Pork Belly Burnt Ends

I've been cooking pork belly for a few years now and the "perfect" bite eludes me.  It is tender, flavorful, and has crisp edges.  I've tried smoking bellies, cooked small pieces in a crock pot, cooked them sous vide, finished with a cast iron saute... they're OK, but not what I want.  The best I've found so far is Malcom Reed's "Pork Belly Burnt Ends."  It's a pretty brilliant recipe, actually.

There are 3 steps to this recipe:
1. Season and smoke
2. Steam and tenderize
3. Caramelize

Each step takes roughly 2 hours, so plan for about 6 hours of cooking.  There's no real urgency to the first two steps, but you need to keep an eye on step 3.  So here goes:

1. Season and smoke: Take a pork belly and cube it into portions a bit bigger than what you plan to end with.  Fat will render and you'll lose water, so the pieces will shrink.  Season all over, not too heavy, with a decent rub.  I like Dizzy Pig IPA for this.  Smoke at 250 for about two hours. The pork fat will start to render, and you should get a bit of browning.

This is 20 pounds of pork belly, on three levels, ready to go on a multilevel indirect setup in a large Egg.  The spider with a stone is the heat deflector; adjustable rig with two grids above that, and finally a rig extender on top of that. The spider isn't shown here - it's already in the egg and pretty much lives there. Awesome setup, from Ceramic Grill Store.  You could use the plate setter with the grid above just as easily.  As for smoke, apple or cherry wood are great for this cook.

This gets about 2 hours of smoke, until the outside gets a nice brown color:

2. Steam and tenderize.  The next step is to use steam to render fat and tenderize.  You could leave these on the egg and cook them down indirect, but it takes longer and generates a huge amount of rendered fat.  Instead, take all those pieces and throw them in a foil pan, and cover tightly with aluminum foil.  Get the egg up to 300.  Or do it in the oven.  Let them steam a few hours.  You'll end up with a lot of rendered fat in the bottom of the foil pan.  Drain this off.

3. Caramelize.  Remove the aluminum foil.  Add a few good handfuls of brown sugar and about half a stick of butter.  You'll also need a few good shakes of worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Drizzle all over with honey.  Cook and stir every 20 minutes.  If there's too much watery liquid in the pan, drain it off.  Add more brown sugar liberally as needed.  Give it a taste now and then.  Finally, add kosher salt to taste. I find these can take a lot of flavor, so adjust as you go and add whatever it needs.  You can add more rub if you want, as well.

Malcolm Reed adds a glaze at the end.  I don't think it's needed because you're building it with the brown sugar, salt, worcestershire and Tabasco anyhow.

Enjoy!

TinyFSK and WinWarbler

WinWarbler is favored by many digital ops for DXing and casual operating.  The following describes setting up TinyFSK for RTTY.

After starting WinWarbler, WW for short, go to config, and in the External Modem tab choose TinyFSK and the COM port for your TinyFSK.  Enter the serial port settings for your TinyFSK: 9600 / 8 / 1 / none.  In the RTTY section, make sure the "enabled" option is checked. Select the appropriate mode for your transceiver for FSK.

For PTT nothing needs to be selected:  Tiny provides PTT. 

In the RTTY tab you will see MMTTY setup.  If you go to that and check on Options,  note that no COM port is entered.  If 2Tone is enabled, note that as with N1MM+ the TX mode will be set to AFSK, which avoids COM port conflicts.  2Tone is not the transmit engine in WW.

The main WW panel should look like this:  RTTY receive and transmit (tinyfsk) is showing.

Note in the green panel, the TinyFSK information is all listed: version, speed, and mark polarity.

N8CL with KD9IWX

Makin' Bacon

The "Two Eggs" of the blog title refer to my two Big Green Eggs.  Technically, one is a large, and one is a small.  Both are great cookers.  I fire one up probably 4 evenings a week when the weather is nice - and once a week when the weather isn't.

One of my favorite things to make is homemade bacon.  It's simple and delicious.  I use a couple of different techniques; I'll cover a bit about the dry cure here and review some of the smoking techniques.

Curing bacon requires 4 ingredients: pork belly, salt, sugar, and nitrite. Ruhlmann's basic cure is:

• 450 g salt
• 225 g sugar
• 50g pink salt, aka Prague powder #1.  

Note that the pink salt is NOT Himalayan pink salt, and it is NOT Prague powder #2.  (Also note that there is no bacon without nitrite.  The "uncured" bacon you see in the grocery store was made with nitrites, possibly from celery. Since the exact amount is unknown, it can't be called "cured.")

Back to the bacon.  Get yourself a pork belly.  Costco sells them, your meat counter can order them. Slice it into pieces that will fit into gallon Ziploc bags.  Add cure: a 5% by weight ratio of cure to meat is plenty.  Seal the bags and place in the fridge. 

Once a day, turn the pieces over and redistribute the fluid that's coming out.  Curing takes about 7 days for an inch or so of thickness.  Give them a rinse at the end of the week.

At the end of the week, slice a piece or two off the end. Fry it up.  Notice how it turns red, just like real bacon!  The nitrite gives it the color and snappy taste and To me, this cure will usually turn out too salty.  Feel free to soak the slabs in cold water. Change the water every few hours and the salt should settle down after a few changes.

(Food with salt content over 2% typically tastes too salty. A great alternative to this dry cure method is called the equilibrium cure.  With an equilibrium cure, the exact amount of salt, sugar and nitrite in the final product can be controlled.)

At this point you could be done.  But you could also smoke the bacon. Cold smoking is not recommended, as the temperatures will typically be in the "danger zone" of 40-140 degrees. You may say, "but the bacon is cured, and I'm applying smoke, what could go wrong?"  The answer is that I don't know and I'm not going to encourage you to find out.

So, most people opt for hot smoking.  Build a small fire in the egg and add your favorite smoking wood.  Fruit woods like apple and cherry are great choices.  Set up the egg for indirect cooking and smoke the meat until the internal temperature of the bacon is 150-160 degrees.  Fry it up as usual but keep an eye on it: it's partially cooked already.

Since I mentioned not doing something dangerous, now is where I advise do as I say, not as I do. I figure if food is kept safe at temps below 40 degrees, why not smoke at that temperature?  I freeze the slabs of bacon until I'm ready for smoking.  Then, the small egg gets started with a small fire.  Very little smoking wood is needed - a chunk or two is fine.  Three, here, had plenty left over after a few hours of smoke. The platesetter is needed to deflect the heat.  

The top of the small egg is connected to the intake of the large egg with standard flexible drier hose. Blue painters tape holds it all in place.  

The cold slabs of bacon go into the large.  Most of the heat should be confined to the small egg and any that gets out will be dissipated by the drier hose. Without the platesetter inside the small, you may melt the first few inches of drier hose.  Ask me how I know....

Here's some slabs of bacon on an Adjustable Rig.  Definitely not necessary to have an AR, but it does let you load lots of stuff into the egg all at once.  Great product.

A few hours of smoke should be plenty.  I like to vacuum seal the slabs at this point and throw them back in the freezer. This lets the smoke distribute and mellow.

Slicing the bacon is done by hand, with a long slicing knife.  I use a standard 12" Victorinox with a fibrox handle.  If you are lucky enough to have a capable motorized slicer, I am jealous.  Sometimes your local butcher may slice for you, in exchange for your continued support.

This is sliced hot smoked bacon:

And this is sliced cold smoked bacon:

Finally, a one-egg way to do the smoking.  This is a styrofoam cooler, with trays for bacon slabs.  I held up the trays with long metal skewers.  I did this in the summertime, and kept the inside cool(ish) with ice.

If you're interested in bacon, and charcuterie in general, check out Ruhlman and Polcyn's book for a good intro.

Programming a TinyFSK with the Arduino IDE

Getting K0SM's software copied over to an Arduino Nano is fairly straight forward, but there are a few important steps to follow. Note that the "genuine" Nano is no longer sold, so you must use a clone; the original chip set used an FT232 FTDI chip, and many clones are sold with that chip. Some, however, have a CH340 chip, and that requires downloading and installing drivers to the Arduino Drivers folder. It is easier just to check the specs and go with an FT232 chip. Nano clones are also sold with and without header pins. I prefer those with header pins in the package but not soldered to the board. That way you can mount the Nano any way you want.

First, download the Arduino IDE:

You have a choice: I suggest using the old version 1.0.6. The newest version does not recognize some Nano clones. So far 1.0.6 has worked with several for me. A blank sketch looks like this:

Then Google K0SM's Tiny site: http://www.frontiernet.net/~aflowers/tinyfsk/. Near the bottom of his posting is the link to the source code: copy the entire code, and paste it into a blank Arduino sketch.

Go to your Control Panel----Device Manager-----Ports (COM and LPT)---and watch what port comes up when you plug your Nano USB cable into the computer. Back in the Arduino IDE, under the Tools tab, be sure that port is entered in Ports and Nano is entered in the Board menu.


Now under the Sketch tab click Verify/Compile, and if all is well, the sketch will fly through and verify. A Timer1 error code indicates that an updated Timer1 needs to be copied and pasted into the Arduino folder:

Finally, Click File.....upload....and the Nano will be a TinyFSK!

TinyFSK: FSK Implementation in N1MM+ and Writelog

RTTY ops fall into two camps for transmit:  those who use AFSK, audio frequency shift keying, and those who use FSK, frequency shift keying.  AFSK does not require an expensive interface, and is easy to set up, but is prone to audio overdrive and signal splatter if not adjusted properly.  Windows system sounds can inadvertently be sent over the air, as well.  FSK, which involves on/off commands to the transmitter, is more foolproof, but requires some sort of interface between the computer and transmitter.   Historically, with FSK, the 5-bit Baudot code was generated by a computer and sent via RS-232 serial port, which puts out voltages to its pins.  Since a transmitter with a built-in FSK generator requires a pin to be grounded to generate RTTY, an interface is required.  This has been achieved with an open collector NPN transistor circuit: voltage is applied to the base, bringing the collector to ground.  This, however, has some disadvantages:

1. Modern computers do not have RS-232 serial ports. On a desktop computer, serial boards can be installed.  Not on a laptop.  USB-to-serial converter cables are an invitation to bad things:  they do not carry the 5-bit code properly.  The Edgeport USB is an exception, but is pricey.
2. Without a high quality serial UART, signals must be generated by “bit banging,” performed by intermediate software such as EXTFSK.  This is done at the mercy of Windows timing, and on an underpowered computer this leads to jitter and possibly terrible signals.

The answer has until now been very expensive commercial interfaces that perform the computing functions internally, taking ASCII data from a USB port.  They are expensive and sometimes a pain to configure.

K0SM recently designed an interface using an Arduino chip. It accepts ASCII data via a USB port (which will appear as a COM port in Device Manager), and generates an FSK signal via “bit banging” with precise timing that is independent of the computer: the TinyFSK. This has many advantages:
1. Regardless of the computer used, timing is perfect and signal jitter is not an issue.
2. No hardware serial RS-232 computer port is needed.
3. The interface is very simple, and very inexpensive.  If you are willing to wait for a few parts from eBay, the whole thing costs less than $10.
4. Programming is provided by K0SM, and it is elegant and works.  Copy and paste.
5. The interface is small and mechanically simple.

N1MM+ and Writelog are programmed to use TinyFSK: they send ASCII data from the computer over a USB line to Tiny, which generates FSK signals.

Following are the parts needed, some construction details, and a few photos.

Parts:

1. Arduino Nano or clone with header pins for socketing.  $2-3 on eBay.
2. Terminal socket for a Nano.  $1.50-3.00 on eBay.  The terminal socket makes assembly easier and adjustable.
3. Two 2n2222 or equivalent NPN transistors.  As low as $0.01.  Yup.
4. Two 1k ohm resistors.  Free from the junk box.
5. Two bypass capacitors--.01-.1 microfarad.  Probably not necessary, but makes me feel better!
6. Two RCA jacks for the case.
7. A shell and connector for you radio accessory port.  For the K3, this is a VGA plug.
8. A case, if you want to make it pretty.

Programming and construction:

Download the Arduino IDE, which is free, from https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software.


Mount the Nano in the terminal socket, and plug in a USB cable (supplied with many of the Nano clones) to your computer. Open a new Arduino sketch and copy and paste the software from K0SM.  Flash to your Nano.  http://www.frontiernet.net/~aflowers/tinyfsk/ describes the project, and here is the source code.

If you have successfully programmed the Nano, you can open a serial monitor and interact directly with the TinyFSK.  The serial monitor in the Arduino IDE works fine. Typing “~?” will report back the current configuration.  RTTY speed and Mark/Shift can be set, if needed. Settings persist when power is off.  RTTY can be sent directly from the serial window to the rig, which is also helpful for testing and debugging.

Fasten the terminal socket to the bottom of a case, put two RCA connectors on the end of the case, and wire in the two transistors and resistors.  A pictorial is on the K0SM website noted above.   Shown are two Tinys.  See photo.



A cable needs to be made for your radio: two male RCA plugs to the TinyFSK, and an appropriate end for your radio acc. port.  If you are unfortunate enough to have a radio that has a many-pinned DIN port, consider using a pre-wired DIN plug:  Icom provides one with their radios.  Also consider using twisted pair wires:  a length of Ethernet patch cable will work.  This provides the best possible RFI protection.


Plug the Acc. Port connector to the radio, and a USB cable from the Tiny to your computer:  note in Device Manager the new COM port—you will need to know the number for your software.

Download the latest version of 2Tone from www.rttycontesting.com, and remember where you put it!

For N1MM+,  have TinyFSK plugged in, and go to “configure”....ports, mode control, audio, other.

In the Hardware  Tab select the COM port that shows up in Device Manager when Tiny is plugged in, and place a check mark in the "Digi" box.

Then in the Digital Modes Tab choose TinyFSK as the Digital Interface TU Type, set the speed to 9600, parity N, data 8, stop bit 1, and flow none.  Set the path to MMTTY, which will bring up MMTTY as the primary decoder.  Note that the MMTTY panel Transmit command will not work:  MMTTY is working as a receive window only.

All of this will set TinyFSK as the TU type, and will open the Digital Interface window with the TNC commands at the bottom of  the Rx window,  loads MMTTY and shows the RX text in the top ⅔ of the RX window with the TinyFSK commands in the lower ⅓.

When first setting up N1MM+ for RTTY use, note that the Message Setup window contains blank boxes for TX, RX, and ESC.   To populate these fields, go to the DI window and Right Click in any box near the bottom.

If you have set up the config TU Type as Tinyfsk, then the Digital Message Set seen at the top will read “Other, TinyFSK”.  Click on TX, and in the Message Setup Message Text put in a left bracket:
      [
And hit the “save” button next to the message caption.  Then for RX put in a right bracket:
      ]
And hit “save”.  Then for ESC put in a backslash:
      \
And hit “save”.  Then “save settings”.   After the DI window closes, go back and be sure you have saved all three!!  Now the function keys will key, unkey, and Escape when desired. 

It is helpful to add Rx screens, one of which should be 2Tone, so the different receive variants can be set---flutter, flat,  selectiv, etc. in 2Tone.   It is important to note that no transmit parameters in the 2Tone set up need be changed.  The Tx operating mode, in fact, must be left to an AFSK mode, not TinyFSK, because that requires a COM port selection, which has already been made in the Configurer.

If your rig transmits RTTY but you find it is stuck in transmit mode and won't quit sending, you may have an additional PTT method set in N1MM+.  Go to the Hardware tab in the Configurer, and click the Set button next to your radio. If PTT via Radio Command Digital Mode is checked, uncheck this.  (This is a common configuration if you have been using AFSK.)

FSK polarity should be checked to avoid frustration.  You can type "~?" into the gray typing area of the DI window, but the response from the Tiny may be truncated. It is easier to check in the Arduino IDE serial monitor, or with any terminal program.  With a K3 configured to default POL=1, the logical FSK Mark should be = low.  The instructions on K0SM’s web page are clear.

Setting up Writelog is even easier.  V. 12.25 (and up) is needed.  In the main logging window put in the COM port generated in Device Manager by Tiny, in this case 7:

In the RTTYWRITE window set the “TU type” as XMMT.ocx, and Port as (whatever COM port TinyFSK generated in Device Manager) and TinyFSK.   Note that the G3YYD 2Tone control panel comes up, and is set to “AFSK” so as not to have the same COM port in more than one place.




Some notes:
1. Some ops, notably W7AY and G3YYD (the author of 2Tone) strongly prefer AFSK to FSK. They cite absence of timing jitter and the ability to filter down the transmit signal to avoid “RTTY key clicks”.  TinyFSK takes care of the first issues.  Certain radios, notably the K3, take care of the second by generating FSK via digital signal processing, DSP, and filtering that signal.
2. Some radio manufacturers claim the ability to send FSK over a USB cable directly to the radio. This is usually a dubious claim:  EXTFSK is required to do this, and unless the computer is very capable, poor quality RTTY may be generated.  Certain hams in the annual RTTY Round Up have earned “special” awards for gruesome signals.
3. Note that K0SM's protocol has two programs:  Timer-1 takes care of timing the signal at 45.45 or 75 baud.  Windows timing is not involved at all.
4. The alert observer will note that all RTTY FSK interfaces end with a transistor, which keys the FSK generator in the radio.  This relates all the way back to the giant mechanical RTTY machines of yesteryear:  to key them a pin at their input was shorted to ground.  So even if you elect to spend several hundred dollars on a commercial USB RTTY interface, those 1 cent NPNs will be there!
5. Bit banging is a technique for serial communications using software instead of dedicated hardware. Software directly sets and samples the state of pins on the microcontroller, and is responsible for all parameters of the signal: timing, levels, synchronization, etc.  If this is not done properly, inaccurate timing and synchronization of the Baudot code will occur, and this is what may happen with EXTFSK and various USB to serial conversion cables.  TinyFSK completely controls the process.
6. There is nothing sacred about construction.  I use RCA connectors because of past problems with wires pulling out of the case when just “wired through”.  The Nano socket is an option:  you can buy very cheap Nano clones with the headers not attached.  Your choice as to whether solder them in for a socket, or just use the bare Nano board.  If you are wiring an accessory connector for your rig, I strongly suggest Cat-5 patch cable for wire:  it is stranded so will not break easily, and if the ends are trimmed very short soldering--even to a DIN plug--is not so difficult.

Some credits:
1. G3YYD, David, author of 2Tone.  Early versions were receive only; current versions do both receive and transmit.
2. JE3HHT,  Makoto Mori, author of MMTTY.  A legend among keyboarders.
3. K0SM/2, Andy Flowers, designer of TinyFSK and programmer extraordinaire.
4. WA2TMC, Bruce, whose endless supply of small parts and components populate RTTY interfaces and radio projects in many a shack!

Chuck, N8CL
Ben, KD9IWX