This is the final post about the pig I swear! We made up a rub rather than a brine. It was a combination of maple syrup, a TON of salt, and brown sugar. Maine Man rubbed it on and we kept it in the fridge for 7 days flipping daily.
We came up with a couple smokers. The above one was borrowed from some friends, Mike & Bea (THANKS SO MUCH!)
And this one came from my dads, he had it in storage for many years.
Thankfully we had M&B's because this one did not work. That was a real bummer because I really loved the look of this one. What year do you guess this came from? I still have the booklet downstairs so I will check and see.
This is a rather fatty piece of bacon that we actually kept as a salt pork. Unfortunately the only one that I took a picture of. We had to soak the bacon for a couple hours prior too smoking to get some of the saltiness out. After rinsing the rub off the meat MM soaked it for an hour then cooked a piece repeating this cycle until we felt it was not too salty.
Processing the pig ourselves was well worth it and we will do again. We have sampled everything we put up and it is SOOO good! Since we do not have a whole lot of deer hamburg left I have found the ground pork has been a great substitute. So for I have used it in spaghetti, chili, tacos, and plan to make a meatloaf with it over the weekend. Before now I never thought to use this way before.
This is a rather fatty piece of bacon that we actually kept as a salt pork. Unfortunately the only one that I took a picture of. We had to soak the bacon for a couple hours prior too smoking to get some of the saltiness out. After rinsing the rub off the meat MM soaked it for an hour then cooked a piece repeating this cycle until we felt it was not too salty.Processing the pig ourselves was well worth it and we will do again. We have sampled everything we put up and it is SOOO good! Since we do not have a whole lot of deer hamburg left I have found the ground pork has been a great substitute. So for I have used it in spaghetti, chili, tacos, and plan to make a meatloaf with it over the weekend. Before now I never thought to use this way before.
It looks delicious! We just cooked a ham last week from our friend's pig, and it was amazing, and he did not cure it himself -- I can only imagine that would make it even better. Home cured bacon.... I'll be over for breakfast tomorrow ;-)
ReplyDeleteWow! I thought there would be more to it. Not sure if we will get more piggies this year since we still have a freezer full. But next time, I am so making bacon!!!!
ReplyDeletePS: I love the look of that smoker too...vintage! Maybe you can find someone who can get it running again. :0)
Looks good! It's a great feeling to do it yourself. I'm looking forward to our next hogs with a lot less anxiety about all that's involved this time.
ReplyDeleteRon
This whole process of processing a pig, is so interesting. Especially as you have illustrated and documented it! Thanks for sharing, Ma'am!
ReplyDeleteGreat job. We have a smoker that I can't wait to start using again this year. We've got all those ribs from our half a cow and I'm just drooling thinking about it. We also made our own chipotle peppers with the excess from the garden. They're great for putting in chili.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing mid 60's for the smoker. I second the idea of seeing if you can somehow get it working again.
Judy
Mmmmmm...bacon bacon bacon!
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome! I never met smoked food I didn't love...this looks perfect!
ReplyDeleteYUM! Thank you for sharing this whole process with us....
ReplyDeleteThat looks delicious! I bet you guys are getting more pigs :)
ReplyDeleteThought you might enjoy this blog... she moved to WV and is establishing a farm..it's called Chickens in the Road
ReplyDeletehttp://suzannemcminn.com/blog/
Oh, that picture makes me so hungry! Looks delicious! I love the look of that smoker, too. You really should see about getting someone to fix it.
ReplyDeleteWonderful Blog.
ReplyDeleteYou can by replacement parts for your old smoker at:
http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/smokers/
there are more parts on the next page
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS!!! WE WILL TRY AND FIGURE OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE SMOKER AND REPAIR IF REPAIRABLE WHEN MORE TIME ALLOWS. PROBABLY NEAR WINTER AT THIS RATE. THE OWNER'S MANUAL IS DATED 1978.
ReplyDeleteHB, WE HOPE TO DO HAMS UP NEXT TIME AROUND. YOUR RIGHT THE MEAT IS AMAZING! C'MON OVER!!
SB, I THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE MORE TOO IT AS WELL.
NITA, WE HAVE 2 PIGS THAT WE HOPE ARE PREGNANT.
SQ, THANKS FOR THE BLOG LINK, I WILL CHECK OUT!
GW, THANKS THAT WAS REAL SWEET OF YOU. ALSO THANKS FOR THE LINK, I WILL LOOK INTO IT.