Cherry/Maple Smoked Bacon.....Q-View!

[desertdenizen]

Check with your local grocery store's meat department. They should be able to order some for you if they do not regularly carry it.

 

[mr mac]

Seriously, this is far better than porn!

 

[tropigal08]

It's called food porn...and I love t. hahaha

 

[TulsaJeff]

@hdflame  This was shared on FB this morning and has over 1300 likes so far. Great job on the bacon!

 

[hdflame]

 
Looks great!!! Try baking your bacon instead of frying.  I've had the same problem with brown sugar and frying. I line a cookie sheet with foils, and bake at 350 to my desired level of crispy. Works out well.

Smoke on!

I will try this the next time I cook some.  I've cooked bacon in the oven before but just don't ever think about it.  My iron skillet is sitting there in front of me and that's what I tend to grab most of the time!  Thanks for the suggestion.

 
Amazing job!! We plan on trying some bacon. 

I know this isn't about smoking, but that skin looks awesome. I'll bet you could make some good chickaron or fried pork skin with it. 

1.  Put the skin on the chopping board with the fat side up, try to remove all the fat you can, cut the clean skin into strips of 1/4 x 2.
2. Cook the strips in boiling water for 10 min and then strain, let them cool a bit and put them in a dehydrator or an oven at 125F for at least 12 hrs or until dried (it should be hard). OR us your smoker. :)
3. At this point you can cook immediately or save for another time.
4. Prepare a pot with oil at 350F, add the dried skins, they will puff very fast so be ready with a slotted spoon and a plate to drain them on. Remove from the oil and place them on paper to drain. Sprinkle with sea salt, bbq seasonings, your favorite rub, whatever.

I watched a video on this just the other day.  Didn't know about boiling the skin and then drying till then.  I actually tried to fry the skin from my first one and the brown sugar just caused them to turn black almost immediately!  I think boiling will remove some of the sugar.  I thought that maybe the reason they didn't puff up was because I smoked it first........Next time boil and dry first!  Thanks.

 

[joopster]

My belly didn't have enough fat to trim,

 

[hdflame]

 
@hdflame  This was shared on FB this morning and has over 1300 likes so far. Great job on the bacon!

I just linked my account to Facebook and was scrolling down when I noticed some very familiar looking bacon!  I hadn't checked on here in a few days but also noticed that it was a featured post on here too!  Boy, do I feel famous! lol :)

Thanks for the compliments from everyone.  I absolutely LOVE this bacon recipe.  I've almost finished eating it all.  Also thanks to an earlier post for suggesting I cook it in the oven.  I've been laying it on a wire rack in an aluminum foil covered pan and cooking on 350* for about 18-20 minutes.  I can't believe how much better it tastes.

Check out my Facebook page for more of my cooking and smoking pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/FiremanbobBackdraftBBQCo?ref=hl

 

[inkjunkie]

How well does your knife hold an edge?

 

[joopster]

My slicer works great for bacon!

 

[hdflame]

How well does your knife hold an edge?

It holds it very well.  It's actually almost scary sharp!  I like to have my knives shaving sharp and with just a couple swipes of my new F. Dick steel, it brings it right back to shaving.

 
My slicer works great for bacon!

I have drooled over wanting a slicer, but the more I research them the more I'm satisfied with my knives.  I want one that will slice anything and unless you go with a professional/commercial slicer you still can't slice cheese or use it more than a short period at a time.

I will probably keep checking Craigs list or online commercial auctions and look for a used Hobart.  But I'm not spending over $300-$500 for one that's listed as limited use.

What kind of slicer do you have and what size of meat and or cheese can you use it for?

http://www.webstaurantstore.com/ava...gravity-feed-meat-slicer-1-3-hp/177SL312.html 

I looked at this one and thought it was a good one till I read the limitations: Avantco SL312 12"

"This slicer is excellent for low-volume applications of less than 1 hour of slicing per day. It is not suitable for continuous, heavy use, raw or frozen meat, or cheese."

 

[alelover]

That is some great look bacon. Would love to try it sometime.

 

[nybbq]

I have to say that bacon looks really good. That is on my hit list to do this summer.

 

[dave17a]

So maybe I missed something  here. Not going to be around long. You meetin the maker. Anywho that is good lookin stuff.

 

[hdflame]

 
So maybe I missed something  here. Not going to be around long. You meetin the maker. 

Not sure what you mean?  Guess I missed something too! lol :) 

 

[dave17a]

just orded my case of bellies. Looks good. Doing many different flavors.Maple sugar ordered. YUMMY!

 

[gary s]

That's what I was thinking, I be putting in my order.  Great job looks fantastic

Gary

 

[tatts4life]

Man that looks tasty. I wonder where I can find a pork belly around me.

 

[gary s]

The only pork belly I found was at Country Meat market here in Tyler $7.99 a pound

Gary

 

[hdflame]

 
The only pork belly I found was at Country Meat market here in Tyler $7.99 a pound

Gary

When I can get ribeyes for $6.99/lb I just can't see paying that much for pork belly!  Same thing with pork fat.  The meat guys used to just give me all the fat I wanted, now because of the deer hunters trying to hoard every scrap of pork fat for venison sausage, They were charging me more for fat than I was paying for butts on sale!  I guess it's that whole supply/demand thing!