Jonty

Folks, I’m after some help or suggestions if possible. I’d like to make some hinges for a smoker in the same format as those in the picture. Basically I need either 10mm or 12mm bar and then some 10mm ID or 12mm ID tube. The only tube I seem to be able to find is quite thin walled at 1mm or 1.5mm. Ideally I could do with at least 3mm if possible. I’m no fabricator so I apart from some random googling, I don’t really know where to look. With the amount of seasoned fettlers on here, I was hoping someone might be able to point me in the right direction of a supplier who might be able to help me out. thanks in advance

Oh my word… that looks amazing islandgun - you must be really pleased with that!

I have the very same smoker Islandgun - mine is taking a break at the moment because the element packed in and I've not got round to fixing it yet - I must pull my finger out. You definitely can smoke a ham on that - its got a perfect temperature range. You'd want to set it at 110C-120C and cook the ham to a minimum internal temperature of 65C (cooking to the internal temp is far more accurate that trying to guess minutes a pound etc). You can cook it to 70C or above depending on your taste/texture preferences but 65 will do it for me. When the internal temp hits about 60C, some wizardry occurs within the meat (all meat) and it wont absorb anymore smoke after that temp, so you can save adding woodchips at that point as they wont have any effect. For cuts of meat, anything from the leg or shoulder will work - I think leg is the more traditional. If you go for shoulder, ask for a solid piece, I've found a lot of shoulder is rolled and tied and turns into strands if you cut the string. Are you looking at dry curing (dry rub) or wet curing (immersed in brine) ? Also, you mentioned you have Prague Powder, there are two types #1 and #2. You want #1 for ham and bacon - anything that you cook, and #2 is used for uncooked things such as parma ham or salami. It's important to get the right one as they are not interchangeable. I'm looking forward to seeing your results!!

Thanks Dave - for your confidence 👍 @islandgun bacon and ham are very similar, the technique is the same, it’s just a different cut of meat. I’ve made a good few hams, wet brined and dry brined, I’d be happy to help you out with whatever you are wanting to achieve. Curing is pretty simple really - I’d be glad to assist.

I hope this sounds the way it was intended - in our house we’d call that a ‘smug meal’ …. Tucking into something that you’ve had so much involvement in makes it taste far, far better. I always try to remember that when I’m dragging a red when I’m knee deep in a bog 😀. Having my own pig is on my wish list - you’re a lucky bloke to be involved in that whole field to table process with your own food 👍

if you roll belly bacon and wrap in cling film then part freeze you can slice it pretty well

👍

Hi Dave I would gladly make you a batch an put it in the post if you like. But if you wanted to make it yourself, it's very easy. The method I use is called equilibrium curing - you use a set percentage weight of salt etc per the weight of the meat which means that you cannot over cure/over salt the bacon. Basically the chemistry of the salt means it wants to be equal on both the inside and outside of the meat, so the meat will absorb the salt until there's the same amount inside the meat as on the outside. If you just whacked a load of salt on the meat, it would keep absorbing it and you end up with overly salty bacon, this method avoids that completely. I use nitrite which is the Prague powder#1/cure#1 and that's the bit that you really need to be accurate with. It will be on the package but typically you use it at 2.5g per kg of meat, in order to make weighing things out I usually make a batch of cure for up to 10kg of meant and then use the appropriate proportion depending on the weight of the pork I am using. A good basic cure mix is: 250g salt (sea salt is better than table salt) 100g sugar (any will do but I like soft light demerara) 25g Cure#1 Please note that there is also a cure called Cure#2/Prague powder#2 - this is different to #1 and wont work as a substitute, its used for meats you don't cook such as salami and has nitrate in it which stays in the meat far longer before it dissipates. mixed together the total weight is 375g and is enough for 10kg of meat. So 1kg would need 37.5g of cure, 1.3kg would need 48.75g etc When you weigh out your amount of cure - it will look like not nearly enough but don't be tempted to use more, the key is using it at this ratio will make sure you are only applying the nitrite at that 2.5g/kg and that's the main aim from a food safety perspective. At this rate, the nitrite will dissipate into nothing whilst the meat cures. Rub the cure mix all over the meat, and either vac pack or put in a zip lock bag and squeeze the air out. Give it 1 x day for every 1/2 inch of thickness of the meat plus 2 x days for good luck. If you don't leave it long enough, you may have a 'silver dollar' of uncured pork in he middle of your rashers, but it doesn't matter if you leave it for longer - there is no way it can get over salty / over cured. Once the time is up, rinse it quickly under the cold tap and leave exposed in the fridge for an hour or two to dry out. if you put it in the freezer for an hour before slicing, it is easier to slice thin rashers, and if you use belly pork, I roll it up and wrap it tightly in cling film - that makes it far easier to slice. If you want to add more flavourings such as pepper/mace/bay/treacle etc, you can add those to the rub or bag - just make sure you add them after you've weighed out the appropriate amount of cure mix. You can also play around with the salt and sugar content if you find the starter cure mix above doesn't suit your palate. you can go as salty or less/more sugar as you like, but you wouldn't want to go for less than 180g salt per 10kg as it doesn't really make bacon. Weschenfelders is a great online supplier, but if you like, I can always make you some up and would be very glad to do so.

Absolutely, in fact, just a ziplock bag would work better. The idea is to keep all the salt (irrespective of whether it is still salt or now brine from the meat juices) in contact with the meat. Cling film leaches the liquid and a plaggy bag works better It honestly isn’t difficult- but thank you. Once you have mixed the cure , it literally is a case of weighing the meat and rubbing in the appropriate amount of salt mix

Dave, I do quite a lot of smoking, but I honestly prefer unsmoked bacon - I absolutely know where you’re coming from though mate!

I can’t answer that for you - but for me… of course it is. I’ve made it myself, dictated the sweetness/saltiness ratio, know exactly what’s gone into it, and then had a real laugh with my boy at the end - it’s just good fun and immensely satisfying.

My local Booths supermarket had some unusually cheap pork loin on sale the other day. I bought a kilo to make some back bacon. It’s a really simple process, just three ingredients into the cure (salt, sugar & cure#1/prague powder#1). You do have to be accurate with your weights of ingredients to make sure you use the cure#1 in a safe manner but it’s not difficult. Cure was rubbed into the meat and then vac packed and into,the fridge for a week or so. We rinsed it last night and after slicing it this morning, my boy and I had a go at making tastier versions of McMuffins complete with round sausage patties and the questionable perfectly round fried/steamed egg. If you want to have a go at home curing, bacon is so simple, it’s definitely worth a try.

Thanks Dave - she’s had it for over 20 years but she’s a fighter and looks for the positive where’ve she can. RE the letters, I’m going to let her decide how she wants them, I have a leaf from an old oak table set aside if she wants a plaque, or was going to get some farriers nails if she wants it fixing direct to the door.. Thank you - on both accounts.

My wife fulfilled her lifelong ambition of getting a horse - it's not my thing, and I wasn't a fan, but she has MS and very limited mobility so seeing her being able to be out and about in the countryside once again does warm my heart and she's obviously over the moon. The kids and I wanted to surprise her for mothers day, so we've been cutting and bending horseshoes to make a name sign for the stable door - I'm really grateful that the horse only has a short name! My welding is absolutely shocking so please don't look too closely - the main thing is the wife will be happy. A while ago, I made a trivet to sit on top of my wood burner, a mate of mine in the states really liked it so whilst I had the tools out, I've also knocked one up for him.

Of course not… They'd never be able to catch the fish I was putting in the temporary pond every day.