Curing and Cooking with Ruhlman & Polcyn's "Charcuterie" (Part 1)

[jmolinari]

Mallet...i thought of that exact same idea that night i posted it. Thanks !! I'll try that

jason

[Abra]

Smoked beer, yes! Since I'm having a bit of Laphroaig at the moment, getting into a smoking mood in preparation for smoking my first bacon, the idea of smoked beer tickles me. If I can get some really cool smoke I'm going to try some smoked cheese, a la jackal10.

Just like everyone else, my bacon did exude quite a bit of liquid in the curing process, and the pancetta very little. Why is that? Mine are getting an extra day in the cure until a hanging bar can be installed in my new curing mini-shed. It's so cute, I sure hope it works! I'll post a picture as soon as it's up and running.

[Chris Amirault]

Smoked beer, yes! 

←

Perhaps a good scotch ale is the ideal accompaniment to a long weekend of smoking meat....

[FoodMan]

Why write my own thoughts down if I can quote a very wise woman (not sure about the Aran sweater though) ?

Over the course of years, I have had some "creation" Epiphanies. My first cream puffs. My first "from scratch Aran sweater not using a pattern. They have all been eclipsed by my bacon Epiphany.

I could not agree more! I cold smoked my bacon slab this past weekend and it was amazing and perfect. I used my Char-griller grill with a smoke chamber to do that using apple wood chips. The temperature never went over 90F for about 5 hours. I made a smaller batch just in case something went wrong or the recipe did not work perfectly. I also omitted the maple syrup because non of us really cares for it and removed the skin after smoking. Now, I need to get a bigger piece of belly and definitly thicker. From now on bacon and pancetta will never be bought again. If you are not too bored with pictures of cured/smoked and crisped pork fat yet, here are a couple of pics

[Anna N]

... If you are not too bored with pictures of cured/smoked and crisped pork fat yet, here are a couple of pics...

←

I am just drooling!

[ronnie_suburban]

... If you are not too bored with pictures of cured/smoked and crisped pork fat yet, here are a couple of pics...

←

I am just drooling!

←

Great stuff, Elie . . . it never gets old!

=R=

[Abra]

Lovely, Elie! Hey, since I have the CharGriller too, can you tell me more about how you kept the temp so low? Did you use only apple chips, or any other fuel? Did you ice the water bath, or what? I think I'm smoking tomorrow, weather permitting.

[viaChgo]

If possible, is it preferable to cold smoke bacon vs hot smoke?

I finally picked up a copy last weekend and I'm looking forward to making some bacon!

[FoodMan]

Lovely, Elie!  Hey, since I have the CharGriller too, can you tell me more about how you kept the temp so low?  Did you use only apple chips, or any other fuel?  Did you ice the water bath, or what?  I think I'm smoking tomorrow, weather permitting.

←

It was really easier than expected. The "grill" section is quiet large, so I placed the meat on the grill grate at the end as far away from the smoke-box as possible. In between them, on the grill grate again, I placed an aluminum tray filled with ice (of course this had to be refilled every 30 minutes or so), so the smoke would hit the ice first. To get it going I lit about half a chimney full of lump coal, and dumped it in the smoke-box, from then on I just topped the coals with soaked wood chips whenever the smoke died down. I did not have to replenish the coals at all, just kept adding apple wood chips.

Hope this helps.

[ronnie_suburban]

If possible, is it preferable to cold smoke bacon vs hot smoke?

I finally picked up a copy last weekend and I'm looking forward to making some bacon!

←

This sounds like a ready-made experiment.

I've loved the bacon I've produced via hot smoking but have yet to try a cold-smoked version. I've been to the hardware store and bought some supplies to rig a cold smoker, which I will use the next time out. But for now, I'm still working through my last 2 batches of hot-smoked product.

=R=

[FoodMan]

If possible, is it preferable to cold smoke bacon vs hot smoke?

I finally picked up a copy last weekend and I'm looking forward to making some bacon!

←

This sounds like a ready-made experiment.

I've loved the bacon I've produced via hot smoking but have yet to try a cold-smoked version. I've been to the hardware store and bought some supplies to rig a cold smoker, which I will use the next time out. But for now, I'm still working through my last 2 batches of hot-smoked product.

=R=

←

I really have never tried hot-smoked bacon, so I cannot tell for sure which is "superior" if any. Typically though good American bacon is cold smoked and that is why I went with cold smoking. I was very happy with the result, so I am not sure I will hot-smoke it in the future. My guess the difference might be more in the texture of the two bacons, since one is cooked the other is not.

[Bombdog]

I hot smoked some yesterday and have a slab in the Bradley right now cold smoking. I'll be happy to do a side by side test and let you know.

[viaChgo]

I hot smoked some yesterday and have a slab in the Bradley right now cold smoking.  I'll be happy to do a side by side test and let you know.

←

Awesome! Thanks! Gotta love eGullet!

[Abra]

Great, you guys! Bombdog, I'm looking forward to your results. Pictures, too, if possible!

Elie, that's perfect, and I can follow your procedure exactly. I also have a Brinkman that's been outside being used as a home for spiders, because it's never "up to temp" when I want to hot smoke. I'm going to vacuum out the bugs and stick a thermometer in there today, to see if it stays cold enough to qualify for cold-smoking.

[Bombdog]

Great, you guys!  Bombdog, I'm looking forward to your results.  Pictures, too, if possible!

Even with the temp control on the lowest setting, it's kinda difficult to keep the chamber temps below 100. I have filled a hotel pan with ice (directly below the bacon). I checked the temperature a few minutes ago by laying an instant read thermometer on top of the slab and closed the door for a few minutes. 73 degrees F. I just have to stay on top of the ice.

[Pallee]

I put a tray on the rack above the bacon and put a ziplock full of ice on that as well as ice below. It helped keep the temp low.

[snowangel]

... If you are not too bored with pictures of cured/smoked and crisped pork fat yet, here are a couple of pics...

←

I am just drooling!

←

Great stuff, Elie . . . it never gets old!

=R=

←

What Ron said. Having seen the light, I don't think I could ever tire of seeing pictures of homemade smoked flesh.

So, Ron, you mentioned rigging your rig to cold smoke. I'm still puzzling over how to do this with the trusty Kettle, which is capable of more than most will give credit for.

But, I'm also sititng here and realizing just the price of this cookbook. It's what, about $35, retail? OK, let's add the meat grinder. The sausage stuffer. Now, lets either add a cold smoker or the stuff to convert the hot smoker to the cold smoker. I think it's time for a martini!

BTW, one of the best parts of doing this was how I smelled after hot smoking and slicing that stuff. Paul thought it was pretty darned alluring, too.

[DRColby]

This cold smoke subject keeps popping up and how to best hold at 90 degrees or less so I have been reading and watching the thread and been through a number of things trying toarrove at a reliable cold smoking method.

First, and this was a year ago, I tried doing lox in the closed roaster-smoker. The mfgr recommended get it smoking - with the lox iin - and then shutting off the heat and letting it steep in the smoke... cooked lox.

Then, somewhere on eGullet a guy in NYC mentioned Japanese smoke sticks. Ordered a couple and used one a few weeks ago on the cold smoking part of a pastrami. Seemed to work prettywell on that, but I am wondering what's in these sticks, which burn for an hour with little or no heat and seem more like an incense. I don't read Japanese, but I gather there are used where lots of people live in crowded quarters and fire regulations are tough.

The way I used them was to let a couple of brics burn down in a Webber smoker and then add the Japanese smoke stick to smolter in the coals.

I have a Bradley Smoker order with the hopes doing a better cold smoking job and getting cleaner hot smoke but after reading Bombdog's latest post, I am scratching my head again about holding 90.

Michael, can you add light on the Japanese smoke sticks?

Dave

[ronnie_suburban]

So, Ron, you  mentioned rigging your rig to cold smoke.  I'm still puzzling over how to do this with the trusty Kettle, which is capable of more than most will give credit for.

←

I've purchased a 12' piece of flexible dryer hose (4" diameter) of which I'm going to attach one end to the fully-open, top damper of my weber kettle. I'm going to attach the other end to one of the side dampers on my smoker cabinet which will be positioned a few feet away. I'll close the other side damper on the smoker and open its top damper all the way. I'll burn the wood in the weber and hopefully, the smoke will travel from the weber through the dryer hose and into the smoker cabinet. And hopefully, it'll be cool enough when it gets there to cold smoke the food in the cabinet.

Once I get the rig set up, I'll be sure to take some pics.

=R=

[Bombdog]

    I  have a Bradley  Smoker order with the hopes doing a better cold smoking job  and getting cleaner hot smoke but after reading Bombdog's latest post, I am scratching my head again  about  holding 90.

←

I have to say that I really am feeling good about how this worked out, cold smoking the bacon today. And with what Pallee said about his set up I am even more optomistic. I held below 80 degrees pretty much the whole 4 hours. It's a bit labor intensive that you have to set a timer and make sure the ice is changed, but the results were fine.

I'm going to be out of town tomorrow, but will do the cold vs hot smoked bacon comparison on Sunday and post the results/pictures

[snowangel]

Ron, what kind of "cabinet" are you referromg to?

[dougal]

For *cold* smoking with a Bradley, this is a scheme that I gather has been much copied to de-couple the smoke generator (and its heat) from the chamber, and the food.

http://www.johnwatkins.co.uk/personalpages/coldsmoking.htm

I'd have thought that there ought to be better materials than cardboard and plastic , but its widely reported to be a workable solution...

Edited March 25, 2006 by dougal (log)

[hwilson41]

I've purchased a 12' piece of flexible dryer hose (4" diameter) of which I'm going to attach one end to the fully-open, top damper of my weber kettle.  I'm going to attach the other end to one of the side dampers on my smoker cabinet which will be positioned a few feet away.  I'll close the other side damper on the smoker and open its top damper all the way.  I'll burn the wood in the weber and hopefully, the smoke will travel from the weber through the dryer hose and into the smoker cabinet.  And hopefully, it'll be cool enough when it gets there to cold smoke the food in the cabinet.

Once I get the rig set up, I'll be sure to take some pics.

=R=

←

I'm anxious to see those pics Ron. I have a side-box smoker, and have trouble keeping the temp below 200F, let alone 100F. Might be time for some Rube Goldberg at my house .

Then again, I'll also be very interested in whether or not you think cold smoking is worth the trouble. The hot smoked product I reported on upthread received rave reviews from all who tasted it, including some family members who wouldn't say nice things just to be polite .

[Expat Russ]

I am in the middle of enjoying the gravlax as described in the book...oh dear God, i'll never buy lox or gravlax again. I brought some into work on Friday (bagel day at the office) and it went quickly, with moans of pleasure that made it sound like an office orgy. Next time I'll do it with dill instead of fennel so wife can enjoy as well (she's not a fennel fan)...wait a minute, maybe I won't

I can't wait to get my Bradley so I can make Lox (waiting for new model review to decide which to get)

What surprised me more than anything, was how easy it is to make something so wonderfully delicious.

Edited March 25, 2006 by Expat Russ (log)

[Chris Amirault]

What surprised me more than anything, was how easy it is to make something so wonderfully delicious.

←

If there were a theme to my experiences with this book, that's it. I am just stunned at how a little skill and some time yields remarkable stuff. All of the sausages I've made are utterly superior to anything I've ever had, and I'm sure I'm still just getting going. And the bacon? Fuggedaboudit. I'm inventing new ways to eat bacon so I can justify curing additional slabs.

It's quite wonderful to discover an entirely new area of cooking, devote some time and interest to learning, and be able to do so well so quickly. For that, I owe the authors of this book a great debt.