Bacon made easy


 
I have a vac sealer, but seldom use it.
Heavy zip bags work well for me, just remove as much air as possible.
Wrap in paper, then put in bags, if long term storage is anticipated.
 
I may sell a few to my neighbor... This made MORE than what I will eat or SHOULD eat..I will freeze some with wax paper between... Thanks Bob, both neighbors are JEALOUS.
 
Would a 5 or 6 day cure be good for a 2.5 pound slab I want to start today and have it ready for next Sunday figure 5 days cure, one in fridge,smoke on Sunday
Thanks
Danny
 
Danny,
It should be long enough if it isn't too thick.
A whole day in the fridge would not be needed to dry it before smoking.
You can speed up the drying by using a fan blowing on it for a couple of hours, (on a rack) then maybe a couple more hours in the fridge before smoking.
I would let it cure until Sunday morning, although I have cured small pieces for only 5 days in the past and they were fine.
 
yeah, it's photos like this ▼ (from Mildo) that make you want to try this if you haven't...


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I just started to cure the last 3 lb slab I had in the freezer... gonna buy another belly this weekend.
 
Bob Correll said:
You are welcome, good luck, let us know how it turns out.
Click to expand...

Hey guys!
The bacon came out great! My neighbor and myself smoked 4 pounds each on Saturday, he has eaten all of his, he gave it a 10 out of 10 score, I thought mine was killer! We plan on doing more, we both did the brown sugar/cinnamon and plain what other flavors would you suggest? Thanks again Bob for an awesome thread start!
Danny
 
I REALLY need to find a provider of affordable pork bellies! I've done about 5 buckboard bacon attempts, and although they're good they aren't BACON! If I could add pork belly bacon alongside my homemade ground pork breakfast sausage patties using Penzey's seasoning I would definitely be in "hog heaven"!
 
Jim Lampe said:
yeah, it's photos like this ▼ (from Mildo) that make you want to try this if you haven't...


tmp2FD2.jpg


I just started to cure the last 3 lb slab I had in the freezer... gonna buy another belly this weekend.
Click to expand...

Thank you Jim ...
But tell yourself ... Is this a possibility of such beauty buy at the store?

IMG_9902.JPG

http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?53070-Bacon&highlight=bacon

It is just wonderful, Jim. I like how the boundaries move in closer to perfection.
Thanks Bob, again. I did not buy bacon at the store for at least a year. This is, for me, probably most important recipe & instructions on the TVWBB;)
 
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What a great tread, I'm sorry it took me so long to find it on this site. I'll be starting my search for all the ingredients today.
 
So for my first time out I used the basic recipe posted in this thread.
It seems rather salty, but I only rinsed it (pretty well) and didn't soak it a bit, which I might try next time. I used an ancient slicer that was kicking around the basement of my mothers house, and although I had to cut it in half to fit it but I think it came out pretty well.
I saw a reference about using two boards two slice it but I can't find any thing about how to do it in a search. Does anyone have a link?


bacon_zpsj2wixr63.jpg
 
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Absolutely Awesome

Been drooling over this thread for a while - thanks to all.

14.5# belly at Cash and Carry on sale $2.24 per pound. Cut in fourths, MTQ via Amazon Prime, plus coarse black pepper. In the fridge, in vacuum bags, skin on. That skin is really tough to cut away, I tried and gave up.

We are totally jazzed about this - next hog we slaughter, we'll do the bacon and hams rather than our meat packer, thankyouverymuch!
 
I just finished makin' some bacon & just got to say it's great - in spite of me screwing up: I misread the kitchen scale and did metric for pounds. Realized it 7 daze later. So I had applied 1/2 as much Tender Quick as needed. I resalted the belly & let it sit for 4 more daze. Total cure 11 days. It's a tad salty but it's SO GOOD!

I'm going to start another one tomorrow or so. I'll have the correct amount of salt to use this time.

I'd like to add: smoked on the 14.5 WSM at temps 180* - 190*. Charcoal ring less than 1/3 full w/ 8 lit coals & 3 small chunks hickory. There was no "white smoke" after the first 20 minutes of the MM start. After adding the hickory... had "white smoke" for 45 minutes at which point I said "screw it" & put the meat on the top rack. the "white smoke" continued for quite a while before it quit - maybe another hour (there were never clouds of it - wasn't firing that much smoke wood).

Anyway, the bacon is great & wifey commented about how she liked the smoke taste. Next time, I think I'll use chips instead of small chunks because the cooking temps are so low. I also note that there was about 1/3 of the coals left for another cook. The 14.5 is real thrifty when it comes to fuel consumption. Total cook was 4 to 4 1/2 hours - lost track of time on this one.
 
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