First Bacon Attempt

[Mike Coffman]

Picked up 2 pork bellies the other day from our local commissary. It was actually 1 large slab that I had
them cut into 2 equal sizes. The pork belly was frozen so thawed it in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Belly #1 (closest) weighed in at 4 pounds even. It was seasoned with Bob Correll’s basic bacon recipe,
except I added maple syrup, turbinado sugar, cracked pepper and granulated garlic to the Morten Tenderquick.

Belly #2 weighed in at 5 pounds after I trimmed some of the excess fat and skin. It was also seasoned with
the basic recipe, which I added dark brown sugar, granulated garlic and cracked pepper to the Morten Tenderquick.

Both into the refrigerator tonight for the next 7 days.

 

[Jon Des.]

Can't wait to see the results. Be sure you don't skip the step where you slice a piece off and test for saltiness before you dry it and smoke it.

 

[Mike Coffman]

After 9 days finally onto the grill and smoker. 2 slabs, one with extra pepper on the OTG with hickory.

2 slabs, one with cinnamon and sugar onto the WSM with apple.

2 ½ hours later, the bacon is smoked to an internal temp of 145.

Sliced and vacuum packed after an hour long rest in ice water.

I learned that I need to make sure the bacon is a little squarer before curing, etc. It will make a more
even cut. Need to thank Daniel Wolgast for suggesting using another cutting board to hold the bacon
in place while slicing and gives you a kinda straight edge to work with. This worked great!

Thanks for looking.

 

[Matt Westendorf (Westy)]

Mike that looks awesome!

 

[Bob Correll]

I'm disappointed Mike, I wanted to see some frying
Seriously, that is some mighty fine looking bacon Mr C!
Please report back if you prefer one slab over the others.

 

[Jon Des.]

Great looking bacon!

I don't know that it's possible to make it square prior to curing/smoking, because it seems like even my cut ends change shape slightly. It's really not a problem - save the ends together in the freezer and use them in recipes for an intense bacon flavor.

Daniel's trick works well, but now you're on the path that led me to a new slicing knife and then a new meat slicer.

 

[Steve_A (Tatoosh)]

We've used two cutting boards to help with the cutting. Good idea, but these days we just chill the bacon very well and slice away. When we get to the ends we turn those into a dice for use in fried rice or other foods. Your bacon looks superb. Very nicely done!