A Tale of Two Pigs

I did promise Pig, and here Pig is. There are two Pig recipes: one for home cured and smoked bacon, and one for ribs.

Bacon:

I agree with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on this subject. See Meat, by same illustrious personage. The bacon will be more like pancetta than the good old American 12 flat slices. I did not use 'pink salt' (aka sodium nitrite) so you will want to be careful to keep the curing meat at a cold temp (below 40F) and to smoke the cured belly at 200F minimum. Sodium nitrite does inhibit the growth of eColi, so do what I did before feeding to your children -- or anyone else with anything less than a fully-fledged immune system -- eat some yourself right out of the smoker or try the first fry-up. If you don't get sick, probably no one else will either.

Take a nice pork belly (mine was about 3 lbs) from a trusted source. The Prather Ranch boys in SF are excellent for pork. I cut mine in half across the equator so that I was dealing with two 8 or 9-inch long hunks of belly. I put together a cure of 1 pound salt; half cup sugar; and quarter cup Colman's English mustard powder. Leaving skin on, rub the cure into and all over the bellies. Drizzle with maple syrup (you want Grade B) and put in refrigerator to cool. The next day, drain accumulated water; rinse pan out; and reapply cure and maple syrup. Repeat again. On the fourth day, pull the bellies out while you prepare the smoker, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry. I used a Weber kettle grill and hardwood charcoal but you have to stay on hardwood charcoal like the dickens or it will get too hot. About 220F is what you want. Buy a candy thermometer and stick it in one of the vent holes up top. I like a mix of soaked apple and hickory chips for the smoke. Smoke for at least two hours, or longer if you have the patience. I find a little bourbon buys me a good deal of patience. Pull the bellies off; let cool; and take the skin off the top with a sharp knife. Freeze the skin for beans or greens, and cut the smoked bellies into hunks. Use like pancetta in soups, stews, pasta, or a frittata.

Ribs

Some good friends came over today for a ribfest, and here's what they got: two racks of loin ribs, and one rack had a bit of meat on the back (I think it was brisket). I am indebted to the great pitmaster Mike Mills, author of Peace, Love & Barbecue, for many things, including the vital knowledge that you must remove the connective tissue behind the ribs before you smoke. Removal can be easy or hard, depending on the rack. I cut a fine line with a sharp knife (my trusty 12" chef's knife) down the center and then used the knife to prize some of the tissue away. You have to have something to grab onto the tissue -- either a paper towel or a pair of clean pliers -- or it will forever slip away. Pull tissue away like you are peeling off a book cover. Once that tissue is off, remove all clumps of fat from the backside. Sprinkle the racks on both sides with your favorite dry rub, but for heaven's sake don't rub the rub in. Mike will explain it all to you, but rubbing the ribs clogs the pores of the meat. I wouldn't swear to the scientific basis for this assertion, but I have plenty of anecdotal evidence to support its veracity.

My dry rub today consisted of mostly sweet and smoked paprika, kosher salt, white pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, granulated onion, Rancho Gordo chile powder, Colman's mustard powder, and cumin. I smoked the ribs over indirect heat on the Weber, using again hardwood charcoal and a mix of apple and hickory for smoke. I started the racks face down for an hour, then flipped them over and spritzed with apple juice. I should perhaps mention that I smoke over a pan of water, both to catch drippings and to give some moisture back to the meat. In the meantime, I prepared a bourbon bbq sauce with ketchup, molasses, honey, white vinegar, salt and pepper, and bourbon (Bulleit, if you must know).

A word about sauce. I prefer to keep my meat moist with apple juice during the smoke, and I prefer to put my ribs on the table without sauce. Sauce is passed on the side. You may like to add some sauce in the last 20 minutes or so,and there's surely nothing wrong with that. Never sauce your ribs until the end, though, because the sugar will burn and that's the end of your ribs story.

For sides, we had baked beans and blue cheese cole slaw. I'll pass on those recipes shortly.