Bacon turned out "hammy"


 
Rich G

Rich G

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Hey, bacon gurus, looking for some direction on my last batch of bacon.

8.5lb of belly, cut into two pieces. Brined for 3 days, dried for one, smoked at 185 until internal was 150. This batch turned out tasting quite "hammy". Is this a function of brine strength/time? Brine recipe (from the Saucisson MAC blog) is below.....any suggestions?

5 L water
440g Salt
50g Curing Salt*
450g Sugar

Thanks, all!

R
 
Try a dry cure next time and allow sufficient time for the salt to equalize in the meat.
The quality of the bellies makes a difference, higher quality bellies are on the fatty side.
The leaner the belly, the more likely it is to taste hammy.
Smoking temperature can make a difference, cold smoking produces the best bacon.
Slicing can make a difference, in general, the thinner it's sliced the more bacony it will taste.

~Martin
 
The bellies that have turned out "hammy" to me have all been way too lean. When I fry the lean bacon in some leftover fat, they taste fine.

I guess you'll have to eat all of this lean bacon and try again.
 
Interesting......this belly was leaner. I've done dry cures and brines, and have enjoyed a more consistent product that I like with the brined batches. May do a side by side on the next round.

Gregg, I will sacrifice, and eat all of this lean bacon (well, as much as my kids let me have....they love it, too!)

Thanks, for the input!

Rich
 
That recipe is for a slab from 10-12 lbs. I would either go with a bigger slab or cut the amounts by 1/3.

NUTZ
 
I have used that recipe lots of times with great success. From my experience, it is probably that your belly was on the lean side.
Not much point in reducing the recipe as it is a brine not a dry rub.
 
Rich,

That seems like a short time to brine unless the pieces of belly were small. I usually do at least twice that long.

Also, if you slice it thick it seems to be more hammy than a thinner slicer. I think that's especially true if it's lean and not fried hard.
 
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