and temp, the outside got kinda crispy and overcooked.  My estimate - at that temp 300+ it probably only need 2 hours.  The tenderloin had a smokey flavor and the interior was quite succulent.  The hog jowl was decadent - almost too rich too eat much more than small pieces.  Was left with a quart or more of some very beautiful dark golden oil with a smoked pork taste to use elsewhere.

What to tweak
Definitely use lard next time.
Do in Bradley at 250 or so - not 300+, especially if using pork tenderloin. 
Take temps - did not this time, because too lazy to rescue the thermo from the shed. 
Also try a much fattier piece like shoulder.
Try ox-tails - can't imagine how succulent and flavorful that would be - but will take awhile to break down the all that collagen.
Try potatoes
Monterrey steak seasoning probably not a good "rub", will try more herbal and hotter next time - thyme, sage, and rosemary and cayenne
put a fresh jalapeno or two in the pan also. 

Have two more tenderloins, some oxtails, some fresh jalapenos and some potatoes to try next time. 

[classicrockgriller]

Thanks for sharing the info Caney.

Look forward to try #2.

[watchdog56]

Just make sure you don't get that lard to hot or it may catch on fire. :-\ :-\

[BuyLowSellHigh]

Pork confit is not uncommon at all and loin is one of the top meats for it - it is the forerunner of pork rillettes.  I like your idea of trying to combine smoking with confit, but in the few moments I have thought about it it strikes me as difficult to blend.    The essence of confit is to preserve by very slowly heating a "dry cured" meat by fully submerging it in oil to remove as much water as possible while leaving a moist and succulent product.

A few thoughts ...Your temperature is way to high for confit.  Basically you are frying in a smoker (an interesting combination in it's own right),  The temperature of the oil in which the food is immersed should be in the range of 180-200 °F, with  225 being a critical maximum not to exceed.  Second, before the cooking in the fat the meat should be "dry cured" (I use the term loosely) in salt to draw moisture. Typically this will be 24-48 hrs. The major goal of the cooking process (which is an old form of preservation) is to remove as much water as possible.

My initial thought, and it may be backwards, is you might want to try doing the cure thing, then rinse and scrub, then do a low temp hot smoke (say 160-180) for a few hours to an IT of maybe 130-135, then go for the fat.  And for pork I suggest lard.  With the smoke on you could do the confit in an oven which would give you much better control.  As I typed that it dawned on me, this is basically like making bacon (shorter cure) and then cooking it very slowly in pork fat.  Sounds very Asian - pork belly braised in pork fat.  I think I could dig that!

[BuyLowSellHigh]

While fixing the kids supper tonight I kept thinking about confit and started looking through some cookbooks.  I knew one of them covered it well.  I found it in Charcuterie (Ruhlman & Polcyn), and they do a good job on pork confit, recipe and all.  But it gets better.  How about Pork Belly Confit?  It's in there, with the recipe from Le Pichet in Seattle.  But wait, it gets even better.  Confit was developed as a method of preservation.  As such, confit meats are typically "cooked" (mostly just heating) before service.  So how do they cook the pork belly confit for service at Le Pichet?  Deep Fried !  Wish I was in Seattle.

Here's a link to the menu

And here is my dream dish ...

Rillons de porc sur lit d'asperges, fenouil et vinaigrette au pastis $10.00
"Crispy confit of pork belly served on a bed of asparagus, shaved fennel, golden raisin and a creamy pastis vinaigrette"

[dribron]

Years ago I  worked in a resturant in carmel ca as a sous chef where we did a duck confit. We would render the skin of the duck, and use that to place the duck into. It was then cooked in it's own fat,(that rendered from it's own skin) at a temp of about 200-225 degree for several hours. I have never tryed it with pork, or any other meat for that matter. If I were too, I would want to use the fat from that animal, (fat rendered from the pig). Saving the fat cut from the butt, or shoulder might work well for this. Just a littel food for thought...  Regardless of what fat you use, please let me know how it turns out, I am sure it will still be great if cooked low and slow from the smoker to the oven.. Have fun!

[Caneyscud]

dribron,  I've done the confit with duck legs a couple of times in the past.  The times have been limited because the times I can buy a whole domestic duck w/legs is limited.  For a long while all I could get was duck breast, a whole goose, a capon, etc... at times, especially around Christmas - but not duck.  I tried it with wild duck one time - but darn it - not enough fat to render so I grabbed for the vegetable oil.  OK, but not like the "real" stuff.  

One of the things in this "at least for now" modern world, that at most times irritates me, yet at times fascinates me and leads me to research, is the total disregard to the usage of words and names.  Words and names are bounced around changed at will so that for a while only the one who coined the new usage knows what is meant.  Totally inefficient communication, but I guess if you want your 15 seconds of fame....... Confit is one of those words ----- as well as barbecue, fried, gay, love, bad, rights, chili, booty, crib, jimmy, fat (phat) ....... ad infinitum.......!  

Got really interested in "putting food by" early on (30+ years ago) and devoured every book.  After at trip to Monticello - became fascinated with stillrooms.  Devoured books on that.  Then found a paperback that had some very interesting old world techniques.  Making prosciutto caught my eye in the book, but it also described confit, jugging, potting - all kinda the same.  Pouring fat over cooked food to preserve it.  That is what got me started with duck confit and potted shrimp.  Few years go by and I read about preserving lemons - immediately made a batch and used them in cooking - love them.  But in doing reading about them, I came up with a dish called lemon confit.   Filed it away in the gray matter until relatively recently.  Started seeing confit recipes with stuff and techniques that could at best very loosely be called confit.  Lemon confit being one of the recipes.  A few years ago I found a recipe by Guerard for Confit Byaldi.  What that had to do with confit is past me - looks more like ratatouille to me.   Be that as it may - I also saw a lot of recipes for pork confit - done at differing times and temps - even with the same cut of meat.  Put on the to-do list.  The other day was just a whim.  I happened to have a couple of pork tenderloins that I needed to cook, was smoking anyways, thought I had some lard, and was smoking anyways - did I say I was smoking anyways?

I can't say I've seen any confit recipes that say to cure the pork first, but hey - I found out it works.  Did not have any belly, can't locate a local source nor do I want or have the freezer space for a case.  But I did have some smoked jowl that I use to flavor beans and green beans.  A few pieces went in.    Talk about good - instant heartburn!   I wouldn't call it frying, I don't think it got that hot.  Try No. 2 will definitely involve lard - with precautions - thank you watchdog - this one will be in the Bradley not a stickburner.  225 deg - not 300.  I still have 2 tenderloins, I will cube up some fatty shoulder or some country ribs and put a package of oxtails in.  And see what comes out.  

Had cretons for breakfast in Quebec City a few years back.  Reminded me an awful lot of rillettes - I think we here in the States call it potted meat or spam!   Kidding, what I had was much better.  I think the pork was cured before cooking it in the creton dish.  Not exactly the product I'm wanting to get out of the process, but it does sound interesting.  Scrambled eggs, garlicky cheese grits, bbq cretons on toasted cornbread, tobasco-eye gravy.  Southern Haute Cuisine?

[dribron]

Sounds like a fun meal you have going there... Hope to see a Q_VIEW.