Buckboard Bacon (with Q-View)

luv2q · Feb 12, 2012

All of this talk and pics on the board of buckboard bacon and, well, you know.

I've done bacon before, but I'm tired of trying to trick the MES into burning wood chips at low temperatures, so I finally broke down and purchased an AMNPS. I'm looking forward to receiving it this coming week and, hopefully, proving to myself that it's the fantastic smoking tool that everyone raves about.

Anyhow, without further ado, here's the q-view I promised...

Six pounds of Boston butt for $1.99 at Winn-Dixie.

After removing the bone, I split the butt into two pieces. Here, one piece receives a coating of the proper amount of TenderQuick.

After putting on the TenderQuick, each piece went into a zip-loc bag and got a bath of either maple or molasses.

Ten days later, into the smoker they both went. A mix of apple and cherry were the smoke flavors of the day. If you can't tell, molasses is on the left and maple is on the right.

After a day in the freezer, the molasses piece got sliced. I did my pieces thick this time around.

Next up, the maple piece got the thick slice treatment, too.

There's something sexy about a piece of smoked maple butt!

All sliced up, bagged up and ready for the next trip out to the frying pan.

Enjoy the pics and thank you for looking!

rdknb · Feb 12, 2012

mmmmm that looks so good, well done

teeznuts · Feb 12, 2012

Looking good! So did you have the AMNPS by the time they hit the smoke or is that for the next round?

fishwrestler · Feb 12, 2012

Looks nice, almost looks like Canadian Bacon. I cut my butt different and got slice that looked more like bacon

Robert

luv2q · Feb 12, 2012

RdKnB said:
mmmmm that looks so good, well done

RdKnB, thank you!

teeznuts said:
Looking good! So did you have the AMNPS by the time they hit the smoke or is that for the next round?

teez, thank you! I wish I had the AMNPS this time around!!! The trouble I went through (again) is what prompted the purchase. I can't wait for it to get into my hands. I hope it's everything I've read that it is.

luv2q · Feb 12, 2012

Fishwrestler said:
Looks nice, almost looks like Canadian Bacon. I cut my butt different and got slice that looked more like bacon

Robert

Robert, thank you!

sprky · Feb 13, 2012

Man o Man that looks great. Very nice job

SmokinAl · Feb 13, 2012

The bacon looks very good, how did it taste? I'm assuming that since you were using chips that the bacon is cooked, right? When you get the AMNPS you should try cold smoking BBB, and see what you think.

jrod62 · Feb 13, 2012

Looks great !

mballi3011 · Feb 13, 2012

I just l;ove me some BBB. Now all you have to do is grab some bread and mayo and then some lettuce and tomatos. I love the BBB for a good BLT.

smokinhusker · Feb 13, 2012

Great looking BBB! Did the maple taste come through?

terry colwell · Feb 13, 2012

Ok,, This might seem like a silly question to you "Bacon Gods" but what is the difference in BB Bacon and Regular Bacon?? Seems like a simple question and I feel silly for not knowing..

graystratcat · Feb 13, 2012

Hey Terry, not a silly question at all. BBB is Buck Board Bacon and is typically made from pork butt. Regular bacon is made from pork side or belly meat.

-Salt

terry colwell · Feb 13, 2012

That BB looks great.. And thanks for the answer Cat. Do they both taste the same? Or does the BB have its own taste?

ice daddy · Feb 13, 2012

Northern Cuba,

, I love it! Question, did you rinse the meat after the marinade, or go directly to the smoker? Oh yeah it looks great, btw, I want some.

sound1 · Feb 13, 2012

Love the color. Betting it tastes awesome. I'm with Al, the AMNPS and a long cold smoke is hard to beat, and that little tool makes it almost effortless.

Terry Colwell said:
That BB looks great.. And thanks for the answer Cat. Do they both taste the same? Or does the BB have its own taste?

All depends on your cure, but in general, the butt being leaner tastes meatier/ham flavored. A leaner bacon, and my wife says it is better for me...who am I to complain

rbranstner · Feb 13, 2012

The bacon looks great. Since you didn't have the AMNPS it sounds like you had to apply some heat to it. What temps were you running at and what internal temp did you bring it to? My last few bacon tries I was applying heat and this past week I did my first cold smoke so I can't wait to see which one I like better.

terry colwell · Feb 13, 2012

I really like how MEATY it looks

. Store brand bacon is getting really bad anymore. Seems like its 75% fat anymore. Finding Bellies around here is impossible but I can find Butts. will have to read up on this one.

geerock · Feb 13, 2012

Terry Colwell said:
I really like how MEATY it looks

. Store brand bacon is getting really bad anymore. Seems like its 75% fat anymore. Finding Bellies around here is impossible but I can find Butts. will have to read up on this one.

Terry,

If you haven't tried it, you owe yourself a treat. Hy Mountain makes a Buckboard Bacon Cure that I have used and, in fact, have 12 pounds of boston butt and 6 pounds of loin curing with that as we speak (type). If my last meal was BLT's with BBB I'd die a happy man.

luv2q · Feb 13, 2012

sprky said:
Man o Man that looks great. Very nice job

sprky, thank you!

SmokinAl said:
The bacon looks very good, how did it taste? I'm assuming that since you were using chips that the bacon is cooked, right? When you get the AMNPS you should try cold smoking BBB, and see what you think.

Al, thank you! It tasted GREAT!!! I already vacuum packed some and dropped off the packs at my parent's house and father-in-law's house, as well. My parents told me that their breakfast will revolve around buckboard bacon tomorrow morning, so I'm anxious to hear what they have to say. By the way, they loved my belly bacon!

I took the internal temperature up to 150 degrees, so it's cooked. Regarding the AMNPS, Todd sent me my shipping confirmation this evening, so I'll cold smoke the next batch and see what the difference between cold and hot smoking is like.

jrod62 said:
Looks great !

jrod, thank you!

mballi3011 said:
I just l;ove me some BBB. Now all you have to do is grab some bread and mayo and then some lettuce and tomatos. I love the BBB for a good BLT.

mballi, I got home from work a little while ago and threw on a few pieces to share with the wife and kids, just for the hell of it! I'm waiting for the weekend in order to whip up some BLTs. I can't wait!

SmokinHusker said:
Great looking BBB! Did the maple taste come through?

Husker, the maple is a subtle taste, but it's definitely there. In fact, personally, I prefer it over the molasses ones that I did because it's more of a pronounced taste. I like experimenting with different things when I do these smoking projects (flavors, spices, thicknesses, wood, etc.). I can tell you that maple is definitely going to be part of my future smoking projects.

Ice Daddy said:
Northern Cuba,

, I love it! Question, did you rinse the meat after the marinade, or go directly to the smoker? Oh yeah it looks great, btw, I want some.

Ice, thank you and I'm glad you got a kick out of my twisted humor!

Since I went right to the smoker on my previous belly bacon project and my wife commented about a slightly salty taste (due to the TenderQuick), I decided to soak in ice water for an hour this time around (changing the water out every 30 minutes). This time, she couldn't detect a hint of saltiness, so a one hour soak is what I'm going to do from now on. These steps vary from person to person, though, so do your own experimenting and see what you like.

Sound1 said:
Love the color. Betting it tastes awesome. I'm with Al, the AMNPS and a long cold smoke is hard to beat, and that little tool makes it almost effortless.

All depends on your cure, but in general, the butt being leaner tastes meatier/ham flavored. A leaner bacon, and my wife says it is better for me...who am I to complain

Sound, thank you! I completely agree with you and Al, which is why I finally pulled the trigger on the AMNPS. Now, I'll need to experiment to see which wood pellets I'll use for which projects.

rbranstner said:
The bacon looks great. Since you didn't have the AMNPS it sounds like you had to apply some heat to it. What temps were you running at and what internal temp did you bring it to? My last few bacon tries I was applying heat and this past week I did my first cold smoke so I can't wait to see which one I like better.

rb, thank you! I ran the first nine hours at 100 degrees. At this temperature, it's not possible to get the wood chips smoking, so I had a lot of screwing around with keeping the heating element on and adjusting the temperature back down by opening the door. I thought about using charcoal in the chip tray again, but decided against it this time. The AMNPS will put a stop to all of this nonsense, I hope. Hour 10 and 11, I brought the temperature up to 150 degrees. The last hour, I brought the temperature up to 200 degrees until the internal temperature on the probe read 150 degrees. I checked both pieces with the Thermapen and they were different by three degrees.

Like you, I am also interested in seeing what the difference will be between hot and cold smoking bacon. As I understand it, the fat starts to render at around 85 degrees, so there should theoretically be a significant difference in the finished bacon product between hot and cold smoking.

Terry Colwell said:
I really like how MEATY it looks

. Store brand bacon is getting really bad anymore. Seems like its 75% fat anymore. Finding Bellies around here is impossible but I can find Butts. will have to read up on this one.

Terry, I agree! Buckboard bacon is almost all meat compared to belly bacon.

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