121: Smoking a Fatty!

I flattened out 5 pounds of ground pork and beef, covered it with Memphis-style rub, grated Campesino cheese in the middle, rolled it into a log, salted the whole thing with the rub, and stuck it in the fridge to congeal until I slow smoked it on Sunday. In BBQ culture, that and all of its variations is called a "Fatty." Well, I was right and wrong at the same time.  It's true that there are variations of this thing, and some folk do what I did.  But the real deal is smaller -- I practically made a meatloaf without the egg and breadcrumbs.  Here's where I learned the difference.

My bigger mistake was using lowfat ground pork and then mixing it with lots of ground beef.  I basically made a hamburger that had to be cooked long enough to safely eat pork.  I Cooked it around 250 for 3 hours and removed it at 165 degrees on the meat thermometer.  Had it been just beef, the whole thing would have been much tastier served a smoky rare.  The ribs were so excellent, nobody ate this -- it tasted like spicy, overcooked hamburger, although it wasn't dry at all.  With the rub and the cheese, this is going to get mixed with beans and converted into an awesome chili, so nothing was wasted!

All patted together and ready to spend the night in the fridge.

Almost done!  The ribs are at 175 and the fatty is stalled at 140 -- it went up to 165 quickly.

Pretty, isn't it?

Nathan Willard presents the fatty!

Got a bit of a smoke ring -- they were delectable.

YAY!!!!  It's done, dad!