Being a super keen guy on curing and smoking all kinds of stuff, I’ve spent hundreds if not thousands of hours smoking over the years (not just meat either). As I’ve learned many of the in’s and out’s of cold smoking over 20 odd years, like everything I’m still learning. But it’s kind of become second nature too. Smokai is …
Different Cuts and Meat to Use for Making Bacon
Pork is the main type of meat you can use for bacon, however, there are many different meats and styles with various cuts, let’s go into some detail and explore the options. I have been making bacon from farmed and wild meat for over 20 years. I have used many different methods and styles, basically every style there is I …
How & What to Do with Different Cuts of Deer Venison Meat
Since I was hunting and harvesting meat in my teens, I was trying to come up with ideas on how to honor and add extra value to the meat I worked for in the wild. Now 20 or so years later, I still use a lot of wild venison meat cuts for many projects, and often for meat curing and …
Thoughts and Insight into Whole Pig Butchery – Smoking & Curing
Curing and smoking, whole pig butchery is all about the fat in my opinion, and using it for adding value to all the muscle cuts that are on offer. There are a few ways to do it. What I am going to talk about, is not easy, it will take time and be a lot of work! But worth it, …
Difference Between Sausages and Salami (Not That Simple)
The difference between sausages and salami comes down to how extended the process is, in essence, all salami were sausages at some point during the process. To really explain this properly, I am going to define what sausages are, as well as salami. To give some insight into the subtle and not-so-subtle variations. I have been making, crafting, and eating …
ph Meter for Making Salami and Cured Meats at Home
For many years I’ve been making salami without testing the ph or acidity during the initial fermentation stage. ph Meter and acidity are very important aspects of dry cured salami. Eventually, over the last few years, I’ve decided to be more consistent and thorough in this regard. Though, I’ve used starter cultures, either fast or slow action – I’ve been …
4 Best Ways to Smoke Bacon (Even Without a Smoker)
I thought it would be helpful to write about the main different ways and methods you can use to get smoked bacon, as I’ve started structuring my masterclass in bacon making. You can choose a variety of ways and equipment, depending on what set-up you make currently have. To be hopefully helpful, I will include a method to create smoked …
Why is Homemade Salami so Hard to Make?
Making salami at home can be challenging and hard due to the complexity of the product and project. I have learned a lot of lessons over the last 10 years of making many different varieties of salami at home. Certain types of salami are a lot easier to make than others as well. Any type of cooked or hot smoked …
Designs for a Meat Curing Chamber (and Factors)
I’ve seen many different designs for meat curing chambers, from Prosciutto Parma Ham factories in Italy through to many home curing chamber DIY conversions, 5 so far. The design factors that are used are all very similar and you can replicate these things at your home or buy an ‘out of the box‘ solution as well. Since charcuterie and meat …
Making Bacon Without a Smoker (But Has Smoke Flavor!)
You can make bacon without a smoker, and I have a technique and process below for those that do not have a smoker! I’ve been curing and smoking bacon and other cured meats for decades. Since this site eat cured meat is my passion project. I know not everyone has a backyard or a smoker, so this method will get …
Can the SteakAger Pro 40 be Used for Charcuterie
I have been testing & reviewing the SteakAger Pro 40 for quite a few months now with salami, dry-cured bacon, and whole muscle charcuterie at home. Due to my passion for meat curing and smoking, I have designed and set up various different types of DIY fridge conversions for the controlled environment ideal for making charcuterie-like salami and whole muscle …