Finally found some bellies... REAL BACON.... my first....

[daveomak]

For the past year I have searched for bellies... one butcher wanted  $3.65 for pumped & smoked and said I could re-smoke them... I don't think so.... He told me what a good deal it was.... 

So  anyway, I drove 45 miles to another butcher and he wanted $2.05.... no pump.... fresh bellies...  I ordered a case of 4 bellies, 61#.... He asked about what recipe I was using... then he said I have maple sugar cure that folks think is the best and said he would deliver it all to my house next week.... FREE...  So the bellies arrived packed in ice, individually vacuum packed, and there was 20# of maple sugar cure bagged up and ready...  No charge for the cure.... WHAT...  Free delivery and free cure... Well he argued over the $30 tip.... I said it is 90 miles round trip to your store and gas would cost more than that and he succumbed to my insistence...  I returned the styro ice chest and he said I could keep it....( 32x16x10x2" thick walls.).. how much are they your cost... $8.... So I gave him 3 coolers from Omaha Steaks, relatives send for the holidays... He was one happy store owner/manager... I think we now have a lasting business relationship...

Belly number 1....

Darn nice of the folks to individually vac pack the bellies...

.

Vac Packed Belly.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 18, 2012

Belly laying of paper towels ready for the Rub.... sorry the pic is fuzzy...  

I trimmed the ends and cut it into thirds... then weighed each piece and weighed the Rub for respective sections...  

It was pretty simple math to figure out.... The Rub is added at a 2% rate so I weighed the sections in grams...

a 1500 gram section needs 30 grams of Rub... 

Rub is made up of 85% salt -- 0.75% nitrite -- the rest is probably maple sugar, white sugar and cure enhancer.... 

The nitrite at 2% rate = 150 Ppm nitrite

Salt at 2% rate = 1.7% salt on the belly... 

I think the salt may be a little light at 1.7%.... A taste test will let me know for next batch....

The whole belly.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 18, 2012

Bellies rinsed, dried and hung in the smoker.... A big fan blowing on high, for 3 hours, formed a pretty good pellicle....

The mailbox mod on the MES left the elbow protruding about 1" inside the smoker....  I did not like where it was going to dump the smoke

so I added a chunk of flex duct..... works very good....  The tunnel mod, on the ceiling, to have the heat and smoke redirected to the center

for exhaust, worked very well.... I posted that mod a few days ago prepping for this smoke..... 

pellicle formation in the smoker.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 18, 2012

exh tunnel 1.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 14, 2012

2 rows of Pitmaster's Choice dried and loaded for a 6 hour smoke.... It lasted 6 hours 10 minutes.... not bad

This baby will smoke for 9+ hours in the mailbox mod... 2 smokes have now verified that consumption rate in the

mailbox... 

Getting ready 6 hour smoke PC pellets.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 18, 2012

Smoker temp 2 deg below ambient in the morning...

day 1 start temp.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 18, 2012

Smoker temp 2 deg above ambient in the afternoon during the smoke...

day 1 end temp.jpg

• daveomak
• Oct 18, 2012

Mailbox mod does not seem to heat up the smoker.....  If you notice the heat indicator is ON in the panel....  

I have a dimmer switch on the heating element so I can adjust it's output....

The electricity to the element is off now... I use the display to follow the smoker temp while cold smoking...

Today the belly got 6 hours of smoke.... they are resting in the refer until tomorrow... I will add 6 more hours of smoke tomorrow....

Question... Do I need to move the bellies to the refer in the evening ??? Nighttime temps are around 42 at 6 AM....

I know bellies hang in smokers for days...  maybe it's colder or something... I don't know.... The smoke test may go on for 5 more days until I get 6, 6 hour smoke on the last chunk..

12, 24 & 36 hour smokes respectively.... or until I think the smoke is too much...  Today's 6 hour smoke was very light in color...  

This bacon test is to evaluate the Maple Sugar Cure/Rub as is..... and adjust the amount of smoke on each of the 3 portions currently in the refer....

I'll be back..... stay tuned and thanks for looking....   

I smoked the Jarlsberg Cheese and had a taste.... It is so good and creamy.... thanks for the tip about smoking it....  and salt and pepper smoked also...  WHEW.... busy....

Dave

 

[diggingdogfarm]

Question... Do I need to move the bellies to the refer in the evening ??? Nighttime temps are around 42 at 6 AM....

Good deal!!!!

I leave the bellies in the smoker, but protect from condensation.



~Martin

 

[shoneyboy]

I wound just how far he would be willing to deliver them bellies???? LOL Great deal !!!! and a new best friend ........

 

[daveomak]

Question... Do I need to move the bellies to the refer in the evening ??? Nighttime temps are around 42 at 6 AM....

Good deal!!!!

I leave the bellies in the smoker, but protect from condensation.



~Martin

Martin, thanks for the heads up on that.... I was not sure if there was enough salt at 1.7% and cure at 150 Ppm for a 6 day hang between 40-60 degrees....  The surface of the bacon has a very nice pellicle.... the humidity has been up and down daily between 20-80%...  Hopefully there is not much chance for condensate... If there is, I can turn the fan on in the AM....

I wound just how far he would be willing to deliver them bellies???? LOL Great deal !!!! and a new best friend ........

Shoneyboy, evening.... Yeah, I was surprised at the price...  13% above his cost he said.... He asked if I wanted butts boned and vac packed for $1.52.... That will be for my next load of sausage and andouille.... He is a great find and hopefully a long time supplier.... I think he needs a surprise gift....  

 

[diggingdogfarm]

I do usually use 2.25% to 2.5% total salt in my bacon, but that's really the only difference.


~Martin

 

[mneeley490]

Nice find on the butcher, Dave! Although I have to say I was pretty surprised to learn that for someone with your experience, this is your first foray into bacon? I am eagerly awaiting your results.

I posted elsewhere that my first 8 hr cold smoke with Pitmasters Choice seemed very oversmoked to me. But now I wonder if I had properly seasoned my AMNPS before hand? It is plenty seasoned now.

I used to take my deer to a butcher in Winthrop, and he always did a great job. $100 to cut and wrap the entire thing. Even added beef suet to the ground venison.

 

[scarbelly]

Looking forward to the final results Dave - great to find a good butcher - wish I could 

 

[daveomak]

Nice find on the butcher, Dave! Although I have to say I was pretty surprised to learn that for someone with your experience, this is your first foray into bacon? I am eagerly awaiting your results.

I posted elsewhere that my first 8 hr cold smoke with Pitmasters Choice seemed very oversmoked to me. But now I wonder if I had properly seasoned my AMNPS before hand? It is plenty seasoned now.

I used to take my deer to a butcher in Winthrop, and he always did a great job. $100 to cut and wrap the entire thing. Even added beef suet to the ground venison.

Neeley, evening....  First attempt at belly bacon..... Lots of BBB....  You probably know how far Omak is from civilization.... It is even farther to pork bellies and they are really pricey....   Dave

 

[babysmokologist]

Hey Dave:

I just cured and smoked my first bacon from the pig a friend raised for me. I smoked it for 52 hrs w/ apple wood, pecan, and corn cob dust/pellets w/ my AMNPS. I had a local butcher shop slice and wrap it for me. The butcher said it was some of the best he'd ever seen............now that's a compliment! It just goes to show, "homemade" is still the best.

Gary

photo_1[1].JPG

• babysmokologist
• Oct 19, 2012

Just out of the smoke house.

 

[daveomak]

Gary, evening...    was that 52 hours continuous smoke ??  It sure looks good to me....   Dave

 

[daveomak]

Looking forward to the final results Dave - great to find a good butcher - wish I could 

You know, it is not that long of a commute....  I could pre order it for you..... 

 

[tennsmoker]

Dave I'm getting ready to do my 1st bacon shortly and now after reading your thread I'm confused, !!!

I though you had to cure the bellies 1st, like in Pops wet brine for about 3 wks, then go to the smoker,

What say you!!

al

 

[daveomak]

Al, morning....  I cured the bellies using a commercial rub the butcher gave me.... You can make your own rub....This rub is 85% salt, 0.75% pure nitrite... sugar etc... 

0.75% nitrite converts to 12% Cure# 1....  0.75 / 0.0625 (percent nitrite in cure# 1) = 12% cure# 1 and then you have to reduce the salt in the original recipe to account for the salt in the cure if you want to make the same rub..... using this rub the salt is 1.7% salt... I'm not sure it is enough salt for my liking so this test will tell.... I'm thinking of adding salt to the rub to bring it to 2% in the final product, and trying it.... and maybe adding garlic and onion next time also... 

I weighed each section of belly and added the correct amount of the rub for the cure addition, rubbed it in to the pork, stacked the belly meat to meat and put in a zip bag for 8 days in the refer turning daily.... 

Normally the cure penetration rate is figured at 1/4" of meat per day + 2 days....  1 1/2" belly should take 6 days for complete penetration + 2 extra days...  This method is a "semi dry" cure with no water added...

I have immersion cured other meats and don't particularly care for the texture...  it is like buying pumped turkeys and enhanced pumped bacon that you buy at the grocery store.... I wanted to try and duplicate bacon from when I was a kid....  Hopefully when this bacon is done, I will need to add oil to the pan to fry it.... that is my goal...   Dave

 

[chefrob]

nice lookin' bellys dave......nevr used that type of cure so i couldn't answer you on the bellies being in the smoker. if i had to guess (and that's all it is) if it is fully cured and the temps are not that far off it should be fine. BTW, why not give it a 6 hr run while ya sleep......that way it would smoke that much faster.

 

[nozzleman]

This is a good one, I can't wait to see how it all comes out. I have only been able to do buckboard bacon. Does anyone know of a source for bellies in the Dallas TX area?

 

[roller]

Looking good Dave !!

 

[daveomak]

nice lookin' bellys dave......nevr used that type of cure so i couldn't answer you on the bellies being in the smoker. if i had to guess (and that's all it is) if it is fully cured and the temps are not that far off it should be fine. BTW, why not give it a 6 hr run while ya sleep......that way it would smoke that much faster.

Rob, morning.... I have to watch the smoke and open the door every hour or two just to check....  I also run the dimmer switch on as low as it will go...  This AM the ambient temp was 45 and I turned the dimmer on.... now the smoker temp is 58 deg idling on low... I don't want condensate to form on the bellies....  I guess, being my first belly, and the trouble I had finding them, I'm mommy hen while this goes on....  

The first belly is in the refer after 2, 6 hour smokes and a few slices will be in the fry pan in a couple hours.... 

... 

 

[tennsmoker]

Dave,

hate to bug ya, I have another question,

You said earlier,  I get 6, 6 hour smoke on the last chunk..

12, 24 & 36 hour smokes respectively.... or until I think the smoke is too much... Today's 6 hour smoke was very light in color...

What temp are you trying to hold, I guess cold smoke at <100?

al

 

[tennsmoker]

Dave, In your last post your Mes idle @ 58, is this the temp that want for the whole smoke?

al

 

[daveomak]

Al, morning..... I'm trying to keep the smoking temps below 70 deg....   I have the smoker at 54 currently with an ambient of 38 deg....  I'm trying to stop condensate from being deposited on the bacon... The cold this morning has raised the humidity....   I sure like the dimmer switch for controlling the smoker temp.... It has more uses than I originally planned on....

Cold smoking in the past has been what ever mother nature had planned for that day... I think if the smoker temp and meat got below 40, the moisture from the combustion of the pellets or wood, would form on the meat...  smoke and moisture is a very bad thing...  (acid rain)...  

Dave