Found a nice ten pound pork belly for $30 so I brought it home, squared it up and cut it in half for a easy smoker fit.
Made a rub of Cure #1, salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey all mixed into a thick paste. Rubbed the gooey mix on to the belly slabs and placed the slabs in 2-gallon Ziploc bags in the fridge for six days, massaging and turning twice a day
Got the belly slabs on hooks and into the Pro 100 pre-heated to 100º to dry for three hours, then put in a pan of moistened apple wood chips, raised the smoker temp to 110º for five hours. Changed the chip pan and raised the temp to 135º for another five hours, then removed the pan and closed the vents until the IT hit 130º. Lowered the smoker temp to 115º to let the belly slabs bloom for three hours, 29 total hours in the Pro 100
Removed the hooks from the smoker and let the slabs cool down on the counter for a few hours before going into the fridge overnight
The next morning I was up early and getting on with the slicing process, I like my bacon extra-thick cut. When it's thick cut like this it's nice to cook the bacon on a wire rack in a 400º oven for 15-16 minutes, no stove splatter.
After slicing I got everything wrapped up and ready for the freezer, then it was time to tidy!
All that time and energy required a well deserved breakfast, Canadian bacon, cheddar cheese scramble smothered in salsa with a nice side of bacon and a flour tortilla
Life is good! RAY
Made a rub of Cure #1, salt, brown sugar, maple syrup, and honey all mixed into a thick paste. Rubbed the gooey mix on to the belly slabs and placed the slabs in 2-gallon Ziploc bags in the fridge for six days, massaging and turning twice a day
Got the belly slabs on hooks and into the Pro 100 pre-heated to 100º to dry for three hours, then put in a pan of moistened apple wood chips, raised the smoker temp to 110º for five hours. Changed the chip pan and raised the temp to 135º for another five hours, then removed the pan and closed the vents until the IT hit 130º. Lowered the smoker temp to 115º to let the belly slabs bloom for three hours, 29 total hours in the Pro 100
Removed the hooks from the smoker and let the slabs cool down on the counter for a few hours before going into the fridge overnight
The next morning I was up early and getting on with the slicing process, I like my bacon extra-thick cut. When it's thick cut like this it's nice to cook the bacon on a wire rack in a 400º oven for 15-16 minutes, no stove splatter.
After slicing I got everything wrapped up and ready for the freezer, then it was time to tidy!
All that time and energy required a well deserved breakfast, Canadian bacon, cheddar cheese scramble smothered in salsa with a nice side of bacon and a flour tortilla
Life is good! RAY