So I think it was a success!
I followed LEM's vague instructions as best I could with a small bit of deviation.
LEM's instructions says to "follow instructions for your smoker" and then says "or 200 degrees in an oven until internal temp hits 165F".
So I did a bit of both but only went up to 160F because I got tired of waiting forever and wanted some dinner :) The FDA states 160F is fine for non poultry and I wasn't using wild pork so 160F was where I drew the line.
Here is the Qview!!!
Here's some Chili Pequin's I smoked at the same time. I needed to do something with them.
Here is how it all went down:
Total time 9.5 hrs
Dry time 1.5hr at 130F
Smoke time 4.5hr at 160F begain to walk temp up at the end to 175F using 100% Hickory
Cook time after smoke 3.5hrs at walk up temps of 185, 200, 225, then 245 to get a quick 5 degree raise at the end
The Total Cook time was 7hrs (smoke time + non smoke cook time)
The Meat and Seasoning:
Again, I followed LEM's directions most of the way with just a little deviation.
I did a 5 pound meat block.
The seasoning flavor was good and the smoke flavor was good as well. I think I will stick with 4-5hrs of hickory smoke for this kind of project.
The meat was 80% lean ground venison (no fat added) and 20% ground pork (store bought ground that was 83/17 meat/fat ratio).
This 80/20 was followed according to LEM's directions. Doing it again I would go 50/50 because I felt it could use more fat, others do 50/50 and like it, and who wants to use up all of their ground venison in doing a 25 pound batch of bacon where 20 pounds is all venison!?
My impression was that I would get something like store bought turkey bacon.
What is made with LEM's directions feels more like turkey pastrami from a grocery store deli.
Don't get me wrong, it had great flavor but felt more like a sandwich meat with ham and bacon flavors and traits.
The rind was by far the most amazing part. When slicing you wind up with 2 slices from the ends that are like rind on one side and meat on the other. Those pieces were out of this world! It makes me want to make a 1/2 sheet of this stuff and smoke it, and cut it with a pizza wheel to get rind slices!!!!
We made sandwiches with the bacon slices and I believe it tasted better without frying as there isn't that much fat in LEM's recipe. Plus it was safe to eat at 160F temp.
Lessons Learned:
- 80/20 lean venison to pork with fat just seems too lean, I will go with more fat usinga 50/50 lean venison to pork with fat ratio next time
- 160F internal temp is higher than what most GFB recipes call for, HOWEVER it means you can eat the bacon immediately. I would not fry this recipe going forward other than to warm it up. Frying like bacon really does nothing good or notable for it.
- I think next time I may try to walk up to 200 during the smoke rather than after the smoke. Reaching an IT of 160F for this 5 pound loaf just seemed to take longer than what I feel is necessary.
- I don't know if I would go under 160F for this recipe as other recipes do. LEM's recipe seems to make something more like sandwich meat so why not have it edible like sandwich meat without the need to fry
- I think LEM's seasoning and recipe would make a GREAT smoked sandwich meat base. I feel like it could be the start of a hybrid bacon/ham and pastrami sandwich meat, or bacon/ham and bologna type sandwich meat or a bacon/ham flavored summer sausage. The potential is interesting!
- Do a small batch first to see what you have and then figure out where you want to go afterwards. I'm so glad I only did a 5 pound batch because I now know what to expect and what I may want to do with the seasoning and approach. I can tell you I do not want 25 pounds of this recipe. Not that it is bad but it just has so much potential that blowing 20 pounds of ground venison in one shot seems to be a poor decision when so much variety can be created with that much meat.
- The rind is to die for! I may just make a 1/4-1/2 inch thick sheet of this stuff and smoke it then cut it with a pizza wheel. I may call it bacon jerky or ham jerky. I'm telling you it is ridiculously good!
- Slicing without a slicer was tougher than I thought it would be. I did about 3 slices with a breaker knife then switched to an electric knife. I was not very happy with the thickness of the slicing. I felt I just couldn't consistently get thin slices and 95% of the slices were just too thick to be like bacon. I may invest in a slicer if I start making more things that need to be sliced.
That's all I have. I hope someone finds this interesting and/or helpful :)
