jkief
is one Smokin' Farker
I was just going to combine this with the rib thread that I was going to post later today. However, the results were surprising and thought it needed its own explanation. Picked up a skin on pork belly yesterday.
Process: scored the skin and rubbed the meat side. Seran wrap and refrigerated overnight. Put on at 9 this morning.
Setup: MAK and Yoder set at 235 with competition blend lumberjack. Assassin running 225-245 with hickory. Meat side down and sprayed skin every 45-60 minutes. Fried skin at 350 until crispy. I ran low to render the fat and dry the skin so I could fry it afterwards.
Results: Pulled at 12:45.
MAK had a darker bark on meat side. Bark was a little tough. Probed at 201 when pulled from pit.
Yoder and Assassin had a very similar bark color on the meat side. They both probes around 190-193.
Impressions: My wife, son, and I all agreed. We liked the tenderness of the MAK better. Should have let the other 2 go another 30 minutes or so. We all liked the flavor of the Yoder better. Wife and son said the MAK was good, just kinda plain.
Assassin picked up too much smoke.
What I would do differently: Lower the MAK to 220 maybe to keep from overdoing the bark and putting more flavor into the belly. I would remove the skin and run the Assassin at 275. It likes to run hotter, I believe. Ribs are on now.
Process: scored the skin and rubbed the meat side. Seran wrap and refrigerated overnight. Put on at 9 this morning.
Setup: MAK and Yoder set at 235 with competition blend lumberjack. Assassin running 225-245 with hickory. Meat side down and sprayed skin every 45-60 minutes. Fried skin at 350 until crispy. I ran low to render the fat and dry the skin so I could fry it afterwards.
Results: Pulled at 12:45.
MAK had a darker bark on meat side. Bark was a little tough. Probed at 201 when pulled from pit.
Yoder and Assassin had a very similar bark color on the meat side. They both probes around 190-193.
Impressions: My wife, son, and I all agreed. We liked the tenderness of the MAK better. Should have let the other 2 go another 30 minutes or so. We all liked the flavor of the Yoder better. Wife and son said the MAK was good, just kinda plain.
Assassin picked up too much smoke.
What I would do differently: Lower the MAK to 220 maybe to keep from overdoing the bark and putting more flavor into the belly. I would remove the skin and run the Assassin at 275. It likes to run hotter, I believe. Ribs are on now.
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