StanHenson
TVWBB Member
Hey guys,
I searched for answers to this problem and could never find follow-ups, so I'm going to give one.
I wanted to make bacon. I ordered fresh side pork from my local Publix. The darn stuff came cryo packed from Smithfield, SLICED. Who in the heck slices fresh side? Well, I didn't want to give up the experiment yet, so I took it home, tied the slabs of slices together as if they were a solid piece of meat, and applied my dry cure.
5 days later, I washed the cure and smoked with apple on the WSM. Ambiant temp was around 56F, and smoker temp hovered around 150. I wanted to bring the temp to 140 just in case there were nasties (I've got a pregnant wife). Smoked for 2 hours and then pulled it, bagged, and rested in the refrigerator overnight.
The result this morning was very good. Not overly salty, very meaty, lightly flavored by the cure, and (an added bonus?) already thick-sliced. The only thing I would change is to smoke it longer, as the smokiness went away during cooking.
So yes, if your butcher hands you vac-packed sliced fresh side, which is apparently how Smithfield sells the stuff, you can tie it, cure it, and smoke it. Just be aware that you'll want to cure for less time than a solid slab.
Stan
I searched for answers to this problem and could never find follow-ups, so I'm going to give one.
I wanted to make bacon. I ordered fresh side pork from my local Publix. The darn stuff came cryo packed from Smithfield, SLICED. Who in the heck slices fresh side? Well, I didn't want to give up the experiment yet, so I took it home, tied the slabs of slices together as if they were a solid piece of meat, and applied my dry cure.
5 days later, I washed the cure and smoked with apple on the WSM. Ambiant temp was around 56F, and smoker temp hovered around 150. I wanted to bring the temp to 140 just in case there were nasties (I've got a pregnant wife). Smoked for 2 hours and then pulled it, bagged, and rested in the refrigerator overnight.
The result this morning was very good. Not overly salty, very meaty, lightly flavored by the cure, and (an added bonus?) already thick-sliced. The only thing I would change is to smoke it longer, as the smokiness went away during cooking.
So yes, if your butcher hands you vac-packed sliced fresh side, which is apparently how Smithfield sells the stuff, you can tie it, cure it, and smoke it. Just be aware that you'll want to cure for less time than a solid slab.
Stan
