Smoking Cures

[fishhuntwork]

I just took the smoker out of the box. I was wondering if someone can give me some info on some good cures and rubs. I'm going to smoke a pork butt first and then go from there.

[eyeguy 54]

look at the top of this page of threads :>)

[OnAFly]

Search the words Canadian Bacon and Pastrami. The words Tender Quick and you'll probably find something too.

[thirdeye]

Well, since it's fresh out of the box I would stick to smoking fresh meat (barbecuing), before smoking cured meats. The reason I worded my answer so awkwardly is that you will find that most folks use the word "smoking", but it can mean several different things. Then you will hear cold smoking, and hot smoking.

Examples of smoking fresh meat would be a butt (pork shoulder, Boston butt), a brisket, some ribs, etc. You can also call this barbecuing, but when you do..... some folks will get that term confused with grilling. (a brisket is barbecued, burgers and steaks are grilled)

Examples of smoking cured meats would be some sausages, ham, bacon, pastrami (smoked corned beef) etc.

Examples of cold smoking would be cheese, lox, some nuts.

Examples of hot smoking would be some sausage, fish (cured or not cured) and the like.

Your pork butt is a good choice for a first cook, as would be a rack of ribs. Bear in mind that a butt will take some time to cook tender, but it will be worth it. As far as a rub, even salt and pepper is good on a butt. I often use garlic pepper as a base for other rubs. Here is a rub I recommend often. You can adjust anything to suit your taste.

No Sugar Rub – A traditional rub for low and slow cooks of brisket, beef ribs, pork ribs and butts. The lack of sugar does not promote premature browning during long cooks.

Ingredients:

3T Hungarian paprika

4t sea salt (2t fine, 2t coarse)

2t garlic salt

1 - 1/2 t cayenne

4t black pepper

4t chili powder (top hat)

4t garlic powder

4t onion powder

2t cumin

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly

This one has sugar, the Turbinado (or natural sugar) won't burn as easily as regular sugar):

Rib Rub - Good rub on pork ribs or butts

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika

2 tablespoons garlic salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground green pepper

1 teaspoon lemon pepper

1 teaspoon ground cayenne

2 tablespoons Turbinado sugar

2 teaspoons fine ground sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 tablespoon ground ginger

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

[reinhard1]

thanks Third Eye, for that very informative post. it's very much appreciated. good luck.

[Gordie]

I use paprika to help with the color when using natural casings. it will help give it that red color that everyone seems to desire for their meats.

I like to use tender quick on some of my smoked stuff but I'm useing more cure (sodium nitrate) these days to keep the salt taste down.

I like hickory for fish and some of the pork I do

Apple and cherry are really good on just about any thing

I have even used oak on goose jerky but you really have to go light on it as it tends to leave bitterness if you use to much. I will use a small chunk of oak for about a half hour of smoke right away when I start smoking.

I think it really helps with the goose jerky that I do.

I also like maple when I can get it.

[reinhard1]

when smoking sausage i use prague powder [i think that's what you probably are saying when you say sodium nitrate]. this alone will give you that redish color. paprika will add to the color for sure especialy in fresh sausage where no cure is used. tenderquick is a mix of salt,sugar, and sodium nitrates. this also contributes to development of color.

i use tenderquick mainly in my jerky. if you use high mountain or nesco brand of jerky seasoning, the little packets that come with the seasonings [cure packets] contain tenderquick. if you use your own recipes for jerky and one of the ingredients is salt, omit the salt and just use the tenderquick correctly measured for the batch. all cures must be correctly measured to work as intended. seasonings you can vary, but not cures.

prague powder[instacure] is the pink stuff that you use in sausage for cooking or smoking. it has a higher percentage of sodium nitrate than tenderquick so less is required per pound of meat in a batch.

tenderquick: one level tablespoon per pound of meat.

prague powder: one ounce per 25 pounds of meat

good luck.

[fishhuntwork]

Just threw my first pork butt on the smoker. I hope it turns out, I used the rub listed above but modified it slightly. I will let all of you know in about 6 hrs or so. Thanks again for all of your help!

[OnAFly]

6 hours sounds short for a pork butt. It depends on size, but the 4-5 pounders I would do took more like 10 hours. I've got a couple 8 pounders in the freezer waiting for a BBQ this summer. I think I'll be starting those the night before the BBQ.

[fishhuntwork]

Its been in since 10:30 this morning, just checked a temp it was 150 degrees. I've been smoking it at 225 all day. Target temp I think is 180-190 for sandwichs.

[reinhard1]

at 225 or 250 it should take longer than 6 hours [usualy around 10 hours for me]. if you want to slice the butt, 180 or maby 190 would be the temp. but for pulling [shredding] 200 deg would be the goal [plus at least one hour resting time,sometimes 2 hours]. the resting time is usualy taking the butt off the smoker and wrapping it in double foil and then in a towel and placing it in a cooler to let the juices stay inside the butt and further breaking down the meat. this is for a butt around 8 pounds or so.

we dont all have the same smokers or methods of doing things so your butt may turn out fine the way you like it. just throwing ideas out there just in case. good luck.

[fishhuntwork]

So the report on my first butt is it could of been worse or better. I learned that most of you were right. Low and slow would be the way to go. I left it in there about 7 and half hrs, let it rest for about a half hour. The final temp was 170, next I will let it go longer and possibly use diff wood. Thanks for the rub recipe, I used it as a base then added a few other things. It had a great bark.

[thirdeye]

So the report on my first butt is it could of been worse or better. I learned that most of you were right. Low and slow would be the way to go. I left it in there about 7 and half hrs, let it rest for about a half hour. The final temp was 170, next I will let it go longer and possibly use diff wood. Thanks for the rub recipe, I used it as a base then added a few other things. It had a great bark.

So, what you are saying is....it's bark was better than it's bite. Hehehee. Sorry couldn't resist that one. Maybe I missed it if you posted the weight, but you need some mass to work with. A 6 to 9 pound bone-in butt is a good size. In that range, I plan on 2 hours per pound when cooking at 240° to 260°. I try to buy 8 pound ones and plan on 14 to 16 hours of cook time. Then I rest at least 2 hours wrapped in foil in a cooler full of wadded up newspaper.

Like Reinhard mentioned, 180° would have given you sliceable meat, but I'm afraid that your temp of 170° caught the butt early in the plateau, which is when the collagen is being converted to gelatin. This is the time that makes the meat both tender and moist. (if your meat was a little stringy and greasy, it just needed to cook longer) Try and finish your butt close to 200°, and probe it for tenderness or wiggle the bone to see if it's ready to slip out. Sometimes they will be so tender it takes both hands to get it off the pit.

[OnAFly]

Lots of first tries with the smoker don't necessarily turn out as good as you'd hope. Bring it to 200 and it will be fine. That bump from 170 to 200 takes a long, long time.

[pikestabber]

When do you use the meat probe on a pork butt (or anything for that matter)? Do you put it in when you begin the process and leave it in the whole time? Check it periodically only? Something else?

Also, how long during a, say, 12-14 hour smoke job do you actually put smoke to the meat? I know it's a preference of smoke flavor, etc., but in general what do some of you do?

Thanks for any answers in advance.

[reinhard1]

i leave the probe in the whole time, being carefull not to put it near the bone. usualy lay the butt fat side up and right down the center from one end. check Third Eye's post up a few posts on this thread and others for more ideas on a butt.

the time of smoke vary's as you said with prefrence. i generaly use smoke half the cooking time. good luck.

[OnAFly]

I'm about the same. Put the probe in and monitor temp the whole time. you can see the different stages, the initial increase in temp, the stall, and the final temp increase. I'll smoke about half the time as well for pork butts. Other stuff might vary. You kind of get a feel for it after a while.

[thirdeye]

When do you use the meat probe on a pork butt (or anything for that matter)? Do you put it in when you begin the process and leave it in the whole time? Check it periodically only? Something else?

Also, how long during a, say, 12-14 hour smoke job do you actually put smoke to the meat? I know it's a preference of smoke flavor, etc., but in general what do some of you do?

Thanks for any answers in advance.

Regarding the meat probe thermometer, there are several styles... I use the cable style that has a receiver that sits outside your cooker. (I even have a fancy wireless one with a remote unit too) For things that I want to never overcook, like a prime rib, I use the probe during the entire cook. Something like a butt or brisket that is going to cook 12 hours or more, I wait and put the probe in toward the end of the cook. But, I would recommend that any younger barbecuist use that probe on your first 4 or 5 long cooks just so you know how your pit performs, and how pit temp and meat temp interact. It's also fun to watch the temp stall (or plateau) happen so you can appreciate all your time and effort. One other thing the cable thermometers are handy for is monitoring the pit temp. I have an alligator clip that can mount to my cooking grate and then I know the actual pit temp I'm cooking at.

Regarding the smoke, my cookers have good size fireboxes and I mix some chips and splits of wood into the charcoal at different levels so that during the cooking, when the fire grows it finds some new wood.