Makin' Bacon

[chef jimmyj]

Ok...I have read posts about post curing all these long 5-7 days before smoking and 5-7 days after...Anybody got a good reason for all the time more than read it here or that's the way Dad did it? I get 24 hours for a pellicle and smoking over 4-5 days cause you want a lot of smoke but need to sleep too. I always Brine or Dry Cure 7 days per inch, cure is through and equalized, 24 hour Pellicle, smoke 12 hours straight, rest overnight mostly to cool so no condensation in the vac-pac, then bag it and tag it every thing not getting eaten in 7 days gets frozen. Did some research for a legit reason for the whole X days before and X days after and the answer eludes me. Why turn an already hardly able to stand 17 day process into some 30+ days?..

...JJ

 

[SmokinAl]

JJ, I'm not sure of the reasoning behind the rest before & after.

Possibly it has to do with drying it out more, sort of like ageing it.

What I do know is when I started doing it this way, the bacon is much crispier when you fry it up.

I only go 4 days before & 4 days after, with a 1 day cold smoke for 10 hours.

I also do the dry cure for 14 days, using the bacon calculator for proper amounts.

Al

 

[redheelerdog]

I am interested in this answer too. 

 

[pc farmer]

I have no prove but the long waits seem to make it better. Like Al says, I think it lets moisture dry out some.

 

[SmokyMose]

How long I leave it in the fridge after cold smoking (6-8 hrs is plenty for us) pretty much depends on when I feel like getting out the slicer. As little as overnight, never more than 3 days.
As far as drying after curing? When it feels dry. I've been known to hang it in the garage in front of a fan for a few hrs :biggrin:

 

[daveomak]

I let the slab sit for 7 days in the refer to let the sugar and salt homogenize inside the meat, after the 14 days curing step, and after I rinse and dry the meat from the curing step...  Then sit for 7 days after the smoke, in the refer to allow for the smoke to homogenize inside the meat, and do some additional dry aging..... 

All of the steps, when curing a slab, are done uncovered on a wire rack, to allow the meat to "dry age" and lose moisture...  Comes out pretty much like the bacon slabs of the '50's we used to get at the meat market... 

It doesn't fry worth a darn in the fry pan...  but it sure bakes up well on a wire rack...  very little shrinkage...  and the bacon flavor if fairly intense...

 

[chef jimmyj]

 Thanks guys...Makes sense, More or less aging to get the Bacon to be all it can be...Anybody else, keep the info coming...JJ

 

[pc farmer]

Now I have my dry cure chamber I am going to experiment with putting my bacon and cb in it for the rest period after the smoke.

 

[myownidaho]

I went with a simple recipe that has yielded great results for me. A ten day cure in the fridge, Rinse, dry, sit in the fridge overnight. Finish with four hours on hickory at 200 degrees to an internal temp of 150.