Tag: Smokers
Honey-Glazed Duck Bacon
Honey-Glazed Duck Bacon
This might be the most luxurious bacon you will ever eat. I purchased 4 duck breasts, about 8 oz each, and cured them the exact same way as regular pork belly bacon. In addition, I brushed honey across the skin side of the breasts right before smoking them; giving the bacon a slight sweetness. The entire process took 8 days before I could eat it, so patience is key. You can eat the duck bacon as is or use as a replacement for pork bacon in numerous recipes.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- ziplock bag
Ingredients
- 4 duck breasts about 8 oz each
- 2 tbsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp pink curing salts
- honey
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the dry rub ingredients.
- Place the duck breasts in a large ziplock bag. Pour in the dry rub ingredients and massage into the duck breast. Squeeze out as much air as possible and seal. Cure for 5-6 days; flipping the bag everyday.
- Remove the duck breasts from the bag. Rinse off any excess dry rub. Pat dry with paper towels and allow to dry out in the refrigerator for 1 day.
- Let your duck breasts rest at room temperature for 2 hours before smoking. Brush on a thin layer of honey on the skin side of the breasts.
- Preheat your smoker to 225°. Place the duck breasts in the smoker. Add in your wood chips to the tray and smoke for 2 hours.
- Pull the duck breasts from the smoker and let cool at room temp. Refrigerate for 1 day before slicing and cooking.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the duck breasts no more than 1/8” thick.
- Warm up a griddle or sauté pan over medium heat. Add in slices of the duck bacon.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes a side until crispy.
Whole Smoked Bone-In Beef Short Rib Plate
Whole Smoked Bone-In Beef Short Rib Plate
It’s not everyday you get to see a whole short rib plate smoked. Most people smoke pork ribs, but beef short ribs out of the smoker is something special. I purchased a nice untrimmed prime plate from my meat department recently and felt like they needed the smoking treatment. You won’t typically see these on display at a meat counter, so you’l have to ask your butcher if they have one in back stock. A whole plate usually is between 4-5 lbs. The short rib plate is used for either English or flanken cut beef ribs.This short rib plate was simply rubbed with olive oil, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. It will take at least 6 hours to smoke in order for them to reach maximum tenderness. I used a 50/50 mix of pecan and hickory wood chips, but mesquite, cherry, and oak would also be great flavors to enhance your ribs. These ribs couldn’t have turned out more tender. You’ll know that they’re done when you can pull the bone out cleanly. What’s even better is that I turned the leftovers into short rib tacos on corn tortillas with cilantro and onions with hot sauce.
Servings: 4
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 1 whole bone in beef short rib plate 4-5lbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp cracked black pepper
Wood Chips
- 1/2 hickory chips
- 1/2 pecan chips
Instructions
- Allow your short rib to rest on a pan overnight in the refrigerator to develop a pellicle.
- Pull the short rib out of the refrigerator. Rub with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on all sides. Let sit out at room temperature for 2 hours before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the short rib plate in the smoker.
- Smoke for 6 hours, replacing the wood chips as need; every 60-90 minutes.
- Let the short rib plate rest for 30 minutes before cutting.
- Cut in between the 4 bones.
Serve with your favorite sides. Turn the leftovers into short rib tacos.
Black Forest Ham (Schwarzwaelder Schinken)
Black Forest Ham (Schwarzwaedler Schinken)
Authentic black forest ham is a long process of brining, smoking at a low temperature, and then dry curing; taking up to a couple of months. This is a much easier process that you can do at home that takes 18 days from brine to finish. Black forest ham gets it’s flavor from juniper berries and smoking with pine wood. It will take 60-90 minutes per lb until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.
Equipment
- large bin for brining
- Spice grinder
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 1 whole pork leg around 8lbs; shank removed; skinned and trimmed of excess fat
Ham Brine
- 1 1/2 gallons water
- 1 1/2 cups sea salt
- 1 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 3 tbsp pink curing salts
Ham Dry Rub
- 4 tbsp black peppercorns
- 4 tbsp juniper berries
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp marjoram
- 10 bay leaves
Wood Chips
- pine or hickory
Instructions
- Mix together the salt, brown sugar, and curing salts.
- Stir into the water in a large bin.
- Place the pork into the brine and brine for 2 weeks.
- After 2 weeks, remove the pork from the brine. Pat dry with paper towels.
- Add the dry rub ingredients to a spice grinder.
- Grind into a powder.
- Apply the dry rub to the pork. Allow to sit on a rack in the refrigerator for 4 days. Let rest at room temp for 2 hours before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Place the ham in the smoker.
- Smoke for 60-90 minutes per lb. until the internal temperature of the probe thermometer reads 150 degrees.
- Allow to rest for 30 minutes before serving.
