Start of First Bacon

[Mike_L (Big Mike)]

So i started my bacon this morning. Just did the simple dry cure and added brown sugar. It is a 7 lbs pork belly and all i could find at the store was a 2.5 gallon hefty freezer bag. The belly fit in the bag perfectly.

And this is where it went bad. I opened the fridge about 10 hours later and the zip lock broke and this sticky brown sugar mess was leaking all over. I took it out and put it in a 2nd bag and then cleaned up the fridge and of course the floor.

Has anyone else had this problem? I am guessing all the liquid coming out of the pork belly caused too much pressure on the zip lock. I didn't want to buy zip lock but it is all i could find in the store.

I'll post pictures later.

 

[Mike_L (Big Mike)]

I can't wait to start stage two of my bacon. Do you guys let it soak for an hour and then test it? Also is there a standard of how much smoke wood to use? I'm just going to be using chunks of apple. I didn't know if the standard 3 chunks was too much.

 

[MartinF DiggingDogFarm]

I never soak or do a test fry, the amount of smoke you put on is a matter of personal preference.


~Martin

 

[Geir Widar]

I've cured rind so many times that I do not test fry, either. What do you mean by "soak for an hour"? The smoke process will work better if your rind is not too cool, and it has dried overnight outside the fridge.
Of course this is easier to do in some partsof the world than others. I think about three chunks of apple is a good start. Good luck!

I've never had a leaky sip-lock bag, but I always put my meat in some sort of container as well to avoid any accidents if the bag breaks.

 

[Mike_L (Big Mike)]

I put the bacon in my sink with cold water for an hour. It is now in the fridge on a cookie rack drying. I will smoke tomorrow to around 145 internal to 150. I'll then put it in a plastic bag and into a ice bath to cool it fast. Once it is cold i called the butcher and he said he would slice the bacon for me. I did cut a few pieces off the end after the cure. It was ham but it had 0 fat on it where i trimmed a few pieces off. It was a big hunk of meat that was on the end of the belly. Pictures tomorrow!

 

[Mike_L (Big Mike)]

Well here it is! Only real mistake i made was not telling the butcher to slice it thinner. I told im a normal cut. I guess that means thick.

Not starting pictures. My son deleted them . Here it is after being on the smoker for 3 and half hours:

And here is it all sliced up. Started with 7 lbs but ended up with say a good 4 lbs and then 1 and half lbs of bigger pieces.

These were the bigger pieces that i fried up. I didn't get any plated pictures as my wife and kids kept eating it off of the plate:

I will do this again. I don't like the price of 4.50 a lb but i like how they will slice it for me. I need to look into a cheap slicer because there are lots of farms that i bet i can get a cheaper belly from.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Mike Cosgrove]

Looks like it turned out great, I just bought a small one yesterday and its thawing in the garage.

 

[Jon Des.]

Mike L - to answer a few of your questions: I usually put my bags in a cake pan in the fridge to catch leaks, soaking isn't necessary is you use Martin's cure calculator, yes you need a slicer, and I'm sure you can find belly cheaper. Nice bacon!