Hey all! I did my second round of buckboard bacon. I am now pretty set on bacon for a little while. I started with 2 Boston Butts from Sam's totalling 19.5 pounds. I deboned them and butterflied them, then weighed out the appropriate amount of tenderquick with my new digital scale. I used the tenderquick, 1 Tbsp/# of Brown Sugar, garlic powder and onion powder on one and the same on the other with a hefty dose of black pepper. Once rubbed, they were vac sealed and set in the fridge for 9 days, rubbed and flipped every evening. I pulled them out Thursday night, soaked them for an hour in cold fresh water, dried them a little in front of a fan, then finished drying in the fridge overnight. I smoked them in my MES 40 set at 100 degrees for a little over 12 hours with my AMNPS (A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker) with apple pellets. It was in the 20's yesterday so my temp stayed just under 100 the whole time. I was also able to use my new stainless steel hangers which where pretty sweet. Not sure if it make a big difference hanging or laying on the rack, but it may in certain situations if you can fit more hanging than laying down. After taking out the bones and the shrinkage from smoking, I ended up with 15 pounds od smokey goodness. Add that to the 13 pounds I did two weeks ago and I am set for a little while. I soaked my first round of BBB for 30 mins. While good, it was a tad salty for my wife and pushing it for me. I decided to try an hour this time. Turned our beautiful and maybe my mother in law won't be on me for the salt!! Here's some pics:
I love the color it gets from the smoke!
So pretty!
I love this pic!
I am thinking that I will do regular belly bacon next. One of my main goals is to get my posts banner worthy so if anyone out there has any tips, I would greatly appreciate them. I am trying to improve my photos. I have requisitioned an old lamp and use it for extra lighting when taking picks so I don't use the flash. I read on the article about taking better pics that you shouldn't use the flash. Any other tips would be appreciated!
Bigfish
I love the color it gets from the smoke!
So pretty!
I love this pic!
I am thinking that I will do regular belly bacon next. One of my main goals is to get my posts banner worthy so if anyone out there has any tips, I would greatly appreciate them. I am trying to improve my photos. I have requisitioned an old lamp and use it for extra lighting when taking picks so I don't use the flash. I read on the article about taking better pics that you shouldn't use the flash. Any other tips would be appreciated!
Bigfish