Cured smoked beef...

[lannyman8]

for 2 weeks now my beef has been doing its thing, 1 week in brine solution, and then 1 week in a salt sugar mix drawing of moisture. Im just smoking it now, once this has been done im going to air dry it for a while to see what the result is...

Im using the patio wood heater to smoke with, im trying to smoke as cold as possible but its not doing great as its quite hot...

I just made a very small fire & keep putting water on it to keep it cool. Ish....

Anyways, a few pics, will do a final 1 when the beefs done....

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[lannyman8]

The beef was a rolled roasting joint by the way, it should have been topside or rump though, sirloin if your minted....

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[lannyman8]

Oh my god, this beef has turned out awesome, the meat has quite alot of fat in it so is a bit moist in places but its fat not juice so its fine....

I just hope I can resist scoffing the whole lot right now, its saltey smokey goodness ready for a trip in the summer, if it lasts that long....

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[lannyman8]

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[Totumpole]

Oh dear god that looks amazing!!! I must go locate some beef to eat right now... good thing I bought a steak for pudding
Did it really dry through the whole joint?
Ive opted to uses the cheapo roasting joints for my Biltong as well, and downgraded from cyder to malt vinegar - still as tasty, and really doesnt last once its done (or even before its done)

 

[lannyman8]

the meat has dried very well but the fat has stayed moist from the smoking part, it should be all good, i have not cut it through yet but the amount of salt it had should more than do the job of killing any thing nasty.

think i will spend more on topside or rump next time though...

regards.

chris.

 

[bushwacker bob]

If you want a cooler smoke try just putting a few embers in a pile of your chosen wood sawdust and a couple of handfulls on top.

 

[Adze]

Looks blinding mate - *applause*!

 

[Totumpole]

I find the tesco value roasting joints are quite lean, they are the ones with a big slab of dripping on top to add moisture when you roast. Usually only have one grstly mebrane through the middle and little fat.
This stuff I think:
http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=253230568

I get more that I can fit in my drying box for about £6.

 

[Rod Paradise]

Nice job, but it'd be difficult to impossible keeping the heat down with so many airholes in the side of the woodheater. Even hot-smoking I'd only have a couple of square cm of airgap in an oildrum smoker.

If you really want cold smoking one of these:

the Pro-Q cold smoke generator does a really good job. You can even cold smoke in a cardboard box.

 

[sparkplug]

Was going to suggest sawdust to keep heat down, but as that's already been suggested I'll use my other tip which is really obvious when you think about it:

Put your sawdust in an old biscuit tin with a couple of holes punched in the sides, drop a couple of hot embers in and watch it smoke. Put the lid back on the tin - but only after having cut a big hole in the top over which you've put a flexible hose from a tumble drier (about £10 from DIY shops). I secure mine with packing tape or gaffer tape. The other end of this hose connects to the bottom of a second box which can be as simple as a large cardboard box. The second box has a hole in the top to let the smoke escape (one inch ish should be enough, maybe two) and some kind of door that allows you to put your food in.

You can poke a stick right the way through the box to hang your meat from, or you can poke a series of sticks through to form a grill to put the meat on top of.

Place the second box on something to make it higher than the fire to help draw the smoke.

Your smoke will be perfectly cold and you can control your fire without losing all the smoke from the smoking chamber. You can even introduce flavours such as rosemary or bay leaf by placing some herbs on the embers.

***A word of caution*** Cold smoking meat and fish can create the perfect conditions for nasty things like botchulism so please please please look up what you need to do proper brining to kill bacteria. If you want to have a go without these risks then try smoking cheese (cheddar, gouda, that sort of thing works well), whole bulbs of garlic, cashew nuts (surprised me!).

Read up and enjoy!

 

[Rod Paradise]

Was going to suggest sawdust to keep heat down, but as that's already been suggested I'll use my other tip which is really obvious when you think about it:

Put your sawdust in an old biscuit tin with a couple of holes punched in the sides, drop a couple of hot embers in and watch it smoke. Put the lid back on the tin - but only after having cut a big hole in the top over which you've put a flexible hose from a tumble drier (about £10 from DIY shops). I secure mine with packing tape or gaffer tape. The other end of this hose connects to the bottom of a second box which can be as simple as a large cardboard box. The second box has a hole in the top to let the smoke escape (one inch ish should be enough, maybe two) and some kind of door that allows you to put your food in.

You can poke a stick right the way through the box to hang your meat from, or you can poke a series of sticks through to form a grill to put the meat on top of.

Place the second box on something to make it higher than the fire to help draw the smoke.

Your smoke will be perfectly cold and you can control your fire without losing all the smoke from the smoking chamber. You can even introduce flavours such as rosemary or bay leaf by placing some herbs on the embers.

***A word of caution*** Cold smoking meat and fish can create the perfect conditions for nasty things like botchulism so please please please look up what you need to do proper brining to kill bacteria. If you want to have a go without these risks then try smoking cheese (cheddar, gouda, that sort of thing works well), whole bulbs of garlic, cashew nuts (surprised me!).

Read up and enjoy!

Good advice.

You can also do smoked salt - which can add a nice smokey flavour to anything else you add it to.

Persoanlly I'm more into the hot-smoking BBQ style - love smoked brisket or smoked ribs. Weather's improving so the smoker'll be getting a runout soon.

 

[Totumpole]

Was going to suggest sawdust to keep heat down, but as that's already been suggested I'll use my other tip which is really obvious when you think about it:

Put your sawdust in an old biscuit tin with a couple of holes punched in the sides, drop a couple of hot embers in and watch it smoke. Put the lid back on the tin - but only after having cut a big hole in the top over which you've put a flexible hose from a tumble drier (about £10 from DIY shops). I secure mine with packing tape or gaffer tape. The other end of this hose connects to the bottom of a second box which can be as simple as a large cardboard box. The second box has a hole in the top to let the smoke escape (one inch ish should be enough, maybe two) and some kind of door that allows you to put your food in.

You can poke a stick right the way through the box to hang your meat from, or you can poke a series of sticks through to form a grill to put the meat on top of.

Place the second box on something to make it higher than the fire to help draw the smoke.

Your smoke will be perfectly cold and you can control your fire without losing all the smoke from the smoking chamber. You can even introduce flavours such as rosemary or bay leaf by placing some herbs on the embers.

***A word of caution*** Cold smoking meat and fish can create the perfect conditions for nasty things like botchulism so please please please look up what you need to do proper brining to kill bacteria. If you want to have a go without these risks then try smoking cheese (cheddar, gouda, that sort of thing works well), whole bulbs of garlic, cashew nuts (surprised me!).

Read up and enjoy!

Tis indeed good advice. Think I might have to give it a go. Cheers for the inspiration Chris, and to all other contributors for the advice.

 

[lannyman8]

thanks gents, i have loads of smoking bits at work a cold smoker and hot smoker, but would not risk leaving anything there now as all my kit gets robbed all the time and the area has been trashed....

i just improvised with what i had at home, work is also a 20 mile round trip....

the beef smells sooooooooo goood, not sure it will last till summer....

regards.

chris.

 

[TurboGirl]

Mmmm looking for ideas for a meet at the end of April which is gives me plenty of time to brine.... excellent option! Does yours use salt petre, Chris? Is it a wet or dry brine?

 

[lannyman8]

sorry TG just seen this, i started or by getting my meat trimming it up, get a whole joint if possible not a rolled joint, remove as much fat as possible....

make a salt solution with salt peter and normal table cheepey salt, about 1/3 salt peter 2/3 table salt, thats not a recipe i looked at, its just what i did...

you need enough water to cover the meat, add the salts and dissolve in the water, just keep adding salt until you cant dissolve any more in the liquid, a small amount will be left in the bottom of the bowl.

wash your meat off under the tap and get rid of all the blood, the meat should have been rested in the fridge for as long as possible, this allows the flavour to mature, and the blood to flow out, 28 days is good but this does not need to be done 2 or 3 would do fine...

place your meat in the salt solution, because its a solution the meat will float (weird i know but it will), place a plate or bowl on top to keep it down, then wrapfast the lot to keep it covered and the plate down...leave it in the fridge for adleast 1 week, turn the meat from time to time so it all gets a good soaking...

when its done after a week or so, the meat should turn hard like a salami sausage type thing, drain of the liquid and dry it on a cloth as best as possible, now mix salt with sugar (soft light brown is best), put the meat on a plate or tray, put the salt sugar mix on the tray and over the meat, leave it wrapped in the fridge again, check every day that the mix is dry, if its wet or damp/sticky remove it and add some dry mix...leave it for another week doing this, you should not need to change the mix very often though, maybe 1 or 2 times...

now you are ready to air dry or smoke, what every you want to do, but basically the meat is done...the salt should have soaked into the meat changing the PH of the meat stopping the growth of any bacteria, drying and smoking just adds to the process, making it even safer....

i have another 3 bits in the fridge now, i might even get some more in next week...

my first bit is nearly all gone, i just cant resist it, its just the best meat i have ever tasted, smokey salty goodness......

best of luck TG

 

[lannyman8]

Just for TG...

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[Robbi]

Chris, that looks the mutts mate !!

 

[lannyman8]

the beef is awesome... the first picture in the original outside, the second is where it has been cut and left for about 7-10 days, you can see the salt has started to dry, and the third is a small fresh slice cut off, nice and pink inside...

nom nom nom....

 

[Harvestman]

Stop now, please. Its a quarter to midnight and I'm salivating uncontrollably.

Just stop.