BERKSHIRE HOG BELLY BACON

[SmokinAl]

Thanks Doug!
That's a good idea!
Al

 

[Rings Я Us]

Al ,
Did you vac out all air? Or just most?
Does it matter?

 

[Rings Я Us]

Thanks Doug!
That's a good idea!
Al

I shoulda ,woulda , coulda, quoted this to make sure( Al )saw my question. Above..
I forgot quote..
My bad.. I think he will say it doesn't matter if you vacuum seal or just leave some air in..

I think this will be my next fun cure project.

 

[SmokinAl]

As said above, it doesn't matter if you take all the air out, but I do. It seems to me that it would help the meat cure, because all the moisture would be drawn back into the meat, with the spices & cure going along with it.
Al

 

[Rings Я Us]

As said above, it doesn't matter if you take all the air out, but I do. It seems to me that it would help the meat cure, because all the moisture would be drawn back into the meat, with the spices & cure going along with it.
Al

All the little nuances and tips add up. I hate doing something and later find out that "oh, I did this or that" and mine could have been better if I had also. Lol like some people will give away their secret recipe and accidentally on purpose leave a pinch of something off what they give ya. And it never is quite like theirs was .
Thanks

 

[SmokinAl]

All the little nuances and tips add up. I hate doing something and later find out that "oh, I did this or that" and mine could have been better if I had also. Lol like some people will give away their secret recipe and accidentally on purpose leave a pinch of something off what they give ya. And it never is quite like theirs was .
Thanks

I don't think you will find that happening on here. If you get a recipe from someone here I think you can be assured they didn't leave anything out. I'm not so naive to think that it never happens, but if it does it's not from one of the regulars on here. Maybe a newbie who doesn't trust the folks on here would do that, but all of us that have been on here a long time would never do that. If I had a secret recipe that I didn't want to give out, I wouldn't post it, or I would tell you that I can't give it to you. But for me if someone says they used my recipe & the food came out great, then that is what I'm looking for. I want it to be the best thing they ever ate!
Al

 

[Rings Я Us]

I don't think you will find that happening on here. If you get a recipe from someone here I think you can be assured they didn't leave anything out. I'm not so naive to think that it never happens, but if it does it's not from one of the regulars on here. Maybe a newbie who doesn't trust the folks on here would do that, but all of us that have been on here a long time would never do that. If I had a secret recipe that I didn't want to give out, I wouldn't post it, or I would tell you that I can't give it to you. But for me if someone says they used my recipe & the food came out great, then that is what I'm looking for. I want it to be the best thing they ever ate!
Al

Oh, I have no doubt about your being thorough..
Yes.. good to go!
And people need to ask if there is some grey area that they were not sure about.. I hope nobody is afraid to ask. :)

Thanks for the help.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Pork belly $3.69 lb guess that's ok

 

[dls1]

You are a very lucky guy to be able to source your pork locally. There are a lot of farms around where I live & I'm going to have to do some research to see if anybody is raising heritage hogs. So far I have not seen any cattle or hogs, they are growing veggies & strawberries. It sure would be nice to get some locally grown Berkshire hog products. I would be in hog heaven!! :)
Al

Beautiful belly, Al, and some beautiful bacon as well. Your sandwich reminds me of the first time I had a BLT sandwich with some well cured and smoked Berkshire. After the first bite, I ditched the L&T and was much happier.

Regarding your quest for heritage pork in your area I know of a place you may want to check out a little bit North of where you are. A couple years ago I was in Sebring with one of my cars for a few days at an HSR event at the track, and during a lull in the activity, one of my friends, who owns several restaurants in the Miami area, asked me if I wanted to go along with him to visit his pork supplier.

I don't recall the exact distance from Sebring but it was only about 20 minutes North on Route 17 on the outskirts of the town of Avon Park. It's a smallish family run operation by the name of Palmetto Creek Farms, and while they once did Berkshires, and several other breeds, they now focus solely on Herefords. The owner's a super nice and knowledgeable guy by the name of Jim, and it's quite evident that he's very passionate and dedicated to what they're doing.

Most of their focus is on the restaurant trade, but they also sell to individual consumers. I didn't notice any retail operation there so if you're interested I would suggest calling ahead to make an appointment. Also, if you want, and they have time, they'll give you a tour of the operation which I would highly recommend doing.

A link to their website is here > http://www.bestpork.us/

 

[SmokinAl]

Beautiful belly, Al, and some beautiful bacon as well. Your sandwich reminds me of the first time I had a BLT sandwich with some well cured and smoked Berkshire. After the first bite, I ditched the L&T and was much happier.

Regarding your quest for heritage pork in your area I know of a place you may want to check out a little bit North of where you are. A couple years ago I was in Sebring with one of my cars for a few days at an HSR event at the track, and during a lull in the activity, one of my friends, who owns several restaurants in the Miami area, asked me if I wanted to go along with him to visit his pork supplier.

I don't recall the exact distance from Sebring but it was only about 20 minutes North on Route 17 on the outskirts of the town of Avon Park. It's a smallish family run operation by the name of Palmetto Creek Farms, and while they once did Berkshires, and several other breeds, they now focus solely on Herefords. The owner's a super nice and knowledgeable guy by the name of Jim, and it's quite evident that he's very passionate and dedicated to what they're doing.

Most of their focus is on the restaurant trade, but they also sell to individual consumers. I didn't notice any retail operation there so if you're interested I would suggest calling ahead to make an appointment. Also, if you want, and they have time, they'll give you a tour of the operation which I would highly recommend doing.

A link to their website is here > http://www.bestpork.us/

Thank you so much Dave!
That is just down the street from me!
Al

 

[biaviian]

Pork belly $3.69 lb guess that's ok

I get a good price but it is from a butcher shop that sources local pigs. I think $3.69 is good. It is $3.99 at a local grocery store (one of four that can get bellies) but they butcher, no pun intended, the butchering so they leave the belly a mess.

 

[Rings Я Us]

As said above, it doesn't matter if you take all the air out, but I do. It seems to me that it would help the meat cure, because all the moisture would be drawn back into the meat, with the spices & cure going along with it.
Al

Al,
Did you use 1/8 cup for each slab or combined?
You measure out the salt and sugar and cure for each slab, then added 1/8 cup of the other 3 spices to that calculated mix? And did 3 separate batches right? Got the pork belly today.. probably going to have 3 slabs myself.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Thanks in advance.

Better go get some more pepper corns before I start butchering. Only ground up less than a 1/4 cup. That won't be enough for the 3 x 1/8 C

 

[SmokinAl]

Al,
Did you use 1/8 cup for each slab or combined?
You measure out the salt and sugar and cure for each slab, then added 1/8 cup of the other 3 spices to that calculated mix? And did 3 separate batches right? Got the pork belly today.. probably going to have 3 slabs myself.

Yes Johnny, you are correct. I measured out the correct amounts for each slab, then added 1/8 cu of the other spices to each mix. Then mixed them up & put each belly piece in it's own bag. I found it easy to mark the bags with the weight, then mark corresponding paper plates with the weight Then mix the ingredients for each weight in a mixing bowl & put each one on it's corresponding plate. That way it's hard to get them mixed up & put the wrong amount in any of the bags. Good luck & let me know how your bacon turns out!
Al

 

[wellerjohn]

Looks amazing....

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks amazing....

Thank you!
Al

 

[Rings Я Us]

The flavor of this recipe was wonderful Al. Thanks.

 

[SmokinAl]

View attachment 353030 View attachment 353031
The flavor of this recipe was wonderful Al. Thanks.

I'm so happy to hear you liked the recipe!
Your bacon looks fantastic!
That looks like a perfect breakfast to me!
Al

 

[indaswamp]

Al, what temp did you cold smoke at?

Thanks.

 

[Rings Я Us]

Al, what temp did you cold smoke at?

Thanks.

Here is the temperatures at Al's house outside the week he cold smoked his Berkshire Bellies..

You can see it was probably 70s or low 80s that week.. so no heat from his smoker was needed I'm quite sure.