I've had at least 10 messages asking:
HOW DO I COOK THIS THING
So this weekend, I defrosted the first of 20 and set about cooking it at home! Most of the recipes I saw called for some crazy stuff and the last thing I want to do on Father's Day is work hard.
1) Defrost Hammer and remove silver skin.
2) Pat dry, cover with olive oil and cover with HardCore Carnivore. I was almost out of the spice rub and the FedEx truck got here about 4 hours after I started cooking so put on more than I did here.
3) Use kitchen twine (2 strips) to hold it all together while we work on the bacon.
4) Put your FREE Bacon sampler around it. I used toothpicks to hold the bacon on. Then I used more twine to hold the bacon on so I could remove the toothpicks. This is not a terribly marbled cut so it needs that extra fat of the bacon. Then I tucked garlic cloves under the twine.
5) Then I put it in the smoker for 2 hours on 200°. Then I pulled it out and wrapped it in foil, put some butter tabs on top (about a half stick) and put it back in the smoker for 3 hours to reach 150° internal temp. You can leave it on longer - some recipes suggested to leave it on like a brisket until 190°.
LOOK AT THAT RED SMOKE COLOR!
Lastly, we removed the twine and bacon and let it rest before cutting into it and serving it with shallot green beans and oven roasted mini potatoes.
Our Review: It's a bit like a Prime Rib and a Brisket had a baby... I know that may be a strange descriptor but I don't know how else to describe it. It has the smokey flavor of a brisket but it has the fatty, juicy flavor as a Prime Rib. Of course, this cut is FAR less expensive than a Prime Rib - averaging at 7 pounds for the cut and $6 per pound - instead of over $20 for a Prime Rib.
Thor's Hammer easily fed our family of 5. There was still meat and bone marrow on the shaft so we are putting it in pinto beans for dinner tomorrow!
Pretty impressive but fairly easy and cost effective to make!