Type what you have

Ingredients

• ✓ curing salt
• beef brisket
• water
• white sugar
• kosher salt
• garlic
• ice cube
• coriander seed
• black peppercorn
• mustard seed
• red pepper flake
• clove
• ginger
• bay leaf

Instructions

1. 1 Trim off fat cap of brisket; poke some holes in meat with a paring knife.
2. 2 Bring water to a boil in a large pot on the stovetop. Remove from heat; as it starts to cool down, add white sugar, kosher salt, garlic, and pink curing salt.
3. 3 Find a food-grade, nonreactive container with a lid; pour in brine and ice, then add brisket. Keep brisket in brine for 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator. Flip brisket every 24 hours.
4. 4 After brining, pull brisket out of the container and rinse under cold water.
5. 5 Heat a pan over low heat. Toast coriander seeds, peppercorns, and mustard seeds in the hot pan, about 2 minutes. Remove and transfer to a food processor; add red pepper flakes, cloves, ginger, and bay leaves. Grind well.
6. 6 Use 1/2 of the spice mixture to coat brisket; seal in a food saver bag. Reserve remaining spice mixture. Place brisket in a sous vide at 137 degrees F (58 degrees C) for 18 hours.
7. 7 Remove from sous vide, cut open the bag, and brisket set out to dry and rest on a wire rack from a smoker for 30 minutes. Use remaining pickling spices to re-coat brisket.
8. 8 Place a wire rack in the smoker. Add wood chips according to manufacturer's directions and heat to 225 degrees F (107 degrees C).
9. 9 Smoke brisket until browned, tender, and no longer pink in the center, about 5 hours. Pull brisket from the smoker and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

By Norm Walker

Ingredients

• ✓ curing salt
• soy sauce
• honey
• rice wine
• sake
• dry sherry
• hoisin sauce
• ketchup
• brown sugar
• garlic
• five-spice powder
• black pepper
• cayenne pepper
• pork butt
• red food coloring
• kosher salt

Instructions

1. 1 Place soy sauce, honey, rice wine, hoisin sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, garlic, five-spice powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and curing salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil on high heat; reduce heat to medium-high. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Cool to room temperature.
2. 2 Cut pork in half lengthwise. Cut each half again lengthwise forming 4 long, thick pieces of pork.
3. 3 Transfer cooled sauce to a large mixing bowl. Stir in red food coloring. Place pork sections into sauce and coat each piece. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 4 to 12 hours.
4. 4 Preheat grill for medium heat, 275 to 300 degrees F (135 to 150 degrees C) and lightly oil the grate. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
5. 5 Remove sections of pork from marinade and let excess drip off. Place on prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt to taste.
6. 6 Transfer pork sections to grate over indirect heat on the prepared grill. Cover and cook for about 45 minutes. Brush with marinade; turn. Continue cooking until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C), about 1 hour and 15 minutes more. Do not use any more marinade on cooked meat until after you boil it.
7. 7 Place leftover marinade in a saucepan; bring to a boil; let simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Now you can use it to brush over the cooked pork.

By John Mitzewich

Ingredients

• ✓ curing salt
• pork belly
• brown sugar
• salt
• paprika
• red pepper flake
• black pepper
• cumin seed
• maple syrup
• applewood chunk
• hickory wood chunk

Instructions

1. 1 Rinse pork belly; pat dry. Combine brown sugar, non-iodized salt, paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, curing salt, and cumin seeds in a bowl; stir in maple syrup. Evenly spread brown sugar curing mixture over pork belly.
2. 2 Vacuum-seal pork belly or place into a resealable plastic bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate for 7 to 10 days.
3. 3 Remove pork belly from bag; rinse thoroughly. Pat dry; refrigerate while preheating smoker.
4. 4 Preheat a smoker to 220 degrees F (105 degrees C) according to manufacturers' instructions.
5. 5 Place pork belly, fat-side down, onto the wire rack. Place the rack into the smoker. Add 1 fist-sized chunk of applewood and 1 chunk of hickory wood to the smoke pan according to manufacturer's directions. Smoke for 1 1/2 hours; add 2 more applewood chunks. Continue smoking until pork belly reaches an internal temperature of about 150 degrees F (66 degrees C), about 1 1/2 hours more.
6. 6 Remove pork belly from smoker; slice as desired. Store in the refrigerator for about 30 days. You can also portion the smoked bacon, freezing whatever you don't plan to consume right away. To use, thaw it in the refrigerator.

By Smye Sarrel

Ingredients

• ✓ curing salt
• black pepper
• garlic
• pickling spice
• brown sugar
• onion
• lager beer
• apple juice
• wood chip
• beef brisket
• garlic
• pickling spice
• brown sugar
• kosher salt
• onion
• lager beer
• water

Instructions

1. 1 Place water, 3 bottles beer, 2 onions, kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, curing salt, 1/4 cup pickling spice, and 2 tablespoons garlic in a very large pot. Stir well until salts are dissolved. Add beef; stir gently. Use a large bowl or heavy plate to keep the beef submerged. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate, stirring once a day, for 4 days.
2. 2 Soak wood chips in apple juice for 2 hours.
3. 3 Remove beef from pot, discarding brine, and rinse well until cold water. Let beef come to room temperature.
4. 4 Preheat an outdoor grill to 150 to 175 degrees F (65 to 80 degrees C). Place soaked wood chips in a shallow aluminum pan on the heat source.
5. 5 Place meat directly on the grate and allow to smoke for 2 hours.
6. 6 Combine 1 beer, 1 onion, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons pickling spice, 2 tablespoons chopped garlic, and black pepper in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour into a large roasting pan. Place beef in braising liquid in the roasting pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
7. 7 Increase grill temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Place the roasting pan on the grill and close the lid.
8. 8 Roast the beef until tender, 3 to 4 hours. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (60 degrees C).
9. 9 Remove beef from the roasting pan, discarding braising liquid. Let beef cool until easily handled.
10. 10 Slice beef into very thin slices across the grain.

By What's for dinner, mom?

Ingredients

• ✓ curing salt
• white sugar
• salt
• oregano
• black pepper
• ginger
• ground pork
• pork back fat
• garlic
• white vinegar
• hog casing

Instructions

1. 1 Stir sugar, salt, oregano, black pepper, curing salt, and ginger together in a small bowl until combined; set aside.
2. 2 Combine ground pork, ground pork fat, and garlic in a large bowl; sprinkle with sugar mixture. Pour in vinegar; mix thoroughly.
3. 3 Rinse hog casing very well until all salt or brine is gone; tie a knot at one end of the casing, then thread the other end onto a sausage stuffing tube. Stuff the casing with the pork sausage mixture, twisting the filled casing every 2 1/2 to 4 inches to form links. Once all sausage mixture has been used, tie a knot at the end of the last link.
4. 4 Tie ends of each sausage link tightly using fine cotton kitchen twine, then cut between each link to separate. Transfer links to a glass or plastic container. Cover; allow to mature in the refrigerator for 4 days, after which point they may be frozen.
5. 5 To cook longanisa, fill a skillet with 1/2 to 3/4 inches water; add thawed sausage links. Simmer over medium-high heat until water evaporates, about 20 minutes. Uncover, and allow sausages to fry in their own fat until golden brown, about 8 minutes more.

By Eugenio Vincenzo