Final Qview-All Maple Buckboard Bacon for Canada Day

Mr T 59874 said:

Sounds and looks good Disco, I like you prefer a dry brine for bacon. 

 

Tom

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Thanks, Tom. I have tried a couple of brined and they are very good. I just like the dry cure texture better.

Disco

chilefarmer said:

Disco, really looking forward to your bacon. I have cured regular pork belly with maple and made maple sausage but never BBB Sure sounds good to me. CF

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Thanks, chilefarmer. Your response gives me courage. I have made maple sausage before and liked it. However this only my fourth or fifth bacon so an experiment is a little daunting.

Disco

The day before yesterdat I took the Buckboard Bacon (BBB) out of the cure. I rinsed it and soaked it for 30 minutes changing the water once.


I let it sit in the fridge on a rack loosely covered with a paper towel. The next day,I loaded the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) with maple and lit one end.


I put the AMNPS on the bottom rack, a pan of ice on the second and the BBB above those. I used the ice because it was a hot day.


At this point in time I must admit my stupidity and apologize to Todd and A-Maze-N Products.

The AMNPS kept going out. I relit it several times and was getting ready to through in the nearest trash bin. I was even questioning the parenthood of Todd. 

When I reached in to take it out one time, my hand brushed the pan above it and came away very wet. Of course, there was condensation on the cold pan. Doh.

Red faced, I emptied the AMNPS, loaded up with dry pellets and put the ice below the AMNPS. Everything went fine.

Sorry, Todd!

I gave it 3 hours of cold smoke and turned the temperature up to 150 F. After another 3 hours it had a nice colour.


After that, increased the temperature to 200 F and took the internal temperature to 145 F.

Here it is out of the smoker.


I wrapped it and put it in the fridge overnight.

I sliced it up with my trusty ham slicer. Sorry this is the closest I can get to Bear View with my limited skills.



We fried up some for breakfast with some potatoes.



The verdict. It was very good. Not too salty. Nice sweet taste. Crisped up well. The only thing I'll change is to go back to pecan for the smoke. The maple was a little mild but did have a nice smoke taste.

chilefarmer said:

Disco, looks as though the bacon was spot on. Haven't tried maple wood myself . But like you I like pecan or hickory for most of my smokes.

 Job well done, You did good. CF

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Thanks, CF. It was fun and tasty!

Disco

baconandbeer2 said:

Looks really good. I have cured pork butt steaks and then hot smoked them, also very good, though my better half really prefers belly. I may try doing the full butt some time.

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Thanks B&B2. I would love to bellies but they cost more than butts and loins here if you can get them. Add the fact that I am practicing girth control, I like Buck Board Bacon (BBB) better than back bacon (Canadian Bacon in the US) because it has some fat. Sadly, she who must be obeyed prefers back bacon as she likes it leaner. She is a kind ruler though. She will eat BBB and it is only because she has been kind to me for 38 years that I do her preference most of the time.

If your missus really prefers belly bacon, try finding a fatty butt. I find it cooks up similar to belly.

Disco

Woodcutter said:

Your bacon looks great! Keep those maple pellets for some beef sometime. I have some maple hunks drying and I was going to use them on BBB, maybe not.

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Thanks, Todd. 

I should give full disclosure regarding the maple pellets. They were good, I just prefer the pecan. That being said, the missus liked the softer smoke flavour of the maple. Ergo, as usual, it goes back to a matter of personal taste.

Disco

Gary Morris said:

That really looks lovely, my mouth is watering again.

Gary

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Thanks Gary. This forum has a tendency to raise one's appetite.

Disco

Bearcarver said:

Nice Job Disco!!!

Looks Perfect from here!!! Good lookin' BBB !!!

Tip:  Fill a plastic jug 3/4 full with water. Put it in freezer. Then you can put that in your smoker to cool things down, like cheese smokes. I never had any condensation problem that way, when I put the jug in my water pan or in a foil pan.

Bear

Example:

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What a great idea! Thanks, Bear.

Disco.