More Bacon

[Gonna Smoke]

As I have said, making bacon has become somewhat of an addiction, thanks to the helpful folks here Eric SmokinEdge , Doug DougE , John Fueling Around , as well as the other enablers and encouragers here. All of my bacon so far has been 1.75% total salt, cure + salt, and it's fantastic. I really like the white pepper and garlic seasoning, too. It's amazing how quickly it disappears... Decided this time to reduce it to 1.5% and also do the bagged vs dry trial, mostly because of refrigerator space being limited for 3 bellies...

1987g belly
24.8g salt
5g cure
14.9g sugar

1879g belly
23.5g salt
4.7g cure
14.1g sugar

1580g belly
19.8g salt
4g cure
12g sugar

These 2 got white pepper and garlic and the bagged one is plain. I'll be back in 2-3 weeks...

 

[JLeonard]

Ugh! Y'all getting the itch going to make some more bacon. You look like your off to a great start.

Jim

 

[gmc2003]

I'll be here waiting.

Chris

 

[Flatrate]

Thats going to be some good bacon!

Dave

 

[Brokenhandle]

I bet you're still wondering why you waited so long!

Ryan

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Tomorrow is smokin day, more to come...

 

[DieselTech]

Looks great. Bet it is awesome. Nice work.

Lmao I'm hoping at some point all these professionals will help me make some bacon.

If you don't mind, what is the reasoning or rhyme behind wet brined cured bacon & dry cured bacon?

Thanks.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Looks great. Bet it is awesome. Nice work.

Lmao I'm hoping at some point all these professionals will help me make some bacon.

If you don't mind, what is the reasoning or rhyme behind wet brined cured bacon & dry cured bacon?

Thanks.

Anytime you're ready, there is help here for you. Difference between wet brine and dry brined... personal preference.

Ryan

 

[DieselTech]

Anytime you're ready, there is help here for you. Difference between wet brine and dry brined... personal preference.

Ryan

OK thanks. Is one style of bacon easier than another when it comes to making?

I'm a newbie, so to me it seems like dry cured bacon would be easier to do. But I maybe totally wrong on this.

Thanks.

 

[nlife]

OK thanks. Is one style of bacon easier than another when it comes to making?

I'm a newbie, so to me it seems like dry cured bacon would be easier to do. But I maybe totally wrong on this.

Thanks.

The dry cure bacon definitely takes up less space in the fridge. Mix up the salt, cure and sugar. Rub onto pork belly. Place into ziplock or vacuum pack it. Put in fridge for 7-14 days. Flip every other day. After that, it's smoke, rest, slice, pack and or eat.

Do make sure your refrigerator is the right temp.

 

[DieselTech]

The dry cure bacon definitely takes up less space in the fridge. Mix up the salt, cure and sugar. Rub onto pork belly. Place into ziplock or vacuum pack it. Put in fridge for 7-14 days. Flip every other day. After that, it's smoke, rest, slice, pack and or eat.

Do make sure your refrigerator is the right temp.

Thanks I appreciate your time & trouble.

I've been reading a bit on the process of bacon making. I also heard something about keeping your fridge at 38°F I believe. Lol I think that is what I remember.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

OK thanks. Is one style of bacon easier than another when it comes to making?

I'm a newbie, so to me it seems like dry cured bacon would be easier to do. But I maybe totally wrong on this.

Thanks.

True dry cure is not bagged and not flipped every day or so. I have 3 bellies ready to smoke today. Two are true dry cured and one is dry cured and bagged. The bagged one was flipped and massaged every day or at least every other day. So the easiest curing method is the true dry cured, in my opinion. It's definitely a set it and forget technique.
SmokinEdge turned me onto this...

True Dry Cured Bacon.

This is our favorite bacon. Here is a 6.5# slab of belly that I dry rubbed with my usual 1.5% salt, .75% sugar and .25% cure #1. I finish with eyeball amounts of white pepper and gran garlic. This will go on a stainless grate into the fridge with a catch pan underneath. 14 days naked no bag...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[Gonna Smoke]

And so it begins, "tomorrow" is today...

 

[SmokinEdge]

In for the finish.

 

[mr_whipple]

Watching! Mines not due for the smoker til next weekend.

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Watching! Mines not due for the smoker til next weekend.

Mine reached 14 days curing yesterday, May 1...

 

[Gonna Smoke]

147℉ or so IT, time to pull...

Out of the smoke and on the counter to cool...

Will bag and in the fridge overnight, slicing tomorrow or Saturday. Notice the size difference between the belly on the right which was cured in a bag and the other 2 which were not bagged...

 

[SmokinEdge]

You slicked that bagged piece up with a glaze?

 

[Gonna Smoke]

You slicked that bagged piece up with a glaze?

No, no spices or seasoning other than the .25, 1.25, and .75. Not sure why it looks like that...

 

[SmokinEdge]

No, no spices or seasoning other than the .25, 1.25, and .75. Not sure why it looks like that...

Then that is a perfect example of more moisture, specifically in the fat vs the dry which has less.

I like the way the dry fries in a pan also. It browns faster because it has less moisture.