Pork Loin

2 pound pork loin given to us by our neighbors when they moved.
Frozen
Dry rubbed at about 11:00AM

Rub recipe:
2 tbsp paprika
.75 tbsp cayenne
1 tbsp ground pepper
1.5 tbsp garlic powder
.75 tbsp onion powder
1.5 tbsp kosher salt
.5 tbsp oregano
.5 tbsp thyme

Wrapped in foil and put in fridge for about 1.5 hrs.
Smoked at 180-200 with apple chips
Went into the smoker at about 1:00,
Came out at about 4:00. Probe thermometer said 156 degrees.
Wrapped in foil and let rest for about an hour.
Slices look good, good smoke penetration.
Rub is a little spicy for my taste though.
Maybe less cayenne?

Alaskan Sockeye

Alaskan Sockeye from a fisherman at work (Caught in Bristol Bay)
two fillets about two pounds each flash frozen and vacuum packed.

In brine at 9:30PM

Brine Recipe:
1 Qt water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup pickling/canning salt
1/4 cup molasses
2 tbsp sriracha
1/4 cup wildflower honey
1/4 cup kikkoman soy sauce

Out of brine at 10:00AM. Put on rack to dry.
In the smoker with alder chips at about 11:00
Smoked at 180-200 degrees for about 2 hours.

Came out pretty good.
Tab says its too salty. A bit too much smoke flavor. Tends to numb tongue.

Smlog?

So there's been a bit of a hiatus over at bigblackvan.com while we plodded along and worked on the house and the yard and the boat and uh, work.
There was never really anything new to report, so I got bored.
Well, here's the next step in the evolution.
Meat.
Is it a step forward or step back, who knows. Really, who cares...

Anyway, here's the back story.
Last winter I bought a smoker, mostly because I couldn't get as much smoked salmon as I wanted without going completely broke. ($18.99 a pound!)

So I wandered around the endless aisles of Ebay until I found a scratch and dent Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain Series Propane smoker. Got it for $6.00, plus $30.00 shipping.
Not too bad.

The scratched and dented box arrived Christmas-ish 2007 via UPS and I put it together. I straightened the bent bits fixed the broken bits (took me all of 15 minutes) and gave it a try.
Love it! Totally hooked.

So since last winter I've smoked pork ribs, pork loins and tons and tons of salmon.

I never really kept good track of my recipes and whatnot, so I've had mixed success. Its all good, and it all got eaten, but some was definitely better than others. So instead of continuing to shoot in the dark, I thought I should start keeping a smoking log... or blog... or smlog.

So here it is.

Welcome to my smlog.