Fatty-Cake, Fatty-Cake, Smokin' MAN!!! Process & q-view

[forluvofsmoke]

This worked out beautifully! I even impressed myself with this part...a godd chilling @ ~20*F for 30+ minutes and the stage was set.


Here's the pair...the left is the lower layer, still covered with poly:



And, presto! I matched the pans up with the lower layer being raised and tilted slightly...as I began to increase the angle of the pan I also increased the speed at which I was tilting...when the pan was coming past 90 degrees, I just kept up the acceleration of the motion and it settled down within an 1/8" of centered...a slight shift and it was time for seam sealing:



Here, I'm gently lifting up the poly wrap, beginning with the bottom pan, then the top, so I can ease the top pan up slightly to reveal the open seam of the two separate meats:



All sealed up...I didn't use any additional sausage for the sealing process...time will tell if this was a mistake or not...to seal the seam up, I used one finger at a time and just touched the seam and pulled the lower meat up and the upper meat down, then worked slightly from side-to-side to join it up...felt and looked like it took really well...time will tell...:



OK, I'm breathing much easier now! LOL!!!

I have it in the freezer now, still in the pans. The cake is in an inverted position right now...for a reason...I have to place the smoker grate on top of the bottom layer after the pan/poly wrap is removed. The, I invert the grate and cake simultaneously (again, without destroying the entire masterpiece), remove the last pan and poly, and then hit a very hot smoker while the meat is still set-up well from the freezer. This should firm up the exterior meat quick enough (I hope) to help it all hold together without bad sagging issues or a side-wall blow-out.


Now, it's time for me to take final measures to assure the success of this project's outcome. I have 5 20# LPG tanks and only one has any left at all, and it's not very much. So, I'm off to the bulk propane distributor which is about 5 minutes drive away from my house for a refill or 2.

Man, this is going great folks! I'm so excited to be sharing another totally off-the-wall and wild ride through the thin blue smoke with everyone here!

Back ASAP with the final stage and start of the smoke!

Eric

 

[smokin relaxin steve]

I just showed a buddy at work.. he said "this guy shouldnt be worried about the sides of that thing holding up, but more like his heart holding up after he eats it" LOL!!!! but i say THATS A SIGN OF A FANTASTIC MEAL!

 

[smokingd]

WOW I can't wait to see how this turns out

 

[werdwolf]

Waiting

Who has the pic of the lion "Tic Toc"?

 

[cruizer]

Looking goood!! Can't wait to see how the finished product comes out.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

This is going like clock-work so far!



Ready for final prep, pan and poly pulls, and the dreaded flip onto the smoker grate...and, yes, that's snow on my pan from bringing this inside from my outdoor q-freezer:



1st pan gently lifted off with a straight upwards & light but steady force:



Poly wrap is off, and were about ready to flip onto the grate:











And, there you have it!!!!











Tossed it into the Smoke Vault 24 with cherry chips @ 350+*...then cut it back to 300* after 30 minutes...chuggin' along getting happy right now:



So, the method seems to be pretty flawless so far...time will tell the rest of the story...my fingers are tightly crossed!

Eric

 

[autoferret]

amazing! i'm going to have to try this for the next party!

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I just found out that I have a digi-cam charger again!

I've been shooting with my cell cam for months...tough to get good shots, but life is better now! LOL!!!



2.75 hours in and stuck a probe in because of the growing bulge in the top and shrinking bottom layer. It appears to be shifting the weight a bit, and pushing the divider layer of sausage upwards along with the top covering. The lower layer's side walls were bulging some after the first hour, but I expected that...it is now disappearing for the most part.

I first peeked at it and saw the bulge. Thinking it may have some built up steam pressure, I stuck it with my probe tip...nothing happened, so I commenced to rig-up for probe insertion and monitoring IT's.


Temp was @ 65* 2.75 hours into the smoke...chamber temps of 275+...average of almost 300* for the first 2.75 hours:



A view from the under-side...checking on sagging into the grate...hard to see anything going on there right now...if you study it carefully, you will see some of the wire is partially hidden with meat...sagging some, but it should be alright for as far along as the smoke is:



I won't be going to work very early in the morning, as the snowplows will need to clean-up the highways...it's a mess out there right now. 4" of wet heavy snow in the past 6 hours and no sign of it letting up. Well darn, I guess I'll just have to finish my smoke project for today right?!?!?!? LOL!!!


So far, so good...and smoky!!!


More updates as this unfolds!

Eric

 

[herkysprings]

You are my hero. It doesnt even matter if this turns out edible.

 

[caveman]

Hey Eric!! I am at work right now. I showed this to my co-worker / friend who I introduced to fatties & he is now requesting that I learn this well so I can make him one for his birthday. He claims that he does not want that flour & sugar cake anymore. He wants fattie cake. LMBO. Of course your work, qview, idea & presentation are great. The saga continues & I am tuned in............

 

[forluvofsmoke]

I had to take a closer look at the Vault to find out why my chamber temps kept climbing...dialed it back from ~300* 3 times in the past 45 minutes...no, not out of water...check this IT:


Apparently I did just right with the starting temps and backing it down to 275* after the first 2 hours...the IT jumped from 65* to 143* in 1.25 hours.


Wanna peak? Are you SURE you wanna peak at this bad boy?!?!?!?



































***************CONSIDER YOURSELF FAIRLY WARNED************



















OK, grate view first, then, the sweetest thing my Vault has had the priveledge of smoking for a few days...maybe weeks! HEH-HEH-HEH!



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Now, are you posalutely absitively sure you wanna see this!?!?!?!?
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I almost can't wait to get this up to temp, pull it out to rest and put a steel to a knife! Oh, wait...I'll need a serrated knife for this...no prob!


You KNOW I'll be back with more!!!!

Eric

 

[forluvofsmoke]

The IT's fooled the daylights out of me on this one. I was starting to think 8-10 hours in the smoke...I was on the forums when I jumped up to go check...made it in 5 hours!!!!!!!!!


5-hr IT's:








OK, I'm starting to come back down to earth now. The excitement, the anticipation in not knowing the outcome...but, this thing held together beautifully.

It's resting on the grate right now, supported by a cookie sheet to catch any drippings.

Slicing and dining to follow ASAP!!!!!!!!

Eric

 

[caveman]

Still with you Eric.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

Thanks, brother! Fightin' puter issues again...blackberry for a internet modem has my puter PO'd big time...had to restart and I'm finally done loading pics from digi-cam...upload to PB next, then here...

Hang in there...sorry about the delay.

Eric

 

[caveman]

Don't be sorry. I have the popcorn ready to go with my large Raspberry Ice Tea. Anytime you are ready.

 

[forluvofsmoke]

LOL!!!!! Thanks, Cave!


I'll pin-point a couple issues which are common with the pies I've smoked in the past...namely, meat stuck to the grate, and how to get it off without the cake/pie being destroyed.

I rested the cake for about 20 minutes...that's all I could stand to wait, as it was still over 170* when I pulled the knife out.

Ready to invert for inspection of the grate/sausage issue...I expect to have to manually release the meat, as always:



Yep, stuck again:



I released the sausage by pressing in each square of the wire grate with my fingers, so the meat would force back through to the opposite side...I did a bit of lifting with a silicone spatula...it wasn't too bad with the jerky grate though...nice grate marks, if you're into that sort of thing:



Sausage tracks on the jerky grate...left a bit behind, but no serious damage to my masterpiece:



It did leak out some cheese through the bottom layer of sausage. I suspect the smoked side pork punctured the sausage. I would put the egg layer on bottom next time. 1st slice is loose...ready for the moment of truth:



And that, my friends, is worth the wait..very thin sausage crust throughout...even the divider layer is thin...gotta love this!!!:









I pulled it off!

A few things I would recommend for others would be to keep any crisp/sharp fillings away from the bottom layer of sausage to avoid puncture/leakage. The sausage joints/seams held up very well without a massive amount of liquified fillings pushing against them. I lost some cheese out the bottom, but I'd say use at least a full pound instead of 1/2lb. Layer some cheese into the top layer of the cake as well...the tater tots softened up quite a bit during the smoke...expected...the cheese would have been a nice touch in that area, especially with the cb.

Starting temps could be around 300* without issues on sagging...that was what I was trying to avoid by starting so hot...it will happen no matter what you do, I think, but the jerky grate makes all the difference in how severe the grate sticking issue will be.

Flavors and textures were very nice throughout...so many layers to sample as I took a small bite and searched for what I wanted to try next. No additional seasonings other than during the initial prep and pre-cooking yesterday...very simple with good flavors.

Well, this one kept me busy for quite some time, but, man, what a ride!!!

If I think of anything else to add/change, I'll be back with comments. Questions are welcome also.

Thanks all...enjoy!

Eric

 

[daddyzaring]

Boy that looks awsome, I want a bite, or two, or three, or.......... lol

 

[caveman]

As the saga ends, is seems that the sausage once again lost out to our hero, whose never ending triumphs at the smoker goes to show; Man against meat is a daily struggle with taste over selection.

Well done Sir. I believe I have points for you & even one of your pics, the one with the thermo inserted, makes it look like a birthday cake. Outstanding job.

Question: Did you not spray the grill with some pam before you placed the cake?

 

[roller]

Unbelievable...now that is my kinda food...Well done smoke brother well done !!!! A master piece...

 

[meateater]

All I can say is don't talk with your mouth full!