sotv

Just putting an idea out there and see what people think. For a few years now we have stayed at a few Parkdean Park Holidays mainly Trecco bay in Wales, but plenty of other of these sort of sites around the country. They are static caravan sites with modern caravans 2-3 bedroom with heating and double glazing etc and decent clubhouses on site for the night time. I was thinking maybe if enough people were interested look into organising a turkey and tinsel weekend on the sites last weekend of the year (too late for this year most likely) but maybe next year at a site that could accommodate this sort of thing.. The Trecco bay site just for an example, this year's last weekend is 23-25 November and caravans can be hired for £89 for 3 nights in total for the caravan doesn't matter if it is whether it is just for yourself or up to 6 people, the cost is the same. If enough people were interested, they may be willing to book a group of caravans together, with some outdoor space for the cooking close by. It would have to be at the end of the season, I would have thought as they are rammed throughout most of the year. The reason for Tinsel and Turkey idea maybe have a xmas themed cooking weekend. Things like turkey, hams, porchetta or three bird roasts you know the sort of xmas things and maybe some cold smoking as well. Winter cooking interests me but never really tried it and just gaining some knowledge of how to maintain temps in inclement weather etc from the more seasoned all the year round smokers would be very helpful.. I realise the weather could and probably would be the main problem for a weekend at that time of year along with daylight hours (just over 8 hours) but if it was to be organised, would any hardy folks out there be interested? or is it a bit of a non-starter.

Congrats to Eddie, Is that a Proq he is cooking with? looks like mine but the latches look larger than norm on the side, may be just the angle? What type of Temperature controller is attached to the bottom vent. Homemade or Commercially available

I did the same as the video with a straw, textured bag strip and the vacuum aid strips Marc provided. The only thing I didn't do was sit at the machine like the lady in the video? It has been frustrating, the only thing I can see is different she doesn't poke the edge of the bag down in the well, which I do but leaves it level, but that is what works on the textured bags for me and is a habit I have developed. That is the only thing I can see I have done differently. But I am sure the bag would rise up level anyway on its own before it tried to seal. Otherwise I am absolutely bamboozled to why it wouldn't work for me, as that is all the ways I tried plus the supplied velco like strips Marc sent?

Pancetta and Beef All cold smoked now and vacuum packed in the wrong type of bags (textured) but hopefully will still provide an edible form of food even if not done in the correct bags? @MarcWillm Thank you so much for the samples you sent. Unfortunately due to user error, I just couldn't seem to get any of the bags to vacuum seal with my Luvele machine. I will keep an eye out for Youtube videoes or maybe catch Wade or yourself at a function one day and get either of you to show me where I am clearly going wrong ?‍?. Followed your PDF instruction for how to do it, but I still couldn't get it right. Frustrating thing is, I have no problem with textured bags. It has been an enjoyable experience doing these and something I want to carry on doing, so hopefully I can get it right at a later date. Anyway I will see if they still turn out edible in the coming weeks and thanks to @Wade for the guide to making these from scratch. ?

You have got me pining for Portugese grilled sardines. Used to love them, whenever we visited there. If you get chance out there not a BBQ dish, but a great local meal, if you haven't tried it before is Portugese Cataplana (Clams and Pork)..

Doing a pot roast this Sunday for the first time in ages this weekend. Picked up a fabulous piece of Sainsbury's 21 Day Matured Slow Beef Roast on offer at £6 kg yesterday, ;looking forward to it.

A wine cooler would certainly widen my options available to me. My only concerns when it came to keeping food in them, is the anti bacterial element to a fridge isn't available to coolers in general and I believe wine coolers operate with a much higher humidity than a fridge? I see one of the coolers you listed went down to 4° C and I certainly could just about keep meat at that temperature, but as that is the roughly about the maximum temperature to keep meats, my only concern was if it wasn't accurate and was to go above that temperature then it may become a problem.

Thanks, will have to leave mine till early/middle next week, before I can get it done

It really is a spare storage room, I already have taken over half the space up in there for my DIY vaping liquids and with all the cupboards and my hot/cold smoking extras, along with the vacuum etc. My wife would flip her lid if I stuck a larder fridge in their as well. If I take my printer of the drawers in there she would accept a tabletop fridge. ? Edited my original post and moved the question to its own subject within the forum, as more people may see it?

Quick question if anybody can help. Looking to buy a table top fridge as it is will be going in the spare room, to refrigerate cured meats, cheese etc. It isn't easy as it sounds as most have an ice box, which isn't needed and risks unnecessary leaking for me and the drip trays nowadays tend to sit on the shelf below it now, losing even more space. Thought I had found the ideal one for my needs Ice King as the dimensions suggest it would hold a 32cm food bucket for brining also and a wire rack shelf for hanging meats. But after speaking to the manufacturer, they think (not 100% sure) it may have a step at the bottom and with the door furniture would reduce the internal dimensions too much for a bucket. Vendor couldn't confirm as they get it from a central warehouse distributor. If anyone knows of a model of tabletop refrigerator anti-bacterial; without ice box, wire not glass shelf preferably with a straight vertical back at least 32cm clear depth at the bottom, for under a £100 I would be grateful for a link.

Thanks for the update Wade. Did the Bresaola get a 12 hour smoke like the pancetta?

45 minutes for me, but worth it for the Sunday breakfast they do...

Did some of these with apple glaze today and took a few photos along the way Preparing to be put on grill 1kg of Belly pork covered in a homemade pork rub Placed in smoker @ 225F for 2 hrs 15 min Placed pork belly pieces into foil tray and added ½ cup of Brown Sugar and ¼ cup of honey along with 50g of butter, over them Covered with foil and put in smoker for another 1½ hours till tender and squidgy between fingers. Tip away the liquid The Glaze 1 cup of BBQ Sauce (I used Bullseye Smokey Bacon) but any suitable for pork will do ½ cup of Apple Jelly or Jam ¼ cup of Apple Juice Simmer sauce on low heat till smooth and pour over Pork belly pieces tossing lightly to ensure a good coating all over, put back in smoker for another 15 minutes Once cooked I served with cheese and bacon potato skins and a dollop of Sinclair's Red Pepper Ketchup (picture took before added ketchup). Simple and tasty meal for a Sunday evening took about 5 hours from once smoker reached 225F to being on the plate

Welcome, I am sure you will choose the right one for you. Only posting these details in case you do decide to go for the ProQ and don't want you to miss out on a potential deal for it. Hotsmoked are selling the ProQ Frontier 2018 version for £294 delivered but till 7th September they are doing 10% off everything with code INDIESUMMER I got mine from there in 2017 and have bought other things from them as well and a vendor I can recommend. If you go for the ProQ well worth adding a step up grill the extra layer of cooking space for £12.99 is a good investment imho and the new Plancha accessory for them could well be on my xmas list for next year. As well as the uses it states in the description. I reckon, I will be able to do an outdoor Paella on it. Which has always appealed to me.

Ok thanks for the info wade. Off the top of my head it is going to be difficult as it is a household working fridge, only one in house. at the moment, so cant risk contamination of other foods. Will have to give it some thought. Thought I had sealed the dry age bag properly but it has inflated like a balloon 3 hours later. So clearly did it wrong. Realise it is my problem and not the bags or sealing machine and I am struggling to get the sealing strip part lined up correctly. When I get back from the footy, will try again, with a fresh outlook as just ruined another bag trying to get it right and just the one left now. ?

Just finished cold smoking mine through the night. for a little over 10 hours and vac packed in the dry age bag. Not able to hang mine in the fridge. So laid it flat in a sealed food container in the fridge. ?

Hi John I have the same ProQ as you. and been happily using it for 2 years. The ProQ range have been updated for 2018 with a few tweaks. I have produced some edible hot and cold smoked food over the months on it with practice and help off here. I think you will enjoy it. I use the Maverick ET-732 with mine. The wireless works reasonably well I get about 110-120 ft with clear line of sight . So can keep the receiver in the house to read the temperature. It won't go, much further for me though. But think that is due to the walls of the house more than the machine. Amazon have the updated Maverick ET-733 for just under £50 at the moment and would be my choice if looking to buy a Maverick Thermometer today, as only £7 more expensive than the ET-732. The Mavericks only come with 3 ft probe length, But you can buy 6ft probes if you find the 3 ft ones to restrictive over time.Also both probes fit easily through one eyelet. as well

Anybody looking to purchase any of their range, a heads up to look out for the 2018 version. The silicon coated vents and door handles will be a worthwhile addition imho if they work. I have had many a burnt and blistered finger. when forgetting to adjust vent or door without my foot or tea-towel. New improved, more durable porcelain coating Thicker charcoal basket construction with added bracket to house the innovative ProQ Flip'nGrate, a grill cage which can be rotated (available separately, see ProQ accessories) Redesigned inspection doors for improved fit and seal New 'cool touch' silicon coated inspection door handles Larger easier to read temperature gauge with enlarged bezel Hanging hooks for the lid bar are now angled at 90 degrees to improve capacity Redesigned threaded leg and grill brackets for quicker leg assembly Thicker vent material for improved seal Cool touch silicon coating on vent tabs

I was of the understanding Wade is doing this as a guide for forum users now and in the future. I am following his instructions and making it, alongside him, as this form of curing is new to me and I am keen to learn and finding it very useful. Wade seems happy to answer any question from myself or others and If you don't ask the questions, you don't know the answer to, you make mistakes and end up doing things like smoking cheese for 10 hours and throwing it in the bin. ?

I am ordering of the net, a 25 litre would be a bit big for my fridge, I reckon. But this 16l is more width than height and would suit my fridge better. But without seeing the size first,, wondering what size pork leg and brine could be accommodated within this Amazon Bucket I can take the gamble and order and wouldn't want to brine a piece of meat bigger than 4-5kg at the moment. But would hope it would do at least a 3kg piece of meat if not a 4-5kg piece along with the brine.

How long do you intend smoking the pancetta for? Will the smoke added to the meat still settle in a dry age bag as it would a normal vacuum packed bag, over time do you think?

What sort of litre capacity for a food grade bucket for a wet brine, would I need to order that would hold 7 litres of brine mixture and approx a 4- 5kg piece of meat. Thanks

That's interesting, read about seafood and chicken working with it, didn't realise it worked with pork as well. Look forward to reading your findings on it. The idea of different flavourings interest me. I have vaped for 6 years and mix my own liquids and have literally hundreds of flavours. Although liquid flavourings won't help with smoking except for maybe the water pan?. The use of different items other than wood to influence the finished flavour of the meat or fish other than just marinades is something I would like to explore in the future. p.s. Grateful for all the help. But If you start putting on a few pounds what with the beef, pancetta and now this. If your wife starts complaining, please don't blame me. ?

I have watched a video here on using a combination of tea, rice and spices to smoke some salmon pieces (recipe underneath video) anyone any experience of smoking with tea? what sort of finished flavour does it produce, is it a delicate or a strong smoke flavour? In salmon I would hope delicate. I actually don't drink tea or coffee, so no idea how it would work, as a flavour? He certainly makes the different tea smoked recipes look appetising, just unsure of the finished flavour and whether the investment in the ingredients is worth it?

I have found with cheddar if you get a decent Mature that has a bit of a salty bite to it works best with smoke. But that may be down to my personal taste? Also I get my cheddar from a deli counter as it is seems drier when you take it out of the shrink wrapping, if you buy it in a block. The cheese like Cathedral City and Davidstow packed on the shelves can be very wet when it comes out of the packaging, I find and not such a nice finished flavour because of it..