But I can't get over how the quality of homemade bacon is just so much better than store-bought.
I dry cured this belly (skin off) using a maple sugar cure from a local vendor. PM me if you want the link. I cut it in half to fit them both in a 2 gallon ziploc bag. Total cure time was 8 days.
I took them out and soaked them in cold water for about 4 hours, changing the water at least every hour. This method leaves it too salty for my taste. Soaking removes a lot of the salt, IMHO.
Then I put them on a rack in the fridge for about 20 hours to get the pelicle.
I cold smoked these overnight for a total of 14 hours with apple pellets in my AMNPS.
I wrapped them in plastic wrap for 4 days. I usually do 3 days, but I had too much going on.
Sliced the way I like and vacuum sealed.
Flavor is awesome. I think I'm getting good at this bacon thing. You don't see that kind of meat in the store-bought stuff.
I dry cured this belly (skin off) using a maple sugar cure from a local vendor. PM me if you want the link. I cut it in half to fit them both in a 2 gallon ziploc bag. Total cure time was 8 days.
I took them out and soaked them in cold water for about 4 hours, changing the water at least every hour. This method leaves it too salty for my taste. Soaking removes a lot of the salt, IMHO.
Then I put them on a rack in the fridge for about 20 hours to get the pelicle.
I cold smoked these overnight for a total of 14 hours with apple pellets in my AMNPS.
I wrapped them in plastic wrap for 4 days. I usually do 3 days, but I had too much going on.
Sliced the way I like and vacuum sealed.
Flavor is awesome. I think I'm getting good at this bacon thing. You don't see that kind of meat in the store-bought stuff.
