Latest Buckboard Bacon is DONE!

[adiochiro3]

I found a good price for pork shoulder -- $1.99/lb. so I picked up two.  We have been out of BBB for a while, and I have been distracted by other projects as well as work.

I boned them and butterflied them and added TenderQuick dry cure, pepper, and brown sugar.  I have tried other various spices and liquids; however, I did not notice much difference one from another, so I thought I would just keep this batch simple.  Each piece was weighed individually and the appropriate TQ amount was added and worked into every nook and cranny of the cuts.  We've got a total of 9.5 lbs curing.

Here they are all rubbed up and FoodSaver sealed for their nap.

These are not very thick, so a 7 day cure should be adequate.  Sound about right, Bear?  I will probably smoke them next weekend.  

I recently read about folks using an electric soldering iron inserted into a can full of wood dust to generate "cold smoke."  I'm thinking of giving this method a try next weekend.  I just couldn't keep the smoker temps in the range I wanted during the last batch.  I'll let y'all know how it works out if I attempt it.  Stay tuned...

 

[teeznuts]

Gota love that BBB.

 

[SmokinAl]

Good start!

       

 

[slownlow]

looking good

 

[ptcruiserguy]

Lookin good.

 

[Bearcarver]

I found a good price for pork shoulder -- $1.99/lb. so I picked up two.  We have been out of BBB for a while, and I have been distracted by other projects as well as work.I boned them and butterflied them and added TenderQuick dry cure, pepper, and brown sugar.  I have tried other various spices and liquids; however, I did not notice much difference one from another, so I thought I would just keep this batch simple.  Each piece was weighed individually and the appropriate TQ amount was added and worked into every nook and cranny of the cuts.  We've got a total of 9.5 lbs curing.

Here they are all rubbed up and FoodSaver sealed for their nap.These are not very thick, so a 7 day cure should be adequate.  Sound about right, Bear?   I will probably smoke them next weekend.  I recently read about folks using an electric soldering iron inserted into a can full of wood dust to generate "cold smoke."  I'm thinking of giving this method a try next weekend.  I just couldn't keep the smoker temps in the range I wanted during the last batch.  I'll let y'all know how it works out if I attempt it.  Stay tuned...

Great Start James !!!

Sounds about right to me. 7 days should be long enough for a maximum of 2 1/2" thick. Your pieces are probably less than 2". I'm guessing about 1 1/2".

I'm ready!!!

  

Bear

 

[thedad45373]

Looks like you're on the road to Smoke Land. I would probably forego the soldering iron and opt for one of Todd's AMZNPS. Can't be beat for performance and his customer service is tops.
Probably too late for this one butt, there's bound to be more where this came from.

 

[bluebombersfan]

Can't wait to see them smoked!!

 

[scarbelly]

Looking great James. Should be some good bacon.

 

[adiochiro3]

9.5 lbs of BBB went into the smoker at 7 am this morning!  Rinsed everything and did a fry test last night before starting the pellicle formation.  Salt level was perfect by everyone's estimation.

Left the bacons uncovered on racks in the fridge all night to get a nice pellicle, but thought things were still too moist at 5 am, so I put everyone on the counter in front of a fan.  Boy, did that finish up a nice pellicle!  I flipped the pieces and made sure both sides had a nice sheen with a tacky feel to the touch.  My first 2 attempts at BBB did not take on much smoke; I believe there were 2 reasons for that: 1) I had a devil of a time keeping a steady smoke going while keeping the cook temp down, and 2) I don't believe I took the pellicle formation seriously enough.

I did more homework on the pellicle step and discovered that the bacon will not take smoke if the meat is wet.  I can only assume that is true by the testimony of several trusted sources, including -- and especially -- Bearcarver.  I can't wait to see if I pick up more smoky goodness on this batch.  Here are the pellicle-formed players:

My remedy for smoke/temp management is the soldering iron trick I picked up a few weeks ago here on SMF.  I did a test run, and it seemed to work well after a few tweaks.  I've got my soldering iron shoved through the side of a #10 can (right at the bottom) that is 1/2 full of sawdust.  The smoke generation is perfect and holding steady for 1 1/2 hours now.  I'm curious to see how long that 1/2 can of dust will deliver smoke.  I've unplugged the iron, and things seem to be smoking along nicely on their own now.  The cook temp is lower than I think I would prefer (<100*); however, some folks advocate a "cold" smoke in that temp range, so I'm not worried about it.  Here is a pic of the smoke-generating rig with the soldering iron:

Decided it was a great opportunity to smoke some cheese (Tilimook cheddar & moz sticks) concurrently.  Here is a pic of everyone in the pool:

Good smoke generation...

Temp running around 90* (ambient temp is 60* outside and warming).  Should be an interesting day.  Stay tuned for updates...

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks great so far!

 

[bluebombersfan]

lookin good!!

 

[adiochiro3]

Cheese is out...

4 hours at <100* with walnut shavings/dust from my wood shop...

All wrapped up and ready for a 2 week nap.  Got a little ways to go on the BBB, so I decided to slice some of my garden peppers and throw them in for a couple of hours...

Time to torture the college kids a bit with emails and pix and entice them to come home soon...

 

[adiochiro3]

The BBB is finished and in the freezer.  Here's the finishing pix, starting with the bacon cooling on the counter:

The peppers came out looking, smelling and tasting nice...

I sliced everything by hand; I tried dad's electric slicer, but it was noisy, a bit unsteady (and therefore dangerous), and cleanup was a pain.

And a Bearview close-up:

Pretty, no?  I began with 9.5 lbs. of raw pork, and I finished with 7.5 lbs. of BBB.  This is by far much better than my first 2 attempts.  As I mentioned earlier in this post, I did not do a great job forming the pellicle, and I had trouble maintaining a steady smoke with low temps.  With both problems solved, we've got a really tasty product!

Thanks for coming along for the ride!

 

[teeznuts]

That color on the BBB and the cheese look perfect. Now start another batch cuz this stuff probably won't last.

 

[slownlow]

Nice job!! It all looks great!

 

[roller]

That looks GREAT ! Nice Job.

 

[mballi3011]

Now it's hard to beat some good ole BBB bacon. We have some in the freezer at all times. That is one of the wifes request along with a few other things.

 

[Bearcarver]

Awwww, James-----That all looks Awesome!!!!

And great BearView too!!!

Thanks for the views---They are a treat !!!

Bear

 

[bluebombersfan]

Wow beautiful looking bacon!!