Buck Board Bacon ?

[scarpper]

I'm gonna try my hand at making BBB. I'm going with 1.5% salt, .25% cure and .75% brown sugar for one and 1% for another. I'm shooting for a 14 day cure. I would like to add some black pepper and possibly some garlic powder. These pieces will be approximately 3.5 pounds each. Is there any certain amount of pepper and garlic that I should use? Also, I was reading that some don't rinse after curing. I'm thinking of going that route with this batch. What are the positives and negatives from not rinsing? Or should I rinse one and leave as is and see which way I like better.
Thanks, Mike

 

[mr_whipple]

I don't rinse, and not sure why you would, but hey I'm not judging! I use those exact measurements except 1% sugar seems to be the sweet spot for me. Sometimes I'll go a little higher with the sugar. You'll find what you like. As far as pepper and garlic, I'll put a coat of fresh cracked pepper on before I vac seal with the cure, but I've gone without during the cure and coated it with the pepper grinder before hitting the smoker. I've read a lot of different recipes for bacon and about a tsp pepper per pound seems to be a common place to start and adjust from there. It's all preference, and again you'll find what makes you happy. I'm not so into the garlic on the BBB, but loin bacon I play around with a lot of flavors. Most important is the cure/salt/sugar percentages for a safe cure. That and 14 days is generally what most folks do. Good luck and lets see some pics! Also, here's a link to the last batch I did.

 

[Steve H]

I'm gonna try my hand at making BBB. I'm going with 1.5% salt, .25% cure and .75% brown sugar for one and 1% for another. I'm shooting for a 14 day cure. I would like to add some black pepper and possibly some garlic powder. These pieces will be approximately 3.5 pounds each. Is there any certain amount of pepper and garlic that I should use? Also, I was reading that some don't rinse after curing. I'm thinking of going that route with this batch. What are the positives and negatives from not rinsing? Or should I rinse one and leave as is and see which way I like better.
Thanks, Mike

I'm going to be doing this soon as well. But with beef belly. I'm sure you'll get plenty of knowledgeable advice soon. Good luck!

 

[chopsaw]

I cure 14 days , rinse and pat dry . Back in the fridge overnight . Next day I hang at room temp for an hour before going to the smoker .
That's just how I do it . I like to get rid of any salt left on the surface . You can reseason if you want .
Let us know what you decide .

 

[Bigtank]

Watching

 

[scarpper]

Thanks for the advice guys. Well, I done three pieces today. One at 2038g, 5.09g cure, 30.9g salt and 15.29g dark brown sugar. One at 1532g, 3.82g cure, 23.23g salt, 11.49g dark brown sugar and one at 970g, 2.42g cure, 14.71g salt and 9.7g dark brown sugar. I only changed the little one to 1% sugar to test. I didn't add anything else this go around. I think I will add pepper and maybe garlic before I smoke it. How do you guys put the cure, salt and sugar on? The first one, I left it in the bag, sprinkled in on best I could, then worked it in with one hand. I had a heck of a time getting it off my hand and into the bag. The others, I sprinkled it on in the bag and then rubbed it in good through the bag. This way it's at least in the bag. Hope that was alright.

 

[DougE]

I apply my curing mix first, then just dust on the pepper and garlic by eye, if I add it. Keep in mind that the pepper and garlic are mostly going to remain on the surface and not be taken into the meat like the cure, salt, and sugar. I don't rinse after the curing time is done. I just put them on a rack in the fridge over night to dry out and form a pellicle.

 

[DougE]

How do you guys put the cure, salt and sugar on?

I mix my cure, salt and sugar and apply about half to each side on a tray. Anything left on the tray goes in the bag with the meat. I calculate each piece separately so the right amount ends up on each piece.

 

[TNJAKE]

I bag my meat and apply cure mix with a spoon to one side, flip bag and apply the rest. No need to rub it in and you have zero waste

 

[scarpper]

The main reason I rubbed the cure mix in was I didn't get it on nowhere near even. I had a hard time sprinkling it on equal in the bag. Some places it was really heavy and others, pretty thin, and some, none. Hope this didn't mess it up.

 

[DougE]

Most of us take bacon to 145° if hot smoking. It is fully cooked at that temp. Cherry/pecan or cherry/hickory if I can't find pecan are all I ever smoke bacon with.