BACON-ON-A-STICK (Step By Step)

[mosparky]

Dang, it was just about everything I expected, but got mixed reveiws. Daughter didn't care for it but future son-in-law did. I did one half slab with a peach glaze. That one he liked best. I was surprized it seemed a little salty after the smoke, sure didn't seem that way at the fry test. might increase the soak time next time. Yes... there WILL be a next time !! Might or might not remove the membrane next time. The bacon on a stick was fine, but the Memphis rub were a bit dry. Next time I will monitor IT and try for a little less bite off the bone as well.

Thanks Bear for the step by step. These are awesome. I never would have thought of this nor attempted it without such detailed instructions.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Dang, it was just about everything I expected, but got mixed reveiws. Daughter didn't care for it but future son-in-law did. I did one half slab with a peach glaze. That one he liked best. I was surprized it seemed a little salty after the smoke, sure didn't seem that way at the fry test. might increase the soak time next time. Yes... there WILL be a next time !! Might or might not remove the membrane next time. The bacon on a stick was fine, but the Memphis rub were a bit dry. Next time I will monitor IT and try for a little less bite off the bone as well.

Thanks Bear for the step by step. These are awesome. I never would have thought of this nor attempted it without such detailed instructions.

I'm glad you liked it, but it's a shame it was a bit salty.

That extra day or 2 in cure could have added some salt.

I actually only Dry cure these for 48 hours, and any longer adds Salt flavor to the meat, because the brine that forms in the bag from the meat juices & the Salt in the TQ is much stronger than the salt content in the meat, so the longer you keep the meat in that cure, the more salt flavor you will get.

Some say a longer time won't add salt flavor to the meat, but that may be true with a wet curing Equalizing Brine, but not with a full mix of TQ in a Dry Cure. That brine that forms with a TQ Dry cure is very strong, and should not be in the bag with the meat for too long.

If it is it should be soaked before smoking.

The fact that there are bones in "Bacon-on-a-stick" compounds to that result. I use the full amount of TQ, but only do 48 hours, because of the bones & because I'm only curing for flavor & not worried about getting it cured to center. The other way to do this would be to figure out what % is Bones, and adjust the amount of TQ used. Then you could cure for a longer time without it getting too salty.

Bear

 

[mosparky]

Correction/update, I can't explaint it, but the saltyness seemed to be limited to just the first sample. I have been snacking on them most of the week and not a single bite of salty taste. I've had them cold, reheated, whatever. Just as good and addicting to boot.

 

[Bearcarver]

 
Correction/update, I can't explaint it, but the saltyness seemed to be limited to just the first sample. I have been snacking on them most of the week and not a single bite of salty taste. I've had them cold, reheated, whatever. Just as good and addicting to boot.

That's more like it !!

That's what I like to hear!

Thanks for the Update!!  Glad you like them!

Bear

 

[petehalsted]

I had a half rack let from Porkapolsa. So I decided to give this on a try. After bugging Bear with a few questions during the process, I finally put them in the smoker yesterday.

They went in the cure Wed around noon, and after talking with Bear, I pulled the Friday afternoon and have them a very vigorous scrub and rinse to get any remaining cure off the surface. I wrapped them and put them in the fridge until Sunday AM.

When I took them out that had a very nice pellicle formed. I figured I had plenty of salt from the cure, and didn't want to do my normal dry rub, so I did SPOG minus the salt.

3 hours @ 225 in the MES with AMNPS with 40/40/20 Apple/Cherry/Pecan.

The foiled with some pineapple juice (read my post from Porkapolsa about pineapple versus apple juice) for 2 hours.

When I pulled them they were pretty much already fall off the bone (not best quality ribs), so I just seared them up for a few minutes on the grill and called them done.

The color on the ribs is unbelievable, and they are definitely juicy. I would describe it as more hammy than baconny, but with a definite rib flavor as well.

No sure if I will make them a gain or not. They were good, but so are my normal ribs without the extra couple of days of work. Definitely something worth trying though.

 

[Bearcarver]

Yup---In between Ham & Bacon flavor.
Yours look Great!
Sorry if you were disappointed---We love them here.


Bear

 

[petehalsted]

Not disappoint, they were good. Just not special enough to device our limited RV fridge space for a few days. I can see the draw to them, especially if you like ham

 

[atomicsmoke]

Bear,

I am thinking about trying these. Would it benefit from a longer cure (6 days). Wet vs dry cure? I will be using pink salt - have to figure out how much salt to use (NaCl not pink)

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear,

I am thinking about trying these. Would it benefit from a longer cure (6 days). Wet vs dry cure? I will be using pink salt - have to figure out how much salt to use (NaCl not pink)

I'm sure curing longer wouldn't hurt, but it's not necessary, because you're going to Hot Smoke it to 145°, and "140° in less than 4 hours".
You can wet cure it, but I personally believe Dry cured is better. (less washed out)
If you dry cure with Cure #1 (Pink Salt), I would take advantage of it and use only 1 TBS of Salt per two pounds of Meat, instead of the 1 TBS per pound that you get with TQ.

Bear

 

[atomicsmoke]

Good point about the dry cure. Thanks

 

[MeatSkull]

I worked for a meat house back in about 1978 and someone dropped a few slabs of pork ribs in the cure by accident along with the loins, yes they were awesome!

 

[Bearcarver]

I worked for a meat house back in about 1978 and someone dropped a few slabs of pork ribs in the cure by accident along with the loins, yes they were awesome!

LOL---Mighty Tasty Accident, Huh ?!?!

Bear

 

[John_D]

Hi Bear,

I'm too new at this and was pointed here from another forum so hopefully you can help me out with this. So far i have only experienced Prague #1 and only a few times at that doing bacon. I was asking about ham ribs that I had in Glasgow Scotland as a youth but had never been able to find here in Canada. this thread was given as a link and here I am. can you tell me the process if I was using prague #1 if thats possible.

 

[mosparky]

Usung prague #1 I would opt for a liquid brine. The amounts are just too small to insure an even distribution otherwise. Here's a popular one. https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/montana-bacon-on-a-stick.248522/

 

[John_D]

Thanks very much for the link. I appreciate the response but I don't think the use of srirachi, soy and the finish are going to give me what I was looking for, but the rest may get me there. I will give this a go when I get my hands on some ribs later.

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks very much for the link. I appreciate the response but I don't think the use of srirachi, soy and the finish are going to give me what I was looking for, but the rest may get me there. I will give this a go when I get my hands on some ribs later.

Hi John,
Yeah, Like Sparky said, because of the problem with spreading Cure #1, I would only use it in a Brine Cure, like the one “Pops” has on this Forum.
Andy Sorry it took me so long to reply—-I’m having ‘Puter problems again.

Bear

 

[TomKnollRFV]

I'm planning to do this with another Forum member visiting me for dinner to taste another experiment of mine Bear... <Corned goose breast I saw Steve Rinella of Meateater do> except I'm just doing St Louis Cuts <As another experiment for any competitions I get wrangled into>.

Thanks for having these awesome step by steps up :)

 

[dannylang]

Bear that a great write up, and some of the best ribs I have ever seen.
dannylang

 

[Bearcarver]

I'm planning to do this with another Forum member visiting me for dinner to taste another experiment of mine Bear... <Corned goose breast I saw Steve Rinella of Meateater do> except I'm just doing St Louis Cuts <As another experiment for any competitions I get wrangled into>.

Thanks for having these awesome step by steps up :)

Thanks Tom!!
St Louis Cut is fine. I just found I like the full Spares for this better, because it's so much more meat, and it stays more moist than St Louis Cut.
Enjoy!!
Bear

Bear that a great write up, and some of the best ribs I have ever seen.
dannylang

Thank You Danny!!
These are really a Treat, and completely different than regular smoked Ribs.
More like Bacon.
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear