Is it ready?

[hayskip]

I have a Question about bacon. I bought 25 lbs of pork belly and a pkg of backwoods bacon cure. I had three 8.3 lb slabs of belly 25 lbs total I weighed out the package stuff decided it by 3 and rubbed it on the belly. Cut each one in 2 so I would have managable sizes. Put them in seal a meal bags. And have been turning them all week. Today it has been 7 days. But they have hardly any liquid in the bags and don't seem to be a hole lot firmer. I was planing on taking them out tomorrow and smoking them Saturday. I've never done this befor and want to do it rig

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• hayskip
• Jun 9, 2016

ht. Any suggestions or insight.

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• hayskip
• Jun 9, 2016

 

[SmokinAl]

I leave my bellies in the cure for 14 days.

Al

 

[Bearcarver]

I calculate my curing times by thickness, but without knowing that, I'd go with Al's 14 Days.

Bear

 

[lovethemeats]

Oh bacon. My mouth is watering. Listen to Al. He knows his stuff.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Dry Rub Cure in bags will not firm a lot because moisture is trapped and the meat is sealed. This is very different than the methods that allow evaporation...JJ

 

[lovethemeats]

These are the people to listen to. They haven't steered me wrong yet. Ask and you will get your answers. They are the chefs and we are the students. It's nice to be able to turn to big brother/big sister when you have questions. I've been in other sites and there is nothing like this one.

 

[hayskip]

Al and bear thanks for letting me know about the 14 days. Chef Jimmy j, you said it doesn't firm up doing it this way should I do it differently next time. (I mean it's bacon I will definitely be doing this again.) All suggestions welcome. And love the meats yes I agree I'm a willing student and it's wonderful being tought by people who have been there and done that. What I love about this sight is that nobody is judgemental or condescending. Just happy to share knowledge.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Al and bear thanks for letting me know about the 14 days. Chef Jimmy j, you said it doesn't firm up doing it this way should I do it differently next time. (I mean it's bacon I will definitely be doing this again.) All suggestions welcome. And love the meats yes I agree I'm a willing student and it's wonderful being tought by people who have been there and done that. What I love about this sight is that nobody is judgemental or condescending. Just happy to share knowledge.

Take a look at this thread...JJ

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/177020/old-fashioned-dry-cured-bacon#post_1306835

 

[lovethemeats]

My hat is off to those that make bacon. Went thru the threads. Man it takes a while to make it. I can say that I don't think I'll ever get to enjoy something like that. I've taken already processed bacon and thrown it in my smoker for about 12-18 hours cold smoking it before during the winter. Take it with me camping in spring. That tastes good. But nothing on the true art of actually making from scratch. Like to be your guy's friend. [emoji]128532[/emoji].

 

[hayskip]

Lovethemeat I have to laugh at that last post. This is my first try at bacon so I know How you feel but don't be daunted by the work. Try it If you get the chance I've had so much fun with this. But like I said I had to laugh. "Friends" have been comming out of the woodwork since they have found out I'm trying this. But then I've always been one to share so the more the merrier I guess. I'm hoping to get it done by the time my son comes home for a visit next week.

 

[lovethemeats]

What are you using for your smoker? How long do you plan on keeping it in there cold smoking?

 

[hayskip]

I am using a mes30. I don't know about how long. I more confused now than ever. I've never cold smoked anything and it scares me more than trying bacon for the first time. When I first started this process I didn't know about this forum and was told to smoke it till it reached 150 degrees. And then I found this site and am hearing all this about cold smoking being the best. I don't know how and the thought of having meat not up to a certain temp in a short amount of time kind of scares me. I've been a cook all my life and have always been tought to keep food hot.

 

[Bearcarver]

I am using a mes30. I don't know about how long. I more confused now than ever. I've never cold smoked anything and it scares me more than trying bacon for the first time. When I first started this process I didn't know about this forum and was told to smoke it till it reached 150 degrees. And then I found this site and am hearing all this about cold smoking being the best. I don't know how and the thought of having meat not up to a certain temp in a short amount of time kind of scares me. I've been a cook all my life and have always been tought to keep food hot.

Don't worry about it:

That "Cold Smoking is the best" is just an opinion.

In my Opinion "Slightly Warm Smoking" is the best.

I run my MES between 110° and 130° to get the Best Bacon I ever had, like below.

Only takes about 8 to 11 hours that way to get the Great color & flavor.

Link:

Bacon (Extra Smoky)

Bear

 

[hayskip]

Thanks bear. I read the post you revered to. You said 8 to 11 hours. How do you tell. What am I looking for.color, temp ?

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks bear. I read the post you revered to. You said 8 to 11 hours. How do you tell. What am I looking for.color, temp ?

I just look for color, but it usually ends up between 8 & 11 hours, when using my Smoker Temps. If I got good golden brown color, I got Great flavor.

It doesn't hurt to go an extra hour or two, so I just load up my AMNPS, which goes for about 11 hours, and it's always where I want it, at those smoker temps, when the AMNPS burns out.

It used to take me about twice as long to get the same color & flavor when cold smoking, but that's good stuff too.

FYI:  It doesn't matter what the internal temp is.

Bear

 

[lovethemeats]

150 kills off bacteria. Look at pics of what people did. Never done it but my guess when its a nice light brown. Golden color. Did not know about the 150. I thought you would want smoker as cold as you can get. Curing kills off the bacteria and pathogens. Its when you cook it and it goes to 150 is when Everthing is killed off. But bacon. Most of the time it gets fried. But again I never did bacon.
Hey people can you send in pics to help him out. Listen to Bear. So when its done friend when should I be over. Lol.

 

[nsoutdoorsman1]

Not sure about the cure u used,i always mix mine from scratch with cure#1 and few other things.But i have always used large ziplock freezer bags to store the slabs in while theyre curing....8-12 days depending on thickness,weight etc. Personally i always have plenty of liquid even after the first couple days of curing in the fridge,and continues to make liquid up until i pull them.Maybe it has to do with type cure u used and the amount.Im sure it will still be excellent:)

 

[hayskip]

Ok. I did it... I know you guys like pictures so let's see if I can get this to work

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• hayskip
• Jun 12, 2016

 

[hayskip]

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• hayskip
• Jun 12, 2016

 

[lovethemeats]

The bacon looks beautiful. Hows it taste for you?