BACON (Extra Smoky)

[Ranger619]

Bearcarver - first and foremost thank you for all of the information and encouragement you provide on this forum. I think I've read at least half of your step-by-step guides.

Picked up a 9 pound pork belly from Costco and it is curing as of yesterday AM. Went to rotate it this morning and I can feel that it is already starting to firm up.

Looking forward to smoking it in about a week or so in my MES 30 with AMNPS, then let it rest in the fridge for a couple of days before slicing.

Scott

 

[Bearcarver]

Sounds Good, Scott !!
Alert me when you post it---I don't want to miss it, like I miss so many other good ones!!!

Bear

 

[Ed Crain]

Unless you have a dedicated fridge for this I would recommend putting the smoked bacon in bags to rest just finished 10lbs last night and the better half didn’t complain of everything tasting like smoke (learned from the first time and bear saying to do that lol)

 

[Bearcarver]

Yup---Definitely keeps the peace, Ed!!

Bear

 

[Ranger619]

Unless you have a dedicated fridge for this I would recommend putting the smoked bacon in bags to rest just finished 10lbs last night and the better half didn’t complain of everything tasting like smoke (learned from the first time and bear saying to do that lol)

Excellent point - will do on the bags.

Scott

 

[Stargazer_1118]

Where does one get Tender Quick?

 

[Bearcarver]

Where does one get Tender Quick?

It's made by Morton's Salt.
I get mine from Wegman's (food market), but some Walmarts have it, and some Butcher Shops.
As a last resort you can get it from the Internet, but it's usually cheaper when bought at Food marts, locally.
Last bag I got was about $6 for a 2 pound bag.

Bear

 

[Ishi]

First crack at Bears recipe. I had to the soak the bacon for a hour to get the salt taste to my liking. Success for sure!

 

[mneeley490]

Wow, that's some lean bacon! BLT looks great!

 

[ab canuck]

Great looking Bacon. I like that!!! And great sammie....

 

[HalfSmoked]

I'll take one of those BLT's for sure that bacon looks awesome.

Warren

 

[ironhorse07]

So I'm in the process of curing 9lbs of pork bellies for bacon right now. I cut the slab into 3 smaller slabs so they would each fit into the larger zip bags I have. 2 days in I have noticed that 2 of the 3 bags have sprung leaks. I have the bags in a large pan in case this would happen, but my concern is that I have read not to discard the liquid in the bags as it will reabsorb into the meat. Should I be concerned that I have lost some of this liquid?

A little late to the party, just saw this. I wonder if at this point, with 2 out of 3 bags leaking, I think I would abandon the dry brine and move the bellies into an equilibrium wet brine like Pop's to finish.

 

[banderson7474]

Bear or anyone that has done it, is it a significant price difference buying the bacon and doing it yourself? Just wondering if anyone has compared the price.

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear or anyone that has done it, is it a significant price difference buying the bacon and doing it yourself? Just wondering if anyone has compared the price.

I haven't checked lately, but I'm sure it's still quite a bit cheaper to make your own, provided you get a fair price for the raw belly to start with.
However I believe anyone who has done a good job in making their own "Home cured & Smoked Bacon", would do it even if the cost was the same, because it would be Soooooooo Much Better Tasting!!

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

A little late to the party, just saw this. I wonder if at this point, with 2 out of 3 bags leaking, I think I would abandon the dry brine and move the bellies into an equilibrium wet brine like Pop's to finish.

I never thought about that, but I think that would be the perfect "Fix" for that particular situation!! That should make it finish with not too much cure, but enough.
Wish I'd have though of it when the problem arose.

Thank You Doug,

Bear

 

[Bearcarver]

First crack at Bears recipe. I had to the soak the bacon for a hour to get the salt taste to my liking. Success for sure!

Looks Great, Ishi!!!
Nice Bacon & Sammy!
I've never had any salty Bacon from my method, using TQ.
However There are numerous reasons it could be salty.
Here are just 2 common ones;
Not using enough Sugar to counter the salt in the TQ.
Curing too long. You can cure too long when Dry Curing with TQ. It's not the same as Brine Curing with #1 Cure.

Bear

 

[HalfSmoked]

I have not done bellies since we use to butcher our own hogs. But I do Bears Canadian bacon all the time and the cost difference is major. Bacon runs from 5 to 7 dollars a pound you can buy pork loin for less than 2 dollars a pound average about 15 to 18 dollars for a whole loin. You will get 9 to 10 pound of Canadian bacon and its home made.

Warren

 

[ironhorse07]

Bear or anyone that has done it, is it a significant price difference buying the bacon and doing it yourself? Just wondering if anyone has compared the price.

I would still make it if it cost more, it's like the difference between a garden tomato and a store bought tomato, no comparison.

 

[Ishi]

Looks Great, Ishi!!!
Nice Bacon & Sammy!
I've never had any salty Bacon from my method, using TQ.
However There are numerous reasons it could be salty.
Here are just 2 common ones;
Not using enough Sugar to counter the salt in the TQ.
Curing too long. You can cure too long when Dry Curing with TQ. It's not the same as Brine Curing with #1 Cure.

Bear

This slab cured 10 days. I used 2 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar. I’m getting ready to start another slab. Any suggestions on the next one. I’m learning this stuff and it’s a blast so I’ll take more advice :) One thing this stuff tastes way better then store bought bacon for sure.

 

[Bearcarver]

This slab cured 10 days. I used 2 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar. I’m getting ready to start another slab. Any suggestions on the next one. I’m learning this stuff and it’s a blast so I’ll take more advice :) One thing this stuff tastes way better then store bought bacon for sure.

I don't know how thick yours was but The 10 days should have been Fine.
I don't know how heavy your Belly was, but 2 TBS was good for 2 or 3 pounds.
I use Light Brown, but I don't know if that would matter---I never used Dark Brown.

Bear