My First Attempt at Bacon - Updated 01/01/12 with QView

[kevin13]

How far has the AMNPS burned so far? I'm not familiar with cold weather smoking, but if it's too cold for the AMNPS to burn well then maybe you should light the other end. Since it's so cold up there you may also want to turn the MES on for a few minutes set at 100 to warm the cabinet up a little. I'm sure Todd will see this & give you better answers.

The AMNPS has burned thru 2 rows so far, it doesn't appear to have any issues with burning.

 

[kevin13]

After 15 hours of cold smoking and having to turn on the MES and set for 100 degrees, the bacon is finished. I must say, they look pretty good and smell fantastic. The rind was a pain in the ass to remove and I probably took off a bunch of fat too. If it's this hard to remove when smoked, I'd hate to see how hard it is to remove prior to brining. They are in the fridge overnight and I'll throw in the freezer for an hour tomorrow prior to slicing. I'll update with some sliced pics in the morning....I'm going to bed as it's 1AM.

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks great, nice color!

 

[scooper]

Looks awesome!

 

[pops6927]

Doesn't hurt to reduce the fat some!  You'll stay around longer to enjoy more good bacon!  Check out our YAWYE group, too!

After 15 hours of cold smoking and having to turn on the MES and set for 100 degrees, the bacon is finished. I must say, they look pretty good and smell fantastic. The rind was a pain in the ass to remove and I probably took off a bunch of fat too. If it's this hard to remove when smoked, I'd hate to see how hard it is to remove prior to brining. They are in the fridge overnight and I'll throw in the freezer for an hour tomorrow prior to slicing. I'll update with some sliced pics in the morning....I'm going to bed as it's 1AM.

 

[big casino]

looks good! I forgot to put the cracked pepper on some of mine, I was so nervous and excited about making ot for the first time.

I just finished slicing all of mine up and vacuum sealing it into 1/2lb packages

 

[rich-]

[h1]Pork Belly Holding Fixture for De Rinding A Pork Belly[/h1]
Kevin go to the search and inter the title above, I made this fixture and you can make one too, it sure makes skinning a pork belly a lot easier

Rich

 

[kevin13]

Wow...what an experience. I did a fry test in the microwave and it had an awesome flavor. I knew it was a hit when my wife slapped my hand when I went for the last piece. The only thing I didn't like was the belly wasn't all that thick. I knew this when I first saw it at the butcher but figured I'd give it a shot anyways. The pieces ended up small, but they will still eat just fine...just need to fry up more. I picked up a fresh belly from another butcher last weekend and it is pretty thick, so I'm hope it'll give me size I want. In addition, my belly was pretty fatty, so I ended up throwing a bunch of fat away and saving a bunch of chunks for ham and beans, etc. and having alot less of actual bacon then I was expecting, but definately not bad for a first timer and I'll definately be doing it alot more. I also found out that I put on way too much CBP which happened to end up all over my floor, slicer, countertop, and in the grooves of my flip flops :biggrin:

Also had an issue with my slicer and it not cutting all the way through the bacon, leaving a 18" -1/4" flap. When the slicer was all clean, I adjusted the carriage so I hope the problem is corrected.

Anyways, thanks to everyone for putting up with my questions and helping me out. :beercheer:

 

[kevin13]

[h1]Pork Belly Holding Fixture for De Rinding A Pork Belly[/h1]

Kevin go to the search and inter the title above, I made this fixture and you can make one too, it sure makes skinning a pork belly a lot easier

Rich

Awesome idea Rich, thanks for the link.

How did you bend the stainless? I don't have a press so I'll have to figure something out.

 

[SmokinAl]

That bacon sure looks good from here!

 

[big casino]

It sure does