Ive thought about this project , and would do things a bit differently , next year :
the CB's I got were relatively lean , w/o big gobs of fat. I trimmed off a little . Fat is flavor .
you can trim fat off after you cook it , but you cant put it back.
the local CB comes w those tiny spice packs. think bay , allspice , mustard seed .
not heat. back in the day of simmering CB for hours ,
my sister like to put the pack in the water , which is why they include it I think.
w all that water , very little flavor made it to the CB. W SV , any spice or herb next to the meat , even small amounts
will very much flavor the meat. its concentrated right there. Theory of SV suggests putting spice and herbs
in a folded ' pouch ' , open at both ends so it does not come in contact w the meat. thats a better way to do it
or simply skip the spice pack. My CB is actually Spiced CB . it very nice , but its not traditional CB
I should have done some w/o it., 50::50 just for variety what I have is still very very tasty.
Papain is in this version of CB. it's been succinctly discussed farther back in this thread. My CB
was tender , so I think IM OK w what Ive done. however , it would have been been interesting
to check the CB at 24 H , and 36 H . it would be easy enough to re-bag and put back in the water.
I like the smoke flavor I have . its not traditional CB , but makes for very tasty sandwiches in the future.
I decided to not smoke the last batch , for a more traditional flavor.
and lastly , if you appreciate what SV can do for CB , and have refrigerator and freezer space ,
and its $ 1.49 : get more and SV more !