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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.

 

Smoked New Year’s Eve Ribeye Roast

I’ve been admiring rib-eye roasts over the years.  I also love the prime rib from which they are made.  It has been a secret desire of mine to  be able to make my own keto friendly smoked rib-eye roast or prime rib, and when I was in Costco last week, I saw a beautiful roast on sale.  Over the last 12-13 years of following a ketogenic life-style, I’ve developed a palate for a good rib-eye or prime rib cut cooked to perfection.

So, what does a man do when shown meat on sale, and his wife is no where to be found?

Yep, you guessed it. . . I’m now the proud owner of a beautiful rib-eye roast.

After much perusing of the various “inter-webby” recipes and smoker recommendations, this is what I came up with.

Out of the package, you can see this marvelous bone-in roast is delightful. (Actually, this is the picture is of the 20 lb roast from the Costco website.)  Mine only had four bones and was only 5 lbs, but as a male, when you see this picture, you have to wipe the drool off the corners of your mouth.

I peeled back the excess fat from the meat side and then, I trimmed up the excess fat off the bone for presentation.

Dr. Nally’s Butter Herb Butt Rub

I then created the following butter/herb rub:

  • 1 cube of butter
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped sage
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped time
  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped rosemarie
  • 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
  • 10 garlic cloves dices

This is a good time to fire up your smoker or go out and ignite your pellet smoker.

 

I use a Traeger Select Elite pellet smoker

For the busy doc, this works nicely for me, and it works as that best grill I’ve ever used as well (but, that’s for another post).  I like this because you can purchase various pellet types based on the meat you’re smoking.  For a number of my steaks, I like to use the mesquite pellets, however, I picked hickory for this roast.  You could use oak or even cherry might be nice.  Traeger sells a mixture of woods for those days when you really can’t decide. 

For this roast, you want to get your smoker going and up to 275 degrees.

Once my smoker was heated up and set to my desired temperature, I went back into the kitchen and I finished up my rub.  The butter was softened for 20 seconds in the microwave and the herbs were all added to the butter and mixed nicely.

 

Prepping the Roast

A slice in the rib-eye roast was made every two inches parallel with the bones on top and bottom, and the butter/herb mixture was rubbed onto all sides of the roast, making sure to stuff the incisions in the meat with extra butter/herb mix. Then, my favorite rub was patted liberally all over the roast. The butter gives a nice adhesive for my liberal application of the butt rub of choice.

I’m a huge fan of Bad Byron’s Butt Rub Barbecue Seasoning. It is keto-friendly, one of the few that doesn’t have added sugar, maltodextrin or dextrose that I’ve found (unless you make your own). See my article on sweeteners if you are wondering why this is important.

Smoker prepped . . . check!

Keto friendly smoked rib-eye roast prepped . . . check!

Roast has been rubbed down . . . check!

We’re ready!

The roast was placed on the smoker/grill and timer was set for 2 hours. This will put your internal temperature somewhere between 125-135 degrees. I like my rib-eye medium, so I may need to leave it on for an hour longer.

Meat Preparation Temperatures

Unfortunately, no one ever explains this stuff to you, so, I found a nice temperature chart on the ReluctantGormet.com (thanks G. Stephen Jones!)  The goal for the meat is to get it to the temperature below when it is served.  If the meat is pulled off the smoker around 5 degrees below the temperature listed below, and you give the meat 5-10 minutes to “rest” while covered with some foil, the bone will bring the core temperature to the desired preparation temperature.  I’ve modified the list below for my and your easy viewing pleasure here:

Rare

Medium-Rare Medium

Medium-Well

Beef Steaks

130°

135° 145°

160°

Beef Roasts

125° 130° 145°

160°

Lamb Chop

130°

135° 145°

160°

Lamb Roast

130°

130° 145°

160°

Pork Roast

130°

140°

150°

Veal Chops

135°

145°

160°

Veal Roasts

130°

145°

160°

Adapted from http://www.reluctantgormet.com/meat-doneness-chart

Note: These are NOT USDA recommendations.  The USDA temperatures are notably 10-15° higher because of food safety issues, however, many professional chefs are not cooking your medium-rare steak to 150°.  You’d send it back in a heartbeat if that were the case.

Next, the cooking process begins.  With the smoker pre-heated to 275 degrees, the roast was placed on the smoker, bone side down.  I closed the lid . . . and began writing this post.

At the two hour mark, the roast was up to 120 degrees with my old meat thermometer.  My next investment will be an instant read digital Thermopro meat thermometer that gives an instantaneous and accurate core temperature of your roast.  After cooking this roast, I can see why one would be very helpful.

It actually took 3 hours to reach a core temperature of 140 degrees.  It was worth the wait.  My wife and daughter are not usally fans of prime rib or rib roast in the past, however, they devoured this.  I don’t think I will ever order prime rib again, when I can cook my own that tastes this good.

Why post something like this?

First, smoking meat makes you feel like a man.  Seriously, your testosterone feels like it goes up by 50-100 points smoking a good slab of meat.  People always ask me what I personally eat on holidays or celebrations.  This is a do-able recipe you can add to your file, and your man card.

Second, the preparation for this took me no more than 15 minutes, and I chopped and diced all my own fresh herbs.  It would have taken me 3 minutes to do this if I hadn’t used fresh herbs.

Third, This roast cost me $45 at Costco and it will serve eight to ten people (or my family and lots of really yummy left overs for the next week).  And, each steak I slice off this roast tastes like I took my family for $60 a-piece steaks at the fancy over-priced steak house down the road . . . I call it “gourmet-keto for the budget conscious.”

Anyway, leave me your comments. And, if you have a favorite smoker recipe.  Include Bacon Boy (you can find his printable image in the right side panel) in the picture, and I’ll enter you in a drawing for the next Keto-Cart Kickoff.

Happy New Year!!