Our local grocery chain has (had? they were going fast) some briskets
whole in the bag for 3 bucks a pound , and I've been wanting to smoke
some ... well there goes fifty bucks right quick too ! Turns out they
had some nice butt hams for a buck a pound , so grabbed a couple of
those , along with some chicken breasts and a 10 lb box of bacon .
Now I have this great big honkin' chunk of cow in my fridge , and I'm
not sure what I want to do with it . I do know I'll smoke the flat part
tomorrow or next day , the rest I'm open to suggestions . Isn't the
front part used for corned beef ? I like corned beef , would like to try
that too ... but for now I'll portion it and freeze what I don't smoke
tomorrow .
--
Snag
Illegitimi non
carborundum

On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 13:13:27 -0500, Snag wrote:

> Our local grocery chain has (had? they were going fast) some briskets
> whole in the bag for 3 bucks a pound , and I've been wanting to smoke
> some ... well there goes fifty bucks right quick too ! Turns out they
> had some nice butt hams for a buck a pound , so grabbed a couple of
> those , along with some chicken breasts and a 10 lb box of bacon .
> Now I have this great big honkin' chunk of cow in my fridge , and I'm
> not sure what I want to do with it . I do know I'll smoke the flat part
> tomorrow or next day , the rest I'm open to suggestions . Isn't the
> front part used for corned beef ? I like corned beef , would like to try
> that too ... but for now I'll portion it and freeze what I don't smoke
> tomorrow .

You're gonna make that brisket dry as the Sahara.

-sw

On 10/11/2020 2:13 PM, Snag wrote:
> Â* Our local grocery chain has (had? they were going fast) some briskets
> whole in the bag for 3 bucks a pound , and I've been wanting to smoke
> some ... well there goes fifty bucks right quick too ! Turns out they
> had some nice butt hams for a buck a pound , so grabbed a couple of
> those , along with some chicken breasts and a 10 lb box of bacon .
> Â* Now I have this great big honkin' chunk of cow in my fridge , and I'm
> not sure what I want to do with it . I do know I'll smoke the flat part
> tomorrow or next day , the rest I'm open to suggestions . Isn't the
> front part used for corned beef ? I like corned beef , would like to try
> that too ... but for now I'll portion it and freeze what I don't smoke
> tomorrow .

How much are you going to portion? I'd smoke the entire packer cut,
properly trimmed and portion after. You really cannot properly smoke
small portions. You can end up with hockey pucks. By front part, you
are talking about the point. Yes, it can be corned as well as the flat
can be. You can also cure and later smoke it with spices to make
pastrami.

On 10/11/2020 4:17 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 10/11/2020 2:13 PM, Snag wrote:
>> Â*Â* Our local grocery chain has (had? they were going fast) some
>> briskets whole in the bag for 3 bucks a pound , and I've been wanting
>> to smoke some ... well there goes fifty bucks right quick too ! Turns
>> out they had some nice butt hams for a buck a pound , so grabbed a
>> couple of those , along with some chicken breasts and a 10 lb box of
>> bacon .
>> Â*Â* Now I have this great big honkin' chunk of cow in my fridge , and
>> I'm not sure what I want to do with it . I do know I'll smoke the flat
>> part tomorrow or next day , the rest I'm open to suggestions . Isn't
>> the front part used for corned beef ? I like corned beef , would like
>> to try that too ... but for now I'll portion it and freeze what I
>> don't smoke tomorrow .
>
> How much are you going to portion?Â* I'd smoke the entire packer cut,
> properly trimmed and portion after.Â* You really cannot properly smoke
> small portions. You can end up with hockey pucks.Â*Â* By front part, you
> are talking about the point.Â* Yes, it can be corned as well as the flat
> can be.Â* You can also cure and later smoke it with spices to make pastrami.

I was thinking maybe 3 pieces , a little over 5 lbs each . Or maybe
just halve it . This is a 16 lb hunk of meat . I did freeze some smoked
brisket the one time I managed to cook one that was edible , came out OK
when thawed . I do that with pork butts too , portion and freeze after
smoking .
--
Snag
Illegitimi non
carborundum

On Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 4:17:41 PM UTC-5, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
> On 10/11/2020 2:13 PM, Snag wrote:
> > Our local grocery chain has (had? they were going fast) some briskets
> > whole in the bag for 3 bucks a pound , and I've been wanting to smoke
> > some ... well there goes fifty bucks right quick too ! Turns out they
> > had some nice butt hams for a buck a pound , so grabbed a couple of
> > those , along with some chicken breasts and a 10 lb box of bacon .
> > Now I have this great big honkin' chunk of cow in my fridge , and I'm
> > not sure what I want to do with it . I do know I'll smoke the flat part
> > tomorrow or next day , the rest I'm open to suggestions . Isn't the
> > front part used for corned beef ? I like corned beef , would like to try
> > that too ... but for now I'll portion it and freeze what I don't smoke
> > tomorrow .
> How much are you going to portion? I'd smoke the entire packer cut,
> properly trimmed and portion after. You really cannot properly smoke
> small portions. You can end up with hockey pucks.

That is true.

> By front part, you are talking about the point. Yes, it can be corned as
> well as the flat can be. You can also cure and later smoke it with spices
> to make pastrami.

An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't. Etrythorbic acid is an isomer
of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Megadoses of Vitamin C are generally both
harmless and useless, *except* in reducing the cancer risk from nitrate
cured meats. I adore bacon and other cured meats, but they do increase
the risk of colon cancer.

Megadosing vitamin C greatly lowers the risk. A citrus "cocktail," with added
vitamin C, sugar and water is protective. Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice is
great, but grapefruit juice can have effects on the metabolism of some
medications. My wife almost died from a grapefruit juice interaction.

The patient (42 year-old-female) in this journal article is my wife.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19204629/#affiliation-1
Dr. Pillai was the St. Mary's nephrologist who was part of her recovery team.
As described in the article, she forgot that she'd already taken her blood
pressure pill, and took another (an easy mistake). We had been on vacation,
and had stayed at a motel that had free breakfast, and for two days in a row,
and she had consumed a lot of grapefruit juice. During the previous two days,
she had taken the verapamil as prescribed, not knowing that her blood levels
were already becoming dangerously high, and when she accidentally took that
double dose, it almost killed her. When she was in the emergency ward, a
priest approached me in the waiting room, and asked if she was Catholic. He
was ready to do the last rites thing.

--Bryan

On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons wrote:

> An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
> nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
> with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't.

Which us one of several reasons those supposedly "uncured" products
that draw a premium price from gullible consumers under the guise of
being "healthy" are actually more harmful than the traditionally
cured meats. The other major factor is that the nitrate content
aren't regulated in uncured meats and some products have been found
to contain 8-10X the amount of nitrates allowed by the FDA.

-sw

On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 18:53:52 -0500, Sqwertz >
wrote:

>On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons wrote:
>
>> An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
>> nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
>> with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't.
>
>Which us one of several reasons those supposedly "uncured" products
>that draw a premium price from gullible consumers under the guise of
>being "healthy" are actually more harmful than the traditionally
>cured meats. The other major factor is that the nitrate content
>aren't regulated in uncured meats and some products have been found
>to contain 8-10X the amount of nitrates allowed by the FDA.

That's it, no more meat for me!

Bruce wrote:
> On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 18:53:52 -0500, Sqwertz >
> wrote:
>
>> On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons wrote:
>>
>>> An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
>>> nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
>>> with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't.
>>
>> Which us one of several reasons those supposedly "uncured" products
>> that draw a premium price from gullible consumers under the guise of
>> being "healthy" are actually more harmful than the traditionally
>> cured meats. The other major factor is that the nitrate content
>> aren't regulated in uncured meats and some products have been found
>> to contain 8-10X the amount of nitrates allowed by the FDA.
>
> That's it, no more meat for me!
>

Maybe some day, you'll even quit whining about meat.

On Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 6:53:58 PM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:
> On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons wrote:
>
> > An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
> > nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
> > with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't.
> Which us one of several reasons those supposedly "uncured" products
> that draw a premium price from gullible consumers under the guise of
> being "healthy" are actually more harmful than the traditionally
> cured meats. The other major factor is that the nitrate content
> aren't regulated in uncured meats and some products have been found
> to contain 8-10X the amount of nitrates allowed by the FDA.

Correct. It's shameful that the FDA allows this.
>
> -sw

--Bryan

Bruce wrote:
>
> On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 18:53:52 -0500, Sqwertz >
> wrote:
>
> >On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons wrote:
> >
> >> An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
> >> nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
> >> with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't.
> >
> >Which us one of several reasons those supposedly "uncured" products
> >that draw a premium price from gullible consumers under the guise of
> >being "healthy" are actually more harmful than the traditionally
> >cured meats. The other major factor is that the nitrate content
> >aren't regulated in uncured meats and some products have been found
> >to contain 8-10X the amount of nitrates allowed by the FDA.
>
> That's it, no more meat for me!

<yawn> You decided that many years ago.

On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 05:56:00 -0400, Gary > wrote:

>Bruce wrote:
>>
>> On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 18:53:52 -0500, Sqwertz >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons wrote:
>> >
>> >> An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
>> >> nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
>> >> with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't.
>> >
>> >Which us one of several reasons those supposedly "uncured" products
>> >that draw a premium price from gullible consumers under the guise of
>> >being "healthy" are actually more harmful than the traditionally
>> >cured meats. The other major factor is that the nitrate content
>> >aren't regulated in uncured meats and some products have been found
>> >to contain 8-10X the amount of nitrates allowed by the FDA.
>>
>> That's it, no more meat for me!
>
><yawn> You decided that many years ago.

Oh yes, I forgot!

Bruce wrote:
>
> Gary wrote:
>
> >Bruce wrote:
> >> That's it, no more meat for me!
> >
> ><yawn> You decided that many years ago.
>
> Oh yes, I forgot!

On Mon, 12 Oct 2020 01:46:12 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons
> wrote:

>On Sunday, October 11, 2020 at 6:53:58 PM UTC-5, Sqwertz wrote:
>> On Sun, 11 Oct 2020 16:28:03 -0700 (PDT), Bryan Simmons wrote:
>>
>> > An interesting fact about cured meats is that if they're sold cured with
>> > nitrite/nitrate, they must also include erythorbate, but if they are sold cured
>> > with celery, which contains nitrate, they don't.
>> Which us one of several reasons those supposedly "uncured" products
>> that draw a premium price from gullible consumers under the guise of
>> being "healthy" are actually more harmful than the traditionally
>> cured meats. The other major factor is that the nitrate content
>> aren't regulated in uncured meats and some products have been found
>> to contain 8-10X the amount of nitrates allowed by the FDA.
>
>Correct. It's shameful that the FDA allows this.
>>
>> -sw
>
>--Bryan

Bryan's cured meat of choice is a large (slicing) pepperoni. LOL