Bought a pork belly for bacon.. need some help


 
David, I'm afraid you're absolutely right. I smoked the belly over a handful of apple chips (180-200 degrees) until it got to 135 internal. That only took about 90 minutes. Pulled it off, let it rest for 10 minutes, put into a Ziploc bag, and an ice water bath. Then I sliced off a small piece and fried it up crisp.

You have GOT to be kidding me! If this is what bacon is supposed to be, indeed, I'm never buying commercial bacon again. Even my wife, who thinks I'm an idiot for enjoying this type of cooking (she enjoys my smokes, but isn't crazy about them), said "Wow.. that is damn good bacon!"

Pics to follow shortly. I'm letting them firm up in the freezer for a little bit for easier slicing.
 
Pics as promised. Excuse the camera phone, but it actually takes better pics than my 6 year old 1.3 megapixel Fuji.
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Sliced half the belly after smoking.

Sliced the other half - nice lean streak!

Two thick slices and one end piece, fried up. Yumm!

Creepy photo - pig nipples still on the skin! I think this is a good thing, though. It's a reminder that this came off a living animal. My wife cringed at the thought of this, but still ate the bacon.
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Thanks to everyone that helped with this project, especially Kevin. The end result absolutely surpassed all my expectations. I cannot wait to surprise my friends when we go to the beach house next week. Needless to say, I've got breakfast cornered!
 
I think this will be my next project, Ive done quite alot of buckboard but never belly bacon. Looks really good even if it is on a camera phone. About how many pounds of bacon did you get out of your belly? Did you bag it and freeze a bunch? Thanks for taking the photos! OMG PIG NIPPLES!.
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I just couldent let that go, I had to say something
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Brandon
 
I don't have a good scale, so I'm not sure how much there is. It was a little over 6 pounds when I bought it, and I probably chucked over a pound's worth of skin. After slicing, it's still more than a gallon Ziploc freezer bag can handle, so I have two Ziplocs about 3/4 full of wonderful bacon in the freezer.

Also, I sliced the whole thing by hand after letting it freeze for about 2 hours. This wasn't difficult at all, just a little time consuming. I was able to get a consistent 1/4" slice with a couple of 3/8" oopsies.
 
I just got the chef's choice 632 in january from amazon for $279. It tilts and is easy to clean and works great. You need a new toy.
Originally posted by r benash:
Thanks Dan - there are a few collapsable slicers, some of higher quality that fit in a drawer. But haven't gotten off the dime yet as to whether that would be worth the $$. I do though want to move to real non pumped bacon and the good stuff at the farmers market is pretty expensive and might make the investment worthwhile. I need to make a few bellies before I trust that my product is worthy of that additional expense.

Chef's Choice 650
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