How to make Turkey Bacon


 
Turkey bacon? Good question; I've never made turkey bacon. Here's my thoughts:

Cure the dark meat with a wet cure. Essentially a brine with pink salt and whatever flavorings you might want to add.

Smoke meat over very low temp <170 so as not to over cook the meat. Smoke to about 140. Use a mild wood.

Chill meat, then remove from bone and grind.

Then shape into 'logs' and flatten between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and chill once more to hold shape. You're after that cut bacon shape.

Fry up in skillet.

Probably missed something, but that's what comes to mind. The curing and smoking process will give it the basic flavor profile of bacon. Using turkey, it may come out more on the ham side than bacon flavorwise.

Paul
 
Try Paul's suggestion.

If you are trying to recreate commercial turkey bacon it won't work (commercial turkey bacon is made from blended, highly formed meat) but that should not stop you from giving it a go. Paul's suggestion will get you much closer.

What you might have missed, Paul, is that most contain some additional fat (but not much) and some breast meat (but not much). Not hard to include - but get the process down first.

One other thing: Grind on the coarse side - more like chopped well.
 
Yes. Take 3/4 of the meat and 1/4 of the meat and partially freeze both. Cut with a knife into even pies, say, 1-inch.

Evenly distribute the 1/4 meat that you've chopped in the processor bowl then pulse on and off, scraping the bowl sides when necessary to an even and rather fine (ground) finish. Remove to a bowl.

Distribute half of the 3/4 meat in the processor and pulse, but only go to 'finely chopped', not 'ground'. Remove the the bowl. Repeat with the remaining meat. Mix all together very well and then form as Paul suggests. (The point of having a little finely 'ground' is that it will help hold it all together better when mixed.)
 
The point of having a little finely 'ground' is that it will help hold it all together better when mixed.
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I wasn't sure how well the meat would hold together. A ribbon of ground meat would be somewhat delicate to handle I assume. A thicker slab well chilled would help, but I could see myself getting frustrated handling this. Perhaps the commercial products use a little help like transglutaminase (meat glue)?

Paul
 
I think you're going to have a problem in that it is too lean. It may hold together on the "forming" board but once you start to cook, it may just fall apart.

Maybe add an egg and some finely ground dry bread crumbs?
 
I am not suggesting 'a ribbon of ground meat'. The more finely ground should be mixed in with the less finely ground - the finely chopped.

Formed, wrapped, well pressed and chilled, the proteins should hold it together just fine.
 
I know this is an old thread but I found some spice kits for imitation bacon aka turkey bacon or other meats. Their instructions were to buy whole muscle and grind it up using the middle size plate then the smallest plate you have. Mix in the ingredients from their kit and add the ground up meat to a loaf pan. Bake it in an oven to 170° internal temps. Then remove and let it cool and use a meat slicer and slice it thin like store bought bacon. Then probably take each slice and lay it flat and make several slices out of it.
Myself I am buying ground turkey from Sam’s and they sell 5 pounds for around $16. The spice kit and recipe is from Walton’s inc. they sell supplies for making things out of meat and machinery and whatever you need except the meats
 
Josh Downing said:
I know this is an old thread but I found some spice kits for imitation bacon aka turkey bacon or other meats. Their instructions were to buy whole muscle and grind it up using the middle size plate then the smallest plate you have. Mix in the ingredients from their kit and add the ground up meat to a loaf pan. Bake it in an oven to 170° internal temps. Then remove and let it cool and use a meat slicer and slice it thin like store bought bacon. Then probably take each slice and lay it flat and make several slices out of it.
Myself I am buying ground turkey from Sam’s and they sell 5 pounds for around $16. The spice kit and recipe is from Walton’s inc. they sell supplies for making things out of meat and machinery and whatever you need except the meats
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Put it in a 13 x 9 baking dish lined with 1 sheet of wax paper. Add another sheet on top and press down with a small cutting board to compact.
Let sit in fridge overnight then remove and place in smoker or oven directly on the grate with a drip pan under.
Cook to 170 then cool and let sit in fridge overnight to firm.
I do Old timers bacon which is ground venison and pork but you can sub any game meat like goose or turkey.
13 x 9 gives you the proper thickness like bacon compared to a loaf pan.
 
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