makin bacon Is it worth it?

[mneeley490]

I noticed this, too. I can only conclude that the store bought is full of water to make the splatters.

 

[alelover]

Water = More weight = More$$$

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Yeah, Water is quite profitable at $5 or more per pound. :biggrin:



~Martin

 

[danelmore]

deleted

 

[will work 4 bbq]

well i certainly hope it's worth because i just paid $14 for a measly 2lb bag of Tender Quick, and now i have to buy the belly and wait about 2 weeks before i can try some. But i believe there is no bad bacon unless it's burnt to a crisp so i'm really looking forward to this adventure

 

[shoneyboy]

Tell you what, you make it and send over to me so that I can enjoy it.

I wouldn't even know where to buy a pork belly. I'm sure they're not sold in grocery stores.

I started off with BBB (Buck Board Bacon) which is made from Boston Butt....Cheapest way to make bacon their is and you can buy it at just about any store that sells meat.....

 

[java]

i was hesitant at first, and there is a learning curve. this being said, never look back!

store bought has its place, but we love the homemade stuff. you can adjust the taste (salt, sweet, smoke, pepper, ect.)

to your liking. it doesnt take that much work to make a years worth of bacon ( 4 bellys in our case ) and you know what you are eating.

start small and work up. we still plan on trying a diffrent recipe with a small amount every batch until we find just the "perfect recipe".

you will find, at least in my experience, that home made bacon, will cook faster and will have less grease and shrinkage, than store bought.

just my opinion. (plus your friends will think your a stud ! )

 

[diggingdogfarm]

If I have the time to either make pulled pork or bacon, I’ll choose pulled pork every time.....

That's like picking a favorite child! LOL
I'll take both, and more! :biggrin:


~Martin

 

[shoneyboy]

I had the same question back when I started, here is a link to that post....http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...h-my-first-bbb-done-with-plenty-of-q-views/20.... Now to answer your question of "Why" here are some pictures of a reason why......

I know who had handled this bacon, what is in it, that it was handled properly and that it is some of the best stuff I have ever eaten.....I have been able to see the industrial side of the “manufacturing of bacon”. It always seems like that they are missing an ingredient. Once I made my own bacon I figured out what it was…..”LOVE”…..Love of what you are doing and the knowledge of knowing what you are eating and feeding your friends and family is made with the best ingredients available…. As far as cost goes....this BBB  cost around 1.50-2.00 a pound to make ....The cheapest way to go...and for me the leanest....(not a lot of fat to deal with) As far as cost goes...I figure it cost (on average)....and as someone stated in an earlier post, it's all about the fun of doing it....but that is enough of my rant...I hope I don't sound pushy and I do understand that in this day and time, that some of us in this world are limited to what we are able and can do...so I don't say this with spite...I say this as someone that loves to smoke stuff and have fun with trying new things…......ShoneyBoy

 

[danelmore]

deleted

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Lighten up! LOL
I think you're seeing a conflict that doesn't exist.
Nobody is insisting that you make your own bacon!!!
To each his own.
We ALL have different priorities.
I'm not insulted by your opinion any more than you should be insulted by mine.
It's just bacon for goodness sake! :biggrin:


~Martin

 

[catzcradle]

I'll just add my opinion as I was hesitant at first as well.  I've got a slicer and a vac-seal.

I LOVE bacon.

I've now done 1 full belly bacon.  It's nearly finished.  This was done with Hickory

I've done 4 boston butts for Buckboard Bacon.

I'll only do belly bacon for certain things now, though far more meaty and flavorful than what I can buy at Costco.  Maybe not more cost effective, but it depends on where you find your belly.

Buckboard Bacon on the other hand has become a staple for us.  It is SO much better.  Many Many years ago I had this in a HK hotel breakfast and it was called back bacon.  I didn't know where it came from, but loved it.  Now that I've learned how to make the BBB, it's what we eat, it's cheaper, leaner, and far more tasty.  Takes a while to cure, but I've got a second fridge for this stuff.  Takes a while to smoke, but I use a Cookshack Electric, so that's pretty easy also.  Cost is cheaper than store bacon.  I have found I prefer apple wood when I smoke bacon, but I did a batch with Cherry and it was mighty tasty.

Anyways for me.  Yes it's worth it.  But it is also a hobby I have fun with.  I've made summer sausage, snak sticks, brisket, pulled pork, ABT's, chicken, etc.  Just to try it.  I make my own chorizo & breakfast sausage.  I have a large veggie garden, 7 chickens, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and lots of other things to take up my time in my little urban farm I've set up here.  If time and space were limited (eg. no second fridge, counter) or if you don't have the equipment to make the job easy, then probably not worth it.  I never had a clue what I was missing before I made my own.  If I had kids though, or had to work more hrs or something, I'd probably just skip bacon and buy Costco hams.

The way I look at smoking, I'm up to trying anything once.  I wasn't that thrilled with the chicken, and prefer to grill it.  Same with Tri-Tip.

 

[africanmeat]

Kind of like comparing prosciutto to Hormel hams

Yup you  100% right

 

[shoneyboy]

Danelmore, I do feel that this groups original intent was to allow everyone to have the ability to share a common interest. Having this site has allowed us (members) the ability to share there experiences and opinions from all over the world. We are passing on the knowledge of how to prepare the same and different foods from different cultures from different parts of the world. If it was not for this site, I would not have tried nearly as many of the recipes that I have over the past 2 years ……By having the ability to sharing our experience, some of us are able to build-up enough courage/nerve to try some of these recipes on our own......                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

If for some reason that by answering Eppo's question's I have offended you, I offer you a sincerely apologize, it was not the intent...... ShoneyBoy

 

[smokeydokey]

Once you make your own, you will never go back!

Al Blancher's recipe and technique are very hard to beat. Simple, safe and delicious. The only drawback is that, like winning the lottery, you end up with a lot of friends and relatives you never knew about.

Here is a photo of my cold, dry cured, cold smoked maple bacon. My local pig farmer/ butcher grows some very lean hogs.

 

[smokeydokey]

If you have a really good butch, you may also try making jowl bacon. The pieces are smaller, and fattier, but is it good, and it does not take a long time for either curing or smoking.

if you have a cool cellar, you may also try to make Guanciale, air dried, cured Italian jowl bacon...it's about the tastiest thing I've ever put in my mouth.

Below are pictures of curing Jowls being infused with herbs from my garden: Bay Laurel, and rosemary, as well as plain cure.

(please note that I kryo-vaced these just for a couple of days to infuse the flavors, then let the air get to them for the rest of the curing cycle. bacon seems to like a little air.)

 

[smokeydokey]

I'll just add my opinion as I was hesitant at first as well.  I've got a slicer and a vac-seal.

I LOVE bacon.

I've now done 1 full belly bacon.  It's nearly finished.  This was done with Hickory

I've done 4 boston butts for Buckboard Bacon.

I'll only do belly bacon for certain things now, though far more meaty and flavorful than what I can buy at Costco.  Maybe not more cost effective, but it depends on where you find your belly.

Buckboard Bacon on the other hand has become a staple for us.  It is SO much better.  Many Many years ago I had this in a HK hotel breakfast and it was called back bacon.  I didn't know where it came from, but loved it.  Now that I've learned how to make the BBB, it's what we eat, it's cheaper, leaner, and far more tasty.  Takes a while to cure, but I've got a second fridge for this stuff.  Takes a while to smoke, but I use a Cookshack Electric, so that's pretty easy also.  Cost is cheaper than store bacon.  I have found I prefer apple wood when I smoke bacon, but I did a batch with Cherry and it was mighty tasty.

Anyways for me.  Yes it's worth it.  But it is also a hobby I have fun with.  I've made summer sausage, snak sticks, brisket, pulled pork, ABT's, chicken, etc.  Just to try it.  I make my own chorizo & breakfast sausage.  I have a large veggie garden, 7 chickens, 2 dogs, 2 cats, and lots of other things to take up my time in my little urban farm I've set up here.  If time and space were limited (eg. no second fridge, counter) or if you don't have the equipment to make the job easy, then probably not worth it.  I never had a clue what I was missing before I made my own.  If I had kids though, or had to work more hrs or something, I'd probably just skip bacon and buy Costco hams.

The way I look at smoking, I'm up to trying anything once.  I wasn't that thrilled with the chicken, and prefer to grill it.  Same with Tri-Tip.

Catz,

I would be keen to try this Buck Board Bacon, would you share your recipe?

-Smokey

 

[viper1]

I prefer the buckboard or hillbilly bacon my self. Less fat! Also it is cheap and easy. Simply use pork butt or shoulder. A simple dry rub and smoke. Once you do it you wont go back. And smoking that store bought stuff wont even be close.

 

[harleysmoker]

I never done bacon at home yet,,,,,,want to try it,,,,,but have canned many things from the garden in the past and there is a night and day difference between it and store bought. Also like raising your own meat versus buying in the grocery store,,,no comparison!
 

 

[catzcradle]

Catz,

I would be keen to try this Buck Board Bacon, would you share your recipe?

-Smokey

I went simple for my first run, and I've been quite happy with it.  I start with this http://shop.himtnjerky.com/online/product.php?productid=25   and I buy the big double boneless shoulder from Costco.  I usually use one to grind for breakfast sausage and chorizo.   I follow the instructions, but I do add some black pepper and a touch of ground chipotle to give a touch more heat, but they're optional.  Takes about 10-14 days to cure.  I follow these instructions for smoking it http://www.himtnjerky.com/board-inst.html  and so far my favorite has been to smoke over apple & maple.  I've done hickory also.  If you are good with a boning knife, you can buy bone-in and cut the bone out.  There are some nice posts here that show people trimming their shoulders into slabs the size of bacon.  I'm going to give that a shot next time.  What I like is the lean-ness of the result.  I slice and vac-seal in about one pound packs.  One reason I like the buckboard is that I can hot smoke it to 140 internal and it always comes out good.  The belly's I've done are a bit more tough than store-bacon or BBB.

Have fun with it.  We just had some this morning with eggs and toast.   :)