Tag: bacon/sausage/and ham
Hickory Smoked Beef Sticks
Hickory Smoked Beef Sticks
If you’re from the Midwest, especially Minnesota and Wisconsin, you appreciate a good beef stick. Every independent meat shop with a smokehouse has their version. It is how they get rid of any beef trim, day old ground beef, dark steaks, etc. Every bit of it becomes either sausage or a beef stick. Ultimately, the beef stick gives that cow a second life. It is a perfect way in utilizing the entire animal’s muscle. If you have all of the necessary equipment to make beef sticks, then get ready for an afternoon project. You will want to use beef no leaner then 80% lean. Even fattier is better. I’ve learned that mixing all of your ingredients in a standing mixer is the best way. It is consistent, easier on the hands, and takes only 2 minutes. Pipe the meat through collagen casings instead of hog casings, and we’re half way there. You can choose to either cut the sticks now to your desired length or leave them whole and cut after smoking. Smoking beef sticks is a slow process. If you smoke the sticks to high of a temp, it will render out all of the fat, leaving your beef sticks dry as an actual stick. I preheat my smoker to 250 degrees. I place my wood chips in and let them light for 10 minutes. Then I place my beef sticks in on the racks. I instantly turn the temp down to 185 degrees. At this low of a temp, you’ll only have to change out your chips every 2 hours. So just once. You will want to check the internal temp at the 3 hour mark. Once your thermometer reads 160 degrees, pull the beef sticks from the smoker. Immediately submerge them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Dry them off, and they’re ready to eat. The beef sticks will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week.
Equipment
- standing mixer
- sausage stuffer
- Electric Smoker
- large bin
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 7 lbs 80% lean ground beef
- 2 1/2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp ground mustard
- 2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 2 tsp celery seed
- 1 1/2 tsp pink curing salts
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup ice water
- collagen casings
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Add the ground beef and spices to a standing mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speed for 2 minutes, slowly incorporating the ice water. Let rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before stuffing.
- Pipe the meat into the collagen casings.
- Let rest for 30 minutes before smoking.
- Place the beef sticks on the racks of your smoker, making sure that they don’t touch each other.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Let the wood chips light on fire and smoke for 10 minutes. Place the beef sticks in the smoker and turn the temp down to 185 degrees.
- Smoke for about 4 hours until the temperature reaches 160 degrees.
- Once the internal temp is reached, immediately transfer the beef sticks to an ice bath in a large bin to stop the cooking process.
Smoked Pork Shanks
Smoked Pork Shanks
Smoked pork shanks are great to have around when making collards greens, split pea soup, beans and rice, and many more dishes. They add copious amounts of hammy goodness to whatever you’re making. They also cost a fraction of the price smoking them yourself compared to buying them already smoked. The raw shanks I purchased are $1.49/lb compared to $5-$6/lb smoked.So what’s the difference between pork shanks and pork hocks? Shanks are from the front shins of the pig, aka forshank. They will have the shin bone through the center with a lot of meat surrounding the bone. The bone also contains marrow, which will add a lot of flavor. Pork hocks are from the ankle of the pig. They contain a little less meat. They contain a lot of collagen and cartilage that also adds flavor. The shanks will only need a day to brine. In the brine is pink curing salts, which will turn your shanks to ham. The shanks will take about 2 1/2 hours to smoke. I use hickory wood since it is a nice neutral flavored wood for smoking. They can be instantly used once finished, stored in the refrigerator for up to a week, or frozen in freezer paper for up to 6 months.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 2 pork shanks around 2” thick
Brine
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup sea salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp pink curing salts
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Place the pork shanks in a gallon sized storage bag with the brine. Brine for 24 hours.
- Pat dry. Place on a rack and leg dry out at room temp for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place your shanks in the smoker.
- Smoke your shanks for 2 1/2 hours.
Smoked Boneless Ham
Smoked Boneless Ham
Brining and smoking hams is fairly easy if you have the patience. You get to control what goes into the ham without them being overly processed. It will cost you a fraction of the price while delivering better results than any store bought ham you can find. The brine for the hams is straight forward. 1/2 gallon of water with 1/2 cup of sea salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 1 1/2 tbsp of pink curing salts, plus a few other seasonings. The brine is enough for 2 sirloins. The pink curing salts are very necessary in the ham making process. Without them, you will have a smoked pork sirloin and not ham. A good rule for curing hams: cure the pork 1 day per pound to ensure that the meat is penetrated by the brine all the way through.As far as what cut of pork to use; ham is always made from the leg. Pork sirloin is your best option if you’re looking to make small boneless hams that aren’t spiral cut. You can find pork sirloins at just about every grocery store for $3/lbs or less. They all average around 3lbs for a whole one. You can definitely buy a pork leg and bone it out, but that will require a lot more work. The pork sirloins I cured brined for 3 days. Place them on a rack in the refrigerator to dry out for 1 day. Plain, basic hams can really be smoked with any type of wood; depending on the flavor that you are looking for. I smoked my hams with maple and applewood. You will need to preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Smoke the pork sirloins for 2 hours, maintaining a smoking temp between 225-250 degrees. At the 2 hour point, take the temp of the hams with a probe thermometer. Continue to smoke the hams until they reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Mine took an additional 30 minutes. Let them rest for a day before slicing.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- whole pork sirloins
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp pink curing salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 1 tbsp thyme
- 5 bay leaves
Wood Chips
- maple wood chips
- applewood chips
Instructions
- Mix all of the brining ingredients together. Place the pork sirloins in a gallon sized storage bags along with all of the brine. Brine the pork for 1 day per pound. These sirloins were 3lbs each.
- Let the pork dry out on a rack in the refrigerator for a day. Let rest for an hour at room temp before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place your sirloins in the smoker.
- Smoke the pork for 2 hours. At the 2 hour mark, take the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. You want the internal temp to read 150 degrees. Both of my sirloins took an additional 30 minutes to smoke.
- Let the hams cool completely before slicing.
Hickory Applewood Smoked Bacon
Tips For Smoking Bacon Pat your pork belly dry before dry rubbing. Do not skip adding the pink curing salts to the dry rub. Without them, you will just have smoked pork belly and not bacon. Store and cure the bellies in gallon sized storage …