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Smoked Pork Shoulder & 12 Essentials About Bacon

A number of people have asked me about how I smoke my pork shoulders.  Pork shoulder is a perfect meal if you are on a ketogenic or carnivorous diet.   The smoking process is quite simple.  The key is in the simplicity.  I’ve use a Traeger Select Elite pellet smoker for the last 10 years, but your favorite smoker will do.

In our house, we will smoke a 9-10 lbs pork shoulder and then use the pulled pork for meals throughout the week.  I often do most of my smoking on the weekend when I am home and then we have some of the most tasty leftovers throughout the week.

But, before I dive into the recipe and process, we should take a moment to look at the historical essentials of bacon and it’s origins from the pork shoulder.

Bacon Dates Back to 1500 BC

The Chinese were the first to record cooking of salted pork bellies more than 3000 years ago.  This makes bacon one of the world’s oldest processed meats.

Romans Called It “PETASO“

Bacon eventually migrated westward where it became a dish worth of modern-day foodies.  The Romans made petaso, as they called it, by boiling salted pig shoulder with figs, then seasoning the mixture with pepper sauce.  Wine was, of course, a frequent accompaniment.  For my wine connoisseur friends, please tell me which wine goes best with bacon. . . you know who you are.

The Word Refers to the “Back” of a Pig

The word bacon  comes from the Germanic root “-bak,” and refers to the back of the pig that supplied the meat.  Bakko become the French bacco, which the English then adopted around the 12th century, naming the dish bacoun.  Back then, the term referred to any pork product, but by the 14th century bacoun referred specifically to the cured meat.

The First Bacon Factory Opened in 1770

For generations, local farmers and butchers made bacon for their local communities.  In England. where it became a dietary staple, bacon was typically “dry cured” with salt and then smoked.  In the late 18th century, a businessman named John Harris opened the first bacon processing plant in the county of Wiltshire, where he developed a special brining solution for finishing the meat.  The “Wilshire Cure” method is still used today, and is a favorite of bacon lovers who prefer a sweeter, less salty taste.

“Bringing Home The Bacon” Goes Back Centuries

These days, the phrase refers to making money, but it’s origins have nothing to do with income.  In 12th century England, churches would award a “flitch,” or a side, of bacon to any married man who swore before God that he and his wife had not argued for a year and a day.  Men who “brought home the bacon” were seen as exemplary citizens and husbands.

Bacon Helped Make Explosives During World War II

In addition to planting victory gardens and buying war bonds, households were encouraged to donate their leftover bacon grease to the war effort. Rendered fats created glycerin, which in turn created bombs, gunpowder, and other munitions. A promotional film starring Minnie Mouse and Pluto chided housewives for throwing out more than 2 billion pounds of grease every year: “That’s enough glycerin for 10 billion rapid-fire cannon shells.”

Hardee’s Frisco Burger Was a Game Changer for Bacon

Bacon took a beating in the 1980s, when dieting trends took aim at saturated fats and cholesterol. By the ’90s, though, Americans were ready to indulge again. Hardee’s Frisco Burger, one of the first fast-food burgers served with bacon, came out in 1992 and was a hit. It revived bacon as an ingredient, and convinced other fast-food companies to bacon-ize their burgers. Bloomberg called it “a momentous event for fast food, and bacon’s fate, in America.”

The Average American Consumes 18 lbs of Bacon Each Year

Savory, salty, and appropriately retro: The past couple years have been a bonanza for bacon, with more than three quarters of restaurants now serving bacon dishes, and everything from candy canes to gumballs now flavored with bacon. Recent reports linking processed meats to increased cancer risk have put a dent in consumption, and may have a prolonged effect. But for now, America’s love affair with bacon continues.

There is a Church of Bacon

This officially sanctioned church boasts 13,000 members under the commandment “Praise Bacon.” It’s more a rallying point for atheists and skeptics than for bacon lovers, per se, and there’s no official location as of yet. But the church does perform wedding ceremonies and fundraisers, and has raised thousands of dollars for charity. All bacon praise is welcome, even if you’re partial to vegetarian or turkey bacon over the traditional pork. Hallelujah!

There is a Bacon Camp

It’s like summer camp, but with less canoeing and more bacon cooking. Held every year in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Camp Bacon features speakers, cooking classes, and other bacon-related activities for chefs and enthusiasts eager to learn more about their favorite food.

Modern Technology Wants to Help You Wake Up and Smell the Bacon

An ingenious combination of toaster and alarm clock, the Wake ‘n Bacon made waves a few years back with the promise of waking up to fresh-cooked bacon. Sadly, the product never made it past the prototype phase, but those intent on rising to that smoky, savory aroma were able to pick up Oscar Mayer’s special app, which came with a scent-emitting attachment.

There Is A Bacon Sculpture of Kevin Bacon

It had to happen eventually. Artist Mike Lahue used seven bottles of bacon bits, lots of glue, and five coats of lacquer to create a bust of the Footloose star, which sold at auction a few years back. No word on how well the bacon bit Bacon bust has held up.
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Dr. Nally’s Smoked Pork Shoulder

Apply dry rub liberally to all sides of the pork shoulder 30-60 minutes before putting the shoulder onto the smoker using the following dry spices:
Refrigerate the pork shoulder after applying dry rub until ready to place on the smoker.
Preheat smoker to 250˚F degrees and place the pork shoulder fat side up onto the grill.  Smoke it until internal temperature reaches 150-160˚F.

To Wrap Or Not To Wrap?

I wrap my pork shoulders in two layers of foil, to better seal in flavor and juiciness. I don’t wrap my briskets (unless I plan on storing them for later use).

Once the meat gets to around 160° internal temp (around the four to five hour mark) is the perfect time to wrap. Your pork shoulder should have excellent color and bark at this point.

Wrap the pork up in foil and place it back on the smoker, making sure you keep your temp probe in and wrap the foil around it.  Once it is wrapped, place it fat side up and continue to smoke it at 250˚F until it reaches an internal temperature of 205˚F.

How Long Does It Take to Smoke a Pork Shoulder?

Smoking time averages 60-90 minutes per pound, depending on the level of doneness smoked at 250 degrees.

If you’re going to slice it, cook to 185˚F.

If your going to pull the pork smoke it longer, until it reaches 205˚F.

 

Gun Violence & Physician Puppets

Today is gun violence awareness day.  Physicians around the country are hitting social media about terror of guns, of gun ownership, and how “guns are killing our children.”  In fact, there is a whole movement to “wear orange today.”  I truly appreciate the importance addressing violence in our homes, families and neighborhoods.  Violence in any form is terrible and tragic.  Yet, I am disturbed that very intelligent people are swayed into relinquishing rights of freedom and liberty based upon emotions and fear.  I’m sure my comments will strike up the ire of a number of my colleges and a few patients (Not that that is anything new – I’ve been beating the ketogenic drum for 15 years telling people to ignore the AHA and have some bacon).  Yet, I cannot, and I will not remain silent.

Evidence Doesn’t Support the Media’s Claims

In medicine, we are taught to practice and act based upon evidence.  Wearing orange to support removing my right to own a firearm fly’s in the face of evidences.  Over the 20 years of my medical practice, I have witnessed progressive socialists, liberal media and those that don’t know better, in an attempt to legislate greater control over the population, very successfully use our emotions to slowly remove our inalienable rights of freedom.  One of those is our second amendment right to own firearms.  The media, with many well meaning physicians and physician groups around the country, are using days like today to try to convince you that homes are more dangerous because there are more guns in homes, and more violence due to the presence of those guns.  But is that true?

According to recent research, gun homicide has actually decreased 49% since 1993.

And, according to a 2017 Journal of Pediatrics article, “Nearly 1300 children die and 5790 are treated for gunshot wounds each year. Boys, older children, and minorities are disproportionately affected.” Yet, this number is down from 1993.

And interestingly, “. . .unintentional firearm deaths among children declined from 2002 to 2014, firearm homicides declined from 2007 to 2014, and firearm suicides decreased between 2002 and 2007.”

The research does, however, show an upward trend in suicide from 2007 to 2014. But, according to the article, this appears to be “. . . precipitated by situational and relationship problems. The shooter playing with a gun was the most common circumstance surrounding unintentional firearm deaths of both younger and older children.”  However, overall the numbers are down by almost 50%.  Yet, that’s not the message being shared today.

Fewer People’s Homes Have Guns

Today, fewer homes have guns in them.  Fewer people hunt and use the firearms regularly.  And, because we live in bigger cities, opportunities to educate our youth about proper use and storage of firearms occurs less often.  Fewer families teach their children gun safety and unintentional injury and death can occur when our children are not correctly taught about the use and safety of firearms.

The progressive left and media will tout that according to the Congressional Research Service, as of 2015 there actually are almost twice as many guns per capita in the United States as there were in 1968: more than 300 million guns in all. And, gun sales actually have increased in recent years. You will hear that according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. gun-makers produced nearly 11 million guns in 2013, the year after the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre. That’s twice as many as they made in 2010.

You even hear the words of Dr. Deborah Azrael parroted that, “There’s a gun for every man, woman, and child, more or less.”

But does every man, woman and child in the U.S. have a gun?  The number of armed households has actually declined to about 1 in 3. So an ever larger number of guns is concentrated in a shrinking number of homes:

Listen for just a short time today and you’ll hear the media and the progressive left claim that we need to make it harder to obtain a gun.  Well, we’ve done that already!
According to FBI records, background checks have more than doubled, making it harder to obtain a firearm in the U.S.

Involve the Pillars of Safety to Move the Agenda Forward.

I will paraphrase the comments of Jonathon Schuldt, a professor of communications at Cornell University. He stated that  in a nation where freedom is among the deepest ideals, control is almost a dirty word, and it is much easier to justify why one is against [gun] control that it is to justify why one is against [gun] safety.
Making the case for safety is easy, just involve the doctors.  Use the emotions and fear of violent injury and the treatment of horrible gunshot wounds.  If the doctors, especially our beloved pediatricians, are for “Gun Safety” [implying gun control], then we must support it. Right?!
Progressives have subtly changed our minds by changing the words and adding emotion.  Change the word “control” to “safety” & sprinkle with some doctors in white coats while wearing orange. Then, change the headlines that show up in today’s Google search of the news (for example):
  • ABC News: Virginia Gov. Northam on gun safety: Summons lawmakers to special session.
  • MSNBC News: Virginia democrats pressure for gun safety
  • CBS News: Senator Cory Booker: Unveils new gun safety plan
Yet, in the news today people like Virginia’s Governor, Ralph Northam, are following the gun control playbook to the letter by exploiting a tragedy to push political agendas.  None of Governor Northam’s gun control proposals would have prevented the horrible tragedy at Virginia Beach.  If he is genuinely interested in pursuing policies that will save lives, he and states around this great nation should focus on the following:
  • Prosecuting violent criminals
  • Fixing our broken mental health system
  • Identifying the real cause of suicide in our school systems
Instead, Gov. Northam, and others like him, blame our country’s law-abiding gun owners for the acts of deranged murderers and people who are truly mentally ill.
Of note,dDepression and suicidal behavior increases 40-60% with vegetarian and vegan diets.  Maybe we should focus on the dangers of dementia, depression, schizophrenia and violence that arises while following a vegetarian or vegan diets.  Until, then keep your hands off my guns and pass the bacon!
Bacon Grease DocMuscles #KetonianKing

Bacon Grease – The Healthy Essential Oil

Bacon Grease Is the Healthy Oil

Is bacon grease really healthy? People in my office stress out about getting all the healthy fats and the right amino acids.  I am asked all the time, which protein powder they should be taking?  Do I prefer fish oil or krill oil?  My answer to this is simple.

“Bacon grease.”

Disbelief Bacon DocMuscles

I know, I can see it on your face now. . . the blank stare of disbelief.

Yes, I said “bacon grease.”

If you are following a low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet, bacon grease is your essential oil. Let me explain why:

Bacon Contains All The Essential Amino Acids

Bacon, and the grease it creates, contains all the essential amino acids.  Yes, even the coveted branched chain amino acids (BCAAs).  Go ahead, have 3-5 slices for breakfast, but keep the grease and re-use it to cook with.  Because your saving yourself from having to buy expensive protein powders and less tasty versions of these essential muscle building blocks.

Bacon Is A Great Source of Choline

Bacon grease is a great source of choline, an essential nutrient for stabilizing cell membranes and making the neurotransmitter acetylcholine.  Acetylcholine is one of the neurotransmitters absent in memory disorders and muscle disease.  Fascinatingly, choline helps in the prevention of fatty liver disease, a disease caused by the standard American diet that often progresses to non-alcoholic liver disease.

Choline has also been shown in a number of studies to help ward off Alzheimer’s Disease.

Bacon Grease Contains All The B-Vitamins

Bacon fat is a superb source of all of the necessary B vitamins.  It is also a superb source of Vitamin D, phosphorus, magnesium and iron.  In fact all of the fat soluble vitamins – any vitamin that sounds like a letter of the alphabet: A, B, C, D, etc.- are found in animal fat.

Veggies Bacon Superpower DocMuscles

Bacon Grease Suppresses Appetite

Long-Chain fatty acids are satiating.  Bacon grease is a great source of the longer chain fatty acids and has a wonderful effect on suppressing your appetite.  That’s why Dr. Nally talks about it so often.  Bacon is the duct tape of the culinary world, and acts to suppress the cravings for the pie that might arise 30-60 minutes later.

Bacon Brings Happiness

When have you ever felt a frown after eating bacon?  That’s my point . . . you just smiled when that thought crossed your mind.  Seriously, don’t deny it . . .

Put a piece of bacon in your mouth, and it doesn’t really matter who the president is, what Kim Kardashian recently posted, or that you’re late for work . . . seriously.  Bacon in your mouth reminds you how good life really is.  If I die while eating a plate of bacon, my life will be complete.

My wife fries eggs in bacon grease for breakfast when she cooks.  I tell you . . . it’s edible love.

Bacon Stimulates the Heart

Bacon grease also contains a significant amount of medium chain triglycerides (caproic, caprylic, capric, and lauric acids).  These medium chain triglycerides (MCTs) are all the rage in helping to maintain a ketogenic diet.  MCTs convert rapidly into ketones after absorption into the liver from the gut.  Rapid conversion of fat into ketones stimulate more effective contraction of the heart.  When the heart contracts more effectively, it releases atrial-naturitic peptide (ANP), that opens the “back door” in the fat cell allowing for more efficient fat burning and maintenance of ketosis.

Bacon Smells So Good

Many people us essential oils for the aromatic effect they produce on mood and anxiety.  Next time you cook bacon, check your mood.  Never has there been an aroma that is so inviting and calming.  Very few other aromas actually bring people to a dinner table.  And for you men out there, bacon grease improves your manhood.  Increased presence of ketones, and the appetite suppressing effect of bacon grease helps to stabilize testosterone and leucine.  This improves muscle development, enhances libedo, and prevents the progressive decline in testosterone leading to the “girly-man” status that occurs with so many men eating the standard American diet.

Let me leave you with one last question.  When is the last time you saw left-over bacon?

Exactly – the same time you saw leprechauns riding unicorns down your street after a rain storm.

So, cook that bacon . . . and save the grease.  Use it to cook your eggs or bake with it.  You’ll thank me later.

Ketogenic Lifestyle Rule #1: There should ALWAYS be bacon in the fridge

BaCoN Fridge

I thought that over the next few weeks I’d address a number of Ketogenic Lifestyle Rules that I have adopted.  These seem to help and bring a little clarity to one following a Ketogenic Lifestyle or someone on the road to becoming a true “Ketonian.”

The first of these rules is that there should ALWAYS be bacon in the fridge!
Adapt Your Life

We address this rule and some interesting facts around having bacon in the fridge in this evening’s Persicope below.  We also address the benefits of journaling, how to help stop binge eating, what are your real protein needs, and red-meat fear-mongering. We even discuss whether or not pigs like bacon.  Enjoy!

 

Links referenced in this video:

Red & Processed Meats: Bacon Fear-Mongering

Calculating Your Protein Needs from Ideal Body Weight

The Power of a Good Vitamin

 

(Just a note: I love Katch.me’s service; however, due to the contract language allowing Katch.me to have unlimited rights to my Periscope Videos, I have withdrawn from Katch and my videos are no longer available on this medium until the contract usage can be modified.)

The 5 Myths of Weight Loss

This evening we covered the 5 myths of weight loss identified through the National Weight Control Registry’s research findings. What causes “wrinkle face” for Dr. Nally?  We also talked about & answered 20 minutes of rapid fire questions ranging from the amount of protein you need daily to the likelihood a human could be a bomb calorimeter . . . exciting stuff!!

You can watch the video stream below.  Or you can Katch the replay with the rapid stream of exciting comments here at Katch.me/docmuscles.

How to Stay Motivated on Carbohydrate Restriction

This evening on PeriScope, we talked about the 10 things you can do to stay motivated on your low-carb lifestyle.  A number of great questions were asked including:

  • How much carbohydrate should be restricted?
  • What labs should you be monitoring regularly?
  • What’s a normal blood sugar?
  • Why is Dr. Nally freezing in Denver?
  • Is fermented food good for you?
  • Why should you eat pickles and kimchi even when you’re not pregnant?

And, much much more . . . It’s like a college ketogenic course on overdrive . . . for FREE!!!

You can see the PeriScope with the comments rolling in real-time here: katch.me/docmuscles

Or, you can watch the video stream below:

See you next time.

Take Just A Moment and Admire . . . (Then Calculate Your Ideal Body Weight)

A patient just sent this picture to me this evening.  I got a good laugh out of it.

pile o bacon

It brought up a couple of principles. So, Seriously, take just a moment and admire this pile of bacon. . .

  • First, it’s important that we take a moment and think about what is important in life.  What really makes you tick?  To those of us following a ketogenic lifestyle (low carb, moderate protein & high fat living), this represents food, fuel, taste and a great conversation tool. This pile of bacon forces one to think about what is really important in ones life.
    This pile of bacon represents 2-3 weeks of breakfasts.
    It represents wonderful flavor for a salad.
    It becomes something wonderful to dip in guacamole.

Low Carb Gluten Free Salad

Second, how much of this bacon can one following a ketogenic lifestyle have at a meal?  That depends upon your need of protein.  We base our basic protein need on a persons calculated ideal body weight. (No, your ideal body weight is not the weight you’re supposed to reach! It is a calculation based on height that gives us a starting point fro protein needs).
Many people have asked me how to calculate ideal body weight this week.  I’ve provided the calculation below:

Ideal Body Weight (IBW) – Estimated in (kg)
Males: IBW = 50 kg + 2.3 kg for each inch over 5 feet.
Females: IBW = 45.5 kg + 2.3 kg for each inch over 5 feet.
The average female needs 1.0 g of protein per kg of ideal body weight per day.
The average male needs 1.2 g protein per kg of ideal body weight per day.
If you are exercising more than 60 minutes 5 days per week then those values increase to 1.4 grams per kg for females and 1.6 grams per kg for males.
Example:
A 6 foot male’s IBW would be 50 kg + (2.3kg x 12 inches) = 77.6 kg
A 5 foot 4 inch females IBW would be 45.5 kg + (2.3kg x 4 inches) = 54.7 kg.
If you eat three times per day, then simply divide your IBW by 3 to get the maximum protein you need per meal.
I hope that helps.

Bacon Fear-Mongering Month

In celebration of the World Health Organization’s bacon fear-mongering and October’s Halloween trick or treats, I officially dub this month: Bacon Fear-Mongering Month!!

Bacon Fear Mongering Month

Yes.  Please be advised that your risk of getting colon cancer from bacon is identical to your risk of being struck by lightening.  Please, spread the word . . . Oh, and pass the bacon.

Snack Time . . . Bacon Chips & Guacamole!!

To maintain ketosis, the key is keeping the fat content high and the carb content low  . . .while moderating the protein intake.  Unless you are running triathalon’s, body building daily or exercising more than 45 minutes daily, most women don’t need more than 70-80 grams of protein per day.  Most men don’t need more than 80-90 grams per day.

Now, stop looking at your phone and go make some bacon chips . . . 🙂

Why Your Oatmeal is Killing Your Libido

Have you noticed that there are a large number of advertisements in the media about checking your testosterone or “Low T” Syndrome?  It seems like this is the new advertising trend on the radio and late night TV.

Suddenly, everyone’s testosterone is low and men are complaining about their libido,  . . . or are they?

Low testosterone
Benefits of Testosterone Optimization. (Image Credit: ArtOfManliness.com)

If you practice medicine long enough, you’ll see a trend that seems to have arisen as our waistlines have expanded.  About half of the men in my office with insulin resistance, pre-diabetes or diabetes have low testosterone levels.  But this shouldn’t be a surprise.  Type II diabetes, metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance are all driven by an over production in insulin in response to a carbohydrate load in the meal. Patients with these conditions produce between two to ten times the normal insulin in response to a starchy meal. A number of studies both in animal and human models demonstrate that insulin has a direct correlation on testosterone suppression in the blood. This has been demonstrated in both men and women.  In fact, glucose intake has been shown to suppress testosterone and LH in healthy men by suppressing the gonadal hormone axis and more predominant testosterone suppression is seen in patient with insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome.

Image Credit: http://www.townsendletter.com/July2012/metsyndrome0712.html
Image Credit: www.townsendletter.com/July2012/metsyndrome0712.html

In fact, to put it simply, insulin increases the conversion (aromitization) of testosterone to estrogen in men (it does the opposite in women).  Interestingly, Leptin resistance has a similar effect.  I tend to see the worst lowering of testosterone in men with both insulin and leptin resistance.

How to you improve your testosterone?  Supplemental testosterone has been shown to help, but it comes with some risks, including prostate enlargement and stimulating growth of prostate cancer.  The most natural way to improve your testosterone is to change your diet.

A low carbohydrate or ketogenic diet turns down the insulin production and allows the testosterone to be available for use by the body. A ketogenic diet has the effect of reducing leptin resistance as well through weight loss.  A simple dietary change of this type is frequently seen in my office to increase testosterone by 100-150 points.

KetoOS
KetoOS – Drinkable Exogenous Ketones

What is a ketogenic diet?  It is a diet that restricts carbohydrates to less than 50 grams per day, thereby causing the body to use ketones as the primary fuel source.  So, for breakfast tomorrow morning, hold the oatmeal (1/2 cup of Quaker Instant Oatmeal is 31 grams of carbohydrates) and have the bacon and eggs.  And, rather than have the cheesecake for desert this evening, have an extra slice of steak butter on your rib-eye and hold the potato.

The Perfect BLT

Perfect BLTA few of my patients have come in struggling with their weight this week, following what they assumed to be a low carbohydrate diet. They were eating yogurt for breakfast, a chicken salad for lunch, and chicken and vegetables for dinner. A true low carbohydrate diet is ketogenic (it derives fuel from ketones) and is the byproduct of fatty acid metabolism.  That means your fuel is coming from fat, not protein or carbohydrate.  The presence of glucose, fructose, lactose or other sugars (or many sugar alcohols) shut fatty acid metabolism down and halt the process of weight loss and frequently increase weight gain.  Too much protein does the same thing.  A chicken salad is not ketogenic.  It may be low carb, but without adequate fat, the absence of glucose drives the body to use protein as it’s primary fuel source.  It is essential to maintain ketosis that a low carbohydrate diet moderate the protein and increase the fats to upwards of 60-70% of the total caloric intake.

Bacon is a 50/50 food. (I’m not talking about turkey bacon . . . that’s not real bacon).  Each slice of real bacon is at a minimum 3 grams (50%) fat, and 3 grams (50%) protein.  No carbs there, either.

So, if you’re struggling with your weight loss on a low carb diet . . . your first step should be “BLT” it!