Get In My Belly!

[paleoman]

OK, doing another bacon cook. I bought two pork bellies, one 6.06 lbs, and one 5.42 lbs (slightly less, I suspect, w/o the plastic wrapping. I'm freezing the 5.42 lbs one, and going to smoke the 6.06 lbs one.

The plan is to follow the same method I did last time (unless folks have different suggestions)...

1. Apply dry cure (using the guide at https://forums.egullet.org/cure-calculator/) with a 2% sugar mixture, bag, and place in fridge.
2. Cure for two weeks in refrigerator, flipping and massaging every day (my pieces are at most 2"-2.5").
3. Remove from refrigerator, rinse, and apply seasoning, and place back into refrigerator overnight.
4. Smoke on my Traeger pellet grill at 160˚F (the lowest setting), until IT is 145˚F.
5. Rest for an hour or so, until room temp, and then place in bag and back into refrigerator for 24 hours.
6. Slice, fry some, and freeze the rest for later frying.

I started today, cutting the piece in half, weighing, mixing the cure/salt/sugar, applying, Ziplock bagging, and placing in refrigerator.

Any alternative suggestions to the plan? Season while curing? Process changes?

I haven't decided on the seasoning yet. Last time I did a sweet and savory with brown sugar, maple syrup, pepper and red pepper flakes, and I did a classic with pepper, garlic power, onion powder. Both tasted good, although I likes the classic better. I used cherry pellets and the smoke was good.

I'm thinking of trying Hickory blend this time (I have Apple, Hickory, Pecan, Traegar Signature blend, some Cherry left, and Bear Mountain Bourbon BBQ).

I'm thinking maybe of doing a Spicy blend with cayenne pepper, black pepper, and onion powder, and a Smoky blend with Smoked paprika, garlic powder, and cumin. Just need to try to guess on the ratios.

Please chime in on any flavorings you use, along with the ratios!

 

[JIMSMOKES]

No help on flavors. My last batch of bacon. I started before sun up with just a smoke tube stuffed with pellets and chips mixed. Once grate temp hit 90 I started grill at smoked at 180 till IT of 145° 14+ hours.

 

[Fueling Around]

I make my belly bacon pretty bland. For my consumption it is 0.5% total salt and no sugar. For others it is 1.5% total salt and maybe 0.5% sugar.
Once the curing starts I don't change anything. Just let it ride in the bag for 2 weeks.
If you want to add more flavor try adding another a good dust during the rest before smoking. Most flavors including sugar don't penetrate the meat well

 

[paleoman]

Here's a shot of the piece, before I cut it in two...

 

[realdocBBQ]

I think your plan sounds good. I personally am not a big fan of 'sweet' on bacon. I do use a very little bit of sugar in my dry cure, but I cut it down from my first try and have stuck with it since. I do a bit saltier bacon than Fueling Around uses, I like mine pretty salty - everyone's taste buds are different.

You said 160ºF on your Traeger - I assume you plan to raise that little by little as it smokes, right? If you leave it at 160ºF and are trying to get to 145ºF IT, you're never going to get there. lol. It'll take a week or so. lol

j/k, but you should probably raise your temp little by little as the IT climbs.160-170-180, or you'll be waiting forever.

Keep in mind the pellet smokers cook a lot via radiant heat from the bottom (usually) where the baffle plate is diffusing the heat coming out of the pellet firebox. So maybe, if it's going to be on there a long time with heat radiating from below, you might want to put another deflecting material, like a piece of doubled foil or something, on the lower rack, and smoke on the upper. This can maybe help prevent the lower edge of your bacon slab(s) from getting crispy or dried out. And/or maybe flip it over every hour or so.

I've just noticed on my last cook of hot smoked bacon that my slabs got pretty crispy on the bottom. Didn't end up hurting anything, as once they sat in the fridge for a day or two they were fine, and when slicing on the Hobart I didn't really even notice it. But it's something to think about.

Good luck!

 

[mneeley490]

Unless you're shooting for cooked bacon, I see no need to raise the IT to 145°.
I've warm smoked bacon on my Green Mountain Grill at the lowest setting for 8 hours or more, until the IT hits 118° or so. This will give you an end result comparable to store-bought bacon. I've read that bacon fat starts to render at 128°.

 

[paleoman]

I think your plan sounds good. I personally am not a big fan of 'sweet' on bacon. I do use a very little bit of sugar in my dry cure, but I cut it down from my first try and have stuck with it since. I do a bit saltier bacon than Fueling Around uses, I like mine pretty salty - everyone's taste buds are different.

You said 160ºF on your Traeger - I assume you plan to raise that little by little as it smokes, right? If you leave it at 160ºF and are trying to get to 145ºF IT, you're never going to get there. lol. It'll take a week or so. lol

j/k, but you should probably raise your temp little by little as the IT climbs.160-170-180, or you'll be waiting forever.

Keep in mind the pellet smokers cook a lot via radiant heat from the bottom (usually) where the baffle plate is diffusing the heat coming out of the pellet firebox. So maybe, if it's going to be on there a long time with heat radiating from below, you might want to put another deflecting material, like a piece of doubled foil or something, on the lower rack, and smoke on the upper. This can maybe help prevent the lower edge of your bacon slab(s) from getting crispy or dried out. And/or maybe flip it over every hour or so.

I've just noticed on my last cook of hot smoked bacon that my slabs got pretty crispy on the bottom. Didn't end up hurting anything, as once they sat in the fridge for a day or two they were fine, and when slicing on the Hobart I didn't really even notice it. But it's something to think about.

Good luck!

Yeah, the sweet bacon was OK, but I do like it a bit more salty. I'd like to try some with some heat.

My Traeger can be set to 160˚F, but it really runs at about 170˚F.

Last time, I use 170˚F, and after 7 hours the two pieces were 133˚F and 136˚F. I raised temp to 225˚F, and within a half hour longer, they were at 136˚F/145˚F.

I guess I could start stepping it up during the process, maybe every 2 hours?

The Traeger seems to deflect the heat pretty well. I haven't had any issues with the belly getting crispy. I'm pretty sure I did fat cap up last time.

 

[paleoman]

Unless you're shooting for cooked bacon, I see no need to raise the IT to 145°.
I've warm smoked bacon on my Green Mountain Grill at the lowest setting for 8 hours or more, until the IT hits 118° or so. This will give you an end result comparable to store-bought bacon. I've read that bacon fat starts to render at 128°.

Good to know! I think several people had mentioned 145-150˚F and that it is immediately edible, but I typically like to fry my bacon to give a little bit of browning (not dry and crispy). I should target a lower temp. Someone had mentioned 132˚F.

I had heard that the fat renders at 160˚F.

 

[realdocBBQ]

Good to know! I think several people had mentioned 145-150˚F and that it is immediately edible, but I typically like to fry my bacon to give a little bit of browning (not dry and crispy). I should target a lower temp. Someone had mentioned 132˚F.

I had heard that the fat renders at 160˚F.

I've heard about fat rendering at 120 up to 160. I think none of it matters... Try it a few different ways and cook it how you prefer. Some of the morons on FB groups are downright militant, rude and annoying about it. Those are some of the few I've actually blocked. Some days people just aint worth the hassle...

 

[mneeley490]

Here's a "Step-by-Step" list made some years ago by a greatly revered forumite named Bearcarver.
I've adapted his "Bacon-Extra Smokey" technique for use on a pellet smoker, just keep it on the lowest temp available. (I think the lowest temp mine would go was 150°.) It's come out great every time.
Bearcarver's Step by Step Recipes