- Mar 20, 2021
- 44
- 60
Always wanted to try bacon, so a couple of weeks ago I went to Costco. They were just putting a fresh shipment of pork belly out. I grabbed the biggest one I could find which was 11.18 pounds or 5172 grams.
Came home and split it in about 2 equal pieces, Okay, so one was 2566 grams and the other 2606 grams. Went to DiggingDogFarm calculator and plugged in the numbers. I did drop the salt to 1.75%, but left everything else where it was.
2566 grams was 6.4 g of Prague Powder, 38.9 g salt, and 25.7 sugar. The 2606 gram piece was 6.5 Prague Powder, 39.5 salt, and 26.1 sugar. Rubbed the respective pieces down with the mixture, sealed in vacuum bags, and put them in the 37 degree fridge meat drawer for 8 days, turning them over each day.
Took them out on the 8th day, rinsed them off, dryed them with a paper towel and put them on a rack, back in the 37 degree fridge meat drawer to form the pellicle.
The next day it was pouring rain, and I thought I might have to wait until later in the day, or maybe even another day. But about an hour later, the weather broke. Storms were predicted off and on for the entire day, so I thoguht I'd better get it done. Started the MES440/s, and set the temp for 160 F. Lit the A-MAZE-N tube loaded with LJ Applewood pellets. Smoker came to temp, I pulled the pork belly from the fridge and I hung the pork belly in the smoker. Maybe that was my biggest mistake, taking the pork belly right from the fridge to the smoker. Sorry, by the time I thought to take a picture the window on the door was all smoked over.
Here's where it started getting crazy. I had the Inkbird IBBQ-4T probes inserted in each belly, and one on the bottom grate for the chamber temp. Everything seemed to be running right around 160. And so I waited, and waited, and waited. Never opened the door of the smoker, and the temp stayed pretty constant.
About 5 hours into it, the IT temp of the belly was still around 120 F, I was shooting for 145 F, so I cranked the heat to 170 F. Another 2 hours and I was still looking at an IT of 125 F, and we're 7 hours into it. Up the temp to 180 F, and finally afer about another 2 hours, the IT was up to 145 F. Opened the smoker up, and was disappointed to see the bacon fat rendering into the unused water pan. Not a whole lot, probably a quarter cup. Pulled the bacon out and put it on a rack to cool down.
Threw it in the fridge when it had cooled. Waited a day, and then sliced some up. It was delicious. The wife is happy, and therefore I'm happy.
Actually, I like my bacon left in slab form. I cut them in about 1 pound slabs. Vacuum packed the slabs and into the freezer for future use.
So, any suggestions on why it was rendering fat. I'm sure 9 hours was way too long to be in the smoker. Should I have started at say 200 degrees for a shorter period of time?
Thanks for looking.
Came home and split it in about 2 equal pieces, Okay, so one was 2566 grams and the other 2606 grams. Went to DiggingDogFarm calculator and plugged in the numbers. I did drop the salt to 1.75%, but left everything else where it was.
2566 grams was 6.4 g of Prague Powder, 38.9 g salt, and 25.7 sugar. The 2606 gram piece was 6.5 Prague Powder, 39.5 salt, and 26.1 sugar. Rubbed the respective pieces down with the mixture, sealed in vacuum bags, and put them in the 37 degree fridge meat drawer for 8 days, turning them over each day.
Took them out on the 8th day, rinsed them off, dryed them with a paper towel and put them on a rack, back in the 37 degree fridge meat drawer to form the pellicle.
The next day it was pouring rain, and I thought I might have to wait until later in the day, or maybe even another day. But about an hour later, the weather broke. Storms were predicted off and on for the entire day, so I thoguht I'd better get it done. Started the MES440/s, and set the temp for 160 F. Lit the A-MAZE-N tube loaded with LJ Applewood pellets. Smoker came to temp, I pulled the pork belly from the fridge and I hung the pork belly in the smoker. Maybe that was my biggest mistake, taking the pork belly right from the fridge to the smoker. Sorry, by the time I thought to take a picture the window on the door was all smoked over.
Here's where it started getting crazy. I had the Inkbird IBBQ-4T probes inserted in each belly, and one on the bottom grate for the chamber temp. Everything seemed to be running right around 160. And so I waited, and waited, and waited. Never opened the door of the smoker, and the temp stayed pretty constant.
About 5 hours into it, the IT temp of the belly was still around 120 F, I was shooting for 145 F, so I cranked the heat to 170 F. Another 2 hours and I was still looking at an IT of 125 F, and we're 7 hours into it. Up the temp to 180 F, and finally afer about another 2 hours, the IT was up to 145 F. Opened the smoker up, and was disappointed to see the bacon fat rendering into the unused water pan. Not a whole lot, probably a quarter cup. Pulled the bacon out and put it on a rack to cool down.
Threw it in the fridge when it had cooled. Waited a day, and then sliced some up. It was delicious. The wife is happy, and therefore I'm happy.
Actually, I like my bacon left in slab form. I cut them in about 1 pound slabs. Vacuum packed the slabs and into the freezer for future use.
So, any suggestions on why it was rendering fat. I'm sure 9 hours was way too long to be in the smoker. Should I have started at say 200 degrees for a shorter period of time?
Thanks for looking.
