It's that time of year. Kind of late for a post, but there's still time to smoke nuts, roast coffee, make Kahlua, etc, all ideas I've gleaned from SMF.
Above is a pic of 8 pork sirloins I cured, then smoked today for gifts, about 14 lbs total. Used two fans to accelerate the pellicle forming process this morning. First time doing that. It worked nicely! There's time to cure another batch of pork sirloins, kind of like Canadian bacon that I call Cabackian bacon. It's WAY leaner than buckboard bacon, almost like a loin.
Also my first batch of 16 oz bottles of Mexican Coffee Liqueur, my own takeoff from Kahlua. Cold brewed, freshly ground Organic Mexican Dark Roast Coffee, Piloncillo Mexican Cone Sugar, Reposado Tequila, and homemade vanilla extract. The shot glass is backlit with an inspection light. Foamheart here at SMF was the inspiration for the Kahlua-like drink. The freshly ground, cold brew coffee takes the flavor to a whole 'nuther level. Great in the morning coffee, but my favorite way to have it is poured over vanilla bean ice cream. Still have a couple more batches of the coffee liqueur to make.
Smoking jerky tomorrow, with more batches to follow.
Making a sweet potato pie casserole for my wife's office party on Thursday.
Then will roast more Mexican Organic coffee about a week before Christmas. Will let it age four days then vacuum seal it for gifts.
Busy, busy. Post your homemade, smoked, brewed, baked, whatever gifts.
Still having issues uploading pics. Will post this thread then try clicking and dragging.