Right? No need to spend that much when you can get quality pellets for half that amount.

I only do it for new flavors I never tried. Plus delivered what the heck.

I ended up making a big pot of chili the other day. I cut the remaining salty pastrami into small chunks and put it into the chili; I did not add any other salt to the recipe. It turned out quite good, it was a good use of it.

Well done on finding a use for it. Even when something doesn't go quite right, there's a way to use it if you get creative.

This is bacon weekend! After curing in the fridge for about two weeks, I washed them off yesterday, added pepper to the two pieces of flat, and added a BBQ rub to the point. I smoked them for a few hours until they had an internal temp in the 150s, then removed them:



I then put them into the refrigerator with the intent to chill overnight. I couldn't resist the urge to try a piece of the flat for an evening snack, though....



They're fully cooked, so it's a pretty good snack even cold. But I fried up a few pieces too:



Are they a good, salty snack? Yes. Are they what I consider "bacon" based on my experience which is 100% based on store-bought pork bacon? No.

This morning I pulled out the meat slicer and went to work on the brisket point, which of course has a lot more intramuscular fat. Here's some of it:



I sliced all of the point, but left the flat in chunks since I'm not sure yet how I'll use/serve it:



And I fried up a few pieces of the point for brunch:



I intentionally cut the point along the grain, so the pieces have a bit of a "pull" to them when eating. It's not bad, but next time I'd probably cut against the grain.

So . . . how is it? Well, the point is definitely more bacon-y than the flat, and I enjoyed eating it more. It's good, and I'll enjoy it. Is it better than store-bought pork bacon? Nah . . . that's a pretty high bar, let's be honest.

And in related news, I tried my new Nesco VS-12 vacuum sealer today.

I've been using a Foodsaver that I bought at Costco a few years back. I've generally been happy with it, but I've had a few situations where I wanted to manually control when or where I sealed, and the Foodsaver wouldn't let me do that. With the Foodsaver, you push the end of the bag into a slot, and it automatically starts.

The Nesco does a few things that I like:

- I manually start the sealing or vacuuming process.
- I control where on the bag it seals -- right near the end, an inch or so back, whatever I want. Note that when applying vacuum, you need to be at least a half-inch or so from the end.
- I can set it to make a double seal -- two individual sealing strips about a tenth of an inch apart.

On the flip side, it is a bit slower to use, as I need to manually open and close the top, and align the bag. So for routine vac-sealing of ordinary stuff, I do think the Foodsaver is faster and easier. However, for what I'm doing, I'm pretty happy with the Nesco and the ability to exert more manual control.

That looks like a nice unit. I have been real happy with our Meat! Vac sealer. But I'm a but of a gambling, so....

I've been using the Nesco VS-12 for over a year now and am very happy with it

Looks like it's suction is stronger than my Foodsaver.

Got my pellets today. May smoke a meat roaf tomorrow with cab almond

I'd suggest starting out with the plain almond first so you see what the profile is.... Then swap out the cab almond so you can see what the wine brings in. It would decrease any chance of (possibly) being disappointed with the plain.... Give them a fair shake --- I'm betting you'll like them.

Edit to add --- I can't blame you for going with the wine pellets first tho.... I'd probably do the same in your situation too.
(I didn't catch the 'roaf' part there.... I thought it was an old guys brain fart )


Prepping up two butts for tomorrow myself --- I finally found someone to take the second spot on the smoker!!! Called up my neighbor - whom I see and chat with ~once or twice a month getting mail or running garbage out - to see if he would be interested.... He was excited as hell!!! Said his son-in-law smoked some chicken that he really liked - they've never really went for smoked meat before.... Kinda cool that I'm going to be able to give him that 'magical' experience of pulling down your first pork butt!
I'm a bit torn tho now.... I was planning for this butt to see if its possible to over smoke a butt with plum -- I was going to load the wood in there bigly - more than I usually do, worrying that its too much but never is.... I may have to (try to) hold back some for the smoked meat newbies..... I'd hate to put them off with too much smoke.

So no follow up on the cab/almond????
Does that mean you didn't like them?

I got a line on some Plum Logs today. A guy I know had a Plum Tree blow down last year and offered me some.

Looks like I might Join the real Plum Log Club for my Offset Stick burner.

I'm so confused John...... I thought you were a pellet guy.... Lumberjack all the way.... THEY know what they are doing - don't question them..... THEY don't offer plum..... Why would you be looking forward to plum logs????


Gonna do some whole chickens? Or just b/s thighs? Or are you going to go all 'Big Boy' brisket with it?

.....C'mon now JMB, I threw you a bone. I knew you would bite....Fish on!

I don't waste my time on Chicken, and thighs are for the Blackstone.

Honestly? It was just Plumb bait for you and it worked. I'll stick to "Big Boy" brisket and such, Yardbird is just....Yardbird.

That was too easy.

Maybe try smoking a "Fatty", they are delicious.