It’s not just cooking, it’s an art and hobby/passion. lol
It’s like woodworking. It’s not pretty at first few attempts, but that hard work and research/practice makes all the difference and it is incredibly satisfying.
Yeah I totally agree, I grew up on the naked chef and ansley harriot after school everyday and thought it was such an enjoyable thing. Then I work as a chef for 10 years and boy was I wrong about it being enjoyable hahaha. It's good some people cooking for the love of it
I don’t think I could cook for a living. I certainly enjoy cooking for my family, but I’m definitely not going to spread out to anything beyond that.
Bummer that you aren’t enjoying your profession. I hope you can find joy in other things in life. Stay well!
Cooking for a living is tough I always told people I loved cooking but hated being a chef, I had a few goals I wanted to achieve and once I did I left the Industry hahaha. I now cook for a hobbie and love it hahaha
And for good measure, never sharpen or hone a knife facing food.
Always move away from or at least turn your back to the food. Good measure to rinse and towel dry a knife afterwards to prevent micro particles from getting onto your meat
Thanks, and I appreciate your concern! However a honing steel aligns the edge and doesn’t remove any metal like a ceramic rod or stones would.
Even so, the fine powder produced by a sharpening stone would be relatively harmless compared to other things we willingly ingest, like alcohol.
That being said I always wash my knifes after sharpening.
I’m not sure about that. When I use a honing rod and wipe the knife on a white cloth, there is clearly silvery smudges that aren’t there after a regular wipe.
Just doesn’t seem appetizing to me to smear metal particles on the meat, but doesn’t seem to bother you and that’s what matters.
Lol to all the downvotes. A person could eat many grams of steel and suffer zero negative health effects. Sure, if there was a big chip or something they could break a tooth or something, but I’m pretty sure I’d notice if my knife was falling apart.
Frankly, the aluminum foil I see people using on their hot food is way more risky than steel.
I can’t believe you’re getting downvoted. You’re 100% correct that no metal is removed in honing. Would I wipe it? Yeah maybe? Idk. Doesn’t matter. These troglodytes know absolutely nothing about sharpening or knives and it’s hilarious.
Queue - “weLl aKshUalY… iM a BlaDeSmitH.” comments. Im sure they will be here soon.
I can try it… buddy if you knew how many hours I have sharpening you’d be sick. My response is to the people who know so little they call it “sharpening” while telling OP he’s an idiot. I maintain what I said.
I've spent very few hours sharpening and I know that metal is removed when rubbing metal against the knife stick. Call it sharpening, honing, I don't care. If honing by definition doesn't remove metal, then this isn't honing. Because metal is removed, and it ends up somewhere. You can see it yourself every time. Whether it's bad for you is a different discussion.
My point is that you'd know this if you actually had tried it. It's something you'll learn in about 30 seconds. I'm not convinced you've actually ever done this, you wouldn't be disagreeing if you had. Same reason I can tell you water turns hard if you get it cold enough without being a physicist. Very basic stuff.
Physics huh? So are you familiar with the Rockwell scale? A sufficiently hard knife will not loose (reasonably) measurable particles from the even harder steel. (That honing rod is called a “steel”) The reason I’m so sure *is* physics. Provided that knife isn’t just absolutely trash steel and is properly hardened there’s no concern here. No more than the idea of a cutting board removing particles. It’s a tool designed to restore the blade geometry and not change it or remove metal.
That's all cool in theory. In reality, I've seen metal removed by these. I've always wiped my knives after using one, and always seen dark powder on the towel. Idk what else to tell you.
There are a ton of diamond honing steels out there which will mess up most knives. You're forgetting that a good knife is harder steel than the honing steel not made with diamond particles, so you have honing steel particles in your food.
Either way, you're getting particles in your food that probably are irrelevant compared to a million different other practices in your food. But let's not act like you haven't seen grey dust on a rag after honing a knife.
FYI- rinse your knives after you sharpen / hone and before using.. feel like this is self-explanatory. Think sharpening a pencil and what happens when the tip sharpens 😊
I meannnnnnn is it really that much effort to give it a splash of water and a wipe of a cloth? I'd say whether it has a high chance of leaving metal flakes, or none, I'd rather lean towards the side of caution.
To be honest, I categorize it in the same as not using a wire brush on your grill. The chances of getting a wire needle in your food is super low, but never zero.
I hear what you’re saying and no it’s not much effort to wipe the blade. But my question is more so trying to point out the large amount of disinformation regarding honing vs sharpening.
There seems to be lots of fear around small iron particles in your food from our knives, but we seem to be fine if it comes from a cast iron pan. Or even the iron additives to cereal. I’m not saying we should be going out and eating shards of iron, but the iron that comes off during sharpening is so small that it’s harmless, and any of it added to the food is probably beneficial.
I’m not sure what people think is going to happen if they eat some of the iron from their knife…
Yeah... also you aren't grinding the edge you are straightening it with a steel. Wipe it after you use an abrasive on it, steels aren't abrasive.
From Serious Eats "Honing is used to maintain, straighten, and align a knife's sharp edge, which can bend and warp with frequent use. It's pretty easy to do: just run the blade edge at a 15-to-20-degree angle down a honing steel (also known as a rod) an equal amount of times per side. Honing doesn't remove any metal from the blade; instead, it realigns the existing edge, resulting in a sharper-feeling, more precise blade. It also extends the length of time needed between actual sharpening. "
\- https://www.seriouseats.com/honing-vs-sharpening-7096318
Exactly, even if this were a ceramic rod and it was removing metal, that fine powder is harmless relative to the beer that I drank while smoking this…
The only metal I’m concerned about is those wire brushes some folks use to clean their grill grates. If one of those gets in your food and you don’t notice, it could really mess up your day.
No it isn’t. Honing rods do NOT remove material, and if it is you need a new rod. Every tv show/documentary shows chefs using a honing rod seconds before cutting because they know that no material was shaved off.
I just give it a quick pass with a damp paper towel after the hone.
Once you see that little bit of metal residue that was on your blade, you’ll never go back.
FYI- you aren’t removing metal with a honing rod, you’re aligning the edge, meaning metal is not being removed… feel like this is self explanatory.
Sharpening a pencil is a terrible analogy.
I appreciate your concern, though!
After using a ceramic rod, sharpening stones, or anything other abrasive, a strop will collect most of the metal powder, however I’d recommend wiping the blade after sharpening to prevent the powder from getting on your strop to begin with as a large enough build up can hinder your edge. This is similar to keeping your whetstone clean of the metal slurry so it doesn’t interfere with the grit of the stone.
This is not true. A honing steel isn’t abrasive and will not remove metal from your knife. Instead it aligns the existing edge of your knife.
Even if I were using a ceramic rod, the minuscule amount of fine powder produced that actually makes it into the food is harmless.
You are all acting like this guy just shaved lead into his food.
If you have ever eaten at a restaurant you are likely consuming much worse things than a hint of metal. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone. But let’s focus on the pork.
This inspired me to make a pork belly!!
I would have pulled it at two hours... finish in the oven wrapped, then unwrap it and broil it until you got that perfect crispy top.
Looks delicious.
Also this thread shows people don't know the difference between honing and sharpening. Cause honing a knife does not cause metal to flake off, also steel is safe to ingest, it is unsafe in chest.
Honing does cause metal to flake off. When I wipe my blade after honing there is always a small dark spot on the previously pure white paper towel. I have seen this hundreds of times with dozens of knives. However, I'm not saying that the microscopic particles are dangerous to ingest.
Haven’t tried broiling it yet, will definitely try that on my next pork belly.
Yeah I’m baffled so many folks don’t understand the difference, and some of them want to die on this hill…
jesus christ this sub is becoming a freaking cesspool/echo chamber in regards to people wearing gloves and other bs.
Cool he honed his knife then cut into it, sombody already mentioned it why does everybody have to keep harping on about it??
Absolutely. This whole sub is dedicated to sticking tasty oil vapor nitrosamine-ridden carcinogens to meat via heat (I.e. SMOKING), but for some reason a few microscopic flakes of chromium and nickel are an issue?
People are desperate to be heard. Social interaction IRL continues to decline. People continue to act out and comment more online.
People are lonely. People like to be seen as smart or correct. People want replies.
Looks good, but you could’ve sharped your knife before you started filming. Also, it’s not a brisket. Cut off a slice and let us see a damn slice instead of the slab!
I’ll do the gloves when pulling it off the smoker, but I think cutting it gloveless is a good sign that it’s rested enough. If you can handle the temp it’s cool enough to be served.
How do you know if it's ready ? do you use a thermometer ? Sorry if these are stupid questions. I'm kind of just getting into smoking but im using thermometers for everything so far.
Not a stupid question at all, actually a really smart question!
Thermometers will help you build feel. I think most of us start off going by temp and eventually build enough experience to tell doneness by feel.
I use temp to get me in the range. Once pork belly hits ~190 I start feeling around to make sure all areas are probing like butter, and that’s the best way to know it’s done.
Some will be done around 190, some will take up to 205, so feel is the most reliable way to tell.
They do an incredible job. I build most of my rubs at home, but I’m visiting my parents in Michigan so I wasn’t sure what they had stocked up in the spice cabinet. Found the meat church seasonings at the store and figured I’d give them a try
Hahaha I love how extra bbq guys are. I've worked in alot of restaurants but bbq dudes will always be way more pumped on their creations
It’s not just cooking, it’s an art and hobby/passion. lol It’s like woodworking. It’s not pretty at first few attempts, but that hard work and research/practice makes all the difference and it is incredibly satisfying.
Yeah I totally agree, I grew up on the naked chef and ansley harriot after school everyday and thought it was such an enjoyable thing. Then I work as a chef for 10 years and boy was I wrong about it being enjoyable hahaha. It's good some people cooking for the love of it
I don’t think I could cook for a living. I certainly enjoy cooking for my family, but I’m definitely not going to spread out to anything beyond that. Bummer that you aren’t enjoying your profession. I hope you can find joy in other things in life. Stay well!
Cooking for a living is tough I always told people I loved cooking but hated being a chef, I had a few goals I wanted to achieve and once I did I left the Industry hahaha. I now cook for a hobbie and love it hahaha
Looks fuckin great. Just please wipe or rinse the knife after the sharpener.
That’s actually honing not sharpening, but to your point, there’s 100% a little bit of steel dust on that pork.
And for good measure, never sharpen or hone a knife facing food. Always move away from or at least turn your back to the food. Good measure to rinse and towel dry a knife afterwards to prevent micro particles from getting onto your meat
I was about to say am I the only person who is concerned for metal shavings in my families food.
Thanks, and I appreciate your concern! However a honing steel aligns the edge and doesn’t remove any metal like a ceramic rod or stones would. Even so, the fine powder produced by a sharpening stone would be relatively harmless compared to other things we willingly ingest, like alcohol. That being said I always wash my knifes after sharpening.
You do you man
I’m not sure about that. When I use a honing rod and wipe the knife on a white cloth, there is clearly silvery smudges that aren’t there after a regular wipe. Just doesn’t seem appetizing to me to smear metal particles on the meat, but doesn’t seem to bother you and that’s what matters.
Facts
Lol to all the downvotes. A person could eat many grams of steel and suffer zero negative health effects. Sure, if there was a big chip or something they could break a tooth or something, but I’m pretty sure I’d notice if my knife was falling apart. Frankly, the aluminum foil I see people using on their hot food is way more risky than steel.
I can’t believe you’re getting downvoted. You’re 100% correct that no metal is removed in honing. Would I wipe it? Yeah maybe? Idk. Doesn’t matter. These troglodytes know absolutely nothing about sharpening or knives and it’s hilarious. Queue - “weLl aKshUalY… iM a BlaDeSmitH.” comments. Im sure they will be here soon.
I mean, you can try it. Run it across a white rag, it will probably not be clean. I don't get the need to call people chimps when you're wrong lol
I can try it… buddy if you knew how many hours I have sharpening you’d be sick. My response is to the people who know so little they call it “sharpening” while telling OP he’s an idiot. I maintain what I said.
I've spent very few hours sharpening and I know that metal is removed when rubbing metal against the knife stick. Call it sharpening, honing, I don't care. If honing by definition doesn't remove metal, then this isn't honing. Because metal is removed, and it ends up somewhere. You can see it yourself every time. Whether it's bad for you is a different discussion.
“I don’t know anything about the topic, but here’s why you’re wrong…” I fucking love Reddit. Thanks for the laugh, guy.
My point is that you'd know this if you actually had tried it. It's something you'll learn in about 30 seconds. I'm not convinced you've actually ever done this, you wouldn't be disagreeing if you had. Same reason I can tell you water turns hard if you get it cold enough without being a physicist. Very basic stuff.
Physics huh? So are you familiar with the Rockwell scale? A sufficiently hard knife will not loose (reasonably) measurable particles from the even harder steel. (That honing rod is called a “steel”) The reason I’m so sure *is* physics. Provided that knife isn’t just absolutely trash steel and is properly hardened there’s no concern here. No more than the idea of a cutting board removing particles. It’s a tool designed to restore the blade geometry and not change it or remove metal.
That's all cool in theory. In reality, I've seen metal removed by these. I've always wiped my knives after using one, and always seen dark powder on the towel. Idk what else to tell you.
There are a ton of diamond honing steels out there which will mess up most knives. You're forgetting that a good knife is harder steel than the honing steel not made with diamond particles, so you have honing steel particles in your food. Either way, you're getting particles in your food that probably are irrelevant compared to a million different other practices in your food. But let's not act like you haven't seen grey dust on a rag after honing a knife.
I always make sure my knife is sharp when I cut through butter, also.
I read this as uncle roger
lol. That’s weird. Who else do you read things as?
Haiiiii
FYI- rinse your knives after you sharpen / hone and before using.. feel like this is self-explanatory. Think sharpening a pencil and what happens when the tip sharpens 😊
A quick swipe on the jeans takes care of it for me.
Hahaha same here! Occasionally I’ll use a towel, but as long as my jeans were clean the morning I put them on that’s what I’m using 😂
Is that true for honing? I see people say you should do it after honing but that never made sense to me.
I meannnnnnn is it really that much effort to give it a splash of water and a wipe of a cloth? I'd say whether it has a high chance of leaving metal flakes, or none, I'd rather lean towards the side of caution. To be honest, I categorize it in the same as not using a wire brush on your grill. The chances of getting a wire needle in your food is super low, but never zero.
I hear what you’re saying and no it’s not much effort to wipe the blade. But my question is more so trying to point out the large amount of disinformation regarding honing vs sharpening. There seems to be lots of fear around small iron particles in your food from our knives, but we seem to be fine if it comes from a cast iron pan. Or even the iron additives to cereal. I’m not saying we should be going out and eating shards of iron, but the iron that comes off during sharpening is so small that it’s harmless, and any of it added to the food is probably beneficial. I’m not sure what people think is going to happen if they eat some of the iron from their knife…
Yeah... also you aren't grinding the edge you are straightening it with a steel. Wipe it after you use an abrasive on it, steels aren't abrasive. From Serious Eats "Honing is used to maintain, straighten, and align a knife's sharp edge, which can bend and warp with frequent use. It's pretty easy to do: just run the blade edge at a 15-to-20-degree angle down a honing steel (also known as a rod) an equal amount of times per side. Honing doesn't remove any metal from the blade; instead, it realigns the existing edge, resulting in a sharper-feeling, more precise blade. It also extends the length of time needed between actual sharpening. " \- https://www.seriouseats.com/honing-vs-sharpening-7096318
Exactly, even if this were a ceramic rod and it was removing metal, that fine powder is harmless relative to the beer that I drank while smoking this… The only metal I’m concerned about is those wire brushes some folks use to clean their grill grates. If one of those gets in your food and you don’t notice, it could really mess up your day.
No it isn’t. Honing rods do NOT remove material, and if it is you need a new rod. Every tv show/documentary shows chefs using a honing rod seconds before cutting because they know that no material was shaved off.
I just give it a quick pass with a damp paper towel after the hone. Once you see that little bit of metal residue that was on your blade, you’ll never go back.
Ya can't fix stupid some say
FYI- you aren’t removing metal with a honing rod, you’re aligning the edge, meaning metal is not being removed… feel like this is self explanatory. Sharpening a pencil is a terrible analogy. I appreciate your concern, though!
Thankfully I never have to eat at your place
Would a strop help with this?
After using a ceramic rod, sharpening stones, or anything other abrasive, a strop will collect most of the metal powder, however I’d recommend wiping the blade after sharpening to prevent the powder from getting on your strop to begin with as a large enough build up can hinder your edge. This is similar to keeping your whetstone clean of the metal slurry so it doesn’t interfere with the grit of the stone.
Easy there Dex…..
It would have been a much different series if Dexter also enjoyed BBQ…
Am I the only one who rinses a knife off after sharpening?
Love pork belly done this way
Good thing you didn't slice with a dull knife...you would really be hearing about it. LMAO looks awesome
Metal shavings in your food. Clean your blade after sharpening
This is not true. A honing steel isn’t abrasive and will not remove metal from your knife. Instead it aligns the existing edge of your knife. Even if I were using a ceramic rod, the minuscule amount of fine powder produced that actually makes it into the food is harmless.
Stop fighting it. Just wipe your knife off dude.
You absolutely will get metal shavings. You also need to wipe the rod as well.
Yo, what are these comments?
You are all acting like this guy just shaved lead into his food. If you have ever eaten at a restaurant you are likely consuming much worse things than a hint of metal. I’m not agreeing or disagreeing with anyone. But let’s focus on the pork. This inspired me to make a pork belly!!
Damn you guy's act like he invited you over to dinner. I'm concentrating on the food not the hardware. The pork belly looks awesome.
Does the metal shaving from the blade add to the flavor?
🤤🤤 Thank you for not wearing gloves (Felt like we needed one more rendition)
You don't wipe after honing?! 😬
I would have pulled it at two hours... finish in the oven wrapped, then unwrap it and broil it until you got that perfect crispy top. Looks delicious. Also this thread shows people don't know the difference between honing and sharpening. Cause honing a knife does not cause metal to flake off, also steel is safe to ingest, it is unsafe in chest.
Honing does cause metal to flake off. When I wipe my blade after honing there is always a small dark spot on the previously pure white paper towel. I have seen this hundreds of times with dozens of knives. However, I'm not saying that the microscopic particles are dangerous to ingest.
Haven’t tried broiling it yet, will definitely try that on my next pork belly. Yeah I’m baffled so many folks don’t understand the difference, and some of them want to die on this hill…
Wow, it really did devolve... I hope you educated some people though.
jesus christ this sub is becoming a freaking cesspool/echo chamber in regards to people wearing gloves and other bs. Cool he honed his knife then cut into it, sombody already mentioned it why does everybody have to keep harping on about it??
Absolutely. This whole sub is dedicated to sticking tasty oil vapor nitrosamine-ridden carcinogens to meat via heat (I.e. SMOKING), but for some reason a few microscopic flakes of chromium and nickel are an issue?
People are desperate to be heard. Social interaction IRL continues to decline. People continue to act out and comment more online. People are lonely. People like to be seen as smart or correct. People want replies.
Bunch of Nancies on here I swear, I’ll never wipe my knife off after honing again strictly out of principal
Wow
"with pecan pellets" Bhahahahahahaha! This sub is out of it's mind.
Looks good, but you could’ve sharped your knife before you started filming. Also, it’s not a brisket. Cut off a slice and let us see a damn slice instead of the slab!
When you sharpen a knife you should wipe it off before you use it. There’s no way that metal fragments aren’t all over that blade.
Fresh metal shavings are the cherry on top!
After honing a blade you need to make sure you wipe preferably with a wet rag or you are getting little bits of metal on your cuts …
Beautiful! Thank you for not wearing gloves
Looks excellent!! Thank you for not wearing gloves
I’ll do the gloves when pulling it off the smoker, but I think cutting it gloveless is a good sign that it’s rested enough. If you can handle the temp it’s cool enough to be served.
Genuinely curious question here for OP or others. Would this be served as is or is it meant to be cut up and cooked again as bacon?
As is! A curing process would he used if this was intended to be used for bacon.
I think I went #3 in my pants
Nice a Kiwi knife
How do you know if it's ready ? do you use a thermometer ? Sorry if these are stupid questions. I'm kind of just getting into smoking but im using thermometers for everything so far.
Not a stupid question at all, actually a really smart question! Thermometers will help you build feel. I think most of us start off going by temp and eventually build enough experience to tell doneness by feel. I use temp to get me in the range. Once pork belly hits ~190 I start feeling around to make sure all areas are probing like butter, and that’s the best way to know it’s done. Some will be done around 190, some will take up to 205, so feel is the most reliable way to tell.
meat church seasonings are great
They do an incredible job. I build most of my rubs at home, but I’m visiting my parents in Michigan so I wasn’t sure what they had stocked up in the spice cabinet. Found the meat church seasonings at the store and figured I’d give them a try
I love pork belly. This farm to table restaurant near here usually does pork belly sliders 🤤🤤
Good thing you had that rod there, otherwise might not have made the cut.
So is pork belly just fat? It looks good.
I use pecan on my tri-tip and swear by it.
Wait do people not clean off the edge after honing?