Life throws you curves

My digital camera is not working right now. Had so many good smoked foods to show but no pictures. I'll reproduce the smoked foods when I get my camera working again. In the meantime, I thought I'd throw another video update of the pups on here. They are now about 2 1/2 weeks old and getting much bigger. Their eyes are opened up, they've really started discovering their voices and their legs are getting stronger every day. It won't be long before they're running all over the place. Hope you enjoy!

Sometimes life just gets in the way........

Life has been extremely busy for me lately. You wouldn't think that an unemployed guy could get busy but, somehow, I've managed to do just that. Just no time to do any of the smoking that I'd like to do. The puppies have kept me pretty busy as have the kids. It could also have to do with playing fantasy baseball. I love playing any type of fantasy sports as it really helps keep my interest all year long on what each individual player is doing. Couple that with the fact that I'm a Pittsburgh Pirates fan (no, they haven't won anything since I was just a kid), and fantasy baseball allows me to keep my interest in the sport. So, I've been doing a lot of fantasy baseball drafts over at ESPN. They're free and you don't win anything (except pride), but free and unemployed work well together like salt and pepper.

I thought I'd update the puppy pictures today. The pups are now 11 days old and getting bigger. We had 9 puppies to start out with and the smallest one didn't survive the first night. Then on Saturday, the next smallest one didn't make it either. It was a sad couple of days but I do believe that Mother Nature knows best and the strongest survive. Fortunately, the 7 puppies left are all doing great. Here's some pics of them at dinner time. Unfortunately for them, there's only one thing on the menu, but there seems to be an endless supply of it.

Now, ordinarily, I like to wait until the pups are a bit older before choosing the one I'd like to keep. However, my wife Tracie (aka She Who Should Be Obeyed) has taken a real liking to one particular female. So, I'm proud to present the little gal who will go by the name of "Tater".

I'm a man.......and sometimes I like a good salad!

Sometimes, we, as men, are afraid to admit that we like a good salad from time to time. I'm not sure why. But, like a good piece of meat, it's important what you cover that salad with. If you haven't noticed by now, I like to do things myself. One of my favorite things to make is a good salad dressing. There are a bunch of them out there, but, for my money, an Italian Vinaigrette rises above them all. If you haven't tried making your own, you should. I could probably teach a monkey to make this and it would still taste great. Here's what I use to make mine.

Italian Vinaigrette

3 cups of vegetable oil (you can use olive oil but be careful as it will solidify when refrigerated)

1 cup red wine vinegar

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar (no need for an expensive one here)

10 cloves pressed garlic

1 teaspoon white sugar

2 teaspoon sea or kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons basil

3 tablespoons oregano

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (optional)

You can use dried basil and oregano if you want on this but I prefer the flavor of the fresh herbs. The red pepper flakes are optional but I like the little bit of kick it gives to the salad. I especially like salads with red onions in them and this combination is great. I simply place all of the ingredients in my blender and blend away until it is thoroughly mixed. I store this in my refrigerator for about 4 weeks. Be sure to shake up before using on salad.

What I really like about this is that it doubles as an excellent meat marinade or vegetable marinade. To make this a marinade, do this:

2 cups of Italian Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1/4 cup distilled vinegar

I really like to use this on just about any type of meat but really like it on pheasant breast or any type of meat that has the opportunity to dry out easily.

Whether you like salad or not, this versatile mixture will add some great flavor to your meals and can really spice up a drab dish.

Steeler and her pups

Glazes

I've been really getting into glazes lately as I like the finished product that the glaze produces. It doesn't really matter how you get the meat to it's desired internal temp, however, when I use a glaze, I like to use a minimal amount of spices while it's cooking if using a glaze to finish. Most times, I'll use just salt and pepper while cooking and I like to throw the glaze on the meat during the last 30 minutes of the cooking process. If I'm smoking, I'll sometimes throw the glaze on during the last hour of cooking. Here are some of the glazes that I really like. These all come from the book, Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures and Glazes, by Jim Tarantino. If you don't have a copy of this book, I highly recommend getting a copy. It's worth the price by far just for the glazes.

Maple-Bourbon Glaze

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup bourbon or sour mash whiskey

1/2 cup cider vinegar

grated zest and juice of 2 juice oranges (about 1/2 cup)

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1/4 cup brown or full-flavored yellow mustard

1/4 teaspoon cayenne (I like to double this for my tastes)

1/4 cup soy or tamari sauce

In a heavy nonreactive saucepan, add the maple syrup, bourbon, vinegar, orange zest and juice, brown sugar, mustard, cayenne and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes, until reduced to 1 cup. Cool the glaze, store in a clean, airtight container, and refrigerate until ready to use. The glaze can be made ahead and will keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks. To use the glaze after refrigerating, warm it over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

I like to also add a thickening agent to this (but just a little) to give the glaze more of a sticking quality.

The next glaze that I've been using is a honey-ginger glaze that works well with chicken (or any poultry for that matter) and pork.

Honey-Ginger Glaze

grated zest and juice of 2 lemons (about 1/3 cup)

1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, chopped

Combine the lemon zest and juice, honey, mint, ginger and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until all the ingredients are blended. Store in a clean, airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. The glaze can be made ahead and will keep in the refrigerator for 1 week. To use the glaze after refrigerating, warm it over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

The recipe calls for basting during the last 5 minutes of cooking, however, I like it to be on a little longer when I'm doing my cooking. These are simple, easy to make glazes that will pack a punch of flavor to any meal. Give them a try when you just can't figure what else you might want to do with that meat.

We got our first puppy!

Steeler had her first one at about noon today. Here's a pic of the new one. More to follow as she throws them.




This one sure is a whiny one........but I love that sound!

As of 1:55 pm ET, we now have three! One black and 2 yellows!

More to come, I'm sure!

Well, at about 2:20, I went out there to find another one. This one I found was black. This one looks to be the runt of the litter so far! But, I was in for a surprise. I went out there to find that Steeler had moved the rest of the pups under the heat lamp and moved a towel over them. To my surprise, there was yet another new black puppy with the first three! So, if you're keeping score at home, we have 5 total so far with 3 black and 2 yellow!

Well, I do believe we are done at 9! 5 black and 4 yellow labs. Mom and pups are doing well, but I'm exhausted! Here's the final pic of the day with Steeler and her pups.......and you thought dinner time was tough at your house! :-) I also had to give some shameless plugs for our cats because my daughter said they would feel left out.

This is Ashley. Her and Tiger were rescue cats that someone had left in a dumpster. Now, I'm not that big of a cat fan and neither is my wife. However, these cats have grown on us and my wife hates mice and we live in the country where mice like to live. Hence, in the spirit of La Cosa Smokestra, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Tiger's pic will follow Ashley

On a sad note, the runt of the litter didn't make it through the night. I suppose Mother Nature knows best but it still doesn't make it feel any better.

Take a Stab at Slab........Smoked Homemade Bacon

This post comes with an unusual disclaimer: Do not attempt to make this unless you're willing to forgo store-bought bacon the rest of your natural life. I have a motto: Once you've made belly, the rest seems smelly. I did not heed the warnings when I was told that once I made my own bacon, I would never want store bought bacon again. I'm so glad that this was one time I didn't listen to the warnings. The bacon you can make at home is so much better than what you buy from the grocery store. And, when you do it, you'll look like a hero.


Much like buckboard bacon, there really isn't a lot to it. The hardest part is enduring the waiting period for the cure to do it's job. If you can get past that (and the wait is definitely worth it), you'll be on your way to the best bacon you've ever had.


The first thing you'll need is the centerpiece of the show. Some folks call it belly, some folks call it fresh side. Now, this piece of pork is not readily available at any grocery store that I've been to, so you'll likely have to either get it from a butcher or become friends with the butcher at a grocery store and he or she can probably order it in for you. If you're fortunate enough to live close to a hog farm, you may be able to procure some fresh side there. Either way, get some fresh side. You can get it with skin on (which is how I get it) or skin off. I usually pick it up in 2 pound increments and do about 8-10 pounds at one time.


For those who've never seen fresh side, it's a pretty cut of pork with a lot of fat and meat interwoven. Here are a couple of pieces getting ready to be rubbed down with a dry cure:






The skin is on the underside of this slab and will be left on throughout the curing and smoking process. You can use any spices you want to create any flavor you may be looking for but as with buckboard bacon, you must use 1 tablespoon of Morton's Tender Quick or a basic dry cure per pound of fresh side. For this batch, I'm simply going with 1 tablespoon Morton's Tender Quick and 2 tablespoons of dark brown sugar. I really like the dark color achieved when curing with DBS and it's really a sweet bacon flavor. After a couple of days in the cure, I'll also add some grade A dark amber maple syrup to the fresh side to sweeten it up just a bit more. Just like buckboard bacon, you'll want to rub the dry cure in well. Make sure to get the dry rub in contact with every part of the meat. I do not use the dry cure on the skin as I don't believe the dry cure will penetrate the skin. Just use it over every other meaty area and the cure will penetrate all through the bacon.







When it comes to curing the bacon, I like to go a minimum of 10 days with the fresh side tightly wrapped or vac sealed in a refrigerator at 36-40F. With this slab, I went 14 days and could go up to 21 days if I desired. However, two weeks is plenty of time to wait for bacon, so I pulled it from the cure at 14 days. As the slab is curing, you want to flip the bacon every day or every other day to redistribute the juices that will occur during the curing process. Additionally, you'll notice that the bacon will start firming up the longer it's in the cure. That's what you want to happen.


Once the slab is pulled out of the cure, you'll want to rinse off the bacon and pat it dry. I then let it rest, uncovered, in the refrigerator overnight where a sheen will appear on the bacon.









After the rest period, it's time to prepare the smoker for putting some smoke on the bacon. There are many woods that work well for bacon and this is more of a personal preference than anything. The three woods that I use the most for bacon are apple, maple and hickory. So, let's get this slab ready for smoking. When the rest period is over, get it set up on your smoking tray.

You'll want to put the bacon in the smoker for 45 minutes at 150F with no smoke rolling. After 45 minutes, bump the heat up to 200F and let the smoke roll until you reach your desired internal temperature. I take mine to 150F. When the bacon gets to the desired internal temp, I take it out of the smoker and bring it back into the house. The bacon comes out with some incredible coloring to it as seen below.

At this point, when the bacon is cool enough to handle, I remove the skin from the bacon. You can either throw it away or keep it for some pork crackling. I choose the latter. It's a delicious treat. I then vacuum seal the bacon back up for one or two days to let the smoke settle. After that, it's time to slice it up. You can certainly freeze the bacon and it will last a good time if you wrap it up good or vacuum seal it. I cut it up with a meat slicer, but you can cut this up anyway you'd like. I cut some up in long pieces for use as a side dish and then some small pieces for use in BLT's or to use as part of cooking another dish. I like to use the smoked bacon quite a bit in bean dishes as the bacon and smoke add a wonderful component to beans. But, the bacon should look something like this when you've gotten it sliced up:

If you like bacon (and who in their right mind, wouldn't?) and you like doing things yourself, you definitely need to give this a try. It is much better than any store bought bacon I've brought home from the grocery store and works well as giving me another piece of ammunition as to why my wife should keep me around a little bit longer. The biggest difference besides taste is that when cooking up a slice of bacon that you've made, you'll want to do it at a lower temperature than store bought, especially if you use a lot of sugar with your bacon. If you don't, it will burn much easier due to the higher sugar content. However, I'll take a piece of burnt homemade bacon over a piece of properly prepared store bought bacon any day of the week....and twice on Saturdays and Sundays.