Bacon - My Turn

[ConrodM]

Very WELL DONE!!! Looks Amazing!! Get another one going. I do one every month to 1.5 months. My wife will divorce me if I stop making her bacon

 

[nlife]

Is bacon really as easy as it seems? Don't mean to take away from anyone's accomplishments, but it literally seems too good to be true.

It's surprisingly easy! I was a bit worried the first go round, but all that went away after the first batch. Buckboard bacon and belly bacon are both great options for someone starting out. Even if you don't have a slicer, a good sharp knife will get you through it.

The recipe is dead simple. 3 ingredients. Wait for it to cure in the fridge 7-14 days. Smoke, cut, enjoy. The hardest part is waiting for it to rest in the fridge to balance out a bit after smoking, but even then it's still pretty damn good if you have a sample or two right away.

I'm with SmokinEdge on this. Jump in. The fine folks here got you.

I use vacuum bags for all my bellies at this point ConrodM . Perhaps one day I'll get to try the dry cure bacon.

 

[Fueling Around]

Outstanding belly bacon there Sue.

...
The hardest part for me was fridge space and smoker temp control. We had a high of 47 degrees that day and a very chilly breeze. We ended up bringing the smoker in the garage with a fan in the window. The garage still smells like bacon.
...
Alas, I need the fridge space again. Another fridge perhaps?

My greatest assets are the indoor fridge and the outdoor fridge that is dedicated to my stuff. My wife has to ask permission to put anything in the garage fridge.

My garage smells of most of my smokes and grilling ventures. Wind is the reason, not placement. For your gasser look into putting shields around the base to block winds

 

[indaswamp]

Awesome Bacon! Glad you took a leap of faith and tried out dry cured bacon. It is so much better IMO. And Congrats on the carousel ride....

 

[DRKsmoking]

Well done , and it looks fantastic.
Love the meat to fat ratio on the sliced pictures. And like said above , get another one started .
Just the right size for sandwiches and burgers.

David

 

[crazymoon]

SS, Nice job on that fine looking bacon!

 

[HushyQ]

Beautiful Bacon!!!!! Way to go. You have just moved SmokinEdge's bacon to the top of my list.

 

[uncle eddie]

Beautiful looking bacon!

 

[Gonna Smoke]

My husband had given me an odd look when I mentioned that I wanted to add garlic powder and white pepper so I skipped that part

Nice work Sue. My first bacon was the same as yours, but I bagged it the whole time. My second attempt was the dry cure with the garlic and white pepper. REALLY liked that a lot so now I have 2 bellies dry curing with the garlic/pepper combo and 1 regular bagged just because I ran out of refrigerator space. Good excuse to try my own comparison, though, but I think I know what will be the best. They'll be ready for smoke next week. Next time try the garlic/pepper, you won't be disappointed...

 

[checkdude]

I did it! Used SmokinEdge recipe for true dried bacon and it is awesome! I used the basic 1.5% salt, 0.75% sugar, and 0.25% cure #1. Placed it naked on a rack in the fridge for 14 days; however, it did seem to be getting really dry so I wrapped it on day 12. I put it in the smoker for 1 hour at 120 degrees and increased the temp by 10 degrees for each hour until internal temp of 145. It got 5 hours of smoke. I did end up finishing it off in the oven as the temp was going up soooo slooow. My husband had given me an odd look when I mentioned that I wanted to add garlic powder and white pepper so I skipped that part and I used hickory pellets since that was what I had. It still turned out amazing!
View attachment 695336
Cured and ready for the smoker. The weird looking spots are definitely from corrosion on my rack. I will be investing in stainless racks for the next one.

View attachment 695337
In the smoker and ready to go. I have a Masterbuilt Thermotemp XL propane smoker that will not get down to the low temps I need so I have a hot plate and a PID for low temps. I used an A-Maze-N smoker tray lit at both ends. The weird strings in the smoker was our attempt to compare the temperature zones during cooking.
View attachment 695338
My husband felt a need for a picture with a homebrew
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Out of the smoker and ready to be wrapped up for 24 hours; however, life got in the way and it was wrapped for a few days in the fridge.View attachment 695340
My 50ish year old slicer couldn't handle the full sized slab. Had to cut it in half.

Did I mention that it is awesome bacon?!?! I will be very sad if I run out and have to go back to store bought again.

Thanks so much SmokinEdge for the recipe/help and everyone who answered my questions!

-Sue

That looks excellent! As it happens I Smoked 13 lbs. Canadian bacon yesterday. Its resting in the fridge for couple days before slicing. Have yet to use pork belly for my bacon.my wife insists the fat bad for you! NOT I say back. Your's looks great.

 

[jcam222]

Man that is beautiful. First bacon is perfect

 

[millerbuilds]

That bacon looks absolutely perfect!

Great job,

- Jason