Bacon, Step by Step Video

[disco]

I have done several videos on back bacon, chipotle bacon, pepper bacon etc. However, it has been pointed out that I haven't done a video on how to make basic bacon.

I got a hunk of side pork and was decided to do a detailed video of how I make a basic bacon. I will walk through the process in this post and the video is at the end.

I got a small slab of side pork (pork belly) in the supermarket. I cut the skin off and measured the thickest part of the slab. For each kg of pork I mixed the following together (I have included dry and weight measures):

30 ml/25.8 grams brown sugar
15 ml/19.2 grams kosher salt
2.3 ml/3 grams Prague powder #1

If you are behind the rest of the world and are still using US measures, that works out to the following per pound of pork:

2 1/2 tsp/0.35 oz brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp/0.3 oz kosher salt
1/5 tsp/0.04 oz pink salt

I put the slab on a plate and rubbed the mixture into it.

I put the slab into a vacuum seal bag with one end sealed. I made sure to scrape any rub that fell onto the plate in the bag. I sealed the bag without sucking the air out.

I put the meat in the refrigerator for 2 days per inch of thickness plus 2 days. My meat was 1 1/2 inch thick so that is (1 1/2 times 4 plus 2) 8 days. I turned and massaged it every day or so.

I took the meat out of the bag and soaked it in cold water for 60 minutes, changing the water once.

I put it on a rack and patted it dry with a paper towel.

I put the slab in the fridge, uncovered, overnight to dry out and develop pellicle.

The next day, I used my A-Maze-N tube smoker to cold smoke the slab for 4 to 5 hours.

I put it in the fridge for 2 days to let the smoke even out.

I preheated my smoker to 180 F and smoked it to an internal temperature of between 130 to 140 F. I let it cool to room temperature and refrigerated overnight.

I sliced it to a little less than 1/8 inch thick.

A test fry.

The movie:



The Verdict

This is great bacon. I really like dry cured bacon and this has a nice smokey taste with a touch of sweet! Enjoy!

Disco

 

[crazymoon]

D, Great post,very informative on the bacon process! like

 

[tropics]

Disco that looks great I am sure it will be very helpful for anyone starting off making Bacon. Big Like
Richie

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice job Disco!
I'm sure this will help out a lot of first time bacon makers!
Al

 

[gmc2003]

Great video and tutorial Disco. If I ever get into bacon making I'll be referencing this post.

Point for sure.
Chris

 

[Braz]

Disco, I can't make your math work. (Maybe it's Canadian math.)

I put the meat in the refrigerator for 2 days per inch of thickness plus 2 days. My meat was 1 1/2 inch thick so that is (1 1/2 times 4 plus 2) 8 days. I turned and massaged it every day or so.

Did you really mean to say, "4 days per inch" instead of, "2 days per inch?"

 

[disco]

D, Great post,very informative on the bacon process! like

Thanks!

Disco that looks great I am sure it will be very helpful for anyone starting off making Bacon. Big Like
Richie

I appreciate the point, Richie!

Nice job Disco!
I'm sure this will help out a lot of first time bacon makers!
Al

Thanks, Al!

 

[disco]

Great video and tutorial Disco. If I ever get into bacon making I'll be referencing this post.

Point for sure.
Chris

Thanks for the point! I appreciate it Chris.

Disco, I can't make your math work. (Maybe it's Canadian math.)

Did you really mean to say, "4 days per inch" instead of, "2 days per inch?"

Yes, I meant to say four days per inch. I know some say 2 days per inch but I found that a bare minimum. For an inch and a half it would only equal 3 days. If I did the dry cure longer, I find I get a more even cure. When I started out, some resources said to do all pork for 14 days regardless of thickness. Some said 2 or 3 days per inch. Another said under 2 inches 7 days and over 2 inches 14 days.

By trial and error, I find I get a good equilibrium with the four days per inch and a couple of days extra. 2 days worked but just didn't seem as strong a cure to me. I do point out that I never dry cure anything over 3 inches which takes 14 days (3 time 4 plus 2).

So, 4 days times 1 1/2 inch equals 6 days (4 times 1 1/2 equals 6). I add 2 days for insurance and that gives 8 days. Canadian math!

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Mighty Tasty from the Den!!
Nice Job, Disco!!
Like.

Bear

 

[disco]

Looks Mighty Tasty from the Den!!
Nice Job, Disco!!
Like.

Bear

Thanks, Bear. I trust Santa was good to you!

 

[pushok2018]

Your bacon looks beautiful and tasty! Disco, you cooked your bacon to IT of between 130 to 140 F so, it's not a cooked product and has to be fried later in order to consume it... Just wondering - is all commercially made bacon (which you can buy in your local supermarket) made the same way?

 

[disco]

Your bacon looks beautiful and tasty! Disco, you cooked your bacon to IT of between 130 to 140 F so, it's not a cooked product and has to be fried later in order to consume it... Just wondering - is all commercially made bacon (which you can buy in your local supermarket) made the same way?

You are correct it is not a cooked product. It can be just cold smoked and works out fine.

When you make bacon you have 3 choices.

1. Cold smoke it. This gives a great product but I find it a little soft to slice easily unless you have a top of the line rotary slicer.
2. Hot smoke it until cooked. This involves heating the meat up to a safe serving temperature (over 150 F in my opinion) which means that it is safe to eat without reheating. However, I find this has a minor effect on the bacon's texture that I don't like.
3. Smoke it to between 130 to 140 F which does not produce a product you don't have to cook but does make it easier to slice. I find the texture close to cold smoking.

All three will make a good bacon. My choice to partially cook it suits me but the other choices also make great bacon. I usually do a cold smoke and then a hot smoke to 130-140F because I like a strong smoke flavour but will just do the hot smoke sometimes because She Who Must Be Obeyed likes a mild smoke.

As for commercial bacon, I have never worked in the industry and would be pleased to be corrected by others but my understanding is that commercial bacon is injected with a curing brine and then exposed to a medium heat smoke that does not cook it. So, commercial bacon should be cooked before consuming. This does change with back (Canadian) bacon where some operations cook to a safe temperature to serve cold. As I said this is from reading around and I am not an expert on commercial bacon production.

In short, if someone tells you they only cold smoke, they are correct.
If they tell you they hot smoke to a safe temperature, they are correct.
If they tell they smoke to firm but not a safe temperature, they are correct.

 

[pushok2018]

I really appreciate your respond, Disco! Usually I hot smoke bacon to IT 151 -155 so I and my family could eat it at any time without cooking. Cold smoked bacon two-tree times but didn't exactly liked it. Never tried "semi-smoked" (like yours) bacon though.... Well, need to make some room in my freezer to prepare it for BACON!!!

 

[disco]

I really appreciate your respond, Disco! Usually I hot smoke bacon to IT 151 -155 so I and my family could eat it at any time without cooking. Cold smoked bacon two-tree times but didn't exactly liked it. Never tried "semi-smoked" (like yours) bacon though.... Well, need to make some room in my freezer to prepare it for BACON!!!

I make back (Canadian) bacon like that often as She Who Must Be Obeyed occasionally eats a slice in a sandwich but we would never eat streaky bacon without cooking it so it isn't a problem.

 

[WI_GameMeats]

Looks Great!! I'd love to throw that on some BLTs

 

[disco]

Looks Great!! I'd love to through that on some BLTs

Thanks! Start smoking!

 

[pa42phigh]

Great job on the video and the hint on folding the bacon is very helpful. Thx

 

[disco]

Great job on the video and the hint on folding the bacon is very helpful. Thx

Thanks for the kind words!

 

[JC in GB]

Thanks for that instruction. I may not be able to wait until spring to make some of that.. Looks fantastic!!!

 

[disco]

It is a fun project but ask around. There is an addiction to making bacon problem.