My Buckboard Attempt

[mr_whipple]

I've been waiting for butts to go on sale to try this... finally $.99/lb so here we go. First thing, I probably picked the worst of the 4 I bought. A larger piece of the bone than I care for... luck of the draw on the cut I suppose. Anyhow I boned it and cut in in half on the horizontal. Not sure if that was the best idea as far as the final product for slicing, but the bone left a large gap so it seemed to be the easiest way to go. As it turns out both pieces weighed almost identical at 3 lbs 4 oz.

For the brine:
3/4 C distilled water
1/4 C Pure Maple Syrup
4.5 tsp Mortons Kosher Salt
4.5 tsp Coarse Black Pepper
3 TB Dark Brown Sugar
3.5 grams Prague #1

Wrapped up in ziploc bags with as much air squeezed out as possible without making a mess, and into the fridge they went. Probably let it go for 10 days or so depending on my work sked.... the pieces weren't that thick at best 2 inches at the thickest part.

 

[Hamdrew]

so are you hot smoking it? I have done that quite a few times and its always good

 

[SmokinEdge]

I've been waiting for butts to go on sale to try this... finally $.99/lb so here we go. First thing, I probably picked the worst of the 4 I bought. A larger piece of the bone than I care for... luck of the draw on the cut I suppose. Anyhow I boned it and cut in in half on the horizontal. Not sure if that was the best idea as far as the final product for slicing, but the bone left a large gap so it seemed to be the easiest way to go. As it turns out both pieces weighed almost identical at 3 lbs 4 oz.

For the brine:
3/4 C distilled water
1/4 C Pure Maple Syrup
4.5 tsp Mortons Kosher Salt
4.5 tsp Coarse Black Pepper
3 TB Dark Brown Sugar
3.5 grams Prague #1

Wrapped up in ziploc bags with as much air squeezed out as possible without making a mess, and into the fridge they went. Probably let it go for 10 days or so depending on my work sked.... the pieces weren't that thick at best 2 inches at the thickest part.

View attachment 509188

Looks ok to me. Next time use the water submerged method to get air out of the bag. Submerge the filled bag in enough water to just leave the zipper out. Then seal it. No air in the bag.

How long are you going with the cure?

 

[DRKsmoking]

watching , I'm in for the final

David

 

[olaf]

Is this the same recipe you use for belly bacon? Were all waiting for the results, love buckboard bacon.

 

[mr_whipple]

so are you hot smoking it? I have done that quite a few times and its always good

Hot smoking on the pellet pooper is the plan.

Looks ok to me. Next time use the water submerged method to get air out of the bag. Submerge the filled bag in enough water to just leave the zipper out. Then seal it. No air in the bag.

How long are you going with the cure?

I'll try the submersion thing next time I do a cure. I'm going with 10 days. hopefully the timing is right with the weather.

Is this the same recipe you use for belly bacon? Were all waiting for the results, love buckboard bacon.

Funny you should ask. I went and looked at my normal bacon recipe and I shorted my self on the maple syrup. I usually use a half cup, but other than that its the same.

 

[SmokinAl]

We like the taste of BB, better than belly bacon, and it sure is a heck of a lot cheaper. I use the same cure for both, but I cold smoke them instead of hot smoke. We like the texture better when cold smoked.
Al

 

[mr_whipple]

I haven't tried cold smoking anything since my initial failure at smoking cheese. I'd be interested in the process. The next item on my to do list are these cured ribs or what seem to be called bacon on a stick.

 

[mr_whipple]

Ok.. the smoking went down yesterday after work. 10 days in the cure. Far too lazy to post pics then, Out of the bags and a quick rinse followed by a quick pat down to dry and an hour or two in the fridge. Grabbed the pepper grinder and put a light fresh coat across both pieces. This is about an hour and 45 in just to check temps. My phone camera turns everything on the pellet pooper orange, dang if I know why.

Done. All over probing with the thermapen said 145ish so let it rest a bit.

Sliced in to see what was going on in there and oh boy does that look good. I may or may not have sliced off a taste or two. The fresh ground pepper was very prominent. Tossed both pieces in the fridge and hit the rack for the night.

Broke out the slicer after work today and did a quick check on the thickness of the slicer. A little too thick, but I'm positive it's gonna be ok...

And a few off of the vac sealer.

I'm very happy about the whole project and will be doing this again and again. It certainly doesn't have the same texture as belly bacon, but that in no way could be considered a problem. It tastes great, is far cheaper than belly and I think a slightly better yield per pound than what I started with. I forgot to weigh the finished product before slicing, and I'll have to go back and look at exactly how much I ended up with. I always save the trim and slicing failures from squaring up my belly bacon and usually end up with a good bit... maybe a pound and a half or more that I break down and save in 4 oz bags for seasoning beans and such. I ended up with just short of 8 oz this cook.. My initial concern was slicing the butt on the horizontal... I though the two pieces would be thin but it seems my eyes tricked me. It all worked out.

Pardon any spelling, grammar or otherwise, I'm beat. Thanks for looking.

 

[SmokinEdge]

That looks like a fantastic run on BB. Nice job.

 

[chopsaw]

Yup . That came out great . Nice work .

 

[Bearcarver]

Looks Great, Mr W.
I agree with Al, I think BBB has even better flavor than Belly Bacon!!
Nice Job!
Like.

Bear

 

[mr_whipple]

Thanks all! Now on to the next adventure. Been thinking about making more candied jalapenos, but this pepper jelly thread by DRKsmoking has me intrigued.

And the pickling begins "Jalapeno Jelly" and "Sweet Onion Jalapeno Relish"

So as we all know it is that time of year , to put up what we gather from our gardens, markets and grocery store. Tonight I started with my jalapeno's and made my "Jalapeno Jelly" and "Sweet Onion Jalapeno Relish" First the Jalapeno Jelly, Has nice bite and sweet , great for lots of things...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

I've never done jelly or jam before so maybe I'll try it this week.

 

[DRKsmoking]

And there it is the final I was waiting for.
Very nice , I have not done Buck Board yet , but on the list.
Hope mine turns out as good as yours looks

David

PS: try the jalapeno jelly and the relish. I try to make it every year . I really like it. Give it a whirl

 

[mr_whipple]

Odds are high the jelly is happening. Relish maybe next year as I already have 17 pints of pickled peppers in the pantry.

 

[pushok2018]

That BB looks awesome! Looks very tasty. Nice job!