So we have been trying to make bacon every couple years for around 6 years now with no success. The first time (wet cure), we didn't do enough cure. The second time, it tasted closer to pork chop than bacon. The third time (dry cure), it tasted like really salty ham.
We are hoping that the fourth (and final attempt, if this fails), will be the charm. This time, we are definitely going to dry cure. However, what it comes down to is what recipe to use? We have seen the Steven Raichlen recipe, which only recommends 5 days of curing (and we'd just let it sit for 10-14 days). We've seen the EQ curing sites and calculators that are recommended. We've seen all of the recipes online, so we've having a bit of a recipe overload as to what to do.
We recently set up an ad hoc outdoor kitchen (with a second Masterbuilt smoker - a guy was selling it for $75 because he got it for Father's Day and didn't know how to use it after 3 times trying it!) that has a fridge where we will store the bacon. We're getting the pork belly tomorrow from a butcher (for once, a butcher was cheaper than the store!), we ordered a whole pork belly, boneless, skinned - which will be easier for us.
So, smoking gurus, what do you recommend? Soaking the pork belly after washing off the cure? Forming a pellicle in the fridge for 4 hours before hot smoking? What temp to smoke at? How long to smoke? Easiest way to cut the bacon? Any sage words of wisdom to impart on us?
oh, and i'll post pictures so you can see how this bacon acolyte does
We are hoping that the fourth (and final attempt, if this fails), will be the charm. This time, we are definitely going to dry cure. However, what it comes down to is what recipe to use? We have seen the Steven Raichlen recipe, which only recommends 5 days of curing (and we'd just let it sit for 10-14 days). We've seen the EQ curing sites and calculators that are recommended. We've seen all of the recipes online, so we've having a bit of a recipe overload as to what to do.
We recently set up an ad hoc outdoor kitchen (with a second Masterbuilt smoker - a guy was selling it for $75 because he got it for Father's Day and didn't know how to use it after 3 times trying it!) that has a fridge where we will store the bacon. We're getting the pork belly tomorrow from a butcher (for once, a butcher was cheaper than the store!), we ordered a whole pork belly, boneless, skinned - which will be easier for us.
So, smoking gurus, what do you recommend? Soaking the pork belly after washing off the cure? Forming a pellicle in the fridge for 4 hours before hot smoking? What temp to smoke at? How long to smoke? Easiest way to cut the bacon? Any sage words of wisdom to impart on us?
oh, and i'll post pictures so you can see how this bacon acolyte does