Meat Sales

[Mid-Lake Rock]

Just a heads up-they are the enhanced ones.

I bought a bunch last year and didn't really like them-a lttle too hammy.

Make sure you use a rub that doesn't contain salt.

I agree that they can be salty. The price is great at $1.79/lb. When I buy these for the price, I will rinse them under cold water for a few minutes and let them sit for a little bit before applying my rub. It helps. I wish they would just vacuum pack them without the solution.

[eyeguy 54]

The rack I made yesterday was outstanding. Not salty at all. Wife took 2 leftover pieces to work for lunch and the other teachers wanted it. LOL

[SkunkedAgain]

I picked up three racks last night. Still on sale for $1.79/lb with babybacks for $2.99/lb

I like BBs but for double the price I don't think that you get double the flavor or taste, and certainly not double the meat

[fishing tech]

Target in CG didn't have any out. I ask a worker and he says oh ya we have 6 crates of them in back. So I got 3. I might have to go back. under $7 a rack.

[McGurk]

Snagged 6 racks of STL cut racks at Target tonight. Freezer is filling up!

[Kyhl]

Von Hanson's has a buy two get one free coupon out. Still more expensive at $3.99/lb after the coupon discount but they aren't enhanced.

[Alagnak]

I was just in Rainbow a few minutes ago and they actually have baby backs on sale for 1.99- limit one rack. Might have to make a stop on the way home and grab another and I'll have a few baby racks to go with the 1.79 target fat racks. When I get the smoker going, I like to fill er up. :-)

[Leaky]

Got to get to those Target stores in the morning. I've been jumping around and have picked up a dozen. Some stores have em, some don't. Some have nice ones and some are all fat (leaving them at the store) Not done yet.

[OnAFly]

I plan on hitting up the Blaine store this afternoon. Anyone know if they have them there?

Anyone seen any good deals on pork butts? I haven't made one is a long time and I'm gettin the itch.

[Alagnak]

I will say- after further inspection that the baby back racks I got at Rainbow hardly have any meat on them- all bone. The first one i bought i was on lunch break and in a hurry and the 2nd one the wife picked up and didn't pay any attention to that. The Target ones (if picked through for less fatty ones) look 10x more meaty. I personally like the big racks more. I just have to spend a little more time trimming and cleaning them up.

[JeremyCampbell]

Save a lot in saint cloud has some good ribs too.Real cheap and lots of meat on bones.They sometimes have these t-bones 3 of them for 15bucks

[MuleShack]

stocked up on charcoal at Lowes this weekend.

$9.99 for 2 - 20lb bags.

I thought it was cheap at sams club for $18 for 40 lbs but this is really cheap.

[SkunkedAgain]

The babyback ribs at my local Rainbow were not on sale last night, but the regular listed price was $2.99lb which is still a good price. No limit

[OnAFly]

Did you happen to see the price on pork butts?

[frogtosser]

Sams in Sartell had baby back ribs for $2.88/lb they r good and meaty too

[Leaky]

Pork Loins @ Rainbow for $1.98. Gotta grab one tomorrow.

[DonBo]

Can't pass up those pork loins!

[OnAFly]

Looks like im hitting up rainbow tomorrow.

[BLACKJACK]

Love them pork loins!!! Almost all meat, I normally save a couple of small roasts out of the end pieces, cut the rest up in to thick loin steaks, and vacumn pack them up 5-6 to a package, great for a quick after work meal on the grill. The roasts can be baked or also cooked on the grill.

This has got me hungry, may take one out of the freezer for this weekend!!

[DonBo]

Love them pork loins!!! Almost all meat, I normally save a couple of small roasts out of the end pieces, cut the rest up in to thick loin steaks, and vacumn pack them up 5-6 to a package, great for a quick after work meal on the grill. The roasts can be baked or also cooked on the grill.

That's exactly what I do with them. The chops are awesome smoked for about an hour, then fished on the grill.

[KEN W]

I also buy loins.I make Canadian bacon out of a good size chunk each time I buy one.

[Leaky]

Been making a lot of home made pizza lately. Can't believe how expensive Canadian Bacon is. Going to give that a whirl with 1/2 of the 10 lber I picked up. Where's RH when you need him?

[OnAFly]

Soak that thing in water overnight before you make bacon out of it. They put that salt solution in them which doesn't allow your cure to work properly.

I've done this with the "enhanced" pork and it seems to work.

[KEN W]

Here is Third Eyes recipe for Canadian Bacon.I usually use Hi Mountain Buckboard Bacon mix.Works every time.Just be sure you do the soak out.Otherwise is can be a little salty.

Per ONE pound of pork loin or boneless pork butt:

1 Tablespoon of Tender quick

1 teaspoon of brown sugar

Amount of cure is based on weight, and should not be eyeballed. Cure time is based on thickness of the item, and they will range up to 10 days for a butt, 5 or 6 days for a loin and 4 or 5 days for a tenderloin. I have full instructions as we progress in this thread.

Don't discount the Hi Mountain Buckboard. It is a superb product, it's pre mixed and ready to go, and packaged in 3 pouches each one for 8 pounds of meat. This kit comes with good instructions, but I have made some modifications as Hi Mountain's instructions are written for a box type smoker, and I use charcoal smokers.

Mix up your cure and measure the amount of cure based on the weight of your meat. Don't use less than the amount of cure called for, it's okay if you go a little heavy on the measurement. I usually buy the whole loins (these will be in the 8 to 9 pound range), and cut them into half or into thirds.

Sprinkle the meat with a little black pepper. Rub on the cure and massage into the meat. Place the loin in a plastic "zipper bag", then place in your refrigerator. the cure time will be 6 days. After a day or so you will notice some liquid in the bag. This liquid will act as a brine, so don't pour it out. It may be re-absorbed by the meat after 3 days. Every day you need to turn the bag(s) over so that the brine can come in to contact with all the meat. The ideal temperature for your refrigerator is 38° to 40°.

After 6 days, Rinse the cured meat under the kitchen faucet. Next, soak the cured meat in cold fresh water (changing the water at least once) in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours, or up to 6 or 8 hours if you are salt conscious, then drain and dry. The "soak-out" allows the fresh water to replace some of the harshness of the salt that the meat has absorbed. I use 2 gallon buckets for the soak-out, but zipper bags will work for this too. The soak-out takes place in the refrigerator

Following the soak-out, blot the loin dry and add another sprinkle of black pepper, then rest in the refrigerator from 2 hours to overnight, the longer the better. The rest allows the cure to disperse more evenly. In curing circles the rest is referred to as "equalization". The equalization step is very important.

Smoke the cured pork until the internal temperature is 140° to 150°. I like to keep my smoker temp around 200° to start with, and will let it creep up to 225° after an hour or so. Use a gentle smoke. Apple, cherry, or maple are good wood choices. Now you have Canadian style or Buckboard bacon. If after 4 hours, your internal temperature has not reached 140° to 150°, just transfer the loins into a 225° oven and finish it off there. You will already have good color and good smoke on the meat, the oven finish just gets the meat into the safe zone.

My typical timeline for smoking loins on a Saturday is to start the process the Saturday before:

Saturday: start to cure the loins

Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu: turn the zipper bags daily

Friday: rinse the loins and soak-out for 8 hours

Friday evening: dry and rest the loins overnight

Saturday: smoke the loins

To prepare for eating, just rest for an hour, slice it and try it out. You can lightly fry, microwave, bake or grill it. Since this cure is not a preservation cure, the bacon needs to be stored in your refrigerator. It will keep for 4 or 5 days. Just treat it like ham. Since buckboard bacon is so much lower in fat than belly bacon it cooks much faster. If you want to slice it for packaging and freezing, let it chill overnight first.

[Leaky]

Sweet! Thank you. I knew this was out there somewhere, but the search function here sucks. Just save this page into favorites.

I'm a little confused with the recipe, though. Is the Hi Mountain Buckboard in addition to the tenderquick or is it a brand of tenderquick? And where can one find this brand?