I've wanted to try making beef bacon for a long time but can't seem to find the bellies. I contacted several places online as well as a couple of local ranches that process their own beef. Nothing, nada, not a single response. On a whim I decided I'd give it a shot using an 18# CPB whole packer brisket. Defrosted it then trimmed off the major fat and cut it down to the approximate size of a pork belly. From there I cut the slab into two pieces, calculated my cure for both, and mixed it all up. The larger of the pieces was an additional experiment. It was cured using celery powder that was gifted to me by our very good friend
smokin peachey
Never used it before. The smaller of the pieces was cured with Cure #1. Both had the prescribed amount of sugar and salt in the cure. Both slabs were seasoned with Jeff's Texas rub. Being that the rub has a considerable amount of salt in it I backed off with the calculated salt in the cure by a couple of grams.
Heavy fat and a good chunk of the point cut off.
The two slabs and 5# of trimmings that were ground the next day....for something that I'll do later
Cure and seasonings applied then into vac seal bags. Burp the air out but I don't vacuum them.
After a two week soak in the cure, rinsed, and ready for round 2 of seasonings.
Seasonings applied for the second time. Now into the fridge for an overnight rest.
The next day they go on the Rec Tec for 6 hours of low temp / extreme smoke
When they come off the smoker it's back into the fridge overnight uncovered. Here is the larger of the two slabs just before slicing. I'm really liking the color on this.
All sliced. The 3 stacks on the left were more from the point and cured with the celery powder. The 3 stacks on the right were more from the flat and done with Cure #1. I hit a big vein of fat so stopped slicing.
As you can see the CPB briskets are pretty lean. My first thought when I started slicing was that it looks just like pastrami....then it dawned on me. Pastrami is cured beef brisket and so is the bacon. Stands to reason they will look very similar. The huge difference is in the flavor of course. You still have the deep beefy flavor but none of the "sweetness" that you get with pastrami and the texture is very similar. The flavor of the rub was perfect to go with the beef. This stuff has an outstanding flavor. You just have to get past the thought of pork belly bacon. It's totally different but really good. I can see all sorts of fun stuff to do with this. Rubens, BBBLT's, bacon cheese burgers, and the list goes on. It was a crap shoot but came out well.I'll be keeping this on hand at all times.
Thanks for looking and I'll see y'all on the next "Tales From the Crypt"
Robert
smokin peachey
Never used it before. The smaller of the pieces was cured with Cure #1. Both had the prescribed amount of sugar and salt in the cure. Both slabs were seasoned with Jeff's Texas rub. Being that the rub has a considerable amount of salt in it I backed off with the calculated salt in the cure by a couple of grams.Heavy fat and a good chunk of the point cut off.
The two slabs and 5# of trimmings that were ground the next day....for something that I'll do later
Cure and seasonings applied then into vac seal bags. Burp the air out but I don't vacuum them.
After a two week soak in the cure, rinsed, and ready for round 2 of seasonings.
Seasonings applied for the second time. Now into the fridge for an overnight rest.
The next day they go on the Rec Tec for 6 hours of low temp / extreme smoke
When they come off the smoker it's back into the fridge overnight uncovered. Here is the larger of the two slabs just before slicing. I'm really liking the color on this.
All sliced. The 3 stacks on the left were more from the point and cured with the celery powder. The 3 stacks on the right were more from the flat and done with Cure #1. I hit a big vein of fat so stopped slicing.
As you can see the CPB briskets are pretty lean. My first thought when I started slicing was that it looks just like pastrami....then it dawned on me. Pastrami is cured beef brisket and so is the bacon. Stands to reason they will look very similar. The huge difference is in the flavor of course. You still have the deep beefy flavor but none of the "sweetness" that you get with pastrami and the texture is very similar. The flavor of the rub was perfect to go with the beef. This stuff has an outstanding flavor. You just have to get past the thought of pork belly bacon. It's totally different but really good. I can see all sorts of fun stuff to do with this. Rubens, BBBLT's, bacon cheese burgers, and the list goes on. It was a crap shoot but came out well.I'll be keeping this on hand at all times.
Thanks for looking and I'll see y'all on the next "Tales From the Crypt"
Robert
