My turn at BEEF Bacon!

[SmokinAl]

Well thanks to our old friend Robert tx smoker I have a nice piece of beef belly, CPB of course. I cut the piece in half & used http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html bacon calculator for the cure.
This is how it came.

Out of the plastic.

Cut it in half, and into the bags with the cure for a couple of weeks.

Out of the cure (18 days, stuff got in the way).

Coated in pepper & ready for a 4 day rest in the fridge.

The weather has not been cooperating , it’s been hot & I want to cold smoke this. So the first day I put it on early & let it go 6 hours, then back into the fridge.

Next day I went 10 more hours, it was a bit cooler!

Then another 4 days in the fridge, and finally it’s slicing day!

I got rid of my big slicer, so I had to cut these down in size a bit.

I really like to try to slice my bacon cross grain, and it was a challenge with this belly.

I have a bunch of bacon & lardons.

All bagged up & ready for the freezer, except for the paper plate, that’s lunch!!

We figured out thru trial & error, that beef bacon needs to be cooked slowly in the oven. We fried a test piece & it was like fatty jerky. So we cooked it in the oven at 350 for 30-40 minutes. It came out crispy & tender. The big difference is this stuff is a flavor bomb.

It did shrink up quite a bit!

Fresh made bread, tomato from the garden, lettuce from the garden, & homemade beef bacon. Dang I guess I’ll have to start making my own mayo!

With all the hype going on with the beef bacon, I was really expecting something special, and this did not disappoint. The flavor is off the charts. It’s very beefy with wonderful tasting fat. Cooked in the oven it is crispy just like pork bacon, but with twice the flavor. I don’t think Judy & I will share this with our neighbors, they can eat the pork bacon!!
Thanks for stopping by folks. And thanks to Robert for giving me the opportunity to make my own beef bacon!!
Al

 

[TNJAKE]

Looks delicious Al. I love the stuff. Sadly just lost all mine to a 4 day power outage. I agree the oven is the best way to cook it. Nice work bud

 

[JLeonard]

Man that is one pretty BLT!!!! And you got enough bacon to keep you entertained for quite a while!

Jim

 

[Steve H]

Looks great Al! I have some curing as well.

 

[tx smoker]

Absolutely spectacular Al!! A superb job. Kind of amazing how much color the bellies took on while curing. They turned a very deep ruby red and looked great at that point. After smoking though...WOW!! You sir did that slab of meat true justice. Some darned fine looking stuff right there and a thread worthy of the carousel with so many folks getting into beef bacon. Your thread would be the perfect tutorial. Very well done across the board!!

Robert

 

[civilsmoker]

Wow Al that stuff looks amazing! Very nice work all around and it looks like to will be rewarding you many times over from the freezer. I would love to try that but it would be problematic finding the room in our fridge to rest it....LOL

 

[negolien]

Very nice thanks

 

[gmc2003]

Great job Al, that bacon looks fabulous. It also appears the bacon just shrunk to sammie size.

Point for sure
Chris

 

[SmokinAl]

Looks delicious Al. I love the stuff. Sadly just lost all mine to a 4 day power outage. I agree the oven is the best way to cook it. Nice work bud

Thanks Jake, so sorry to hear about the power outage. We’re kind of used to that here in FL, but I know what it’s like to loose your food. Especially something like that!
Al

Man that is one pretty BLT!!!! And you got enough bacon to keep you entertained for quite a while!

Jim

Thanks Jim, you got that right. I’m not sharing this with anyone but Judy!
Al

Looks great Al! I have some curing as well.

Thanks Steve, looking forward to seeing your bacon!
Al

Absolutely spectacular Al!! A superb job. Kind of amazing how much color the bellies took on while curing. They turned a very deep ruby red and looked great at that point. After smoking though...WOW!! You sir did that slab of meat true justice. Some darned fine looking stuff right there and a thread worthy of the carousel with so many folks getting into beef bacon. Your thread would be the perfect tutorial. Very well done across the board!!

Robert

Thanks Robert!
It was a real gift to be able to make something that is not so readily available. To have it come out so well is a real plus.
Al

Wow Al that stuff looks amazing! Very nice work all around and it looks like to will be rewarding you many times over from the freezer. I would love to try that but it would be problematic finding the room in our fridge to rest it....LOL

Thanks, and the rest with smoke on it turned everything in the fridge into smoked. I just had a slice of a baguette that Judy just made & the butter tasted smoked. Not complaining, just saying!
Al

Very nice thanks

Great job Al, that bacon looks fabulous. It also appears the bacon just shrunk to sammie size.

Point for sure
Chris

Thanks fellas!
Your right Chris it was perfect Sammie size!
Al

 

[SmokinEdge]

What a fantastic job Al. Likes all around. Very nice.

 

[seenred]

Wow, Al...that looks terrific!! I'd say you killed it - nicely done my friend!

Red

 

[xray]

Great looking bacon Al! I started a beef belly on Monday, I got something good to look forward to after seeing yours.

 

[normanaj]

Looks incredible Al!

 

[Brokenhandle]

That looks fantastic Al! Awesome job on it! Also glad Judy is sharing with you!

Wow Al that stuff looks amazing! Very nice work all around and it looks like to will be rewarding you many times over from the freezer. I would love to try that but it would be problematic finding the room in our fridge to rest it....LOL

The members of the Enablers Club feel you need another fridge... then you would have room to cure beef bellies! It was Steve H Idea that I should pass this info along!

Ryan

 

[uncle eddie]

Wow...look awesome.

How do I join the Enablers Club?

 

[tx smoker]

The members of the Enablers Club feel you need another fridge... then you would have room to cure beef bellies! It was Steve H Idea that I should pass this info along!

How do I join the Enablers Club?

Very simple. Just reply to threads telling people the virtues of a certain piece of equipment that they don't have and they MUST get. Once somebody acquires a piece of equipment, or even meat for a special meal that was recommended by you, you're officially a member. You'll get the secret password and special decoder ring that comes along with membership. I still have not become a member though because nobody listens to me

Robert

 

[Brokenhandle]

Wow...look awesome.

How do I join the Enablers Club?

Robert types faster than me lol!

Ryan

 

[civilsmoker]

That looks fantastic Al! Awesome job on it! Also glad Judy is sharing with you!


The members of the Enablers Club feel you need another fridge... then you would have room to cure beef bellies! It was Steve H Idea that I should pass this info along!

Ryan

Oh man, maybe I can sell the "third" fridge as the shop fridge.....Yea yea.....LOL.....

 

[motocrash]

You couldn't ask for a better outcome Al. Beautiful Beef Belly Bacon!
You didn't mention what wood/pellets you used, curious minds want to know....

 

[Brokenhandle]

Oh man, maybe I can sell the "third" fridge as the shop fridge.....Yea yea.....LOL.....

Absolutely! You need one! Don't want a redneck youngster from Iowa to have more fridges than you!
1 in the kitchen, 1 in garage, one in the shop! We can save the 4 freezer discussion for another day... and that's not even counting the refrigerator freezers.

Ryan