Hickory smoked pork belly bacon

[73saint]

Doing a bunch of hickory and Apple bacon, most of which is sold, someof which will be for my personal stash.

Took some pics along the way so I thought I’d share. I do an eq Dry Brine, and http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html
The bacon calculator to help me keep things consistent.


Started out with some nice thick bellies from Costco.

Cut the slabs in half and weighed everything in grams.


Cure #1, Morton’s kosher salt & turbinado are my choices when making bacon. And after 14 days I take them out of the cure, rinse and place on racks in the fridge for 3 days.

Then I cold smoke for 24 hours in my Lang, using amazen smoker tubes and hickory pellets.


Here we are at the 18 hour mark, color is looking nice and the smell, well you know that smell!!


All sliced and ready for vacuum sealing.

Love Makin the bacon! Thanks for looking....

 

[smokerjim]

looks good

 

[SecondHandSmoker]

Did someone say BACON?!

Beautiful!

 

[indaswamp]

Are you selling for profit? Just friends and family? Are you preparing in a certified kitchen?

 

[indaswamp]

BTW, bacon looks awesome!

 

[73saint]

Are you selling for profit? Just friends and family? Are you preparing in a certified kitchen?

I do sell for profit, just to friends and family for now. It started about 6 months ago. I made about 50lbs, didn’t know what to do with it, so I made a FB post. The rest is history. I’ve got one group in the NO area that buys as much as I can make. I need more space if I’m going to grow the biz though.

 

[gary s]

Nice, Looks Tasty to me

Gary

 

[skidog]

looks great! Did you sprinkle some seasoning on them before smoking?

 

[73saint]

looks great! Did you sprinkle some seasoning on them before smoking?

Cracked black pepper.

 

[bluebird]

Very nice!!

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice job!
That's some fine looking bacon!
Al

 

[chopsaw]

You do a great job on that . Looks fantastic .

 

[73saint]

Very nice!!

Thanks bluebird!

Nice job!
That's some fine looking bacon!
Al

Thanks Al, I got my start from you!

You do a great job on that . Looks fantastic .

Thanks Chop!

 

[pops6927]

As you are selling the bacon for profit, I must post a statement to protect this website from any inference of complicity for promoting violating laws, rules and regulations:

First, contact your friendly local Federal Meat Inspection Office for any and all advice on regulations concerning your commercial endeavor. This website does not portend to be any authority whatsoever on State/Federal regulations; it is strictly a site for smoking enthusiasts and amateur endeavors sharing ideas, tips, recipes and 'how-to's of smoking meats for personal enjoyment.
Second, find out, through them, what requirements are for commercial equipment, specifications, operation, procedures, etc.
Third, what regulations are necessary for the meats chosen to cook outdoors or in an inspected kitchen or facility - do they have to have a Federal Grading Stamp on them like USDA Select, Choice, Prime, or is No Roll acceptable? These are all rules and regulations that must be met and adhered to.
Thank you for giving us the opportunity to read and learn about your quest and accomplishments! The above has to be stated to avoid our website in being complicit with advice on commercial operation endeavors.