Bacon made the easy way...

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Good afternoon everyone from sunny Toronto. It's my second time making this bacon.I do mine in pops brine and let it sit for 15 days. I'm into day 10 . The brine is turning into a jelly,this happened last time I made it ,it seemed to turn out ok . Is this normal for the brine to turn to jelly?? Can anyone explain? Happy bacon ,!
 
Started smoking bacon this morning . At what temperature should I be at 210 ??[ATTACHMENT=2998]Baconyes (217k. jpeg file)[/ATTACHMENT]
 
So I'm not exactly NEW to smoking but I'm very much an amateur. I've got an electric vertical smoker (Masterbuilt). I want to make this bacon and I have a slab curing but I'm curious about the timing and temp. I see you're saying 34 hours, but what temp do you smoke it at? My smoker won't produce smoke under about 120 degrees which I think may be too high for bacon. I want to smoke the bacon not cook it in the smoker. Dose this method really need an offset/cold smoker?
 
So I'm not exactly NEW to smoking but I'm very much an amateur. I've got an electric vertical smoker (Masterbuilt). I want to make this bacon and I have a slab curing but I'm curious about the timing and temp. I see you're saying 34 hours, but what temp do you smoke it at? My smoker won't produce smoke under about 120 degrees which I think may be too high for bacon. I want to smoke the bacon not cook it in the smoker. Dose this method really need an offset/cold smoker?


You need a AMNPS for that MES. Todd is a sponser here.

http://www.amazenproducts.com/product_p/amnps5x8.htm
 
You can hot smoke or cold smoke. Myself, I prefer to hot smoke at minimum 225° to an internal of 135°, partially cooked, minimum. It still needs further cooking in the pan to a minimum of 145° to be fully cooked, killing pathogens. I smoke bacon/buckboard bacon to the latter, 145° because of two things: 1) I know me, and i want to 'sample' - repeatedly, and don't want to get sick from food poisoning, and 2) I frequently divide up and give my products to my sons, who also share with their friends and families and I CERTAINLY do not want to risk harm to them whatsoever. One single trip to the ER can cost far more than $500 or much, much more, and if my products take 10 or more people to the ER because of my inconsiderate error, I can not afford $5,000 or more in ER bills. Not after paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for 5 strokes. It is your choice, but safe is far better than sorry. Todd Johnson has fantastic products for hot and cold smoking, even grilling. But, think and do wisely in your endeavors. (Oooohhhh, try smoking cheeses... and vegetables... oh! Portabella Mushrooms!... I could go on and on... he invented THE PERFECT smoking machine!!! The curing brine gets thick as it is exchanging curing ingredients into the meat and plasma and blood out from it; perfectly normal. If it gets ropy (bubbly, like it is fermenting - which it is), just replace the curing brine for fresh and check your fridge temp, it may be too warm.

www.amazenproducts.com)
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/thanksgiving-and-christmas-cheese-smoking.269658/
 
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So I'm not exactly NEW to smoking but I'm very much an amateur. I've got an electric vertical smoker (Masterbuilt). I want to make this bacon and I have a slab curing but I'm curious about the timing and temp. I see you're saying 34 hours, but what temp do you smoke it at? My smoker won't produce smoke under about 120 degrees which I think may be too high for bacon. I want to smoke the bacon not cook it in the smoker. Dose this method really need an offset/cold smoker?

Here's all you need to know, courtesy of Bearcarver:
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/bacon-extra-smoky.108099/
 
hey all, so looks like its been a bit since someone has played with this so . . . . . here's to resurrecting awesomeness.

Question. is 34 hrs really necessary? i was thinking maybe 12 or or 16 ????
Question. after rinsing, drying and smoking, is it ok to leave in the reefer (covered or uncovered) until i can slice it?
Also, does external temperature have a bearing on performance. It's pretty damn cold

thanks
 
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The length of time that you smoke is really down to personal taste. I find that 12-18 hours is more than sufficient. After smoking leave it wrapped/vac packed for several days in the fridge to allow the smoke flavours to penetrate the meat.
If the bacon is immersion cured then it needs to be used quickly because of its relatively high moisture content. To maximise the fridge life keep it unsliced and if you are not going to eat is within a couple weeks then freeze it. If you want bacon with a longer unfrozen shelf life then you would need to dry cure it.
 
Cure #1, Pink Curing Salt, InstaCure #1, Prague Powder #1 are all the same thing: 6.25% sodium nitrite and 93.75% plain, non-iodized salt. TenderQuick is a combination of ingredients, both sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate, and is not interchangeable with Cure #1. Celery Powder is unregulated and not advisable to use, as there are no controls on it; whereas Cure #1 is highly regulated and USDA approved.
 
You can hot smoke or cold smoke. Myself, I prefer to hot smoke at minimum 225° to an internal of 135°, partially cooked, minimum. It still needs further cooking in the pan to a minimum of 145° to be fully cooked, killing pathogens. I smoke bacon/buckboard bacon to the latter, 145° because of two things: 1) I know me, and i want to 'sample' - repeatedly, and don't want to get sick from food poisoning, and 2) I frequently divide up and give my products to my sons, who also share with their friends and families and I CERTAINLY do not want to risk harm to them whatsoever. One single trip to the ER can cost far more than $500 or much, much more, and if my products take 10 or more people to the ER because of my inconsiderate error, I can not afford $5,000 or more in ER bills. Not after paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for 5 strokes. It is your choice, but safe is far better than sorry. Todd Johnson has fantastic products for hot and cold smoking, even grilling. But, think and do wisely in your endeavors. (Oooohhhh, try smoking cheeses... and vegetables... oh! Portabella Mushrooms!... I could go on and on... he invented THE PERFECT smoking machine!!! The curing brine gets thick as it is exchanging curing ingredients into the meat and plasma and blood out from it; perfectly normal. If it gets ropy (bubbly, like it is fermenting - which it is), just replace the curing brine for fresh and check your fridge temp, it may be too warm.

www.amazenproducts.com)
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?threads/thanksgiving-and-christmas-cheese-smoking.269658/


pops, We all know and love your brine for curing bacon.
What is your methodology when it comes to the smoking side of bacon? You posted above that you hot smoke. is that all you do is the 225 until it hits 135?
 
Bumping this thread as I just tried this brine. It is quite easy to do and the result is very good.
Before putting the belly in the brine, I chose to remove the skin which was quite a job by itself for a none butcher type of guys. :emoji_wink:
It sat in the brine for 13 days. After removing it from the brine, I rinse it well in cold water than pat it down with paper towels than put it on a makeshift rak and back in the fridge overnight.
My pellet smoker was set at the smoke setting which hold it between 170 and 180F. I lighted my amazen and then put the belly in the smoker. At the 6 hour mark I raised the heat to 225F to bring the internal temp to 145 which took just over an hour.
After it was done I let it cool a bit then wrapped it in meat shop paper and let it sit in the fridge for another 48 hours. After all said and done, I’m left with just shy of 12 lbs it.
It turned out very good although I would liked it with more smoke flavor. Might have to invest in another amazen. :emoji_wink:
 

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No weighing,no calculator, just a simple recipe that works quite well, from a man I have known all my life.

Pops Dad..Carl Fassett owned a store and was very highly regarded for his smoked and cured products.

There are lots of ways to make bacon. This is what I use. From Pops6927..

real simple curing brine:

for every 1 gallon of water, add:

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)

1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji]

1 cup brown sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji] brown sugar mix

1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.) If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce. The maximum concentration allowed safely is 3.84 ounces per 1 gallon of brine (24 lbs.per 100 gallons: 16 oz. x 24 = 384 ounces, 1/100th is 3.84 ounces). You can experiment with different concentrations as long as you keep it between those parameters.

I add pepper,onion, garlic, old bay.

My buddy Raptor and I split a 4 bellie case a few weeks ago.

Cut them up and put them in a bucket with the cure mix...then into the spare fridge for 15 days.

No specific reason for 15 days..it just worked out that way.

Rinsed and put back in the fridge with a generous coating of pepper onion and garlic on half. Added a thick coat of Slap Yer Mama on the other half.

2 days later they got 34 hours of pecan dust smoke using 2 amazens.

Sliced off the skins with ease using my Granpas steel filet knife.. Skin side down cutting like skinning fish.

Back into the fridge for a couple days.

Used my awesome Berkel commercial slicer and had 22 pounds sliced and 2 pounds of ends in no time.

Vac packed using Lisa Bs superb bags.

Try it you will like it..

Here's the B-View. Enjoy!!

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Wondering where you get pecan smoking dust? Can't seem to find it anywhere, even with Google. Thanks
 
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