Bacon made easy


 
I smoked my first batch of bacon last night. Two 1.5 lb slabs at 170 for 3 hours with pecan smoke. The whole family loves it, and my wife confessed at breakfast today that she was really skeptical of how this would turn out.......she agrees that I need a slicer if I'm going to make more though ;)

Thanks to Bob for the recipe and everyone else for their input and results. The flavor of the bacon is good, but really the richness, depth (can't find the right word) of the flavor is what really separates this from commercial bacon. 2-3 strips is very satisfying to me, while I could eat about half a package of the other stuff.
 
Really interested in trying my hand at bacon. Do I get pork belly at my meat market or grocery store? Any ideas on general pricing? Thanks!

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Sure, if you have a local meat market, odds are good they carry it. Your super market might. Pricing seems to vary depending on store, specials, and so forth. Cheaper than store bought bacon normally, if you look at it pound for pound. Even if it wasn't cheaper, home cured and smoked bacon is significantly better tasting, so I'd be doing regardless!

Other folks in the USA can give you a better price idea in your area. I'm in the Philippines right now and the pricing structure here is a bit cheaper, along with pork belly being found at any meat market or grocery counter that has a meat section. But I've watched other folks talk about it in the USA and it wasn't too bad, price wise.
 
I just got a 9.8 lbs belly fresh from the slaughter house last week. I think I paid $2.99 lb for it. It's going on the smoker tomorrow.
 
ONI wish I could find Morton's in Ottawa. Windsor Salt Canada sells it in their "salt shop" for $5.19 for a 2lb bag...but the shipping is $20 :confused:

Anyone in Ontario find this stuff in a store??
 
Bob Correll said:
Too bad they didn't force the metric system on us, here in the USA, several years ago as was planned....
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If the metric system were imposed in the USA, a lot of automotive and aircraft mechanics would be p*ssed off due to the thousands of dollars they invested in Snap On SAE tools.
 
Hi Stuart,

Safeway in Calgary carries the MTQ - maybe have a look at Safeway in your neck of the woods. I have also been pretty successful finding cure at a local refigeration/food supply store that specializes in all things sausage. I've heard that many butcher shops will sell you cure if you ask them nicely and promise not to poison yourself with it :)
 
Thanks for this, Bob. I'm curious about the amount of brown sugar to add. I'm making two slabs of bacon (each about 3.5 lbs) and I'd like to try brown sugar on one. I realize it's a matter of personal taste, but I'm trying to figure out whether I need to use (for the sake of this discussion) 1 tbsp. or 1 cup. Any advice is appreciated.
 
Hi Gerry,
I always put the Tender Quick on first, rub it in well, and then add enough brown sugar to well cover the entire slab.
My guess is that you shouldn't worry about getting too much on, since it all gets rinsed off after the cure time is up.
Good luck, I'm sure it will turn out great!
 
Geir Widar said:
One tablespoon is 20 grams. Two pounds of meat is 908 grams, so then you add 4.5% tender quick to the bacon.

I guess MTQ must have some sugar in it. Then the salt content would be around 3%..
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So I finally got my hands on some tender quick! My brother brought me 5 bags (not sure how long it lasts???), and the directions say to use 1/2 ounce (tablespoon) per pound of meat. So the magic number in grams for those who use weights vs. measures for TQ is 14.17g per 454g of meat, or 3.2% TQ and a final salt number closer to 2.5% which is inline with what many consider to be perfect for bacon.

I just started a batch of maple sugar, once it's dry and i empty the stuff I'm making tomorrow for US thanksgiving out of my fridge I'll start my first batch of bacon with the TQ.
 
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Stuart S said:
So I finally got my hands on some tender quick! My brother brought me 5 bags (not sure how long it lasts???), and the directions say to use 1 ounce (tablespoon) per pound of meat. So the magic number in grams for those who use weights vs. measures for TQ is 14.17g per 454g of meat, or 3.2% TQ and a final salt number closer to 2.5% which is inline with what many consider to be perfect for bacon.

I just started a batch of maple sugar, once it's dry and i empty the stuff I'm making tomorrow for US thanksgiving out of my fridge I'll start my first batch of bacon with the TQ.
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Just so there's no confusion.
A 1/2 ounce or one tablespoon per pound of meat.
It equals closer to 3% salt, a tad salty for some folks.


~Martin
 
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