My Bacon not like 'Commercial' Bacon

[Cody_Mack]

^^^^^Yep. I go 32 hours of cold smoke. 4 nights in a row, 12 hours per night with a rest in the fridge during the day. Then wrap in paper and rest for a week in fridge before slicing.

Cold smoke...got it. It's getting that time of year here in SE Texas.

Rick

 

[Cody_Mack]

Before it went in the oven this morning...

 

[DougE]

No, so far it has been one-shot at as low temp as I can do presently. And that is in my pellet grill where I can go as low as 150-160, probably for about 6 hours. I had a MES-30 for a while but passed it on to get something larger later on. I will definitely go with your suggestions.

Rick

I finish my bacon on a pellet grill as well, but I start out by just burning a 50\50 mix of cherry/pecan, or cherry/hickory dust in a tube with the grill off. Then I fire the grill up with a blend of the same blend of pellets at 160° and pull at 145°. The house definitely smells of bacon when the results are fried up. Your curing method is sound, but I think the area you need to play around with is the smoking part.

 

[SmokinEdge]

What I have made is with the basic guidelines I have found here. I have made both belly bacon and BBB. I have done wet cure and dry cure. The last time I used some real maple syrup and it added a little something extra, but it also wanted to burn when frying. It did a little better in the oven.

I am terrible about not documenting with photos, but there are a couple attached. One is belly that I got from HEB. The other is BBB ready to go in the oven, cured with the maple syrup. Good flavor, but as the thread title states, it just don’t smell or taste like store-bought bacon.

With the dry cure I used .25% Cure #1, 1.5% sea salt, .75% brown sugar and probably ½ C maple syrup. With the wet cures I use the DiggingDogFarm calculator based on meat weight plus water weight.

Rick

couple things I would suggest,,,,,

Dont rush the process. Try to make the curing process last at least 10 days but 14 is good also. Smoke is absolutely key to “bacon” flavor so work with that as well. Hot smoke or warm smoke works fine, I warm smoke about 10 hours and we are happy with it. Then the bacon should rest at least a few days before slicing, this really lets the smoke flavor penetrate the meat. So all in all, I use the same percentage of cure, salt and sugar but I also finish my bacon at somewhere between 14 and 20 days, this is a game changer flavor wise, and no my bacon doesn’t taste store bought, it’s much better, it sux when I have to buy store bacon.

 

[fxsales1959]

How come our homemade bacon does not taste like, or smell like ‘commercial’ bacon. I’ve made bacon a few times, following the recipes and tips I find here. It is ok, I mean it is a nice pork product that I hand-made, and it’s good, but it doesn’t have that bacon smell or taste that is characteristic of ‘bacon’.

Rick

I must be different (so I've bee

n told). I love our "home-made" bacon. We haven't bought store bacon for a couple years. The only need is for ABT's since my smoked bacon isn't thin enough to "wrap".

 

[Cody_Mack]

couple things I would suggest,,,,,

Dont rush the process. Try to make the curing process last at least 10 days but 14 is good also. Smoke is absolutely key to “bacon” flavor so work with that as well. Hot smoke or warm smoke works fine, I warm smoke about 10 hours and we are happy with it. Then the bacon should rest at least a few days before slicing, this really lets the smoke flavor penetrate the meat. So all in all, I use the same percentage of cure, salt and sugar but I also finish my bacon at somewhere between 14 and 20 days, this is a game changer flavor wise, and no my bacon doesn’t taste store bought, it’s much better, it sux when I have to buy store bacon.

Very good. And what my Mom and I enjoyed this morning (in the pic) was actually very good! I think I am getting too hung up on, it's not like bacon I am used too, but it is actually so much better!

I am going to apply the enhanced smoking techniques suggested in this thread to make it even better.

Rick

 

[DougE]

I think I am getting too hung up on, it's not like bacon I am used too, but it is actually so much better!

And there you have it! My bacon and sausages beat anything similar I can buy in the store. We have been conditioned to accept that commercially made products are superior to anything we can make at home, but the opposite is true.

 

[SmokinEdge]

Very good. And what my Mom and I enjoyed this morning (in the pic) was actually very good! I think I am getting too hung up on, it's not like bacon I am used too, but it is actually so much better!

I am going to apply the enhanced smoking techniques suggested in this thread to make it even better.

Rick

Stick with the process, nobody is master in a day. Be patient, let the process happen and you will be rewarded. I’ve tried every which way to speed the process and it works fine, but doesn’t taste nearly as good as when I stick with the long haul of the process, 2-3 weeks total is a sweet spot for bacon, 4 weeks is to long with the low salt we run.

 

[Cody_Mack]

And then y'all tell me how to get my wife to try it. She will not touch any of the "cured" meats I have made. I probably made the mistake of telling her that it could be 'hazardous' if you don't know what you are doing. I keep stressing that I am taking baby-steps, reading and learning, and making sure I do things the right way. Nope, she is not on board!

Rick

 

[Brokenhandle]

More bacon for you! Lol. Don't rush her, she may eventually come around. Take your time and take good notes so when you get it to something you love you know how you did it.

Ryan

 

[SmokinEdge]

Keep making it and eating it and sharing it. When she sees you and others didn’t die or turn green, she will come around and eat your meat. Trust me other people will rave about it as well. It’s all really very good. My main pork producer won’t let anyone cure his meat but me. He just calls with hundred pounds at a time and says “do what you do”.

 

[Fueling Around]

And then y'all tell me how to get my wife to try it. She will not touch any of the "cured" meats I have made.
...Nope, she is not on board!

Rick

@#$% hit the wrong key again.
Wife's are funny creatures.

 

[DougE]

And then y'all tell me how to get my wife to try it. She will not touch any of the "cured" meats I have made.

My wife trusts me in that I have researched curing to death and trusts the end product.

 

[DougE]

@#$% hit the wrong key again.
Wife's are funny creatures.

Yes, they are, but it dang sure beats the alternative .........

 

[Dave in AZ]

Cody_Mack Rick, let me start by saying I think your bacon looks very good, and I'd eat a BLT of that anyday! Since your 1st post talked about not matching commercial stuff, I'll address that though. You got a ton of great replies above on smoke, I'll hit salt.

I know it's not real popular here to say you may need more salt... everyone seems to pride themselves on using less salt, for health reasons or personal taste. I make low salt 1.5% bacon for my wife even...

HOWEVER... Here is a list of the salt percentage actually in the bacon for some of the best selling most popular bacons in the US. Directly from the nutrition labels, converting mg sodium per serving size to % salt.
(Molar mass Na 22.98977, Mm chlorine 35.453, Mm NaCl 58.443. So multiply mg sodium on label x 2.54 to get mg salt, divide that by mg one serving to get salt %)

Costco Kirkland Black signature 4.54%
Sams Club hormel black label 4.33%
Members Mark Natrl hickory smoke 5.4%
Oscar Meyer Center Cut 4.7%
Oscar Meyer thick cut 4.7%
Farmland Classic Cut 4.3%
Armour Premium Hick. Smoked 4.5%

So, if you are making bacon with 1.5% salt like a lot of folks here post, and you are not satisfied that it tastes like commercial bacon... just try matching the commercial bacon closer. I make 3.2% salt bacon. To each their own, that's a huge reason we all make our own bacon. But knowledge is power, don't get mistaken impression 1.5% salt is "normal" for most commercial bacon--as you see above it is quite low for bacon. Try bumping up to 3% to 5% salt and see if that doesn't come closer for you, if you like any of those bacons I listed above.

My favorite is fat cap of pork shoulder to make buckboard bacon, 3% salt, 2% brown sugar, 1.9g cure1/kg meat for 120ppm nitrite, black pepper lightly for smoke.
I smoke at 140 rising up to 175f ambient, to an internal temp of 145f, cherry and hickory, about 8 to 9 hrs. Never bought bacon I like as much as mine.
Hope that helps ;)

 

[fxsales1959]

Cody_Mack Rick, let me start by saying I think your bacon looks very good, and I'd eat a BLT of that anyday! Since your 1st post talked about not matching commercial stuff, I'll address that though. You got a ton of great replies above on smoke, I'll hit salt.

I know it's not real popular here to say you may need more salt... everyone seems to pride themselves on using less salt, for health reasons or personal taste. I make low salt 1.5% bacon for my wife even...

HOWEVER... Here is a list of the salt percentage actually in the bacon for some of the best selling most popular bacons in the US. Directly from the nutrition labels, converting mg sodium per serving size to % salt.
(Molar mass Na 22.98977, Mm chlorine 35.453, Mm NaCl 58.443. So multiply mg sodium on label x 2.54 to get mg salt, divide that by mg one serving to get salt %)

Costco Kirkland Black signature 4.54%
Sams Club hormel black label 4.33%
Members Mark Natrl hickory smoke 5.4%
Oscar Meyer Center Cut 4.7%
Oscar Meyer thick cut 4.7%
Farmland Classic Cut 4.3%
Armour Premium Hick. Smoked 4.5%

So, if you are making bacon with 1.5% salt like a lot of folks here post, and you are not satisfied that it tastes like commercial bacon... just try matching the commercial bacon closer. I make 3.2% salt bacon. To each their own, that's a huge reason we all make our own bacon. But knowledge is power, don't get mistaken impression 1.5% salt is "normal" for most commercial bacon--as you see above it is quite low for bacon. Try bumping up to 3% to 5% salt and see if that doesn't come closer for you, if you like any of those bacons I listed above.

My favorite is fat cap of pork shoulder to make buckboard bacon, 3% salt, 2% brown sugar, 1.9g cure1/kg meat for 120ppm nitrite, black pepper lightly for smoke.
I smoke at 140 rising up to 175f ambient, to an internal temp of 145f, cherry and hickory, about 8 to 9 hrs. Never bought bacon I like as much as mine.
Hope that helps ;)View attachment 648068View attachment 648069

ok, quick question. how is salt% measured?
I'm not dead yet, but I sift/sprinkle #1 pink ice the top and run a stippler over it to punch it in. then a good layer of coarse ground blAck. we like mine but it might be less salty than commercial. it great for blt's and breakfast biscuits. just curious. TIA

 

[DougE]

ok, quick question. how is salt% measured?

1.5% salt would be 15 grams of salt per kg of meat.

 

[indaswamp]

For a dry cure, Weight the meat in grams. Multiply that weight by the percent you want in the meat.

if the slab weighs 1000grams. And you want 2% salt, add 20 grams of salt to the meat....that's it. let it uptake/equalize..

 

[Dave in AZ]

ok, quick question. how is salt% measured?
I'm not dead yet, but I sift/sprinkle #1 pink ice the top and run a stippler over it to punch it in. then a good layer of coarse ground blAck. we like mine but it might be less salty than commercial. it great for blt's and breakfast biscuits. just curious. TIA

Like DougE and indaswamp said. Very easy to do for dry rub. This is 1 of 2 reasons why I like equilibrium cure best, the fact you can precisely target, hit, and replicate exact salt levels. The 2nd reason is why I pretty much HAVE to use it vs. Gradient brines: you can let it go 5 or 10 days long and it will never get saltier than your planned total. I go on trips away from home sometimes 5 days, so I can't oversalt and pull the meat at the exact right time for correct saltiness. (that method is faster due to higher salt concentrations, but timing is key and my work can't support it).

If you're intested in equilibrium brining, go read genuineideas.com and diggingdogfarm.com for nice calculators and info.
----extra info on other exact salt method---
You can also pump inject an exact weight of cure/brine into meat, usually 10% meat weight is used as meat will hold that. Then you calculate the correct amount of salt and sugar and cure#1 to be in that water...it is a much more complex and unforgiving method as the brine and cure is so strong, accurate weight before and after must be adhered to. Here is an example:
1kg meat. 10% pump is 100g water. Total cure is calculated only for the meat, not meat plus water, so for bacon 1.9g. Say 2% salt, again we will use just meat as we expect the 10% water to be evaporated during smoking, 20g. And 2% sugar, 20g. Fast pumped bacon like this must also have sodium erythorbate in it to convert nitrites fast since it is made, smoked and to market in a day. Mix salt, sugar, cure, and erythorbate in boiled water, let cool. Inject it to meat, weigh meat before at 1kg and after to ensure 1.14kg (water plus the 42g salt/sugar/cure). There is a limit for salt in solution, think its 26% so we're getting close. Usually extra brine at same ratio is made, then you just pump right amount and no extra into meat. They actually make brine perfectly so 100g has correct amounts, not my examples 142g, but you can see that is even more hard calculations. Marianski's books detail it, but you can see it's not as easy though it is extremely fast and exact, so most commercial bacon is made this way. Disclaimer, I don't do fast pumped so calcs might be slightly off but you get idea, book reading required on this method. But calcs are for the nitrite really, nothing stops you from adding extra salt on outside of this method.

---gradient method, lots of salt plus timing--
Nothing wrong with this and works great and fast, IF you can be disciplined about curing meat exact same time always. You'll easily be able to then decide how to tweak salt next time. There is a minimum cure penetration time, then after that it's just getting saltier til the saltiness time you like. Usually a dry rub in a salt box or similar. 2nd fastest method. Just not time-forgiving or accurate enough for my needs.

 

[zwiller]

LOVE these type of threads...

Cody_Mack Rick, let me start by saying I think your bacon looks very good, and I'd eat a BLT of that anyday! Since your 1st post talked about not matching commercial stuff, I'll address that though. You got a ton of great replies above on smoke, I'll hit salt.

I know it's not real popular here to say you may need more salt... everyone seems to pride themselves on using less salt, for health reasons or personal taste. I make low salt 1.5% bacon for my wife even...

HOWEVER... Here is a list of the salt percentage actually in the bacon for some of the best selling most popular bacons in the US. Directly from the nutrition labels, converting mg sodium per serving size to % salt.
(Molar mass Na 22.98977, Mm chlorine 35.453, Mm NaCl 58.443. So multiply mg sodium on label x 2.54 to get mg salt, divide that by mg one serving to get salt %)

Costco Kirkland Black signature 4.54%
Sams Club hormel black label 4.33%
Members Mark Natrl hickory smoke 5.4%
Oscar Meyer Center Cut 4.7%
Oscar Meyer thick cut 4.7%
Farmland Classic Cut 4.3%
Armour Premium Hick. Smoked 4.5%

VERY interesting... Made bacon a few times but didn't really dive deep. Let's continue...

SNIP
"FSIS has determined that for bacon products with a cook shrink of at least 60 percent
and pork sausage type products with a cook shrink of at least 24 percent, the
nutrition information may be declared on the “as cooked” basis only, since the
nutrition information on the “as packaged” basis will not be useful to the
consumer because the nutrient profile changes dramatically upon cooking.
Cooking instructions must be included on the labeling of the bacon- and pork
sausage-type products. All products may be declared in a second column “as
consumed” if preparation and cooking instructions are clearly stated."

From Oscar Mayer (BTW my great grandfather was Oscar Meyers LOL)
*Nutrition information is estimated based on the ingredients and cooking instructions as described in each recipe and is intended to be used for informational purpose only. Please note the nutrition details may vary based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients used.

https://www.oscarmayer.com/product/00044700022689/center-cut-bacon

All this being said, I think your observation has merit, especially as Pop's brine was well known to be on the salty side and also I imagine the cooked "as consumed" method the MFR would be doing would be the absolute minimum IT to be consumed so that the sodium levels to appear within somewhat healthy. Some quick math. Bacon 2% salt cooked to 60% loss leaves 40% product at 5% salt. This is making me want to do some fry tests