|
10-21-2011, 07:24 AM | #2741 |
Suck It
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
I quit smoking bacon at home because I couldn't get the bellies easily (just cut up chunks) and because I
need another source of saturated fat like a hole in the head. I COULD search our many good butchers for the meat, but I have to put my foot down over my all new fun-size body. It ain't FUN. I have given up sugary drinks at work and mostly at home, but I nibble too much at work, and my 40 mins of walking doesn't burn enough calories. I LOVE bacon, but I sure don't make my own anymore. Too easy to justify eating it. If I want bacon now I have to go to the store and buy it. |
10-21-2011, 08:20 AM | #2742 |
Just plain insane!
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
I guess I am lucky... we kill 1-2 pigs a year and so does my cousin. His wife won't eat homemade bacon so I get his pork bellies too. That usually is enough for the year. The only time I buy bacon is when I do ABTs. I like the thin sliced bacon from Winn Dixie for those so I buy it.
I'm simple minded too... I have convinced myself that without the nitrates and such that my homemade bacon is healthy!!! |
10-21-2011, 11:24 AM | #2743 | |
Grrrrrr
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
I just picked up a Vacmaster 130 from Costco's website (web only, not in stores), about $140 delivered. For a home use machine, it's pretty heavily built. A few things really attracted me to their design over some of the other companies: 1) Heavy duty pump that does not require cool down between runs. 2) The seal strip (what melts the bag together) is two to three times wider than most other brands. I see this as greatly reducing the chance of seal failure and allowing for a good seal even in the event of slight debris or oil in the seal area on the bag. 3) Besides automatic mode with a manual seal button, it also has a timer mode, where I can punch in how long I want the unit to evacuate the bag for. I ran into problems in the past (on the foodsaver) with certain foods trapping air bubbles between the food and wall of the bag and with the machine having no mode other than automatic sensor, me not having enough time to push the air bubble out to the side where it could be evacuated before the pressure switch tripped and sealed the bag. 4) I find bags to be more convenient than rolls and with pre-made bags I only have one seal that is at risk for failure, rather than two when cutting from a roll and making my own. After working out the costs on bags versus rolls for the Vacmaster and Wilson bags/rolls, I found that, for the items I'm sealing, the price of a bag was actually less than rolls when I purchase 100 bags at a time from Amazon for $21 to $39 depending on the size*. Versus other brands, bags/film for the Vacmaster is about 1/2 to 1/4 the cost of the foodsaver brand bags and film. I've only had the machine about a week, so I can't give you any comments on long term use, but so far, it's done fine sealing up whatever I've thrown at it. *: I have an Amazon prime account, so shipping is covered. For rolls, the better price was actually on costco's website, where shipping is included. So I'm calling the cost of membership at both vendors a wash. If you have to pay shipping at Amazon, your pricing per bag might be different. Last edited by T.G; 10-21-2011 at 11:30 AM. |
|
10-25-2011, 10:55 PM | #2745 |
YNWA
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
This is for you, Pete.
__________________
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. -John Wooden |
10-25-2011, 11:02 PM | #2747 | |
YNWA
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
I cured the salmon for 36 hours, rinsed, and patted dry. Air dry, uncovered in the fridge for another 10 hours. Then ~4 hours on the smoker. Delicious but a bit on the salty side. Time for some experimentation.
__________________
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. -John Wooden |
|
10-25-2011, 11:36 PM | #2748 | |
Grrrrrr
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
Smoked salmon, that's next on my list now that I've finished smoking the 16 lbs of cheese that I picked up last week. |
|
10-25-2011, 11:55 PM | #2749 | |
YNWA
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
__________________
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. -John Wooden |
|
10-26-2011, 07:57 PM | #2750 | |
Not a puffer
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
Regarding a vacuum sealer, I thought I needed one myself. For my last cook, I had 4 freezer 1 gallon bags full of pulled pork. 3 of them went in the freezer and I couldn't tell a difference. I'd just get out all the air you can and you should be good to go. Just my $0.02 as I think you can find a better use for $150 in the world of smoking. Think of how many butts/racks of ribs/etc you can make for that. |
|
10-26-2011, 08:12 PM | #2751 |
Suck It
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
x2, freezer bags and pulled pork are fine and dandy. Sometimes it's even better after some time in the freezer,
cause you get to iintroduce more crispy element into it on the reheat if you wish. |
10-26-2011, 08:33 PM | #2752 |
Grrrrrr
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Please LMK how that compares, I have mixed feelings on those extra water-only soaks, I wonder if some of the flavors that I want to preserve are also being diluted or pulled out, but I can't eliminate enough variables with my method to get a handle on that issue, so all other things being equal, I'd be curious to hear how it affects the final product.
|
10-26-2011, 08:35 PM | #2753 | |
YNWA
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
__________________
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. -John Wooden |
|
10-28-2011, 02:29 PM | #2754 | |
Have My Own Room
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
|
|
10-28-2011, 02:32 PM | #2755 | |
Gravy Boat Winnah.
Join Date: Oct 2008
First Name: Pete
Location: my attorney has advised against giving this information to insane people
Posts: 5,326
Trading: (22)
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
I have saved many times the cost of my Foodsaver by buying full primals at Costco and Sams and vac'ing portions, not to mention multitudes of other items. |
|
10-28-2011, 02:50 PM | #2756 |
Suck It
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
The true vacuum seal is great to keep frost from forming inside the package, but even that can't REALLY be stopped
100%. So Freezer bags are fine and realatively cheap. But a really good Vac Sealer is a nice luxury, too. |
10-28-2011, 04:05 PM | #2757 |
Still Watching My Back
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
hey pnoon.. did you brine your salmon before smoking?
found a link for a bradley and cold smoking salmon... http://forum.bradleysmoker.com/index.php?topic=55.0 Last edited by tupacboy; 10-28-2011 at 04:11 PM. |
10-28-2011, 04:10 PM | #2758 |
YNWA
|
|
10-29-2011, 12:44 AM | #2759 |
I'm nuts for the place
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Just got done putting the rub on tomorrow's pork butt. 7 pounder. Used:
1/8 cup pepper 1/4 cup paprika 1/4 cup salt 1/4 cup brown sugar 2T cayenne pepper 2T onion powder 2T garlic powder 1T basil 1t ground mustard Unmeasured amounts of cumin, coriander, and sage. Hopefully it's good. Just checked and I'm down to not much lump charcoal (under 2 pounds) and only a few chunks of applewood. Get to make a run into town early tomorrow morning with the kids. Probably going to serve homemade Mac and cheese with the pork. Posted via Mobile Device |
10-29-2011, 12:46 AM | #2760 | |
YNWA
|
Re: What's in your smoker?
Quote:
__________________
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. -John Wooden |
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|