My turn at BEEF Bacon!

[SmokinAl]

Man...I'm gonna get an ulcer from my guts growling every time I come here. Soooo many good things to try out.

Well done SmokinAl.

Al, phenomenal job on that beef bacon! Nice color and looks real tasty! And that sammie, I could almost live off those! Congrats on a well deserved ride buddy!

Great lesson Al!!
Never had "Beef" bacon, but now I just have to get my hands on some beef belly. Haven't even done pork belly yet, but your presentation puts beef at the top of the list. Congratulations on the carousel ride!

Don

There's a link on the thread on the upcoming throwdown to Porter Road, it's where one of the prizes is coming from... I saw they had beef belly!

Ryan

Thanks a lot guys!
I’ll have to check out Porter road, but I have a feeling the belly will be out of my price range!
Al

 

[SmokinAl]

Actually I just checked out Porter Road & beef belly is only about $4.50 lb. already skinned. They have pork belly too. Pretty cool place!
Al

 

[Danblacksher]

looks amazing Al!

 

[BBQBeth]

Easy. Big wallet. No regard to common sense. Needing at least 2 items that do the same thing. And. The most important qualification. A wife that rolls her eyes at your purchases. That is probably the most important qualification for the enabler card.

LOL! I wonder though... are those enablers or enabled? I might bear some resemblance.

 

[Steve H]

LOL! I wonder though... are those enablers or enabled? I might bear some resemblance.

View attachment 660459

Yes!

 

[TNJAKE]

Thanks a lot guys!
I’ll have to check out Porter road, but I have a feeling the belly will be out of my price range!
Al

Home place pastures has them for a great price

 

[SmokinAl]

Home place pastures has them for a great price

Thanks Jake!
Al

 

[SmokinAl]

looks amazing Al!

Thanks Dan!
Al

 

[GaryHibbert]

Nice job Al. It sure took on some beautiful color after smoking.
I only tried beef bacon once, years ago in a cafe, and didn't much like it. Might be it was just a bad batch, but I haven't bothered trying it again. Might have to.
Gary

 

[crazymoon]

Al, TXS did you right and you did that beef bacon to a tee! I can almost smell/taste it from here .

 

[snakehead]

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.

View attachment 660245

Out of the plastic.

View attachment 660246

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


View attachment 660247
View attachment 660248
View attachment 660249

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

View attachment 660250

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

View attachment 660251

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.

View attachment 660253
View attachment 660254

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

View attachment 660259

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

View attachment 660256

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

View attachment 660257

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

View attachment 660258

I have a bunch of bacon & lardons.

View attachment 660238

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

View attachment 660240

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.

View attachment 660241

It did shrink up quite a bit!


View attachment 660242

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!

View attachment 660243

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

Yours looks great! Robert told me I'd have to fry mine up mine slower and longer in the skillet, and he was (of course) right! Yours definitely looks better than mine did, so I guess that means I need to make some more to see if I can get it right this time.

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.

View attachment 660245

Out of the plastic.

View attachment 660246

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


View attachment 660247
View attachment 660248
View attachment 660249

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

View attachment 660250

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

View attachment 660251

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.

View attachment 660253
View attachment 660254

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

View attachment 660259

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

View attachment 660256

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

View attachment 660257

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

View attachment 660258

I have a bunch of bacon & lardons.

View attachment 660238

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

View attachment 660240

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.

View attachment 660241

It did shrink up quite a bit!


View attachment 660242

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!

View attachment 660243

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

 

[snakehead]

Yours looks amazing, much better than mine did. You only seasoned yours with black pepper? Mine is good, don't get me wrong, but I think I do still like pork bacon better, so I guess I will have to try again to see if I can improve it up to the standards of the likes of you and Robert tx smoker .

 

[Bigtank]

Can I ask where you get fresh beef belly.

 

[SmokinAl]

Nice job Al. It sure took on some beautiful color after smoking.
I only tried beef bacon once, years ago in a cafe, and didn't much like it. Might be it was just a bad batch, but I haven't bothered trying it again. Might have to.
Gary

Thanks Gary, I think it’s all in the way you cook it!
Al

Al, TXS did you right and you did that beef bacon to a tee! I can almost smell/taste it from here .

Thanks CM!
Al

Yours looks great! Robert told me I'd have to fry mine up mine slower and longer in the skillet, and he was (of course) right! Yours definitely looks better than mine did, so I guess that means I need to make some more to see if I can get it right this time.

Practice makes perfect!
Al

Yours looks amazing, much better than mine did. You only seasoned yours with black pepper? Mine is good, don't get me wrong, but I think I do still like pork bacon better, so I guess I will have to try again to see if I can improve it up to the standards of the likes of you and Robert tx smoker .

Thank you, I think if you cook this slow in the oven you may just like it better than pork bacon.
Al

Can I ask where you get fresh beef belly.

Not sure about that, I’ve only seen frozen, and that was at Porter Road.
Maybe TNJAKE or tx smoker can help you out with a better answer.
Al

 

[tx smoker]

Can I ask where you get fresh beef belly.

Maybe TNJAKE or tx smoker can help you out with a better answer

Thanks for the shout out Al. I get mine from the wholesale side of Certified Piedmontese Beef. I'd searched for years trying to find the stuff and finally my sales manager at CPB was able to procure some for me. The stuff is hard to find because the vast majority of it is allocated for other purposes by the beef producers and rarely if ever makes it to the retail market.

Robert

 

[73saint]

I've been gone way too long, this looks incredible Al. Now, I need to find beef belly!

 

[SmokinAl]

I've been gone way too long, this looks incredible Al. Now, I need to find beef belly!

Thank you & glad to have you back. I hope you find that belly, cause I’m sure your bacon would be first class!
Al

 

[SmokinAl]

Thanks for the shout out Al. I get mine from the wholesale side of Certified Piedmontese Beef. I'd searched for years trying to find the stuff and finally my sales manager at CPB was able to procure some for me. The stuff is hard to find because the vast majority of it is allocated for other purposes by the beef producers and rarely if ever makes it to the retail market.

Robert

Geez Robert, I never even looked for beef belly until you posted yours. I was very happy with my buckboard bacon, until now! I guess BBB for everyday & beef bacon for special occasions!
Al

 

[Buckeyedude]

That looks fantastic! Awesome job there Al!

 

[SmokinAl]

That looks fantastic! Awesome job there Al!

Thank you so much!
Al