Much learned from the first attempt. This time I found some sour
tangerines. Nice green peels. I am using double the salt, two
tablespoons. Unlike the last attempt I see something different has
happened. After 12 hours I rotated the meat in the marinade and noticed the
fat and skin had shrunk quite a bit. Today, 12 hours later I took meat out
to cook and the skin had expanded more than double the original size. The
slits I had cut in the skin now looked like a swollen pineapple. So the
salt really did draw moisture into the meat as Alton Brown taught. I
watched some YouTube videos and decided to cook at 400F for the first hour
then only 5 hours at 250 rather than 7. I am aiming for a moist, deeply
flavored meat like my favorite Cuban restaurant serves.
We'll know soon. Man, you can't beat the aroma.
Paul
tangerines. Nice green peels. I am using double the salt, two
tablespoons. Unlike the last attempt I see something different has
happened. After 12 hours I rotated the meat in the marinade and noticed the
fat and skin had shrunk quite a bit. Today, 12 hours later I took meat out
to cook and the skin had expanded more than double the original size. The
slits I had cut in the skin now looked like a swollen pineapple. So the
salt really did draw moisture into the meat as Alton Brown taught. I
watched some YouTube videos and decided to cook at 400F for the first hour
then only 5 hours at 250 rather than 7. I am aiming for a moist, deeply
flavored meat like my favorite Cuban restaurant serves.
We'll know soon. Man, you can't beat the aroma.
Paul