Bacon made easy


 
I swear I will stop asking questions soon.

Sliced off a sample piece this morning. Bob, you are officially my #1 man-crush.

Around what pit temperature should I aim for? I know it needs to be a cool smoke, but I am wondering whether that means 200F or 150F.

Should I be applying a ton of smoke, or just a hint?
 
I'm not sure that I'm worthy of of your high praise Gregg, but thank you!

I would try to keep the hood temp at or below 160.
It is not necessary to get the bacon's internal temp up to 140/150, some folks like to cold smoke their bacon.

Wood choice will somewhat determine how fast it will reach the desired smokiness.
Hickory will get you there pretty fast, fruit wood, such as apple, is milder and may take longer.

I would go fairly easy, smoke wise, on the first batch.
Of course, the darker golden brown it gets, the smokier the flavor.

Hopefully someone else will chime in if they have a different opinion, or better advice.

Good luck, hope to see some photos soon!
 
Pics coming soon - Unfortunately, what I thought was rind I am pretty sure was just a tasty fat cap. I cut it off and froze it, now the bacon is incredibly lean.

Still - Very tasty stuff.
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OK, here are some pictures.

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This is VERY lean. I didn't do myself any favors by cutting off the "rind" which I suppose was probably just fat.

This is really "hammy." I'm not sure I'd call it "bacony" though...Still great.

Thanks for the help.
 
Originally posted by Bob Correll:
Ray,
TQ has salt and sugar in it along with the cure agents, so pink salt alone is not a sub.

Here is a pretty simple recipe for 2.5 lbs. of belly, and hopefully will serve as a guide for you.
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Hey Bob - thanks. I have Ruhlmans book so I'm good.
 
Gregg,
Do you have any meat glue?
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It looks very good, but like you say, too lean, so it is pretty much ham.
The rind or skin, if one was present, would have been 1/8" or less thick.

I think it could have used more smoke too, it seems kind of light.

The fat alone, or with some lean, will make for some great seasoning with beans, either dried or green beans, and other dishes too.
You can cut it into small cubes and saute the amount needed.

Congrats on your first bacon!
 
I was a little concerned about whether I would recognize the "rind" also, but I found it's pretty obvious. Keep in mind that it's skin, and you can clearly differentiate it from the fat. I removed the rind before curing. It's quite leathery -- a sharp knife found real resistance. I could rather easily slip the blade along the underside of the rind and almost "shave" it away from the fat. Not especially "difficult" but definitely "tedious". When I do a larger batch, I'll leave the rind on during curing since most say it's easier to remove after curing and before smoking.

Oh, this was my first and so far only attempt at bacon.

Rich

Rich
 
Originally posted by RichPB (richlife):
I was a little concerned about whether I would recognize the "rind" also, but I found it's pretty obvious. Keep in mind that it's skin, and you can clearly differentiate it from the fat. I removed the rind before curing. It's quite leathery -- a sharp knife found real resistance. I could rather easily slip the blade along the underside of the rind and almost "shave" it away from the fat. Not especially "difficult" but definitely "tedious". When I do a larger batch, I'll leave the rind on during curing since most say it's easier to remove after curing and before smoking.

Oh, this was my first and so far only attempt at bacon.

Rich

Rich
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I had made bacon a few years ago (what a disaster, used Kosher salt) and the belly had nipples - THAT'S a rind.

This just had some fat. I trimmed it off anyway. Stupid me.

I may render the whole thing and have a jar of smoky animal fat. Brussels sprouts, anyone?
 
Regarding the rind, when I make mine, I leave it on during the smoke. When you pull it off and its still warm its really easy to cut off. The knife will go through it like butter.
 
Well, you guys are a bad influence on me. I bought 8 lbs. of pork belly two weeks ago along with some Morton's Tender Quick. I cured for 8 days, rinsed well and put it back in the fridge for 2 days (to dry?). It's on the smoker now so we will see. I tried a slice before smoking and it was good but tasted a lot like fried ham mostly.

This was my first attempt and I just wanted a "plain" bacon to start with. Any ideas to add flavor for the next belly?

Also, I an using my 22 WSM for the smoke with water in the pan and a BBQ Guru is holding it nicely at 185 degrees. I used 3 of the kettle charcoal baskets and they fit perfectly as a triangle in my coal ring. I then just put charcoal in the middle of them with some apple wood for smoke.

Thanks for inspiring me to try this, it has been very informative and entertaining!

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Tom

(100th post? wow, didn't know I "talked" so much!)
 
I am curious what the "kettle coal holders" are? I have a Weber 22.5 OTG but am considering getting a Cajun Bandit to convert it into a WSM style smoker.

I really like my little Smokenator, but I am starting to realize I need more space for smoking. So the CB and their extension ring might improve things substantially.
 
Tom L, thanks for the photo and explanation. Looks like a handy setup. Your pork belly looks good too. I am sure it will be excellent.
 
Delicious taste, the smoke really makes the difference between ham and bacon!
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Gotta get me a deli slicer. With my knife skills I might as well have cut it with a chain saw!
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Thanks for all the great reading in this forum! I couldn't (wouldn't?) have done it without you.
 
FINALLY - got some pork belly - or as the asian grocery labelled it 'pork bellie'. It's only two pounds, but I figured that would be OK for a first run.

Here's the progress so far - started Sunday night
 
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I also completed my first try at homemade bacon following the bacon made easy. Was surprised how easy it was. Bacon tastes great. For spices I just used paprika, black pepper, and granulated garlic. Smoked on 18 WSM at 220 hour 2 hours. Now have a 7lb pork butt, de-boned, and curing for buckboard bacon. Should be ready in a couple more days.
 
j biesinger said:
What would be even easier is to buy a scale and go metric
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I get the point that people like their recipes in tsp and Tbs, but switching to metric weights is truly the easier way to go. I'd gladly dump my drawer full of measuring cups and spoons for my scale, but hardly any recipes are published in metric.
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on the Morton's Tender Quick bag that I can purchase in the Calgary area the directions on the bag call for 15 grams of TQ per 500 grams of meat. 15 grams is real close to 1 Tbsp and 500 grams is just a bit over a pound.

Regards
Ken
 
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