Another Rookie Bacon Thread


 
JimK

JimK

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Well, my first belly is in the WSM. Currently at 135, with the cooker at 230. I'll post more later, but here are the initial pics:

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Here are the rest of the pics. It's looking good, but smells incredibly smoky. I hope I didn't overdo it. I went with hickory - next time, I'm thinking applewood or maple. I'm wanting to try some maple bacon. Anyway, here they are. Breakfast shortly, so I'll finally try it.

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Originally posted by Wolgast:

Love your knife skills.
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Thanks Daniel. But my knife skills are fairly non-existent. I picked up this great slicer from Amazon a few days ago, and it made slicing a dream.

Here are a few pics from breakfast this morning:

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I cooked it pretty slowly, as it was much fattier than I would have liked. Also thicker than your "normal" bacon. It's good though. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. Can't wait to try it again and make it even better. I never would have even thought to try and make bacon were it not for this forum. So, thanks all!
 
Thanks Jeff.

I used the one from Saucisson Mac. I subbed regular kosher salt for the curing salt. For the pickling spice, I just used McCormick's.

Made BLT's for dinner tonight. Mmmmm, good!
 
Wow, looks fantastic! On my list of "need to smoke".

So you cooked @ 230? What was your target internal temp, 150?
 
I used the one from Saucisson Mac. I subbed regular kosher salt for the curing salt. For the pickling spice, I just used McCormick's.
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I noticed a little burning on the edges. I got that when I followed the maple recipe out of Charcuterie which creates a very sweet bacon IMO.

There's certainly a technique to finishing the bacon. I haven't got the slice thickness, pan temp, or cook time down yet. It seems like home cured bacon is a bit tougher that prepackaged, and needs a much lower pan heat to keep from burning.
 
Stefan,

My temp started low and finished hot. When I first put the belly on, I held at about 190 for a while, then the temp gradually rose and was at 240 when I finished. Couldn't keep it down, even with the bottom vents closed. I pulled it off at 152.

J: You're absolutely right. It's a different technique. I did better on the slices I cooked for the BLT's last night. Practice makes perfect!
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Originally posted by j biesinger:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">I used the one from Saucisson Mac. I subbed regular kosher salt for the curing salt. For the pickling spice, I just used McCormick's.
Click to expand...

I noticed a little burning on the edges. I got that when I followed the maple recipe out of Charcuterie which creates a very sweet bacon IMO.

There's certainly a technique to finishing the bacon. I haven't got the slice thickness, pan temp, or cook time down yet. It seems like home cured bacon is a bit tougher that prepackaged, and needs a much lower pan heat to keep from burning. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

I get the same on my bacon for the same reason, but I've found it's minimized if I go with no more than medium heat. I use a stainless All-Clad, medium heat, and it comes out amazing. One thing to note is, depending on your cookware, you might want to decrease the heat slightly as you cook more bacon and develop some fat in the pan. That hot fat can char the maple sugar quickly.
 
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