Smokin' on Wednesday

Ka Honu · April 08, 2009, 04:45:45 PM

Decided last week it was time to to fill up the OBS and do some smokin'. Went with ...

Pulled pork - about 5.5 pounds, brined (water, salt & molasses), covered with CYM and rubbed
Pork chops - a bit over a pound each, also brined and rubbed
Ribs - one rack rubbed
Tasso - pretty close to NePa's recipe
Fatty - a pound of breakfast sausage, 3 eggs scrambled with onion & jalapeno, Swiss cheese

Prepped it all earlier in the week and took it out to warm up this morning...

Pre heated the smoker and put it all in at 8:00 with 12 apple pucks. I usually use something "stronger" with pork but decided to give it a shot (Got lots of apple in a good deal from Amazon).

The fatty came out at 11:00 and, after setting for a bit, was gone before noon (A couple of friends came over for some bogus reason or another and ended up having "brunch." How do they know these things?). I really liked the way the jalapenos in the eggs "kicked it up a notch."

(It wasn't underdone although it seems so in the photo)

Anyway, I spritzed the rest with some apple juice for the last hour of smoke.

Took the pork chops out at an IT of 143^o ...

...and gave them 2 hours of FTC - plan to reheat them and finish on the grill later in the week.

... more to come.

Wildcat · April 08, 2009, 04:57:04 PM

Looking good.

Tenpoint5 · April 08, 2009, 05:02:01 PM

Ka Honu, I do that as well with a pork loin smoke till IT of 145* then cut and vac pac for future use on the grill.

Ka Honu · April 08, 2009, 05:16:17 PM

The vac-pac sounds like a good idea. Then I could heat them in hot water and slap them on the grill for sear marks without fear of overcooking.

CB · April 08, 2009, 05:17:42 PM

When you vac pac partially finished meat, as you said, - how long do you 'feel' you can hold it in the fridge before using it?
Part 2. Have you frozen the partial cooked and finished later?
Thanks

Tenpoint5 · April 08, 2009, 06:18:04 PM

Quote from: CB on April 08, 2009, 05:17:42 PM
When you vac pac partially finished meat, as you said, - how long do you 'feel' you can hold it in the fridge before using it?
Part 2. Have you frozen the partial cooked and finished later?
Thanks

CB,
If it lasts that long I usually only leave in the fridge for a week. 2-3 months in the freezer. Keep in mind I have a family of 6 so things never last very long. IE: When I make bacon and the kids smell it cooking they will eat about 2lbs in one sitting if I will cook it for them, and I answer the question correctly. "Dad did you make this?"

Ka Honu · April 08, 2009, 06:41:24 PM

Don't know that anything has ever lasted longer in my fridge or freezer than in 10.5's and I only have a family of one plus the occasional guest.

Part 2 - Not on purpose although I once froze some previously-frozen very rare steaks (emergency call-out just as they were being seared) and "reconstituted" them with no problem when I got home a week later. Of course that was in my youth before I knew any better.

Mr Walleye · April 08, 2009, 07:35:13 PM

Great lookin' spread there Ka Honu! ;)

Mike

Ka Honu · April 08, 2009, 11:20:58 PM

Put the ribs in the oven for about 90 minutes (220^o), then FTC'd until dinner.

The Tasso came out at 150^o IT. Set out to cool and will freeze to use as needed. Taste was a bit less smoky than I'm used to (must have been the applewood) but good to go.

The pork butt, of course, took longer. I finally decided I'd better start cleaning up my mess so I took it out at 160^o IT, boated it and transferred it to a 220^o oven.

Served the ribs with some pinto beans and cowgirl's chipotle slaw.

SWMBO (who didn't think she liked smoked food until I got the OBS) must have approved - she made those noises I usually like to hear under more intimate circumstances.

The pork finally came out of the oven (190^o IT) after a total of 12 hours. Too late to mess with it so I'll FTC till morning and pull later.

Not bad for an old boy who hasn't lived in the South for 35 years!

Caneyscud · April 09, 2009, 07:25:40 AM

Does the concorde fly to Hawaii? I don't want to wait any longer than I have to!

Shakespeare
The Bard of Hot Aire
Pontificator Extraordinaire'

Smokin Soon · April 09, 2009, 07:33:55 AM

Very nice. Everything looks DELISH! ;D

Roadking · April 09, 2009, 07:43:13 AM

Everything looks great to me. The Fatty also looks great doesn't look underdone that's the way I Like'm.

Ka Honu · April 09, 2009, 09:05:37 AM

No pics today - I'm not really all that awake yet. Just wanted to report that the pulled pork came out great (moist, tender, tasty, etc.) and I made a sandwich with some topped with the cowgirl's chipotle slaw I had left over from last night. It was unbelievable. If you haven't tried her slaw yet, you should - spicy, tangy, creamy, and crunchy all at once. Life just keeps getting better.

CB · April 09, 2009, 09:35:05 AM

next time I bring the refreshments and no eating at the club! I'm up windward side bra.

Ka Honu · April 09, 2009, 12:18:46 PM

It can be arranged; you know my whisky preferences. You'll just have to adjust your priorities away from all the other "local treats" and fancy restaurants for at least one day (and bring Allison - I may be old but I'm not either dead or stupid).