My Second Buckboard Bacon is Done, Packaged and in the Freeezer!

[adiochiro3]

If these BBB's get better with experience, then I am in real trouble. 

  Actually, I know this one will be better because I now know that cured meats are not subject to the "Danger Zone" rules and can therefore be smoked at low temps for hours and hours -- imparting even more smokey goodness than my first batch!

I scored a 6.3 lb. shoulder for $1.99/lb.

I removed the bone with a fillet knife by just letting the blade tip find it's own way around the bone.

Following the division started naturally by the bone removal, I split the shoulder on down the middle to achieve a cut of meat that was no more than 2 inches thick.

I rubbed every nook and cranny of the meat surface with 6.3 TBSP of Morton's Tender Quick.  All of the cure on the cutting board was swept into the Foodsaver bag before sealing.

The players in this symphony are:

Yes -- that's apple juice concentrate.  I added about a cup of the concentrate right before sealing the vacuum bag.  We'll see if it adds anything substantial to the party. 

(See -- I'm already playing around with the flavors!

)

Into the bag and fridge for a 10 day cure...

The wait on this one won't be so bad because I already have BBB to enjoy while I anticipate the next round!  Life is good when there's bacon in the bank!  I'll be smoking this one around 4th of July weekend.  See y'all then!

 

[tjohnson]

You can try things like Cayenne Pepper, AllSpice, Cinnamon, Maple Sugar or Maple Flavoring.

Some guys slop on honey or maple syrup, after it rinsed, and put CBP all over it for "Peppered Bacon"

Lot's of variations and looks like you're the guy to try them all!!

Looks like you have  GREAT start!

Todd

 

[boykjo]

looks great...............

 

[sunman76]

lookn good I cant wait to try this!

 

[Bearcarver]

Looking good James!!!

Keep it coming!!!

Bear

 

[SmokinAl]

Seems like BBB month. I have some curing in the fridge now too.

 

[realtorterry]

Man I have yet to try that & it's killing me! How did you make sure both sides were 2 inch?? I know you split it in two, but some are very thick??

 

[meateater]

Your hooked now, good stuff huh. 

 

[Bearcarver]

Man I have yet to try that & it's killing me! How did you make sure both sides were 2 inch?? I know you split it in two, but some are very thick??

Terry,

Most butts I get run from 3" to 4" thick.

You don't have to split them perfectly. Just the best you can.

If the thickest point of all pieces is 2 1/2, it would just be another day in curing.

Since James is curing for 10 days, that would be good for pieces 2 1/2 thick too.

The biggest thing is to do the salt-fry test, so if it gets too salty from too long in cure, or whatever, you catch it before smoking it, and you can fix it by soaking it.

Just my 2 Piasters.

Bear

 

[adiochiro3]

Man I have yet to try that & it's killing me! How did you make sure both sides were 2 inch?? I know you split it in two, but some are very thick??

Just kind of eyeball it as you cut;  If something is too thick, just butterfly it over or lop it off, butterfly it and cure it as a separate piece.  If you look at my pic after splitting, the thicknesses vary from about 1-2 inches.  From my understanding, you set your cure times based on the thickest part of the cut to insure proper cure penetration.  (Other more experienced BBB makers can correct me if I'm wrong about that.)  I just made sure nothing was over the 2 inch width before applying the cure.

 

[adiochiro3]

Bear beat me too it!  LOL!

 

[Bearcarver]

Bear beat me too it!  LOL!

OOOOPS---Sorry about that---I wasn't doing anything important, so I answered that one for you.

Bear

 

[adiochiro3]

OOOOPS---Sorry about that---I wasn't doing anything important, so I answered that one for you.

Bear

I should be doing something important, but I'm procrastinating -- PAPERWORK!!!

 

 

[venture]

Yeah.  When we get lucky, removing the bone and following that cut, we can get a near perfect butterfly.  If we get an oddly cut butt, we are on our own.

Good luck and good smoking.

 

[nwdave]

Dang, all these suggestions for flavoring sure confuses a guy.  Well, perhaps less confusion and more of making it difficult to decide which route to go.  Decisions, decisions.  Now someone ups and introduces Apple juice into the selections.  Well, I've got enough (16 lbs or so)  I think I'll split it up and do a couple different ones. 

I did notice that there seems to be a big difference in fat content in Adiochiro3's shoulder and the butt's I processed yesterday.  I removed almost 3.5 lbs of fat and trimmings (saved and frozen for future).  Is there that much difference in fat content between the two meat sections? 

The best part of it is all of you make it so easy to get going down this path.

~Dave

 

[adiochiro3]

Dang, all these suggestions for flavoring sure confuses a guy.  Well, perhaps less confusion and more of making it difficult to decide which route to go.  Decisions, decisions.  Now someone ups and introduces Apple juice into the selections.  Well, I've got enough (16 lbs or so)  I think I'll split it up and do a couple different ones. 

I did notice that there seems to be a big difference in fat content in Adiochiro3's shoulder and the butt's I processed yesterday.  I removed almost 3.5 lbs of fat and trimmings (saved and frozen for future).  Is there that much difference in fat content between the two meat sections? 

The best part of it is all of you make it so easy to get going down this path.

~Dave

I didn't mean to freeze you up with a curve ball, Dave!

Divide them up and try 2 or 3 different flavors and see what works for ya.  I tried 3 different twists the first time and haven't noticed much difference between them.  That is why I put the juice concentrate in with the cure this time -- I was curious whether the apple juice flavor would show up in the final project.

BTW -- I trimmed a fair amount of fat cap off of my butt before the pic.  (The pork butt, I mean!)  )My own could use some trimming too!)

Glad to have encouraged you to make the leap!  Bearcarver has been a great help to me through this deal, so I'm sure he'll be around to field any questions you have and keep you on track.

 

[nwdave]

I hear ya.  I'm still trying to find some maple sugar, locally.  If I don't today, I'll be doing some variety (including apple, of course) and got some loin that going to get into the mix for Canadian Bacon.  I'm going to do one further twist in the brown sugar department and try some Splenda Brown sugar.  There is a need for that taste test experiment because of family considerations.  Hey, in for a penny, in for a pound kinda guy.
 

I didn't mean to freeze you up with a curve ball, Dave!

Divide them up and try 2 or 3 different flavors and see what works for ya.  I tried 3 different twists the first time and haven't noticed much difference between them.  That is why I put the juice concentrate in with the cure this time -- I was curious whether the apple juice flavor would show up in the final project.

 

[tjohnson]

I hear ya.  I'm still trying to find some maple sugar, locally.  If I don't today, I'll be doing some variety (including apple, of course) and got some loin that going to get into the mix for Canadian Bacon.  I'm going to do one further twist in the brown sugar department and try some Splenda Brown sugar.  There is a need for that taste test experiment because of family considerations.  Hey, in for a penny, in for a pound kinda guy.
 

Dave,

Got You Covered My Friend!

TJ

 

[nwdave]

I hear you Todd.   Finally found some Maple Sugar (from Vermont)

until I saw the price...

  11.95 for 6.3 oz.  Well, I bought it anyway.  I want to see if it's as a good as some say. 

 

[venture]

Isn't that just the way?  We see something we want to try until we see the price.  And then......

Good luck and good smoking.