Buckboard Bacon for Christmas


 
S

Steve Petrone

TVWBB Platinum Member
A few questions....
Thanks to Tom F. I have one envelope of Hi-Mountain Cure. How much meat will it cure?

Would you recommend boneless butt or pork tenderloins?

After curing for 10 days and smoking to 140*, how long can I safely keep the bacon before frying?

This is one of those recipes that needs a write-up and saving in the cooking section. There are so many posts that it is hard to find specific answers...
 
Steve,

Hi-Mountain, in their instructions, says that each bag can cure up to 25lbs of meat. I personally think that's a little high.

I use pork butts, I have tried a pork loin, and was not as satisfied with the finished product as when I used butts.

I have kept vac-pac'd bacon in the refrigerator for up to five days before using and it was fine, however, that is on the outer limits of my personal length of time for meats to stay in a refrigeator.

Perhaps due to the curing process it may be able to stay longer, I'm not sure, maybe someone who knows might chime in.
 
Hey Steve:

One bag cures 8.3 lbs of meat. A box of cure contains three bags and will cure 25 lbs. in toto. I have made Canadian (back) bacon a few times and have vacuum sealed it and frozen it with good results. I simply thaw in the microwave and then fry it up in a well seasoned cast iron pan.

enjoy
 
Thanks Bruce and James. It appears one good size boneless butt will be my first attempt. If I want Christmas bacon, I should start the cure around the 12th. Wish me luck.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve Petrone:


After curing for 10 days and smoking to 140*, how long can I safely keep the bacon before frying?
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If you foodsaver it 3-4 weeks.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Steve Petrone:
No vac...I hope 4-5 days. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Steve, It's fully cooked and cured so no worries on the 4-5 days part.
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First Buckboard bacon is done! The butt was cut into three pieces. After curing for 10 days, it was soaked and rinsed for 2 hours. Two water changes were included. Placed in fridge overnight. Sliced fail thin and fried. This meat was very lean. Much more like ham than bacon. This makes a very good, leaner breakfast meat.
After frying first batch, I would attempt to slice the next batch thinner and fry crisper-it needs a little oil added to crisp.
I am wonderring if a little more smoke would be better too. I used 3 pieces of peach and one piece of wood perhaps pecan or hickory would be good.
 
I smoked 8 lbs on Monday and used a half-dozen small chunks of hickory. Smoke flavor and level are good.

I like unsalted butter for frying Buckboard.
 
I have a whole loin of the buckboard going since Sat. I added a 8oz jug od Grade A Dark Amber Maple Syrup to it on Monday. I cure mine for 14 days. The last loin i did i used apple and hickory wood 50/50 mix. I used about 6-8 medium pieces of wood over the course of the 6.5 hr smoke. I followed the process from the book "Great sausage and meat curing" from the bacon recipe in the book. 1 hr at 140 no smoke to dry it and then smoke at 160 till internal temp of 142 is reached. It came out perfect. Good smoke flavor and tastes just like bacon without all the fat. I also fry mine in a little butter. If you don't get it on the crispy side it comes out more like ham.
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<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:
So straight-cure for a couple days then with the syrup added for the 12 days remaining? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
Yeah Kevin, i figured i'd give the cure 2 days to get into the meat before adding the syrup. In the book by Rytek he put's the honey on (honey bacon recipe) right after the cure. Since i was using maple syrup which is on the thin side i figured it wouldn't hurt to wait abit. Next one is getting honey on it since i have 2 60lb pails of it here, one Orange Blossom and one Raspberry.
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Cool. I'm familiar with Rytek's honey bacon. I like the sound of the 2/12 maple thing--excellent idea. I'll have to do two next time, a maple sweet one and the usual savory.

That's lots of honey you go there. What are your plans for it? The citrus blossom honey makers I know made out okay through the hurricanes here. I have not been able to contact either of my usual tupelo honey sources. I heard through the vine that both sustained major damage. I'd hoped after a substantial period (which seems--to me--to have passed) I could at least reach one or the other but not yet.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by K Kruger:

That's lots of honey you go there. What are your plans for it? The citrus blossom honey makers I know made out okay through the hurricanes here. I have not been able to contact either of my usual tupelo honey sources. I heard through the vine that both sustained major damage. I'd hoped after a substantial period (which seems--to me--to have passed) I could at least reach one or the other but not yet. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm going to be making some meads and some melomels. I'm getting ready to put together a pineapple melomel in the next couple of days. I asked the people at Dutch Gold Honey about the Tupelo again and they have no idea when it will be avail again in the 60 lb pails. Thanks for checking though and let me know what you find out. The Raspberry honey i picked up from DG is a very limited item. It was quite expensive at $121.30 a 60 lb pail but it should produce some fine meads. The Orange Blossom is reasonable at $73.80 a 60 lb pail.
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After frying three or four batches of bacon, I can say it was an absolute hit! Every piece seemed to get consumed regardless how much was fried.

Thank you Tom.

What would I do different? Perhaps rinse for three hours...a little salty for me. As lean as it is a fat is required to fry it to a crisp stage which is how I preferred it. I also think a fatty butt would be best. The more the fat the more like bacon. This stuff is good , do try it if you haven't.
 
Ok so i kind of overshot the 2 week mark a little bit. It's been curing for 20 days and 18 of those days in the maple syrup. Finally smoked it today over apple and hickory wood 50/50. I'll let it cool and put it in the fridge overnight and slice it up tomarrow.
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