First Bacon...Ever! With Qview

[bakerboy7]

A new Oriental Marked recently opened about five minutes from us.  I was pleased to discover that they have a fresh meat section and they said that they would be more than happy to sell me as many fresh bellies as my arteries can handle.

I picked up 7 pounds, skin off for $2.99 a pound.  Not too shabby.

I thought this a good time to to try some buckboard, as well.  I removed the bone from the butt and cut in half.  Ended up with 7 pounds.

Cured both with 1 Tablespoon of TQ and one Tablespoon of brown sugar per pound of meat.

Out of the cure and rinsed after 10 days.

The fry test went so well, they almost didn't make it to the smoker.  I ended up soaking them for 2 hours, draining the water twice.

A day and a half in the fridge to rest and into the BSKD with a full load of hickory in the AMNS.

Out of the smoker

Rested a couple of hours and into the freezer for the night.  Got out the Fisher Price slicer after church today...

Into the pan

Yum!

Reaction:

The is the best bacon that we have ever had!  The missus loves the buckboard as the leanness picks up more of the sweetness of the brown sugar.  It was extremely easy to make and I recommend it to everyone.  This isn't gonna last long. I've already pulled another butt to the fridge to thaw and made a call to my Oriental friends for the next round.

I kept it really simple this time.  In the future, I will experiment with different flavorings. Maybe some onion and garlic ala Bearcarver or some CBP.

Thanks for looking.  This project went without a hitch and would not have done so had it not been for this forum.  Your experience and expertise is invaluable.

Chris

 

[tyotrain]

Great looking bacon.. looks real tasty. nice job

 

[malisaw]

Now that's a good lookin' load of bacon right there!  Man, makes me want to run down and get another bag of mine out of the freezer - but alas, we are having a baconless dinner tonight (I know, it's criminal)!

 

[bassman]

That's some fine looking bacon.  Like your wife, I think I actually like buckboard better than bellies.

 

[flbobecu]

Looks excellent! :drool


So, essentially it's a pork shoulder, cut in half, cured, smoked, cut and eaten? The same can be done with a smaller pork shoulder as well, correct (ie 3-4lbs)?

 

[bakerboy7]

Looks excellent!

So, essentially it's a pork shoulder, cut in half, cured, smoked, cut and eaten? The same can be done with a smaller pork shoulder as well, correct (ie 3-4lbs)?

That's it.  I cold smoked mine, so it has to be cooked like regular bacon.  Some prefer to hot smoke their BBB.  That's on my list of things to do.

 

[flbobecu]

[quote name="bakerboy7" url="/forum/thread/104620/first-bacon-ever-with-qview#post_608976"]



That's it.  I cold smoked mine, so it has to be cooked like regular bacon.  Some prefer to hot smoke their BBB.  That's on my list of things to do.
[/quote]


Thanks! I'll buy a slightly bigger shoulder next time, and cut it in half so I can try my hand at BBB. :yahoo:

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks great----You're hooked pretty good now!!!!

I like BBB flavor more than Belly Bacon too, but we like the Belly Bacon more in a BLT.

The BBB is so lean, if you don't have razor blades for teeth, you take a bite, and the whole piece wants to come out of the sammy.

Thanks for showing, Chris,

Bear

 

[fpnmf]

Looks good!

  Craig

 

[dirtworldmike]

Nice Job !! Looks Great !!

"Bacon is good for us"

 

[bakerboy7]

Thanks guys!  Yes, bacon IS good for us!

Now that I'm 40, I don't know if I should tell my doctor about my new hobby. 

 

[scarbelly]

Looking great for sure. I love BBB  

 

[old poi dog]

 You did a great job on the bacon!  As for the doctor...give him/her some bacon to sample.  I'll bet Doctor will be more sympathetic to your cause.

 

[chefrob]

nice job!

 

[meateater]

Nice job! I bet your hooked for shure now.

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice looking bacon. Everything tastes better with bacon.

 

[lexoutlaw]

im in process of doing bacon for the first time as well....ill be going with a cold smoke as well. today is day 3 of the curing process....

 

[bakerboy7]

That's awesome, Lex. Thanks for lookin' and don't forget to post your progress along with Qview.

[quote name="Lexoutlaw" url="/forum/thread/104620/first-bacon-ever-with-qview#post_609223"]
im in process of doing bacon for the first time as well....ill be going with a cold smoke as well. today is day 3 of the curing process....




[/quote]

 

[graniteman]

GREAT LOOKING BACON,  NOW YOU GOT ME PUMPED UP TO TRY IT SOON.  HOPE IT GOES AS WELL

 

[eman]

I SMELL BACON!!!!!!

 Looks great.