I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

For some reason, pork belly is real expensive ($2.99/lb) vs fresh ham ($0.79/lb) and boneless pork loin roast ($1.89/lb), so there is no way I'll make regular bacon, but I like Canadian bacon and Tennessee country ham, too, so that's what I'll make. I suspect the pork belly is just expensive because so few places carry it.

Anyway, I picked up a brand new Brinkman Smoker for $40, and I have a yard full of Maple, Apple, Pear, Cherry and Walnut trees, that I can trim for smoking wood.

Wish me luck, and post any good recipes and tips, as this will be my 1st try at smoking anything. I have made my own peameal bacon many times, so I'm familiar with the curing process, I think.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Good luck !

I made some bacon out of a pork belly from a home killed hog we did right before Christmas....I used Morton's smoke flavored sugar/salt cure, and it came out fine...first I'd done in a long time.

When I get some time, I plan to build a proper smoke house and cool smoke pork and sausages.

You might check with any local meat processors for pork bellies.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Good luck with the smoking. Is walnut good for smoking? I don't think I'd trust it unless I had knowledge of it's use. I've got black walnut trees lining my property and the nuts are very tasty but really hard to crack.

I used to smoke jerky but my smoker burnt out. I love jerky but hate the fact that they use sodium nitrate (salt peter?) to cure it commercially.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Tough to get cheap smokers hot enough in cold weather, so I put the fish etc. in the oven for 4-5 hours at 160 degrees then finish off in the smoker outside for another 4-5 hours and don't have to worry so much about keeping the temperature up.


My smoker is just a old cedar chest sat on end with 3 metal frig shelves and a old electric aluminum frying pan to hold the smudge fire.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Here is the recipe I use for peameal bacon. I plan to use the same recipe and then smoke it to make Canadian bacon:

4 lb pork loin
5 tbsp salt
6 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp red pepper
4 tbsp maple syrup
5 cups apple cider
1 tsp Legg cure 6.25%

brine 5 days in gallon plastic bag with all air removed in fridge, remove, rinse

my plan to smoke (just got smoker today, so untested):
dry in front of fan on rack 1 hr
smoke at 165f till meat is 150f (guessing 8 hrs) using apple and maple wood

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

2 tbsp cure

What's in the cure, tb?

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Don't use the walnut, it's great in the fireplace but not for your food. Your other woods are fine and if you can use the drier pieces and the soak them in water before using them that's also better. Using them while they're green imparts a bitter taste.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Anyone have a recipe for curing a country ham?

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Its the pink stuff (Legg cure 6.25% sodium nitrite). I have one that is used for meats that will get cooked, and that is what I use for peameal bacon. The other one (Prauge powder #2 Insta cure) is for Pepperoni and other meats that don't get cooked.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

I find this thread quite interesting. I'd like to start making my own bacon & ham. In my search I came across this. http://www.chow.com/recipes/10699

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

remember its supposed to smell like a wet dog when you cook it

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Sorry, I had the qty on the cure wrong for 4-5 lbs of meat. It should be 1 tsp not 2 tbsp. I weighed it out tonight. I don't know where I got the 2 tbsp number from originally, it might have been there from when I used Mortons Tender Quick cure mix (I ran out and can't find it), because I wasn't using anywhere near as much as they recommended, but this stuff is much stronger. I may cut it in 1/2 to 1/2 tsp instead like I did with Mortons recommended amount.

PS: Found a Country Ham recipe
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/cure_sm...rginia_ham.pdf

PSS: Found a Canadian Bacon recipe (which would call for 4 tbsp tender quick per 4 lbs, which I was cutting in half)
http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?t=311

After looking at the details, it may be that the country ham is beyond my abilities.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

I always wanted to try one of those country hams, like the ones you see hanging in the stores in the south. I've heard they are very salty and it is a good idea to soak out some of the salt before you eat it. Gotta keep the little critters at bay somehow.

My old German neighbor had a stone smoke house on his place. It's still there but he died a few years back. I miss him. He made some very fine smoked meats. Best suasage I've ever had.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

I love the taste of country ham, and it seems to keep forever. I've never seen it around here in the stores, though. The problem making my own is that I don't have a smoker capable of cold smoking, much less one that could do it for weeks on end. I guess I'll just have to keep buying them one at a time whenever I go south far enough to see one in a store. I may try a city ham, though, just to see if I can do better than store bought.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Canadian bacon batch started. Please note I adjusted the recipe above to taste as follows. It will be spicier and a bit sweeter, and with only 1/2 the std amount of cure used. Also a little less expensive because I reduced the cider and maple syrup a little, removed the brown sugar, and added molasses and more white sugar instead. I basically kept adding and tasting till I liked it, LOL. This should be a lot more flavorful than the peameal, especially after smoking. Next time I will omit the water and add 1 more cup cider, and make the brine with 2 cups of cider instead of water, and cool it with 2 more. I ended up with about 1 cup more brine than needed.

6 lb pork loin trimmed of most fat

mix/heat brine:
2 cups water
6 tbsp salt
6 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1/2 tsp Legg cure #1 6.25%

add to cool:
2 tbsp maple syrup
3 cups apple cider

will brine 7 days in gallon plastic bag with all air removed in fridge, remove, rinse

plan to smoke (just got smoker today, so untested):
dry in front of fan on rack 1 hr
smoke at 165f till meat is 150f (guessing 8 hrs) using fresh cut green apple and maple wood

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

I cured/smoked a pork loin for Easter last year and it came out really nicely.
Used a cheap-o smoker and apple wood.
Served right out of the smoker it was the best 'ham' I have ever had.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Apple wood makes stuff taste delicious. Mulberry wood also works, as do ash, hickory, oak,.....

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Well, the pork loins should be done curing today, so I'll be assembling the smoker and trimming apple and maple trees today, and smoking them tomorrow.

I also got some "Pork Rib Bellys" for $1.69/lb, but didn't realize they actually have about 1/6th ribs in them. I think if I cut that part off, its what they sell in the store as Rib Ends. I also noticed that the belly part is meaty compared to most bacon you get at the store, but its obviously bacon, and I'm guessing the whole piece comes off the belly forward of where the bacon comes from. Anyone ever used this before? I cut the rib ends section off and put all of it in the cure, and plan to cure 3 or 4 days, and then will smoke it the same as I'm doing the loins. I imagine I'll use the rib ends to flavor some beans or soup or something?

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Smoked the loins with all apple wood and they came out pretty tasty, just based on tasting a thin slice. It didn't come out sweet or apple tasting like I had expected based on the brine, but it does at least taste as good as any you'd get from a deli case.

I wasn't very happy with the electric smoker, though. It has no temp gauge and the temp appears to be completely uncontrollable. It was over 200f and so I couldn't smoke them for 8 hrs like I had planned.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

this is the smoker i got it the best i have every used . i also got the add on fire box . it help to make it hot or cooler when your smoking http://www.lowes.com/pd_298234-69560..._?cm_cr=Grills and Outdoor Cooking-_-Web Activity-_-Grills and Outdoor Cooking_A1_Activity-_-SC_Grills Outdoor Cooking_Area1-_-17658_2 . when i got this one i told the guy they have it at walmart and they match the price and it cost me 129.00

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Well, I'll try to figure a way to fix what I have. Looks to me like its at about 250f or so, which might be fine for grilling, but too hot to smoke anything.

I may try to rig a used electric skillet thermostat control to cycle the power. I'm not looking to spend a lot of money on it.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

Well, the bacon turned out real good, too, but if I was to do it again, I'd remove the rind before slicing. If you cook the bacon a long time the rind isn't a problem, but it takes a buch of cooking to get it from tough to crisp.

Also cured and smoked some fish. Got some smelts and tried it. They taste good, as good as the King Oscar sardines, but were a bit tough, and too salty. I put them in olive oil with a few chile peppers, and will let them set a while in the fridge and try them again in a week or two on unsalted Matso crackers. Next time I'll cut the salt and sugar in half, LOL. Net - Net they cost about 1/2 the price of the cheapest sardines you don't really want to eat, which puts them at less than 1/4 the price of the good King Oscar ones, so its definitely a success from that standpoin, but they will only keep in the fridge or freezer or matbe if you dried them instead, so not so great, prep wise.

Re: I'm gonna cure and smoke pork loin and tennessee country ham
 

At a resale shop for $5 I found a smaller 925 watt tabletop grill with a removable heater element which will fit where the 1500 watt element is now. That should get the temperature down to a more reasonable level for smoking and at the same time reduce power consumption by more than 1/3, while still creating smoke.

I'll try it on another batch of pork belly this weekend... I bought a bunch of it for $1.69 and froze it when it was on sale.

Recipe for the best bacon you ever tasted...

1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

mix well and coat the slices with it, and put in a 325 to 350f oven till crisp, turning after 15 min and going another 10 to 25 min after that depending on temp and thickness

Man is that GOOD!