Buckboard Bacon First Attempt

[scooper]

My pink salt arrived last week as I was cutting up a boneless butt for the dogs.  Lucky me.  I sliced off a hunk and decided to try my first BBB.

I went with a simple cure brine:

• 1 quart of water
• 1/3 cup of kosher salt
• 1/2 cup turbinado sugar
• 2 teaspoons of pink salt

I had a short cure window of 7 days due to the holidays approaching.  Last night was the last smoke until Xmas Eve.  So a 7 day cure in the fridge, 9 hours of drying with honey powder, GBP and maple, and into the MGS yesterday with some apple wood.  The lowest I can get the MGS is around 185. I waited about 2 hours and probed with a sterilized therm.

After cure:

Sprinkled with honey powder, GBP, and maple syrup:

After a short 9 hour nap unwrapped in the fridge:

After reaching 150 IT in the apple wood:

I was more than pleasantly surprised at the flavor of this.  The wife really loved it.  It was just a bit too sweet for my taste.

Is it okay to cut back on the sugar a bit in the wet cure?  Or is it necessary for the "hammy baconny" flavor?

Over all, for a shorter brine/cure, and a shorter smoke due to the MGS, I think it came out pretty good. 

Any suggestions or tips?

 

[fpnmf]

Looks good to me!!

It's ok to cut back the sugar.

  Craig

 

[nozzleman]

Man I love that stuff, good job. I have never done a liquid cure, I always put it on dry and into the fridge.

 

[venture]

Looks great from here.

With the cure and salt in the brine, I see no problem reducing the sugar if that is your taste preference.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[scooper]

Thanks, guys.  I appreciate it.  Less sugar in the brine next time!

 

[mballi3011]

You have to love some good Buckboard bacon. It makes some of the best sammies too.