:) My First Bacon Part II/Q-View

smokingd · May 1, 2010

Well folks today is the day.

Here they are out of the cure and rinsed (the little piece of silver skin was cut off)

Cut a piece off for the salt test

Here it is fried up. Isn't the color nice? (and this is before the smoke)

Still a to salty for me and the wife. So into a soak for an hour

Still to salty so changed the water and soaked one more hour

perfect.
Time to dry and develope the pellicle.

I am using a mix of 2/3 maple chips and 1/3 hickory. I wood prefer chunks but I would have to order them from somewhere and chips are off the shelf.

The rig. I am using a hot plate in here for better temp control. I am going to smoke between 110-130°F for around 8 hrs.

When I was given this smoker the front was kinda spread apart so I added the piece of maple (screwed in from the sides) to pull it back together and I added fiberglass rope to seal leaks on 3 sides. (need one more piece).

On with the bacon

I am letting the bacon dry just a bit more inside the smoker. Temps are staying steady around 114°F.

And now for the chips. Yeah some are burnt forgot the pic so I added some more chips while I took the photo.

Will continue this as the day goes Thanks for looking

P.S. here is the first post if you are interested http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=93067

rbranstner · May 1, 2010

Looking great so far. You are giong to love the bacon. You won't be buying from the store any more. Except for fatty's or something like that where you want to use it to wrap some meat.

Bearcarver · May 1, 2010

Good so far----We're waiting-----And watching.................

Bearcarver

smokingd · May 1, 2010

5 hrs time to reloaded the chips. Looking good so far smells great

.

BBBBBAAAAAACCCCOOOOONNNNNNNN!!!!!!

3 more hours

smokingd · May 1, 2010

? For you baconeer's do I rest my bacon before slicing???

rbranstner · May 1, 2010

Yes I would suggest you rest the bacon. Most guys/gals let it rest over night in the fridge then hit it with the slicer the next day.

south jersey bbq tim · May 1, 2010

wowwww!!!! really nice!!! nice set-up and the bacon looks awsome

mballi3011 · May 1, 2010

You are not gonna like hearing this one. I think you should leave it in the refrig till morning and then slice it and cook some for breakfast or one of the best BLT's that you have ever had to date. You need to let the smokey flavor meld with the meat and then it will be more of what you want it to be. Now you can eat it right out of the smoker but it will have a heavy smokey flavor. But it is looking great by the way.

Bearcarver · May 1, 2010

Yup, let it in the fridge overnight to allow it to mellow out, like the others said.
Also, did you notice how pink it was right through when you sliced it for the salt test???
That shows that your cure did a good job of getting all the way through.
Good job---what was that 6 days in cure?

I'm saving your points for the final slicing---LOL---I'm holding out on you. You gotta get the drool flowing!

Bearcarver

smokingd · May 1, 2010

Yeah into the fridge it goes. Here it is out of the smoker. The top side

And the the bottom side

I am very pleased with the color and smell of these. Waiting till morning is going to suck. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM smells so good in here. One final pic wrapped and ready for a rest overnight in the fridge.

I will post the cut pics in the morning. I would like to thank Bearcarver, Pinewoods, and Hounds51 for all the help pointing me in the right direction and thanks to all the others who tossed in their 2cents

pineywoods · May 1, 2010

Dennis it looks outstanding

hounds51 · May 1, 2010

Nice job Dennis!!!!! Please feel free at any time to ask questions on this thread. There are alot of nice people on here with alot of good information. Don't forget to get Great Sausage Recipies and Meat Curing by Rytek Kutas. We all pretty well live by his book when it comes to smoking meat.
Dennis

Bearcarver · May 2, 2010

I'm still waiting for the sliced pics, but the drool started flowing already, so here ya go----->>

Now I have a question for anybody!!
Notice how Dennis wrapped his Bacon pieces in plastic wrap, before putting it in the fridge for the night. I would think that is fine.
I have been wrapping in Saran wrap---Then on top of that with aluminum foil. This double wrapping was in the directions I got on this forum & elsewhere. Can anyone tell me why I do this??? Does it cool slower??? Seems like overkill, but I keep doing it like a good little soldier!

Bearcarver

smokingd · May 2, 2010

Alright ya'll. Here Is the final pic's. Sliced and ready

.

As you can see little to big for my slicer so I cut the end off.

I sliced and put into piles of 12 which is great for me and my 2 girls. I got 5 piles of 12 of the longer pieces roughly 10". And a smaller pile of pieces that are between 4-6" (from the cut offs). Then a small pile of bits and pieces (bacon bits).

And a teaser cooked up and OMG this tastes and smells better then any other bacon I have ever had.

In the end I must say this was a great experience and for sure something I will do again. The only time I will buy bacon from here on is to make fatties and ABT's. Thanks for sharing my experience hope you enjoyed.

Bearcarver · May 2, 2010

Uh Oh----We hooked another one !

I wonder if we can get in trouble for running Bacon companies out of business???

We all knew you'd love it !

Slurp, slurp, slurp,

Bearcarver

old poi dog · May 2, 2010

Great job on the Bacon. I also like the fact that you made it in a smoker that you tweaked to working order.

mballi3011 · May 2, 2010

Now there's some mighty fine looking bacon there Dennis.

For sure and I too will never buy bacon from the store again. No I can't say that for I need some really thin and cheap stuff for Abt's and some other stuff. But I will make all the bacon I chose to consume for breakfast and BLT's to die for.Now I have to hope that my tomatoes and the lettuce grows up.

tjohnson · May 8, 2010

Great Job Dennis!

Bacon = Pig Candy

Todd

:) My First Bacon Part II/Q-View

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