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[LilSmoker]

Hi all, well my first smoke went very well indeed, i got the BS seasoned on Saturday, while the air was filling with the aroma of new smoke, i started making a rub that i printed out from Olds recipe site.

I decided on chicken and ribs as a first introduction, i seasoned the ribs with the rub, and used a ready made jerk type rub for the chickens.

This morning, i was excited, i preheated the BS, and turned on the smoke, i put the ribs in the two top racks, and put two chickens in the lower rack.

Smoked at 205 for 4 hours, after the 4 hours, i removed the chickens, and let them rest in some foil.

I placed the ribs in foil and dowsed them with a mixture of apple juice and honey, i placed them back in the BS for another hour, and then again i gave them apple juice and honey, i let them go for another hour, and then turned of the BS.

Another hour and they were served, and i gotta say they were delicious!, the chickens turned out great also, they were full of flavour and very moist.
I got a lot of nice compliments, and everybody was fascinated with the BS ;)

I think all the things i read about the BS are true, it really is a must for food lovers without a doubt, and also makes cooking/smoking a lot of fun, and i'm very pleased with the BS.

As i have a weakness for smoked salmon, that is something i'll be planning soon, i can't wait for my next smoke, i went to Costco today, and bought more ribs, chicken, salmon, brisket, pork etc, hehe!

Thanks to icerat4 for giving me some good pointers on the ribs  ;) and thanks to everybody else for all the help and advice, i appreciate it.

I'll let you know how the next smoke goes, take care all, see you soon.............LilSmoker ;)

[owrstrich]

i went to costco today and bought more ribs chicken salmon brisket pork etc hehe...

i guess its true what they say... one smoke and addict for life... already thinking about your next fix... i would ask for photos of your goods but im thinking there aint nothing left... not even scraps...

whats next... how about theses...



you gotta eat...

owrstrich

[manxman]

Great news LilSmoker, well done. Hopefully just the start of a great partnership with your BS!

[icerat4]

Great news lil.Owrstrich thats next on my list.I love the look.And ill probley love the taste.Hey lil look at the plain pulled pork post.Put that on your list a real crowd pleaser. ;D

[LilSmoker]

@ owrstrich, wow! that looks delicious!, definately one for the future, and yeah i should have taken some pics, but we all started "giving it a try" and well you know the rest  ;)

@ icerat4, pulled pork is another i would like to try, what cut of meat is best for pulled pork? ???

@ manxman, yes i think the BS and i will have a long partnership  ;D, btw, can you recommend any u.k. suppliers for spices, curing products etc?
I know about sausagemaking.org, i've just ordered some stuff from them, but do you know of any others?.

I need to get a vacuum/foodsaver i was thinking maybe this one:

http://www.empiredirect.co.uk/content/products/details/index~modelcode~FSR-FS475.htm

Or can anybody recommend something better?

Bye for now..........LilSmoker

Edit:

Just found out, for "pulled pork" i will need a Boston butt, or in u.k. terms... shoulder of pork, or half shoulder depending on how much is required  ;)

[manxman]

Hi LilSmoker,

I use sausagemaking.org for my curing products because I can't find anyone else! However their bacon cures are excellent.

However, they have let me down on a couple of occasions with other products, trying to get vacuum bags from them is a joke! Also someone on the forum had a problem buying a vacuum sealer from them, poor packaging led to the thing being broken in transit.

At one stage I waited for 12 weeks for bags to be sent with empty promise after empty promise!

This is a good site for vacuum bags and sealers.

http://www.culinaryinnovations.co.uk/

Empire Direct is the best value vacuum sealer I could find, I have the Foodsaver 550 model and it is excellent. The bags from Culinary Innovations also fit the FoodSaver sealers and are the cheapest I can find by quite a way.

I tend to buy my spices locally as we have an excellent Chinese Supermarket that has a good range. One site I have heard recommended by several sources is:

www.jaldijaldi.co.uk .

However I have never used them personally so cannot make a personnal recommendation.

Hope this helps. where about in the UK are you?

[LilSmoker]

Hi manxman, thanks for those links, and all the info, i appreciate it ;)

I live just on the border of west london and buckinhamshire, it's called Harefield, it's hospital is quite famous for heart transplants and research etc, my wife is a nurse there.

I tried everywhere the other day just trying to get some curing salt, eventually i ordered it from www.sausagemaking.org so hopefully i won't have to wait too long, in the meantime if i discover any other decent suppliers, i'll let you know.

Thanks again  ;)

[manxman]

it's called Harefield, it's hospital is quite famous for heart transplants and research etc, my wife is a nurse there.

I work in the laboratory in the hospital here on the Isle of Man, occasionally we refer patients to Harefield for heart/lung transplants although most of ours tend to go to Newcastle for some reason. We also have a girl working with us who used to work in the lab at Harefield.

Yes, if you find any other good suppliers I would appreciate it.  :)

Having said that the curing salt I did get from them, coupled with smoking in the BS, turned out some wonderful back bacon from a whole pork loin I purchased.   ;D

[icerat4]

pulled pork otherwised named boston butt.or picnic shoulder.I havint done the picnic shoulder i am told its more to the hame tasting side.Unlike the boston butt which is true pork only.

[LilSmoker]

I work in the laboratory in the hospital here on the Isle of Man, occasionally we refer patients to Harefield for heart/lung transplants although most of ours tend to go to Newcastle for some reason. We also have a girl working with us who used to work in the lab at Harefield.

Small world, usually nobody's heard of Harefield  ;D

Yes regarding the salt, i can't wait for it to arrive as i want to make some brine, can i use normal sea salt as a substitute, or does it have to be a certain type for curing?

pulled pork otherwised named boston butt.or picnic shoulder.I havint done the picnic shoulder i am told its more to the hame tasting side.Unlike the boston butt which is true pork only.

I'm definately going to look into making some, it makes my mouth water just looking at the pics ;)

[manxman]

can i use normal sea salt as a substitute, or does it have to be a certain type for curing?

The main point to remember is that any salt you use must be iodine free.

Iodine was originally added to salt to make up for dietary deficiencies which can cause thyroid problems but in many parts of the world it is not needed now, for example in the UK most people get their iodine from dairy products.

As far as I am aware the UK has no policy on adding iodine to salt and most salt is indeed iodine free. I think it is different in Canada and the US where much of the salt is iodised but I may stand corrected on that one?

Conversely too high a concentration of iodine is a bad thing and can lead to hypo or hyperthyroidism and has been linked with thyroid cancer, a good reason to use iodine free salt when curing. Iodine can also react with some foods when processing. e.g. pickling

I use the cure I get from sausagemaker to dry cure, for brines I tend to use sea salt which tend to be free of added iodine and anticaking agents, unlike tables salts which may contain either or both.

[LilSmoker]

Thanks manxman, that's cleared a few things up for me, i will give the iodine free sea salt a go, i can get that easily at the supermarket.
I was a bit confused thinking i could only use a special kind of salt.

My curing salt from sausagemaking.org turned up this morning, which was quick as i only ordered it on saturday afternoon, so i will be experimenting with cold smoked salmon in the very near future, i will keep the brine simple as i don't want to cloud the flavour of the fish too much.
I have some nice fillets in the freezer which i bought on saturday, i will do a small amount first to see how it goes.
Once i'm happy with the result, i will be doing fish in a big way! hehe!, i really love smoked salmon, haddock, kippers etc, so i think i'll have a lot of fun along the way.

Bye for now........LilSmoker ;)

[manxman]

Once i'm happy with the result, i will be doing fish in a big way! hehe!, i really love smoked salmon, haddock, kippers etc, so i think i'll have a lot of fun along the way

I bought my BS predominantly to do fish but rapidly diversified into meat, cheese and other bits and pieces too. :D

From a fish point of view I have done both hot and cold smoking to date, and have done pollack, cod, haddock, salmon, mackerel and herring so far. The BS is perfect for fish.

Recently got some frozen wild alaskan salmon fillets, they were on special in the local supermarket cheaper than the farmed stuff so that is one of my projects in the near future. Having said that, in the absence of being able to get hold of "free range" salmon easily, I have had some good results with the farmed variety depending on source. Some is very "soggy"!

Sounds like you are going to have a lot of fun! ;)

[LilSmoker]

Hi guys, i did some pulled pork the other day, and now i know why it's so popular, the whole family loved it, it's definately going on my favourites list, i forgot to do pics again, as we all got carried away eating it, ;D i did a couple of brined chickens to, they really were very nice.

Atm i have some fresh salmon fillets brining, i'm gonna cold smoke them tommorow, this time i'll try and remember some pics, i have kept the brine simple, so i'll let you know how it goes.

Have a good weekend everyone.............LilSmoker ;)

[icerat4]

Glad ya got the hang of it.Its kinda set it forget it.So if your good with foods you will have a fun time smoking now.Take care and keep smoking lol ;D