Make-n bacon

[jokensmoken]

So heres the second batch.of canadian bacon of the day on the smoker...
It's been a little crazy around my house the last few days full of hustle and bustle and anticipation of Christmas...
So much so that I completely forgot to get a picture of my first load of bacon...
Nothing real fancy...just a salt sugar water brine with the appropriate amount of cure.
I do like to add Basel and Sage to my brine and one batch reduced the brown sugar by half and added 1 1/2 cups of 100% pure dark maple syrup.
Thanks for looking
I hope everyone has a great Christmas and happy new year...
Walt

 

[SonnyE]

Looks like a BunchoBacon Walt!
Woo-Hoo!

I can't let the wife see that or she'll call me a slacker.

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Looking great Walt!

Merry Christmas!

Scott

 

[chopsaw]

Gonna be good .

 

[Winterrider]

Very nice,looks delicious...
Like

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Just got my buckboard out and a 3 pound chunk of loin started as Canadian Bacon :)

Merry X-mas Walt!

 

[gmc2003]

That's definitely a happy smoker full of bacon. Nice job.

Point for sure.
Chris

 

[jokensmoken]

That's definitely a happy smoker full of bacon. Nice job.

Point for sure.
Chris

Thanks for the point Chris...
The maple syrup addition was a hit...
Walt.

Looking great Walt!

Merry Christmas!

Scott

Thanks Scott. Hope you and the Missus have a great great Christmas.

 

[jokensmoken]

So the maple syrup was a hit...
I've tried it before without tasting a lot of difference...
This year I got the darkest, richest I could find and it definitely made a difference...
Not overpowering just a nice hint of sweet maple...
My daughter and son in law (who are my biggest fan but harshest critics) said I hit it out of the park...
The syrup carmelized just a bit giving the bacon a nice rich color and just a little something extra taste wise.

I know it appears over done but trust me when I say it was near perfect...
Thanks for looking
Walt

 

[jokensmoken]

Looks like a BunchoBacon Walt!
Woo-Hoo!

I can't let the wife see that or she'll call me a slacker.

Nah, sounds to me like you've got plenty going on.

 

[SonnyE]

Nah, sounds to me like you've got plenty going on.

Today was insane. Started off changing Jerky batches, then slicin and packin 4 pounds of bacon away, jumped into a slab of burnt ends. While the ends were burnin, Delivered 2 pounds of bacon to our Friends from Great Britain, when we got home I got a batch of Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans under way. About the time that was waiting for the smoker I had the Burnt ends in for their glazing and 15 hours of time to set the glaze.
Yeah, I accidentally set my timer for 15 hours, instead of 15 minutes. I'm cleaning the days grunge from Grandma's cookie making, and my gooey racks, and thinking its been a damn long 15 minutes. I finally rinsed my hands and checked, still had 14 hours and 27 minutes to go.
So I pulled the Burnt Ends, and set in the Beans, and reloaded the AMNPS for the bean cook.
Then finished cleaning up.
I.... Am..... Pooped!

But happy. Always happy when a busy day ends. Jerky came out great, I packaged it up in 1 ounce bags. I figured it was safest this time of year with colds and sickness going around. Take a package and go eat it, no germy kids hands tasting and putting back a soggy piece of Jerky in a bowl.

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Maybe Walt just hit the nail on the head..

Get that real dark syrup..

Is that the late season run stuff? Some one told me about it once but can't recall what they told me now!

 

[jokensmoken]

Maybe Walt just hit the nail on the head..

Get that real dark syrup..

Is that the late season run stuff? Some one told me about it once but can't recall what they told me now!

I can't say for sure...I know its hard to come by and doesn't seem to be readily available year round so it would not surprise me that it's quite seasonal.
It very dark and very rich and not real cheap...lol...
As I said, I've tried to get the maple flavor before and nothing quite cut it...
This did...I cant remember the brand off the top of my head but I'll check and let you know Tom.
Walt

 

[gmc2003]

End of the year syrup is darker and has a stronger maple flavor.

Chris

 

[TomKnollRFV]

You let me know Walt, might need to budget to stockpile next year, since I plan to roll on over to MI again :)

And thanks for confirming Chris, I guess some times I do know what I'm talking about! <scares me too..>

 

[jokensmoken]

End of the year syrup is darker and has a stronger maple flavor.

Chris

Thanks Chris...
I knew there was a difference, just wasn't sure what or why...
I have a friend who has a friend who knows a guy who knows a place...lol...
Anyway, I'm working on building a relationship with some folks who process their own maple syrup to try to get "the good stuff"
Walt

 

[HalfSmoked]

Awesome looking stock there should last a while.

Warren

 

[TomKnollRFV]

Walt you now made Maple Syrup sound like an illegal substance... LOL

 

[gmc2003]

Thanks Chris...
I knew there was a difference, just wasn't sure what or why...
I have a friend who has a friend who knows a guy who knows a place...lol...
Anyway, I'm working on building a relationship with some folks who process their own maple syrup to try to get "the good stuff"
Walt

If you have maple trees - making maple syrup isn't all that hard. It's more labor then anything else. Collect all day and boil the next morning. Any maple tree will produce maple syrup, however sugar maples are the best. Just do it before they start budding.

What used called grade B(end of season - dark) was in the past considered a cooking syrup more then a use on the pancakes type of syrup. Now more folks are looking for the sweeter darker color. I believe it's also cheaper, but may not be with it's new found popularity. I think grade B is now called grade A dark amber or something like that. I hate tree piss so I'm not fully up to date on the new government labeling, but when you live in VT and all you see in the woods are plastic tubes it's kinda hard not to be somewhat knowledgeable.

Chris

 

[hillbillyrkstr]

Walt we do that out here. If you need a bottle I have plenty.

Scott