Preparing to do my first bacon

[xcountryx]

Ok sounds good. Now to wait

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[hoity toit]

Either way makes good bacon. I prefer dry rubbed and cold smoked, but a wet brine is more like store bought in that it will have a lot of moisture in it. Be careful with any sugars you use as they have a low burn point when frying the bacon. Just finished a big batch 70 lbs a couple weeks ago. See my signature line. Good luck on the first load of bacon and show us some of thefinished product.

HT

 

[mr t 59874]

 
Either way makes good bacon. I prefer dry rubbed and cold smoked, but a wet brine is more like store bought in that it will have a lot of moisture in it. Be careful with any sugars you use as they have a low burn point when frying the bacon. 

HT

HT is correct. Try baking your bacon in the 250° range.

Another thing to consider. Sugars penetrate bacon at a slower rate than the cure. If not given enough time to penetrate you will not get the sugar or in many cases the maple flavor. 

T

 

[xcountryx]

Thanks for the advice!

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[xcountryx]

Guess what today is guys!

Its been 16 days and the bacon is coming out of the fridge. The plain one which consists of just tender quick and sugar appeared to be just dry with very little moister in the bag. The maple brown sugar bourbon one was completely submerged in the liquid the whole time. I will be slicing a few pieces off today to teat them. But other then that they will be going into the fridge for two days to form the peleicle. I think i spelled that right. Then they will be amoked in the next few days

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• xcountryx
• May 30, 2016

 

[xcountryx]

Well i sliced a few pieces off when the bacon was done cureing and it turned out great on both.
I took on some advice to let them cure a lil longer to let the sugar absorb since sugar absorbs at a diffrent rate. So i cured both piece a total of 16 days. Washed them with cold water and placed them back in the fridge uncovered for a few days. I will smoke them this weekend.
With the extended cure time i was able to taste the brown sugar and maple over top the deep bourbon flavor. Ive read a few threads where some were worried their bacon would be to salty. This was not the case at all in fact i taste more sugar then salt so maybe the longer cure time mellowed the salt flavor while enhanceing the sugar flavor. This was my first bacon cure and im extremely pleased with the results so far.
A huge thank you to those who helped through the process!

 

[xcountryx]

Oh i forgot i also baked the few pieces at 250 degrees until done as advised by HT and Mr. T

 

[xcountryx]

What is the shelf life of the bacon if it is vac sealed in the fridge? And what is it if its in the freazer?

 

[mr t 59874]

Taken from an USDA link.

                                                            Shelf                                             Fridge                             Freezer

Dry-cured sliced bacon	10 days without refrigeration	4 weeks in the refrigerator	3 months
Dry-cured slab bacon	3 weeks without refrigeration	4 to 6 weeks in the refrigerator	3 months
Bacon cured without nitrites	N/A	3 weeks in the refrigerator	6 months

Considering it has been properly cured of course.

T

 

[Bearcarver]

What is the shelf life of the bacon if it is vac sealed in the fridge? And what is it if its in the freazer?

What Mr T posted on USDA Freezer notes is correct.

However I can tell you I have had my Home Smoked TQ Cured Bacon and Canadian Bacon (Vacuum Packed) in my Freezer for over 3 years, and it was no different than any of the Bacon I took out during the previous 3 years. No loss of quality.

I'm not saying you should do that---Just posting my experience.

Vacuum packing is Awesome!!

Bear

 

[worktogthr]

I agree with Bear...I start a new batch when the old batch gets low, and sometimes the small amount leftover from the old batch gets lost in the tons of meat I have in my freezers.  Ate one recently that was over a year and the quality was no different!

 

[xcountryx]

Thanks for the replies on the shelf life. I always vac seal all my stuff but what i use is the zip lock vac bags that i can open and reuse as needed. So far ive only had one bag fail on me.

So i was bragging to the cpa at work avout the bacon and he was asking if i could make it without nitrites. Assuming this is how it was done way back in the day. Any thoughts? Anyone do this now?

 

[Bearcarver]

Thanks for the replies on the shelf life. I always vac seal all my stuff but what i use is the zip lock vac bags that i can open and reuse as needed. So far ive only had one bag fail on me.

So i was bragging to the cpa at work avout the bacon and he was asking if i could make it without nitrites. Assuming this is how it was done way back in the day. Any thoughts? Anyone do this now?

There's a lot of Threads on that.

In my opinion, if it's not cured with either TQ or Cure #1, it's not Bacon---It's Smoked Pork.

Bear

 

[jeffinn]

My experiences with maple sugar and maple syrup were the same as Bears, very little flavor for the money invested.

 

[SmokyMose]

I've only made bacon once (Pop's brine) and I used a few dollops of Maple extract in the brine. Everyone comments about "the hint of Maple". With the brown sugar and the regular sugar in the brine, I'm reluctant to use Maple syrup and add more sugar...
Just picked up another belly because the bacon seems to be going fast LOL!
Dan

 

[xcountryx]

I can for sure taste both the brown sugar and maple syrup but i baked it not fried it.