Bacon makes everything better

[ifitsdeadsmokeit]

Dry brined and cured a pork belly I picked up from costco for 14 days on stainless racks. I forgot to square off the edges so they dried out too much. I cut them off after smoking. It was seasoned with white pepper, onion powder, garlic, and habanero during the 2 weeks. Next time I think I will go a couple days shorter maybe 3 so be 11 or 12 total. I havent built a smoke chamber yet and too hot out for cold smoking so I used a pellet tube for couple hours and then set the pellet smoker on 150 and let er rip. It only took 2 more hours to hit IT of 145 in each half. Should have run the tube only longer. After smoking and cooling for couple hours wrapped in saran wrap and put in fridge. I got busy so sat for four days. Sliced up with the slicer and vacuum sealed in 1 lb packages. Ended up with just under 8 lbs. test fried a couple slices and liked the flavor but was lacking in smokey goodness. It will still eat well. Forgot to take pics of packages

 

[SmokinEdge]

Nice job on that. I try to go 14 days but i keep an eye on them about day 10, if after that they get to dry for my liking I bag them for the last couple days. You will notice also the bacon will shrink less in the pan and will brown faster because it’s dryer. Nice work.

 

[ifitsdeadsmokeit]

It does exactly what you say smokinedge when cooking it. I got about 23% weight loss total. Started with little more than 10 lb belly and just under 8 lbs finished product. It does not cook like traditional bacon you cure in a bag and cold smoke but is delicious. I will definately dry brine again.

 

[paleoman]

The bacon looks great, and I like your seasoning. It's interesting to see your process.

I've been thinking about doing a spicy bacon on the batch I'm working on. I'm dry curing right now (about another week to go), in bags with just cure, salt, and sugar. I season before smoking, and will try different seasoning on each piece (I cut a 6 lb belly in two).

 

[SmokinEdge]

The bacon looks great, and I like your seasoning. It's interesting to see your process.

I've been thinking about doing a spicy bacon on the batch I'm working on. I'm dry curing right now (about another week to go), in bags with just cure, salt, and sugar. I season before smoking, and will try different seasoning on each piece (I cut a 6 lb belly in two).

Here is a read on my process. If doing bacon this way it’s best to add seasoning at the same time as cure mix then dry on the stainless rack because the surface of the belly get a hard pellicule when done and won’t readily stick any additional seasoning. You possibly could wipe the surface of the dried belly with a damp paper towel then season but easier to just do it at the start.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/true-dry-cured-bacon.325639/