buckboard bacon first try

[drlouis]

did this even earlier than the easter ham... I'm perhaps the world's most effective procrastinator.

tried my hand at a buckboard bacon about a month ago. used tenderquick, salt, black pepper and a little garlic powder and onion powder for the cure (if I hadn't waited so long to post I'd remember how much of each..), rubbed it on dry and put in plastic bags in the fridge for 8 days. then smoked over hickory to 160F if I remember correctly. Sorry, I forgot to get pics before curing/smoking, but here they are out of the smoker and then cut. It came out with really good flavor, but too salty, I did soak in water for around 5 hours changing it every 30 minutes to an hour, but I under-estimated how much the drying out during the smoke would concentrate the salt. My family gave it a thumbs up, but I wasn't happy with it. I'll know better next time.

 

[ronp]

Next time try and do a Brine with TQ and inject it, I think it is one cup TQ and 4 cups water. ALWAYS do a fry pan test after 3 days and don't combine salt with TQ because TQ is 90% salt anyway. Test a piece from the middle and halfway down. The last one I did that and no soak needed and it was perfect. Also take off at no more than 152'.

Good luck and give it another try, don't give up.

 

[pignit]

I usually cure my buckboard for 14 days.... rinse it off and smoke it. Never really had a problem with it being too salty. It looks like you cut a butt into three smaller pieces to cure and smoke. I might be wrong but if you did, it may have concentrated much more of the salt cure on the surface. You would have a lot more surface area on a butt cut into three pieces compared to leaving it whole. Might be what happened. Then again... I really love salt. If you aren't acustom to eatin much salt... almost any salt is too salty.
Thanks for the Qview. Looks Shweeeeet!

 

[drlouis]

thanks for the input guys. I'll keep that in mind about the TQ, I'd seen another thread with TQ and salt in the recipe so I followed suit, but as salty as it was I'll definitely try the next one without the salt. I kept cuttin', fryin', tastin', soakin'... repeat. Thought I had it, but that's how we learn.

Pignit, I thought I'd pulled a boneless butt outa the freezer but when it thawed, lo and behold a bone. so I de-boned it and in doing so I ended up with 3 chunks. I figured it'd be ok, since they were about the thickness of a belly, but maybe the fact that it has so much less fat? anyway, I'll try it with just the TQ.

Question: should one cut into the middle when doing the fry pan test? I went 8 days partly because I was worried about the cure not penetrating all the way.

 

[ronp]

Yes, in the Middle and to the center. Use a filet knife and just pull out a Plug.

Good luck.