Foggy01.1983

Pickles that i enjoy are onions and gherkins.

I have no idea on how to pickle though.

Other bits I enjoy with bbq's are slaw and sun dried bits like tomatoes, artichokes, olives etc etc.

I do agree sometimes the main item (meat) is the focus on forums, but an equally good home made side, sauce and rub is the key to the ultimate meal 🤗

1 hour ago, tedmus said:

Especially don't forget to do this if you're a little pished and heating the grill up to cook some steaks, can be a bit of a livener. 

Easy way to get rid of the nose hairs 😂

Well today was the day for the taste test.

Both loins were cured exactly the same way equal parts cure to light soft brown sugar.

Only difference was the pellets which were hickory and oak. They were smoked for a total of 12 hours spread over 3 days (4 hours each day).

I was worried the bacon may have been salty as we used the supracure from weschenfelder at there recommended amounts, however I am pleasantly surprised its not salty at all! I'm guessing the level of sugar counter acted it.

Firstly the hickory smoked bacon. It was very nice and I would happily eat it all, but I would say there was nothing that made the taste buds go absolutely crazy. It's just simple nice bacon.

The second oak smoked bacon is a totally different taste in more ways than one. First you get a much more smokey taste along with a beautiful bacon aroma, then you get a really really nice subtle to medium sweet taste go around your mouth. It's my clear favourite for all the different flavours that you get while eating it.

I find it amazing that both joints were the same size, cured the same time, cured exactly the same and the cold smoking alone has adjusted the sweetness and flavor so much.

I can't wait to make more and play 😍😊😁

2 hours ago, AdamG said:

I dont know much about your bbq's so I cant really go into specifics.

I think it would only be worth while if you had any problems/struggle cooking in certain ways, or looking to replace one. Temp control on the Kamado's is superb and they can be left alone for hours to just cook away. Very versitile with cooking and baking and great for overnight cooks. Fuel efficiency is superb on them.

I would only recommend getting one if you have specific reasons, otherwise I would stick with what you have since I have heard they are great bbq's. Im sure someone else will be able to add some advice based on their experiences👍

The Webber kettle I have is very old now with some bits that need replacing.

I will have to try and decide whether to replace it now and whether the price is worth while.

I do over night low cooking and smoking on the WSM with no issues, although if the temperature outside drops i do find my alarm goes off do I have to get up and open the vents, same if it rains.

Can you cook indirect on a komado? It looks like all the coals are right in the centre.

I already have a Weber Smokey mountain and a Weber kettle bbq.

Question for me is do you think this bbq would be worth while when i already have these two and what added benefits do you think I would get?

3 hours ago, Icefever said:

 

Rind off?? looks good...I've just done two lots (Tue) their sat in the fridge. We haven't bought bacon for nearly 3 years now since starting to make our own.

Did you spice the curing?? or just stay basic?? the wife asked yesterday if I was smoking any this time as we're down on the smoke bacon in the freezer. I may do both this time, not sure yet.

 

Ice.

Yes I removed the rind below curing. 

Curing was just a basic cure with soft light brown sugar

I cold smoked each slab in a weber Smokey mountain, by placing a smoking tube on the bottom, with a water baffle with Ice above.

Instead of doing one continuous smoke, i tried 4 hours smoke then chill in the fridge, then another 4 hour smoke, then chill, followed by one final smoke of 4 hours.

Do you hot or cold smoke your bacon? Although I've hot smoked before, this is the first time I've tried cold smoking bacon so I'll be interested to see the difference.

I got into trouble as we run out of bacon in our freezer before the new batch had finished. We bought some shop bacon and I completely forgot how much water was in shop bought bacon.

Just finished two sides of bacon. One side with hickory and one side with oak.

Please excuse the wife's pj's LOL.

Now wrapped in the fridge and left to settle.

Bacon baguettes in 3 days i think yum yum

13 hours ago, Justin said:

The campsite is relaxed. Next year hopefully. Midland looks unlikely. National unlikely. Northern tailgate who knows. Virus winning in all fronts. Even job taking a 20% pay cut. All pretty crap.

 

6m bell tent nice. Lee and Spencer  had one of those last year to share.  I will rearrange the event for next year. It and than the other tailgates are really relaxing. I love them

I think things will be very different, even after we come out of lockdown. The effects on everyone whether it is mentally, monetary, education at schools or people's jobs will be massive.

We would certainly be up for next year, fingers crossed everything is sorted by then.

That sounds like great fun and extremely tasty!

I certainly would be up for this next year! My wife makes an amazing American coleslaw and i enjoy cooking either beef short ribs low and slow with mesquite smoke or pulled pork.

Fingers crossed for next year 😊

I would love to see what others have, setup wise, rub wise etc etc.

The land I shoot on is not far away in Hartest, so it's very local for us.

Do they have any restrictions on tent size as we have a 6m in diameter bell tent and some sites restrict the pitch size.

Damn you coronavirus!!!!

Excuse my ignorance, can someone give me some more details of what this event would have been, if it was not cancelled due to the virus?

Do you cook and serve to others?

Is what you cook for you and your family?

Can you attend and camp then buy food on site, while gaining knowledge?

It's a real Shame the event was cancelled due to this situation we are all in, but it looks like something I would be really interested in next year👍

1 hour ago, Smokin Monkey said:

Once again Foggy, welcome to the Forum.

If you go to our Store you can buy Cure #1 there.

 

Thank you for the welcome. 

It's probably me being stupid but i can't see cure#1 on that link, it all appears to be premixed ready cures. 

I don't mind being called Foggy as I've been called a lot worse, however my real name is Steve if you don't want to use my screen name 😄

1 minute ago, CWC said:

I normally use Surfys for my cure mixes, real nice guy to deal with

https://www.homecuring.co.uk

Yes I've seen their site as well.

I'm going to move away from premixed cures as i do find the weschenfelder mix's are too salty for my liking. I end up having to soak for quite a while after curing.

I will probably follow wades calculator, which looks much more accurate.

Hi,

Thought I would introduce myself and say hi.

After searching through google and mainly finding American curing sites I stumbled across this one, which looks like it has lots of valuable information.

For past few months I've had fun making my own ham, bacon, sausages and burgers.

I've been using premixed cures from weschenfelder and am now looking to start from scratch.

I currently have two slabs of bacon cold smoking in a weber Smokey mountain, one I'm using oak and the other I'll be using hickory.

I will look forward in joining in the conversations.

Steve from Suffolk.