The 4H pig is in the freezer now, and i saved the jowls from the sausage mix to try my first bacon, jowl in this case.the Bellies are waiting on the outcome of this experiment
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Bacon on the hoof. And hams, and butts and ribs...
This was taken in late June. They put on at least 150 pounds more before they met the freezer. The big boy in front was pushing 400# at the end.
The black and white one qualified as a "carcass or merit" at the fair. The other two piggies stayed home.
Hamp/York/Duroc for those interested.
First I made some sausage with the trimmings...
I cheated and used a mix for the seasoning Sweet Italian from http://www.spokanespice.com/ . Good stuff.
So here are the jowls after a 12 day wet cure.
And my smoker:
Cold smoked this bacon. Here's my cold smoke set up. Pretty custom, eh?
I went thru 3 partially filled cans of Cherry wood chips. Why Cherry? Because its what i had. Perfect "thin, blue" smoke the whole time.
In they go!
They'd been in for about 12 hours at this point. Getting some color!
Took them out about three hours later.
They look great, and inside even better!
Now i need to let it rest for a few days, then Slice vac-seal and freeze. My two test pieces were a bit on the salty side, and the smoke was quite strong. Im hoping the saltiness goes away as we get away from the edge, and the smoke should mellow a bit with resting. I'll let you know in a week or two.
Thanks to all those who post and have posted here in the past. I wouldn't even attempted this without your knowledge and experience.
BigBronk
.
Bacon on the hoof. And hams, and butts and ribs...
This was taken in late June. They put on at least 150 pounds more before they met the freezer. The big boy in front was pushing 400# at the end.
The black and white one qualified as a "carcass or merit" at the fair. The other two piggies stayed home.
Hamp/York/Duroc for those interested.
First I made some sausage with the trimmings...
I cheated and used a mix for the seasoning Sweet Italian from http://www.spokanespice.com/ . Good stuff.
So here are the jowls after a 12 day wet cure.
And my smoker:
Cold smoked this bacon. Here's my cold smoke set up. Pretty custom, eh?
I went thru 3 partially filled cans of Cherry wood chips. Why Cherry? Because its what i had. Perfect "thin, blue" smoke the whole time.
In they go!
They'd been in for about 12 hours at this point. Getting some color!
Took them out about three hours later.
They look great, and inside even better!
Now i need to let it rest for a few days, then Slice vac-seal and freeze. My two test pieces were a bit on the salty side, and the smoke was quite strong. Im hoping the saltiness goes away as we get away from the edge, and the smoke should mellow a bit with resting. I'll let you know in a week or two.
Thanks to all those who post and have posted here in the past. I wouldn't even attempted this without your knowledge and experience.
BigBronk
