Ist Buckboard Bacon attempt

[daveomak]

I have some questions so I don't screw this up.

Thanks to everyone for their pics etc that got me inspired to attempt this project.

 

7 1/2# butterflied shoulder that is now 2" thick

Instacure #1....................8.4 gms

Pickeling salt...................65 gms

Raw cane sugar..............38gms

Black pepper...................3 TBL

Paprika...........................2 TBL

Chipotle...........................2 TBL

Onion..............................1 1/2 tsp

Garlic..............................1 tsp

Cumin..............................1 tsp

The cure was sprinkled evenly over both sides of the meat and rubbed in. The rest of the spices were mixed together and sprinkled evenly over the meat in 3 applications and rubbed in after each application.

The meat has been keeping my beer company in the "beer fridge" for 7 days. Turned and massaged daily.

I plan to rinse and dry the meat before smoking for 24 hrs and take to 160 deg for a cooked bacon/ham/proscuito/?  product.

?? Is 7 days adequate for 2" thick, cure both sides piece of pork? I read somewhere 1/4" day penetration.

?? Should I add more seasonings after rinsing the meat before it goes in the smoker? I think I read that somewhere too.

?? I think more seasonings would be good like pepper, raw sugar or something to give that "finishing flavor" but I have no experience with this.  Any advice would be appreciated to achieve that finished product taste.

?? I was thinking of using Alder/Mesquite for smoking. I like mesquite but I am concerned it might be too strong a flavor.

?? Anyone care to share their experience using mesquite?

?? Would hickory be the best choice for that "typical" bacon flavor?

?? How long should it be stored in the cooler before slicing and vacuum packing?

First day  before putting in the cooler

After 7 days in the cooler @35 deg

 

[Bearcarver]

I have some questions so I don't screw this up.

Thanks to everyone for their pics etc that got me inspired to attempt this project.

 

7 1/2# butterflied shoulder that is now 2" thick

Instacure #1....................8.4 gms

Pickeling salt...................65 gms

Raw cane sugar..............38gms

Black pepper...................3 TBL

Paprika...........................2 TBL

Chipotle...........................2 TBL

Onion..............................1 1/2 tsp

Garlic..............................1 tsp

Cumin..............................1 tsp

The cure was sprinkled evenly over both sides of the meat and rubbed in. The rest of the spices were mixed together and sprinkled evenly over the meat in 3 applications and rubbed in after each application.

The meat has been keeping my beer company in the "beer fridge" for 7 days. Turned and massaged daily. Sounds Right on!

I plan to rinse and dry the meat before smoking for 24 hrs and take to 160 deg for a cooked bacon/ham/proscuito/?  product.

Sounds good too, but I would do a slice & fry test for salt, in case it needs some soaking.

?? Is 7 days adequate for 2" thick, cure both sides piece of pork? I read somewhere 1/4" day penetration.

As long as the amount of cure was right, this should be good. I would consider it to be minimum of 6 days, so 7 should be great. 

?? Should I add more seasonings after rinsing the meat before it goes in the smoker? I think I read that somewhere too.

You don't have to, but I like to sprinkle some black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder on before smoking.

?? I think more seasonings would be good like pepper, raw sugar or something to give that "finishing flavor" but I have no experience with this.  Any advice would be appreciated to achieve that finished product taste.

?? I was thinking of using Alder/Mesquite for smoking. I like mesquite but I am concerned it might be too strong a flavor.

?? Anyone care to share their experience using mesquite? Never used Mesquite, but I would be careful with it (here-say).

?? Would hickory be the best choice for that "typical" bacon flavor? That's my favorite.

?? How long should it be stored in the cooler before slicing and vacuum packing? I like to fridge it at least over night.

I'll help with most of this:

I don't know about the amount of Instacure, because I don't use it, but somebody will be along on that one.

The rest of my replies are in red above.

Bear

 

[rbranstner]

I think Bear pretty much summed it all up. I also can't comment on the Instacure as I have only used Tenderquick.

 

[chefrob]

that looks alot like the bucky i did recently:

i let mine go more than 7 days but that was a time thing.........

as for your cure/salt/sugar amounts they are pretty much the same as mine except your cure is a little higher than mine per # but not by much at all. this should not be too salty so just a rinse should do it. as for the additional spices i think yer gonna be a little light since we used the same amount and my butt was almost 1/2 the size of yours so a mild dusting won't hurt and i would bump up the chipotle by another 2 T. are you using powdered or canned chipotle? as for the wood i like maple/hickory in a 60/40 ratio. what temp ae you going to take it to? i like mine @ an internal of 125 deg since i treat it like belly:

if you want to eat it like ham or lunch meat then you will want to take it to 155-160for a fully cooked product. also i seal it overnight to firm up and to let the smoke bloom before i slice it.

looks good and can't wait for the results............

 

[daveomak]

ChefRob, I see you are pretty observant. I wanted to give credit to certain folks here but I did not want to leave anyone out.

I have looked at all the BBB recipes and Qviews. So much to learn and so little time. No point in trying to invent the wheel when your fellow posters have it down darn near perfect.  I am humbled in such presence as is on this site and beg forgiveness.

Bear, Thanks  

 

[Bearcarver]

Dave,

Just so you know:

ChefRob is more than likely right about your batch not being too salty, and I would never disagree with anyone as good with a knife as he is!!!!

I have only ever had one cured product come up too salty in the slice fry test, before smoking, and that was a BBB with Hi Mt Cure & Seasoning, 

but I still have never smoked anything I cured, without doing that test first.

If it's not too salty, I got to sample a little before smoking it.

If it is too salty, I can soak the salt out of it in an hour or two, before I smoke it.

Once you smoke it, it's too late to fix it

Bear

 

[beer-b-q]

Looks Great from here...

 

[old poi dog]

Looks good from here as well. 

 

[pit 4 brains]

Hope it comes out well... looks good so far! Did you have any liquid in the container after the cure process? It looked a little dry in the pic..

 

[chefrob]

ChefRob, I see you are pretty observant. I wanted to give credit to certain folks here but I did not want to leave anyone out.

I have looked at all the BBB recipes and Qviews. So much to learn and so little time. No point in trying to invent the wheel when your fellow posters have it down darn near perfect.  I am humbled in such presence as is on this site and beg forgiveness.

none needed......i got my cure #'s from DanMcG who i trust and has been doing this for a long time. as for the spices.........that's my own twist and just passing it on to those of you who wish to try it out. looks like yer on the right track...........
 

 

[chefrob]

 and I would never disagree with anyone as good with a knife as he is!!!!

confucius say you are a wise man..............

 

[chefrob]

Did you have any liquid in the container after the cure process? It looked a little dry in the pic..

pete, i noticed that too on mine.......i chocked it up to all the dry spices added to the mix.

 

[daveomak]

ChefRob,

that looks alot like the bucky i did recently:

           It should, after looking at your pics, I wanted some!

 as for the additional spices i think yer gonna be a little light since we used the same amount and my butt was almost 1/2 the size of yours so a mild dusting won't hurt

          The fry test was very revealing. It was light on salt and sweet. I dusted with another 1/2oz of salt and fresh cracked Tellichery pepper. It did taste alot like the Oberto pork jerky I just found and tried. The fry pan residue confirmed the sugar was there.

 are you using powdered or canned chipotle?

           Home ground chipotle. Very good stuff.

as for the wood i like maple/hickory in a 60/40 ratio

             I started off with hickory/mesquite 50/50. 1 cup. The smoke odor was very powerful. I switched to alder for the rest of the smoke.

             It is currently at 145*.6AM. I will take it to 160*. If it turns out like jerky, that will be good too.

Pit 4

 Did you have any liquid in the container after the cure process?

         A couple table spoons is all. I did not add any liquid during the curing process.

Bear

I'll help with most of this:

         You don't have a clue as to how much you have helped. I have read most of your stuff here at least twice.

While I did some welding at a smoked meats plant I noticed they rinsed their bacons at the end of the smoke.

 

Should I rinse this bacon with hot water when I take it out of the smoker? 

The meat temp has stalled at 156* for the last 1 1/2 hours.

I have read about "stalled" temps here somewhere.

About how long does that last?

 

[Bearcarver]

While I did some welding at a smoked meats plant I noticed they rinsed their bacons at the end of the smoke.

This is just a guess, but maybe they injected with some chemicals, and like to rinse any off that might have oozed out??

 

Should I rinse this bacon with hot water when I take it out of the smoker? 

Only if you think you might have something on the outside that might not taste too good, like maybe a little creosote, if the smoke got too heavy & white.

If you rinse it, you will lose some of the seasoning you sprinkled on before smoking.

The meat temp has stalled at 156* for the last 1 1/2 hours. What temp was the smoker at for those 1 1/2 hours?

I have read about "stalled" temps here somewhere. I never had a stall during a cured bacon smoke (or BBB or CB). Now the only ones I have taken to 160˚ (so far) are the CBs. I'm thinking it was something other than a stall.

About how long does that last?

Bear

 

[daveomak]

Bear, I had the smoker at 140 all night. Raised to 175 to bring to 160. The temps of the meat went from 140 to 156 in about 1 1/2 hrs. The last 2 1/2 hrs sat at 156. I decided to take it out and now it is sitting on the shelving on the porch to cool. It is 20* outside. I cut off a corner and tasted it. It is Goooood! Smoke is not too heavy so I wont rinse it off. The salt is just right and the cracked black pepper powdering I did before it went into the smoker is perfect for me.

I am assuming it is going to be great. I will wrap it as soon as it cools and put in the cooler until tomorrow, then slice.

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear, I had the smoker at 140 all night. Raised to 175 to bring to 160. The temps of the meat went from 140 to 156 in about 1 1/2 hrs. The last 2 1/2 hrs sat at 156. I decided to take it out and now it is sitting on the shelving on the porch to cool. It is 20* outside. I cut off a corner and tasted it. It is Goooood! Smoke is not too heavy so I wont rinse it off. The salt is just right and the cracked black pepper powdering I did before it went into the smoker is perfect for me.

I am assuming it is going to be great. I will wrap it as soon as it cools and put in the cooler until tomorrow, then slice.

It looks really great!

I think it was your smoker temp. You only raised it to 175˚ to get it to 160˚.

The closer you got to 160˚, the longer it took to raise the internal temp, because the air in the smoker wasn't much hotter than your BBB was.

175˚ is too close to 160˚. I would have bumped it to 190˚.

It probably dried out some during that 2 1/2 hours too.

If I want to dry something out, like dried beef or sausage, I'll hold the temp at the same as the meat, or just a little higher, so it won't raise the internal temp, but it will dry the meat out.

Bear
 

 

[chefrob]

 are you using powdered or canned chipotle?

           Home ground chipotle. Very good stuff.

i do the same .....is your's dried and ground into a powder or do you make an adobo preparation (wet)?

......and great color btw!

 

[fpnmf]

Looks very tasty!!

  Craig

 

[daveomak]

Originally Posted by chefrob  
 

i do the same .....is your's dried and ground into a powder or do you make an adobo preparation (wet)?

......and great color btw!

chefrob, The color is good and it isn't too smokey. The little stick out ends? I think I will use them in beans, although they are great to snack on.

All the spices were applied dry. The pork shoulder didn't make as much liquid as I had expected. Perhaps I should make some sort of paste for the next BBB that would infuse the flavors in a different manner. Don't know which type of application would be better. 

I will be slicing it up here pretty soon and Qviews will appear.
 

 

[daveomak]

I think I have success!!  It appears I sprinkled the instacure #1 evenly. It had even penetration with the 7 days in the cooler. Flavor is very good. Spices very good also.

For my first attempt, I will call this a winner. Everyone who contributed in one way or another, you are winners also. Thanks

The shoulder started at 7lb 8oz. Today it weighed 6lb 10oz. Lost almost a lb. 14oz.  11.6%.