Grub Hacker

Peach Smoked Madison Maple and Guava/Agave Bacon

Its been too long since my last post... I have been cooking a lot but find it hard at times to get the proper lighting needed to get good looking photos.  Today was a beutiful fall day and my cured bacon had just finished up its week long magical curing jorney.

I made two different types of bacon today, one was a Madion maple and the other was Guava/Agave.  Both of these were smoked on some peach wood that my freind had cut for me earlier in the spring.

 

Bacon Cure

1 Poud Kosher Salt

8 Ounces of Sugar

2 ounces pink salt

Rub each pork belly with 1/4 cup of cure

 

Madison Maple bacon

1/2 Cup maple syrup added during cure

  Mix and add to slab when you add the cure 

 

Guava/Agave bacon

1/2 C Guava Necter

1/3 2 TBS Dark Agave Nectre

 Mix and add to slab when you add the cure

 

Cure each bacon slab for 7 days with 1/4 cup of cure and select sweatner

 

Smoke at 200 degrees over your choice of fruit wood until bacon hits 162 internal temprature

 

 

Cool, slice and enjoy

 

 

Anyone have any other interesting bacon flavoring ideas? 

Seth

Fresh Pastrami

I've been waiting to make something that I considered to be appropriate for my first blog post here, on Grub Hacker.  Surprisingly, none of the imaginative wild game dishes created in my kitchen seemed to be able to make the cut, and I ended up choosing this! 

Inspired by the most recent episode of No Reservations, and an appealing recipe in Charcuterie, I decided to make fresh pastrami. There's nothing quite like getting fresh, hot pastrami on rye bread from a hole in the wall deli; the results of the following foray into recipes from the aforementioned book are just as fulfilling. 

The recipe is very easy, just brine, smoke, steam and serve.  Pardon all of the pictures, I'm just becoming more comfortable with my camera and starting to get good pictures.  My only regret is that I am unable to stop time and passing by clouds in order to have the sunlight right for pictures.

Bacon Wrapped Loin

I saw my buddy wrap a deer loin this way over the weekend and I really thought it was a very clean,  effective way to wrap a loin/tenderloin in bacon.   This method can be used with any loin such as pork, beef or deer.  I do not normally season the loin much before wrapping as the bacon provides a good amount salt.  The loin can be rubbed with BBQ rub if you like but with this deer loin we did not want to muddle with the pure deer flavors.

Bacon Wrapped Deer Loin

1 Deer loin/tenderloin
Package of favorite bacon
BBQ Rub (Optional)

Wrap Deer with bacon as shown below
Cook at 275-300 on the smoker until internal temprature reaches 128.
Pull and rest for 10-12 mintues, temprature will continue to rise to 132-136

FIrst lay out bacon with a slight overlap as shown in picture

Then wrap and toothpick as shown

Seth

Spit Roasted Fireplace Beef

What better way to spend a lazy cold Sunday then around a fire, roasting a nice tip roast on the spit.  This was the first attempt at my new fireplace rotisserie from spit jack and I am very pleased and impressed with the results.  This thing works great and I was amazed by how quiet it was when running.   If you have the fireplace of a decent size that could support this I would highly recommend it as it is well built, ultra quiet and it spun out some great beef.  One great thing that I learned while using the spit was that there was virtually zero roasting meat smell in the house.  After I had already ate it has dawned on me that since the fire was burning it was pulling all the odors up the chimney much like a hood on a stove would.  This is good or bad depending on your level of beef fragrance you enjoy in your house.

We built a fire and allowed it to burn for about 1-1.5 hours of time before adding the meat to the spit.  This creates charcoal which will help get temperatures to roasting level.  We seasoned the roast with pepper and some sea salt and threw it on the spit.

Cooking along nicely

Basted during final 1/2 hour of cooking with red wine, duck fat and rosemary

Finished and ready to eat!

Seth

Fireplace BBQ Pit

I have always had the dream of spit roasting a small animal over my fireplace in the winter, with the smell of oak and roasting meat filling the house.  This Christmas my dream has came true in the form of a spitjack fireplace rotisserie.  I have unboxed her last night and will be taking it for a trial run either tomorrow or Monday.

Fireplace model

Seth

New Kingsford Competition Brand Charcoal

I tried this charcoal once last year on the competition circuit and it cooked as normal. I will reserve my judgment until further testings....

Press Release

Kingsford Press release KINGSFORD BRINGS THE COMPETITIVE EDGE HOME WITH HIGH-HEAT BRIQUETS Latest Product from America’s #1 Charcoal Brand Allows Backyard Barbecuers to Grill Like Experts OAKLAND, Calif. (Embargoed until Jan. 1, 2009) – Today the Kingsford Products Company brings tantalizing cook-off quality home with a charcoal briquet that combines convenience, high heat and long burn times. From grilling to searing to slow cooking, 100 percent natural Kingsford® Competition Briquets are designed for fast lighting, too. The briquet once ruled on the cook-off circuit, where tangy scents linger and competition sizzles, but lately, chefs have shifted to using lump charcoal instead, to achieve the high heat necessary to bring home a trophy. Now Kingsford offers the best of both worlds. “These new briquets are going to give folks at home the versatility and quality I get at competitions without the expensive equipment,” said Chris Lilly, owner of Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q in Decatur, Ala., and six-time Memphis in May world champion. “The briquet form is going to give you a much easier time controlling the hot burn compared to traditional lump charcoal.” Kingsford® Competition Briquets will help take grilling to a new level – whether it’s a quick meal fired up for a family of four or championship cuisine cooked low and slow overnight to impress the judges on the barbecue competition circuit. Made with all-natural ingredients for an authentic barbecue flavor, Kingsford® Competition Briquets allow the temperature flexibility needed for advanced cooking methods including grilling, searing and slow cooking. To showcase the versatility of Kingsford® Competition Briquets, Lilly has created these recipes for home cooks: • Peppered Ahi Tuna with Cantaloupe & Pineapple Salsa – Utilize high heat by searing fresh tuna steaks to perfection • Beer-Basted Pulled Pork Sliders – Get low and slow with competition-worthy pulled pork in bite-sized form • Apple Cider Ribs – Use direct and indirect grilling methods to prepare baby back ribs with a tasty twist Kingsford® Competition Briquets light more quickly than traditional charcoal briquets with a light-to-cook time of approximately 14 minutes. Temperature is controlled by arranging the briquets and adjusting the vents according to the cooking method and food choices. Lilly’s instructional videos are available on www.Kingsford.com along with how-to’s for advanced grilling techniques and information about Kingsford® Competition Briquets. “We want the home chef to knock the socks off their families and friends with competition-quality barbecue,” said Ryan Elvers, Kingsford marketing manager. “Now anyone can grill like an expert at the next backyard barbecue.” As with all Kingsford® charcoal products, Kingsford® Competition Briquets are manufactured in an environmentally-conscious way: Wood waste is converted into useful fuels, combustion gases generate heat for use in production and process water is contained to be reused for the next batch of charcoal. Because of their all-natural ingredients, Kingsford® Competition Briquets leave less ash than traditional charcoal. Kingsford® Competition Briquets will ship to grocery, mass, club and home improvement retailers in January 2009 and will be widely available by April 1, 2009. The new briquets are available in a 12-lb bag (lasts the same as 14-lb original) for the approximate retail value of $9.49 and two 16.5-lb bags (lasts the same as two 21-lb original) for the approximate retail value of $16.99. For more information about new Kingsford® Competition Briquets, charcoal grilling recipes and tips, visit Kingsford.com.