Who's smoking meat this weekend?

[brew703]

Smoking cheese today since it's now cold enough outside that it won't melt since I don't have a cold smoker. I use charcoal and pellets.

5lb Colby
5lb pepperjack
5lb medium cheddar
5lb sharp cheddar

Are you able to keep the temps low enough using charcoal? Do you get any weird charcoal taste? I use one of these,http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AMNPS5X8, and they work great. No heat only smoke.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

Do you use store bought spice mix or something you came up with yourself? I dont do venison but I do beef snack sticks and I cant seem to get the seasoning right. I've tried store bought and recipes on the net but nothing comes close to what I want. They are edible but not quite right.

I do have a couple pounds of deer ground meat in the freezer but i think it's mixed with green onion. Might be good to just try that and see how it turns out.

I use my own mix of spices. I'm sure you could use beef and it would turn out perfectly fine.
Here's what I use for a 5lb batch that is 80/20 venison/pork fat
2.5T Kosher salt
2.5T Sugar
2T fresh ground black pepper
1t Cure # 1 (pink cure)
1.5t nutmeg
1.5t curry powder
1.5t garlic powder (granulated)
1.5t mustard powder
1.5t onion powder (granulated)
1.5t red pepper flakes
1/2C cold water
Grind the meat with a fine texture plate or twice with a coarse plate and set in the fridge while u assemble spices.
Mix all spices together in a bowl and add the cold water and mix till combined and salt and sugar dissolve.
Remove meat mixture from the fridge and add the spice/water mix. Mix by hand for 5 min to make sure all spices and cure are evenly distributed.
Stuff In collagen casings or leave naked and form into logs. I use 21mm casings. Refrigerate over nite.
Preheat smoker to 150 and smoke at 150 for 1-2hr
Raise temp to 170 and smoke until internal temp 150.
Remove from the smoker and let air dry for an hour or two. Don't dunk in ice water bath. Let them naturally cool.
That's it. Enjoy!!
The cure #1 is important if you want to smoke at a low temp. I don't recommend smoking at this low of a temp with out it.

 

[Dixon9717]

Are you able to keep the temps low enough using charcoal? Do you get any weird charcoal taste? I use one of these,http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AMNPS5X8, and they work great. No heat only smoke.

That looks interesting. My smoker is actually big enough to stand inside so my cheese is about 5' above the heat source. So I can keep the heat low enough unless the weather is to hot. Yesterday the weather was to cold and could barely get enough heat for the cheese to absorb the smoke. Usually I don't get charcoal taste because I use so little but this time I probably will since I had to use a lot more because it was only 22* that day.

 

[bob1852]

Are you able to keep the temps low enough using charcoal? Do you get any weird charcoal taste? I use one of these,http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AMNPS5X8, and they work great. No heat only smoke.

I have one of those, but have a hard time keeping the damn thing lit.

 

[blizzard]

I have one of those, but have a hard time keeping the damn thing lit.

That is a problem at elevation. They recommend the tube smoker or using dust instead of pellets. I've had a lot of success with dust here in Denver.

 

[Dixon9717]

Looks good. What are you gonna do with 20lbs of cheese?

Give it away and take it to parties throughout the holiday season.

 

[brew703]

I use my own mix of spices. I'm sure you could use beef and it would turn out perfectly fine.
Here's what I use for a 5lb batch that is 80/20 venison/pork fat
2.5T Kosher salt
2.5T Sugar
2T fresh ground black pepper
1t Cure # 1 (pink cure)
1.5t nutmeg
1.5t curry powder
1.5t garlic powder (granulated)
1.5t mustard powder
1.5t onion powder (granulated)
1.5t red pepper flakes
1/2C cold water
Grind the meat with a fine texture plate or twice with a coarse plate and set in the fridge while u assemble spices.
Mix all spices together in a bowl and add the cold water and mix till combined and salt and sugar dissolve.
Remove meat mixture from the fridge and add the spice/water mix. Mix by hand for 5 min to make sure all spices and cure are evenly distributed.
Stuff In collagen casings or leave naked and form into logs. I use 21mm casings. Refrigerate over nite.
Preheat smoker to 150 and smoke at 150 for 1-2hr
Raise temp to 170 and smoke until internal temp 150.
Remove from the smoker and let air dry for an hour or two. Don't dunk in ice water bath. Let them naturally cool.
That's it. Enjoy!!
The cure #1 is important if you want to smoke at a low temp. I don't recommend smoking at this low of a temp with out it.

Thanks for the recipe. I'll give this a go once the weather cools down here. Temps here are still in the 70's.

 

[brew703]

I have one of those, but have a hard time keeping the damn thing lit.

The elevation could be an issue. Maybe try some dust if you can get some.

 

[passedpawn]

Smoking cheese today since it's now cold enough outside that it won't melt since I don't have a cold smoker. I use charcoal and pellets.

5lb Colby
5lb pepperjack
5lb medium cheddar
5lb sharp cheddar

I thought (read) cheese does not take smoke well at all, and that smoked cheeses were flavored when made with smoke flavoring. Please let us know how that works out.

 

[BaylessBrewer]

I thought (read) cheese does not take smoke well at all, and that smoked cheeses were flavored when made with smoke flavoring. Please let us know how that works out.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoked_cheese

 

[brew703]

I've smoked cheese before. I made the mistake of tasting it after pulling from the smoker- it tasted like an ashtray.
the trick is to wrap tight with saran wrap or vac seal and let mellow for a few weeks to a month to allow the smoke to mellow. It was excellent after about three weeks.

 

[vanishingpint]

Cheese takes smoke very well. You just have to watch the temps so it doesn't melt .Wrap it ,chill it for a day or so and you can't leave it alone. Mmmm.

 

[passedpawn]

Cheese takes smoke very well. You just have to watch the temps so it doesn't melt .Wrap it ,chill it for a day or so and you can't leave it alone. Mmmm.

Well alrighty then! I know what I'm doing this weekend! I might smoke some fish at the same time.

 

[applescrap]

I use my own mix of spices. I'm sure you could use beef and it would turn out perfectly fine.
Here's what I use for a 5lb batch that is 80/20 venison/pork fat
2.5T Kosher salt
2.5T Sugar
2T fresh ground black pepper
1t Cure # 1 (pink cure)
1.5t nutmeg
1.5t curry powder
1.5t garlic powder (granulated)
1.5t mustard powder
1.5t onion powder (granulated)
1.5t red pepper flakes
1/2C cold water
Grind the meat with a fine texture plate or twice with a coarse plate and set in the fridge while u assemble spices.
Mix all spices together in a bowl and add the cold water and mix till combined and salt and sugar dissolve.
Remove meat mixture from the fridge and add the spice/water mix. Mix by hand for 5 min to make sure all spices and cure are evenly distributed.
Stuff In collagen casings or leave naked and form into logs. I use 21mm casings. Refrigerate over nite.
Preheat smoker to 150 and smoke at 150 for 1-2hr
Raise temp to 170 and smoke until internal temp 150.
Remove from the smoker and let air dry for an hour or two. Don't dunk in ice water bath. Let them naturally cool.
That's it. Enjoy!!
The cure #1 is important if you want to smoke at a low temp. I don't recommend smoking at this low of a temp with out it.

Sweet recipe and those look awesome . I agree the cure is important for low temp smoking and also very important if you are going to store for any amount of time which is hard to do because people usually eat the jerky up before it goes bad technically any jerky should be kept in the fridge unless its cured.. note a small amount of cure is being used because this is going to be ingested cure and not cured outside in but everybody on this forum knows this so I don't know why I'm saying this. I've seen the jerky gun to make the logs I've never stuffed collagen and usually roll them out but I eat them so fast it's hard to say it really matters I'm more of the soy sauce brown sugar teriyaki kind of jerky Guy. I think I would like to make five pounds of ground beef jerky but stuff them in the collagen make great snacks for the kids. Here is chart I found online use at your own risk

View attachment 1449014418252.jpg

 

[Dixon9717]

I have smoked cheese many times and your right it's tricky to get it to absorb the smoke. I try to keep it between 90*-100* is best for most cheeses. When it's soft and has a oily shine to it. And most store bought "smoked cheese" is just sprayed with liquid smoke.

 

[Kent88]

I tried but I couldn't keep it lit... groan

I skimmed the first few pages of this thread and I can't believe no one took the low hanging fruit.

Dang you all have been posting some great food on here. Reminds me that when I move out of the apartment and into larger lodgings, I'll be looking for a smoker. It will be a fairly high priority item. Then, after a few weeks, I'll balloon up to 400lbs like a tick on the artery of a well fed deer.

 

[smit70136]

Sunday roast from yesterday. Came out great this week. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1449498259.480429.jpg

 

[brewbama]

bacon

Cheers!

 

[BaylessBrewer]

My mouth is watering!! That looks amazing

 

[EHV]

I like the idea of smoking with an open top. It would definitely help the meat to take in the smoke over a longer period of time before you reach internal temps.
I made the mistake of missing my target temp and the fat started to render. Completely changes the texture of the side, not to mention how it frys.

 

[brewbama]

rack of ribs, black eye peas, turnip greens, and corn bread

 

[Curtis2010]

Cheese takes smoke very well. You just have to watch the temps so it doesn't melt .Wrap it ,chill it for a day or so and you can't leave it alone. Mmmm.

Definately an art to keeping the temps cool enough (<100 F) with charcoal. I just put a handful of coals in an offset smoker. Add a few wood chips. Works out great. Mesh mats help keep the cheese from drooping down between grates if it gets a bit too warm. Took me a few trys to not make "cheese bats"...melted cheese hanging from the grates.

Just smoked a batch of local queso blanco today. Temps got a litte warm because a piece of wood flared up, so the wedges distorted a bit, but still tasty. Have not tried wrapping and chilling, but usaully do let it cool a few hours before serving.

View attachment 1450033909021.jpg

 

[BrewinBromanite]

Going on in a couple hours. Wife's picking up another to join this one (thawed this one out last night). A little honey and mustard base, and homemade rub on top. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1450034029.638708.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1450034044.466477.jpg

To make this fancy, we are doing Kraft Mac n cheese and baked beans to accompany, per 3 yr old's request. He twisted my arm! [emoji3][emoji482]

 

[Curtis2010]

Taking advantage of the cold smoke I had going for cheese to get some smoky on pork chops for dinner tonight. Dry brined, rub, cold smoke, and then finish them on the grill...sounds yummy already.

Interesting side note: my GF was having problems with eating pork a few years ago, but here in the Chriqui Highlands of Panama she can eat it just fine. The local agro vet tells us the farmers here dont inject their pigs with a bunch of meds like is so common these days. Nice to live near our food source so we know what we are eating...getting hard to do in developed countries.

View attachment 1450034947110.jpg

 

[BrewinBromanite]

Don't waste the smoke! [emoji16]

 

[Curtis2010]

Taking advantage of the cold smoke I had going for cheese to get some smoky on pork chops for dinner tonight. Dry brined, rub, cold smoke, and then finish them on the grill...sounds yummy already.

Interesting side note: my GF was having problems with eating pork a few years ago, but here in the Chriqui Highlands of Panama she can eat it just fine. The local agro vet tells us the farmers here dont inject their pigs with a bunch of meds like is so common these days. Nice to live near our food source so we know what we are eating...getting hard to do in developed countries.

Damn, these turned out good! Best chops I've made.

Finished on the grill: brought to target temp (145F+) on indirect side and then reverse seared on hot side. Held in my "redneck cambro" (cheap styrofoam cooler) for about an hour while guests arrived and had cocktails, then served up still warm and moist.

View attachment 1450097813834.jpg

 

[BrewinBromanite]

Those chops look good!! Ribs late night came out great. Ended up with one St. Louis rack and a baby back. Managed to snap one pic just before slicing and then my phone died on me. Had a nice smoke ring, and very tender. One and a half racks shown here. The St. Louis rack was my favorite on this batch, but both pretty darn good. View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1450101807.869240.jpg

 

[Curtis2010]

Those chops look good!! Ribs late night came out great. Ended up with one St. Louis rack and a baby back. Managed to snap one pic just before slicing and then my phone died on me. Had a nice smoke ring, and very tender. One and a half racks shown here. The St. Louis rack was my favorite on this batch, but both pretty darn good. View attachment 322655

Yumm...can be challenging to get high quality specific cuts down here.

 

[kaffeenjunkie]

This weekend, and every weekend.

 

[applescrap]

This weekend, and every weekend.

That smoked prime rib right?