45 Day Cold Smoke. EXTREMLEY PIC HEAVY

SGH

As most of you already know, I have 228 pounds of fresh pork that has been curing for 11 1/2 days. Due to the recent extreme weather (95%+ humidity) tomorrow looks like the opportune time to soak it out and then hang it in the smokehouse. The majority of the meat will be smoked over a 50/50 split of southern pecan and maple wood at no higher than 75 degrees for the duration. In a attemp to approximate the taste of the Virgina based hams, all of the hams will be smoked over straight beechwood with a semi-forced, assisted draft to improve smoke circulation and prevent the build up of stale and stagnant air. I will up date this post weekly showing the various stages that the meat goes through as it cold smokes. Tomorrow I will post the soaking pics as well as the meat hanging in the smokehouse. As always, hope that y'all enjoy this post my friends. 

For the record and clarity. There will be no more graphic pics due to viewer complaints. So sayeth the Buffalo. 

How it all started.






























Hope that y'all enjoy. I will update this post again tomorrow when the meat has been soaked out and hung.

Durangler

@SGH .. looking forward to your effort.
Beechwood? Where did you get the Beechwood? I've been searching to no avail.

johnmitchell

Thanks for sharing and posting, I find your posts extremely educational.. I will be following for sure.

Thatgrimguy

How are you planning to get 45 days here in South MS under 75. Much less a smoker under 75?  Where is the smoke house? Can I come check it out?

SGH

johnmitchell said:

Thanks for sharing and posting, I find your posts extremely educational.. I will be following for sure.

You are to kind my friend. But I certainly appreciate the very kind words. 

jonnymack

I really dig these posts, sorry people are crying about it. I find it very interesting given many have eaten these very food thingys that they can't handle understanding where it comes from. 

SGH

Thatgrimguy said:

How are you planning to get 45 days here in South MS under 75.

Ever heard of a air conditioner?



 Much less a smoker under 75?  

Not a smoker. A walk in 20x12 smokehouse.



Where is the smoke house?

This is top secret


Can I come check it out?

Yes, but you will have to swear a oath of secrecy

SGH

Durangler said:

@SGH .. looking forward to your effort.
Beechwood? Where did you get the Beechwood? I've been searching to no avail.

I have a friend lives in Jay, Maine. He will send me some a couple of times a year. In return I send him stuff that he can't get up there. I honestly don't know where he gets it. But I will certainly ask. 

bgebrent

Sounding really cool Scottie!  Thanks for posting this!  Looking forward to the photos in the double top secret smokehouse!

SGH

bgebrent said:

Sounding really cool Scottie!  Thanks for posting this!  Looking forward to the photos in the double top secret smokehouse!

Thanks man. But it's not really a secret location at all. It's a ancient smokehouse setting right out in plain sight. I was just messing with brother Grim. 

Thatgrimguy

SGH said:

bgebrent said:

Sounding really cool Scottie!  Thanks for posting this!  Looking forward to the photos in the double top secret smokehouse!

Thanks man. But it's not really a secret location at all. It's a ancient smokehouse setting right out in plain sight. I was just messing with brother Grim. 

I have been debating building one on my property. I can't wait to come see it!

SGH

Thatgrimguy said:

SGH said:

bgebrent said:

Sounding really cool Scottie!  Thanks for posting this!  Looking forward to the photos in the double top secret smokehouse!

Thanks man. But it's not really a secret location at all. It's a ancient smokehouse setting right out in plain sight. I was just messing with brother Grim. 

I have been debating building one on my property. I can't wait to come see it!

It looks like $hit. It's over 60 years old. But it still works just fine. 

jmarbs21

I hate to hear people are complaining over the pics, I think these threads have been great and I've enjoyed/learned from them. 

Dyal_SC

Looks awesome!  I don't understand the complaints.  I don't remember there being any vegetarians on this forum.  ??  

SGH

@Darby_Crenshaw - If everything goes as planned tomorrow, I may have something to post that you will really enjoy. I haven't mentioned it thus far in case it flops, but I think it's going to turn out. I read one of your writings (Stike) a couple of years ago on the subject. I will give you a hint, it quacks. Or it did when it was alive

FarmerTom

Thank you for this and your other threads SGH.  Very interesting.  Reminds me of seeing this done on our farm when I was very young.  I hate that a handful of self-righteous pussies think it is their place to determine what the rest of us can view and discuss.  And it doesn't improve my opinion of BGE that they allow them to do so.  You made the thread description very accurate.  If it bothers/offends someone, don't read it,  I fail to see the problem.  I fear that as society continues to be farther removed from our agrarian roots, these kind of ill-informed jerks will increase and want more and more regulations until it is almost impossible to produce meat.

Smoker317

I can't improve upon what FarmerTom stated...  There is no wonder people are responding to Trump like no other candidate!  The majority of people are sick of this P.C. crap.  I have been on other forums, particularly shooting and outdoor forums and frequently "trolls" create havoc, some are obviously anti-gun or whatever and they sign up for the site to cause trouble.  Wonder if some PETA people are on this site trolling? 

It is absolutely absurd that website 90% dedicated to the smoking/cooking/grilling of MEAT can not show pictures of a humane slaughter and breakdown of a hog for human consumption.

I am not impressed with the mods on this site, not that anyone cares.

Regardless, thank you SGH for your educational posts.

Jebpot

Amen to the posts above. Kids and a lot of adults already think meat comes from a store. They do not know what a farm is.

milesvdustin

How the heck can someone (who grills meat) be offended by meat processing pictures? Those steaks and things dont just grow on trees! 

The title of the thread was a clear warning to everyone. 

SGH

Buffalo test before update......

SGH

Out of the cure, rinsed and soaked, and into the smokehouse. 






















I hope that y'all enjoy this small glimpse back in time to the way things use to be done out of necessity. I hope that the Meat Gods are pleased. 

SGH

Got a little lard rendering. 

Black_Badger

This is awesome man. May have missed it above but what are you smoking the bones for? is this going into stock or something?

Really great stuff, thanks for sharing it with all of us.

Cheers -
B_B

thunderkwb

I rarely post, but enjoyed your pics. Keep them coming.

SGH

@Black_Badger @thunderkwb
Thanks fellows. I really appreciate it. I think that I put to many pics in one thread though. No one seems willing to wait on them to load and view them. 

SGH

Black_Badger said:

May have missed it above but what are you smoking the bones for? is this going into stock or something?

Brother, I know it takes forever for the pics to load because there are so many of them,  but if you can wait until they all load you can tap the pics and enlarge them. If you will enlarge the bone pics, you can see that there is streak and strip meat still on the bones. But even so, the ones in question will be used for flavoring beans, stews and soups. Not really enough meat for much else. Glad that you enjoyed my post my friend. 

DMW

Looks good Scottie. FWIW, the reason it takes so long to load is the images are so large. There are several ways to address this.

• You can resize the image after shooting and editing with additional software.
• You can change the settings on your camera app to shoot at a lower resolution. For posting on the forum, 800x600 or 1024x768 would be plenty high

Hope this helps. I know you use in iPhone, so I can't offer specifics on either of the above options, but if you reduce the size of the images, it will be faster to post, as well as for others to view.

Black_Badger

SGH said:

Black_Badger said:

May have missed it above but what are you smoking the bones for? is this going into stock or something?

Brother, I know it takes forever for the pics to load because there are so many of them,  but if you can wait until they all load you can tap the pics and enlarge them. If you will enlarge the bone pics, you can see that there is streak and strip meat still on the bones. But even so, the ones in question will be used for flavoring beans, stews and soups. Not really enough meat for much else. Glad that you enjoyed my post my friend. 

Not at all man, I've gone through them all a few times now; they're great! I did see there was a bit of meat left on the bones, it just didn't seem like a whole lot so I wasn't sure what the end goal was. Flavoring makes a ton of sense, pretty much along the same lines as what I was thinking originally. I also thought they might be good dog treats but that didn't seem like the best use (haha).

Another question (may have been covered in another thread). Is there a reason you split the brisket bone before taking out the entrails (see pic # 53)?

Cheers -
B_B

SGH

Black_Badger said:

Another question (may have been covered in another thread). Is there a reason you split the brisket bone before taking out the entrails (see pic # 53)?

Yes sir, there is. It is much easier to make the cut with the hog laying back down on the skinning rack at waist level and stationary than it is to try to make the cut with hog hanging and moving around. Also with the hog laying on its back you are making a horizontal cut with good access. Once the hog is hung you are making a vertical cut. Much harder to do when you are using a manual saw. If I had a electric or pneumatic saw, I would do it either way. However when doing it by hand, it's much easier on the skinning rack. Hope that this helps my friend. 

johnmitchell

I have enjoyed this thread...Love those pics of the smokehouse, I thought I even heard a little banjo music in the background...Nah just my imagination. Thanks for your continued effort to educate..

Ragtop99

As a side note from the technical education, the picture of the orange tree growing all around the smoke house is a very cool shot (2nd to last photo).  Something very tranquil about it.  Just makes me want to pull up a chair with a whisky and catch a whiff of the smoke as it drifts through the air.