More Bacon Questions from a Noob

[xfitjay]

I've been poking around this forum for a month or so and now that I'm on my 3rd belly I've got some questions that I'd like to hear what the experts have to say, or point me in the right direction.

My first two bellies were so so. The first one was a little too salty and the other one was fine, but I'm sure I can get it to taste better so I'm tweaking things as I go along.

Here are my questions:

1. Cold Smoking vs Hot Smoking - which do you recommend for bacon and why? I have not cold smoked yet. I'm going to try it with this belly I've got curing right now. It should be ready tomorrow. Although, as a slight digression, I've had it in the fridge for 7 days now and there doesn't seem to be nearly as much liquid as with the first two (obviously I'm dry curing it). Should I keep it going longer? Back to the cold smoke question - I've got an MES 30 and I've also got the AMZNPS (just haven't used it yet). When I cold smoke, how long should I smoke it for? How much should I open the vents?

2. So far my bellies have all been dry cured. I took a stab at buckboard bacon and cured that in Pop's brine. Then I hot smoked it to IT of 150+. It was good. Basically tasted a lot like canadian bacon or a lite ham. The question is what are the pro and cons of dry cure vs wet cure (brine)?

3. On one of the posts in this forum someone said they coat their bacon in pepper and garlic (salt too?) before they smoke it (after the cure). Do they use fresh garlic or dried garlic? Once I get the basic bacon down I'm going to start playing around with the seasonings.

4. I looked at the dry cure calculator and I'm not sure I understand why you need to know the weight of the meat. Shouldn't it basically be about the ratio of salt to sugar to cure #1? What am I missing here?

5. When's the best time to remove the skin? Before the smoke or after the smoke? Or does it matter?

6. Sometimes I would like to have my bacon sliced thinner than I can get it with my knives. I haven't tried it frozen yet. I've been thinking of getting an electirc slicer. Any recommendations on slicer, knives, technique?

Thanks for your time and expertise.

 

[DanMcG]

4. I looked at the dry cure calculator and I'm not sure I understand why you need to know the weight of the meat. Shouldn't it basically be about the ratio of salt to sugar to cure #1? What am I missing here?

You can use as much sugar and salt you want but when it comes to cure you need to use the correct amount per weight of the meat. not to much or not to little

 

[fpnmf]

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/124885/bacon-made-the-easy-way

 

[diggingdogfarm]

1. Cold Smoking vs Hot Smoking - which do you recommend for bacon and why? I have not cold smoked yet. I'm going to try it with this belly I've got curing right now. It should be ready tomorrow. Although, as a slight digression, I've had it in the fridge for 7 days now and there doesn't seem to be nearly as much liquid as with the first two (obviously I'm dry curing it). Should I keep it going longer? Back to the cold smoke question - I've got an MES 30 and I've also got the AMZNPS (just haven't used it yet). When I cold smoke, how long should I smoke it for? How much should I open the vents?

Cold smoking, the smoke will penetrate the meat better and the flavor is better, but the bacon must be dry to the touch so the smoke will stick and the bacon will benefit from some resting time after smoking to mellow the flavor, a minimum of 3-4 days, but a week of more is better.
The amount of liquid coming from the belly doen't tell you much, some bellies produce little or no liquid.
I cold smoke for a minimum of 8 hours (with very thin smoke), but no more than 24, with breaks in between the smoking sessions, either two 12 hour days or three 8 hour days of smoke, the last batch I did I smoked for just 12 hours.

http://www.wedlinydomowe.com/meat-smoking/cold-smoking

2. So far my bellies have all been dry cured. I took a stab at buckboard bacon and cured that in Pop's brine. Then I hot smoked it to IT of 150+. It was good. Basically tasted a lot like canadian bacon or a lite ham. The question is what are the pro and cons of dry cure vs wet cure (brine)?

Wet and dry curing both have their place, I prefer dry cured because the flavor is concentrated and I don't like water-logged bacon that likes to steam rather than fry-up easily.

3. On one of the posts in this forum someone said they coat their bacon in pepper and garlic (salt too?) before they smoke it (after the cure). Do they use fresh garlic or dried garlic? Once I get the basic bacon down I'm going to start playing around with the seasonings.

Either fresh or dried garlic can be used.

4. I looked at the dry cure calculator and I'm not sure I understand why you need to know the weight of the meat. Shouldn't it basically be about the ratio of salt to sugar to cure #1? What am I missing here?

It's good to know the weight of the meat so that you can use the proper and safe amount of cure.
It's also handy when determining salt and sugar amounts so that your bacon is consistant from batch to batch and not over-salted.

5. When's the best time to remove the skin? Before the smoke or after the smoke? Or does it matter?

It doesn't matter, but, the skin is easier to remove after curing and smoking, however, cure and smoke penetration is faster when the skin is removed before curing.

6. Sometimes I would like to have my bacon sliced thinner than I can get it with my knives. I haven't tried it frozen yet. I've been thinking of getting an electirc slicer. Any recommendations on slicer, knives, technique?

Try semi-freezing it and slice with a good sharp slicing knife.

Here's a cure calculator to make things easy........
http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html

HTH

~Martin

 

[xfitjay]

Thanks for all the info. It helps a lot. Is there a particular kind of scale you've found works well for weighing the meat and the cure ingredients?

Jay

 

[fpnmf]

>>>>>>>[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]Wet and dry curing both have their place, I prefer dry cured because the flavor is concentrated and I don't like water-logged bacon that likes to steam rather than fry-up easily.[/color]

[color= rgb(24, 24, 24)]I have never experienced water logged steamy bacon..must be doing something right!!![/color]

july 2012 bacon 026.JPG

• fpnmf
• Sep 15, 2012

july 2012 bacon 023.JPG

• fpnmf
• Sep 15, 2012

 

[diggingdogfarm]

This is the scale that I have......

I fold the bellies in half (or roll them up) and tie with string when weighing.

~Martin

 

[diggingdogfarm]

>>>>>>>Wet and dry curing both have their place, I prefer dry cured because the flavor is concentrated and I don't like water-logged bacon that likes to steam rather than fry-up easily.


I have never experienced water logged steamy bacon..must be doing something right!!!

july 2012 bacon 026.JPG

• fpnmf
• Sep 15, 2012

july 2012 bacon 023.JPG

• fpnmf
• Sep 15, 2012

Good job, looks real good! :biggrin:

~Martin

 

[xfitjay]

>>>>>>>Wet and dry curing both have their place, I prefer dry cured because the flavor is concentrated and I don't like water-logged bacon that likes to steam rather than fry-up easily.

I have never experienced water logged steamy bacon..must be doing something right!!!

july 2012 bacon 026.JPG

• fpnmf
• Sep 15, 2012

july 2012 bacon 023.JPG

• fpnmf
• Sep 15, 2012

Next belly I get I'm going to wet cure some, if not all, of it. I want my bacon to look like that. I'm sure it tastes as good as it looks!

 

[xfitjay]

I just ordered the scale. Thanks Martin.

 

[xfitjay]

New question - what can I do with the skin? I've got two dogs - fry it up and make treats? Any problems with that?

 

[diggingdogfarm]

There's no problem using it as dog treats, but you could also smoke it and use it to flavor beans and the like.
I use it to make Saucisse de Couenne (French Pork Rind Sausage) among other things.


~Martin

 

[xfitjay]

For flavoring beans and other dishes, what is the optimal size to cut it up into after smoking it?

Sausage is the next frontier for me. I want to get better at bacon first. But the Saucisse de Couenne sounds interesting. Can you point me to a good recipe for it?

- Jay

 

[diggingdogfarm]

The amount of rind you use to flavor your beans is going to depend on your taste, I use maybe a 3-4 inch square piece per pound of beans.
As for the Saucisse de Couenne, it's used for it's unique texture, along with Saucisse de Toulouse, Confit de Canard (Duck Confit), etc. Tarbais beans are preferred, but Cannellini will work.
http://kitchen-at-camont.com/2009/01/19/cassoulet-kates-basix-french-kitchen-recipe/

Here's the Saucisse de Couenne recipe.....

Saucisse de Couenne

960g Pork Rind–cleaned, hair singed off, boiled 2hour in richly seasoned stock
400g backfat
600g well-fatted shoulder
8g white pepper
30g salt
1 bunch fresh Italian parsley
1/2 tsp ground clove
3 fresh bay leaves
1 bunch chives
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Slosh of Cognac

Cook the rind in a well-seasoned bouillon for 2 hours. when cool (cold) run through grinder with fat and meat. (3/8" plate)
Mix in the remaining ingredients–leaving the herbs fairly chunky–and then regrind everything.
Stuff into hog casings and form 4-5 inch links.

HTH

~Martin

 

[xfitjay]

Looks great. Thanks.

Two more questions:

1. When it says "well seasoned stock" any particular kind of stock? What do you like to season it with? Do you make your own?

2. What do you do for a grinder? I don't have one yet but will definitely be getting one.

Jay

 

[diggingdogfarm]

1. When it says "well seasoned stock" any particular kind of stock? What do you like to season it with? Do you make your own?

Pork, veal, chicken, vegetable, all will work...yeah, I'm a stock making fool!

2. What do you do for a grinder? I don't have one yet but will definitely be getting one.

I use a hand grinder for small batches, and one of the LEM top-of-the line grinders when doing big batches.
http://www.lemproducts.com/category/electric-meat-grinders

~Martin