Mike Leiter
TVWBB Pro
Awhile back I was able to locate some pork bellies around here that were not thick like I wanted but good enough to get my feet wet into trying bacon. I took the skin off them and then made two sections with maple sugar, one with cracked pepper and seasonings and the other molasses and brown sugar with Mortons Tender Quick as my agent on all.
They spent 7 days in bags with daily turning and then were rinsed well and then 1 day more drying in fridge. Took them out today and smoked them a few hrs at 180 with light apple wood till they read 145 and did the ice water bath in bags to cool. They then spent the next 30 minutes in fridge in prep for slicer. The Chefschoice 615 slicer was a breeze to use and sliced through this with no problem. I did acquire a flat blade I put on and took off the serrated one though.
Wife and I sliced them up and of course tried them as we went frying small portions up. The molasses one was okay but a bit sweet and the maples were pretty good. The cracked pepper one was the best we have ever had. Cant wait to get some really nice thick pork bellies with less fat and more meat now to really dive into this!! This was some of the best bacon I honestly have tried. I also tried slicing with and against the grains and could tell no difference in the taste or tenderness of them at the thickness I sliced. The light smoke with apple wood gave them a nice hint of smoke without going over the limit for my wife's tastes..She loved it all.
Unfortunately I did not get pics of them off the smoker but did get some of the maple ones sliced up and ready to package.
They spent 7 days in bags with daily turning and then were rinsed well and then 1 day more drying in fridge. Took them out today and smoked them a few hrs at 180 with light apple wood till they read 145 and did the ice water bath in bags to cool. They then spent the next 30 minutes in fridge in prep for slicer. The Chefschoice 615 slicer was a breeze to use and sliced through this with no problem. I did acquire a flat blade I put on and took off the serrated one though.
Wife and I sliced them up and of course tried them as we went frying small portions up. The molasses one was okay but a bit sweet and the maples were pretty good. The cracked pepper one was the best we have ever had. Cant wait to get some really nice thick pork bellies with less fat and more meat now to really dive into this!! This was some of the best bacon I honestly have tried. I also tried slicing with and against the grains and could tell no difference in the taste or tenderness of them at the thickness I sliced. The light smoke with apple wood gave them a nice hint of smoke without going over the limit for my wife's tastes..She loved it all.
Unfortunately I did not get pics of them off the smoker but did get some of the maple ones sliced up and ready to package.
