The Bacon Project


 
S

Stone

TVWBB Super Fan
I decided to make some bacon.

I bought Buckboard Bacon Cure from Western Legends (as recommended):
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/dstone001/IMG_0492_2.jpg

And a 4.5 lb butt from Whole Foods. Expensive, at $4 a pound, but they boned, rolled and tied it for me:

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/dstone001/IMG_0484.jpg

Rubbed it with the cure, put it in a ziplock and popped it in the fridge for 10 days:

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/dstone001/IMG_0485_2.jpg

Smoked it at about 220* for about 3 hours, with mesquite, to an internal temp of 140*:

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/dstone001/Photo_091006_002.jpg

In the fridge over night, then sliced it thin:

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/dstone001/Photo_091006_005.jpg

Fried it up nice:

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/dstone001/Photo_091006_006.jpg

Added some scrambled eggs:

http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n295/dstone001/Photo_091006_008.jpg

A fine breakfast. To my surprise, it tasted just like bacon! Good balance of salt and smoke. Not too strong, not sweet. Because it was butt instead of belly, the texture of the meat was different -- a little like country ham. And there was a range of fatty to meaty in the bacon. Something for everyone.
I wish I had a scale to weigh the final product, I'd like to know how much weight it lost.

(Moderator: Changed inline photos to links.)
 
Got me interested.

Shipping is more than the product cost
icon_eek.gif


1 -$3.50 +6.50 shipping = $10 per box
6 -$3.50 + 7.88 shipping = $4.81 per box

Do I jump right in?????


Note - you should be able to delete the duplicate post. Hit the eraser at the bottom and select delete.
 
While placing a bigger order make sense financially, what are you going to do with 150 lbs of buckboard bacon (each box cured 25 lbs)?
icon_wink.gif


I made 25lb of the stuff last year and still have some in the freezer (and I gave more than half away).

It does make the best BLT you have ever tasted.
Jamie

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Russell Y:
Got me interested.

Shipping is more than the product cost
icon_eek.gif


1 -$3.50 +6.50 shipping = $10 per box
6 -$3.50 + 7.88 shipping = $4.81 per box

Do I jump right in?????


Note - you should be able to delete the duplicate post. Hit the eraser at the bottom and select delete. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
 
I bought three boxes to spread the delivery cost. Heck,* once I factor in buying wood chunks, my ribs or pork ain't so cheap anymore.


*Did I just write "heck"?
 
It really is worth doing and quite easy. I found boneless butt 2 packs in cryo from CostCo and 2 packs weighed in at 24 lbs, which was perfect as each box of cure makes 25 lbs.
If you don't already have one, this would be a great reason to get a vac sealer, as doing 4 butts isn't much more work than doing 1. Though your hand will certainly hurt after slicing 25 lbs of butt
icon_wink.gif

You won't believe how good a BLT can be!
Jamie
 
I don't have a costco and I haven't seen boneless at sams. I bet that would make a good BLT. I don't like bacon but I bet I would like buckboard style. I need to look around and see what I can get boneless butts for. I have a butcher shop close to sams I will have to check them out. I know when I bought a brisket from them it was about $2 more a pound.
 
Jeff--

Butts are very easy to bone. Using a stiff or flexible filet knife, or even a short chef's, simply cut the meat next to the bone--all the way around it--and keep circling and going deeper till you reach the end of the bone, it isn't very long. Make a small stabbing incision directly into the butt on the side at the same spot the bone ends. Sever the meat from the end of the bone with our knife hand while simultaneously tugging the bone with your other hand. Done in just a few minutes.

Use a clean knife, have clean hands, and don't worry about mangling the butt as you can tie it into shape after curing.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
Use a clean knife, have clean hands, and don't worry about mangling the butt as you can tie it into shape after curing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Kevin - so you usually cure it untied, then after curing, tie it up? Do you find it cures more unevenly that way?

I really need to do this, as I've been craving doing bacon for some time...

Also, can you use the buckboard cure for pork belly, to be cold smoked? I'm dying to do some traditional bacon here too. once the weather gets quite cold, it will be easier, too...
 
Adam-
You want to cure it untied, as you need to coat all surfaces of the butt with the cure. Then pop it in a ziploc bag and in the fridge for 10 days. Once cured you need to rinse/soak it to get the cure off, and then you tie it.
Jamie
 
Jamie is spot-on, of course. I'll just add that when he says 'coat all surfaces' heed this. The surfaces inside the butt where the bone was removed should be coated as well.

Yes, you can use the cure for belly. You can also make your own very easily. I make 2 or 3 with curing salt and different seasonings/flavorings, divide the belly into 2 or 3 pieces, and coat each with a different cure. This is for a more typical 'bacon' finish. (You could also use the buckboard cure for this and spice/flavor as you wish.) I also make cures without curing salt, which finishes differently, for bellies destined for roasting or roasting/braising or for confit.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Jeff T Miller:
I don't like bacon. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I can't believe you had the guts to say that. Here of all places.
wsmsmile8gm.gif
 
I can saw that Jamie is correct. If you search out bacon on this site you will find a few discussions that I have learned a lot from that book and it has really inspired me to be more creative in my cooking/curing of meat.
 
New quick question...
I made buckboard bacon for the first time last night. Had it for breakfast this a.m. It seemed really salty to me. Is this normal? I followed the recipe on the cooking page using 1/2 the box for two butts.
 
'Salty' is one of those sometimes (often?) subjective descriptors. I would say yes it is normal though. Did you rinse the butt after curing? Did you then soak it in plain water for a while, perhaps changing the water mid-flow?

I usually rinse well after curing (belly, butt, pastrami--anything really) then rest the item for a day (if I have time) to allow the salt levels to equalize. Then I trim off a piece and fry it up and check the salt. If salty, I soak for several hours to a day in plain cold water, changing the water several times. If I don't have lots of time I rest the cured-and-rinsed product at least an hour, check it by cooking a little piece, then soak if needed. To me, soaking is often needed so I figure in extra time for this. Then I smoke.

If it is unpleasantly salty you can soak it now. Smoke particulates are rather sticky. You shouldn't lose much smoke flavoring.
 
Jeff T Miller you are the only person that I have ever heard of who does not like bacon. Think about all those folks whose doctors prohibit bacon from their diet who would love to be able to eat bacon. But you are probably better off than the rest of us bacon eaters and will live to be 100!
 
I followed the recipe by soaking for two hours and washing after that. Perhaps soaking longer with a water change will help in the future. Thanks for the input!
 
Sometimes you have to milk the soaking process. A good rest (if you've the time) will help give you a better idea too. Rinse when it comes out of the brine very well. A rest works like brining: The saltier outer sections that have been more brine-exposed will lose some of their salt to the interior as the osmosis process does its thing. If time is an issue--or if you've cured longer than originally planned--do a long cold-water soak (with several water changes) in the fridge. Trimming off a piece and sauteing it pre-smoking will give you an idea of whether the soaking has been sufficient. It has not been infrequent that I've left a belly or butt in cure, gone out of town, then not made it back when expected. An extra-long soak (24+ hours in some cases) has done the trick.

Even if you go from cure to rinse to soak (perfectly fine), I think a rest of a few hours is worth doing. Trim and cook test, then go from there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top