- Feb 14, 2023
- 5
- 2
I discovered this site not long ago and have found it to be a wealth of information and a great place spend some time. This is my first post, but I’ve asked a few private questions and have appreciated those helpful responses. This go round, I’m hoping to get your thoughts on how I ruined my bacon.
I recently starting curing and smoking various cuts of meats and have loved the results (well, except for the pastrami/brisket – ugh that was dry – but I’ll ask questions on that one another time).
I’ve made Canadian bacon, buckboard bacon, and belly bacon. All three were delicious and my wife even raved about them. In fact we enjoyed them so much, that the first few batches were gone in no time. Then the problem occurred. I did two batches of buckboard bacon and a 10 lb belly at once and popped them in the freezer. Initially they were fantastic. But within a few weeks they started to taste rancid, particularly the fat.
Here’s where I think I went wrong. Before I put the buckboard bacon in the freezer, I had simply sliced it up, portioned it out, and stuck it in some ziplock freezer bags. No extra wrap. No vacuum seal. In fact I didn’t even get most of the air out of the bags. With the belly bacon, before I put it in the freezer, I sliced it up, portioned it out, wrapped it in saran wrap a couple of times, and then put those wrapped portions in a freezer bag. Again, no vacuum seal.
I didn’t have a vacuum sealer at the time, but I have one now. I suspect by not using a vacuum sealer…and thereby allowing an easier way for air to contact the meat made the meat turn so quickly. Sound reasonable? Any thoughts?
I will definitely vacuum pack the next batch. How long should it last in the freezer once it’s vacuum packed before starting to lose flavor quality?
For reference, I dry cured the meat for several days and smoked at a low heat to an IT of 145.
Thanks!
Rich
I recently starting curing and smoking various cuts of meats and have loved the results (well, except for the pastrami/brisket – ugh that was dry – but I’ll ask questions on that one another time).
I’ve made Canadian bacon, buckboard bacon, and belly bacon. All three were delicious and my wife even raved about them. In fact we enjoyed them so much, that the first few batches were gone in no time. Then the problem occurred. I did two batches of buckboard bacon and a 10 lb belly at once and popped them in the freezer. Initially they were fantastic. But within a few weeks they started to taste rancid, particularly the fat.
Here’s where I think I went wrong. Before I put the buckboard bacon in the freezer, I had simply sliced it up, portioned it out, and stuck it in some ziplock freezer bags. No extra wrap. No vacuum seal. In fact I didn’t even get most of the air out of the bags. With the belly bacon, before I put it in the freezer, I sliced it up, portioned it out, wrapped it in saran wrap a couple of times, and then put those wrapped portions in a freezer bag. Again, no vacuum seal.
I didn’t have a vacuum sealer at the time, but I have one now. I suspect by not using a vacuum sealer…and thereby allowing an easier way for air to contact the meat made the meat turn so quickly. Sound reasonable? Any thoughts?
I will definitely vacuum pack the next batch. How long should it last in the freezer once it’s vacuum packed before starting to lose flavor quality?
For reference, I dry cured the meat for several days and smoked at a low heat to an IT of 145.
Thanks!
Rich