Tag: Smokers
Cottage Bacon
Cottage Bacon
There’s no question about it: bacon is king. But have you ever had cottage bacon? The bacon you are used to eating is made from cured pork belly. Cottage bacon is made from cured pork shoulder. The results are even better then I expected. It has the flavor of belly bacon. It cooks up the same way. What makes cottage bacon even better in my opinion, is how meaty it is. It has a larger meat to fat ratio. I love my belly bacon, but I’m starting to think that cottage bacon is the way to go.
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs boneless pork shoulder
Dry Rub Cure
- 3 tbsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tsp pink curing salts
Wood Chips
- 1/2 hickory wood chips
- 1/2 applewood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the dry rub ingredients.
- Cover the pork shoulder with all of the dry rub.
- Place the pork shoulder In a gallon sized storage bag. Place in the refrigerator for 1 week. Flip everyday so the pork marinates in it’s juices.
- After 1 week, take out of the storage bag. Place on a rack and put back in the refrigerator for 1 day to help dry out the pork to develop a pellicle. When ready to smoke, let the pork shoulder rest at room temp for an hour.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Throw the pork shoulder in the smoker. Once the woodchips are smoking, turn the smoker down to 200 degrees. Repeat this step every time you change out the wood chips.
- At the 3 hour mark, take the temp of the pork shoulder. Continue smoking until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees.
- Let the pork rest until completely cooled. Place in the refrigerator for 1 day before slicing.
- Slice to the thickness of your liking.
- To cook, preheat a skillet or a griddle over medium high heat. Place slices on the pan.
- Cook for 6-8 minutes, flipping the pieces every 2 minutes.
Smoked BBQ Spare Ribs
Smoked BBQ Spare Ribs
Ribs are definitely my specialty. This is the first time I get to smoke a rack of spare ribs in my smoker. I purchased a whole 5lbs spare rib rack with the riblet still attached. I like to remove the riblet and save for soups. In this case, I chopped them into smaller riblets and threw them in the brine with the rack. Then I dry rubbed them with my Jamaican jerk seasoning, smoked them, and tossed in Jamaican jerk bbq sauce. But that’s for another recipe. If your rack of ribs is too wide for your smoker, I suggest cutting them in half. It’s a little easier to handle. There are a couple of approaches you can choose to do with your ribs. You can apply a dry rub to the ribs and let them marinate overnight in the refrigerator before smoking. Another way is to brine the ribs for 4 hours, then apply a dry rub. I like the amount of moisture and flavor that brining adds to meat, so I went that route. Once brined, pat dry with paper towels and apply the dry dry rub on both sides. Let the rack sit at room temperature for an hour before smoking.Hickory is a great wood to use for smoking ribs. I added some peach wood in addition to add some sweetness to the smoke. Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Throw in your rack. Maintain a smoking temp between 225-250 degrees for 4 hours. At the 4 hour point, brush on your favorite bbq sauce and smoke for another hour. Let the ribs rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
Ingredients
- 4-5 lb spare ribs
- bbq sauce
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 white onion sliced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 3 bay leaves
Dry Rub
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Wood Chips
- hickory wood chips
- peach wood chips
Instructions
- Mix the brining ingredients together.
- Brine the ribs for at least 4 hours. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels.
- Mix the dry rub ingredients together.
- Rub both sides of the ribs heavily with the dry rub. Let rest at room temperature for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Throw in the ribs. Maintain the smoking temp between 225-250 degrees for 4 hours.
- Brush a layer of your favorite bbq sauce on the ribs. Smoke for at least 1 more hour.
- Let the ribs rest for 15 minutes before serving.
Cayenne Honey Glazed Cured Smoked Pork Chops
Cayenne Honey Glazed Cured Smoked Pork Chops
These pork chops are a lot different than any other pork chop that you’ve had before. Instead of being brined in the typical water, salt, and sugar mix, I added some pink curing salts. Once the chops are finished smoking, they will taste like ham. I guess you can call these ham loin chops. There’s also a nice cayenne honey glaze on them, giving the chops extra sweetness with a little kick. If pork were candy…
Equipment
- Electric Smoker
- Probe Thermometer
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in pork chops at least 1” thick
Brine
- 1/2 gallon water
- 1/2 cup sea salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp pink curing salt
Glaze
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Wood Chips
- applewood chips
- pecan wood chips
Instructions
- Mix together the brining ingredients.
- Brine the pork chops in a gallon sized storage bag for 4 hours.
- Pat the pork chops dry with paper towel. Let the rest at room temp for an hour before smoking.
- Preheat your smoker to 250 degrees. Smoke the pork chops for an hour.
- While the chops are smoking, mix together the honey and cayenne pepper.
- At the 60 minute mark, brush a thick layer of the cayenne honey on the pork chops. Smoke for another 30 minutes. Check the internal temperature with a probe thermometer. You want the thermometer to read 150 degrees. Once the reach that temp, pull from the smoker.
