I've been curing and smoking my bacon since '09 and I find that when I slice a section of the slab that measures approximately 75% lean, bacon grease must be added to the fry pan when cooking the slices. Otherwise they'll turn out way too hard and dry. And slow-frying is the key here, too. Lemme' know what you think.
Thoughts on very lean bacon
- Thread starter tjkoko
- Start date
Steve W (Weave)
TVWBB Fan
I would agree with your thoughts.....we see this at work occasionally when testing pancetta.
Once cooking a piece made from an extra lean belly it needs some help from a grease or oil
Once cooking a piece made from an extra lean belly it needs some help from a grease or oil
Len Dennis
TVWBB Diamond Member
Same as with fresh sausage (no cure). Made it once out of picnic cut. Way too dry. This time I added 20% more fat (from trimmed loin). Wife says best ever sausage 
Never using picnic again though. Wayyyyy too much trimming & waste. I had a nine lb picnic. After trimming (pig skin, honkin big bone and silver skin) I was down to 5 1/2 lb. Not worth the effort.
brought my purchase from .99 a lb to $1.60/lb
way too much effort for too little saving.
Moral: minimum 20% fat is needed for a moist (and more important, flavorful) end product, be it bacon or sausage (with the exception of back bacon).
Never using picnic again though. Wayyyyy too much trimming & waste. I had a nine lb picnic. After trimming (pig skin, honkin big bone and silver skin) I was down to 5 1/2 lb. Not worth the effort.
brought my purchase from .99 a lb to $1.60/lb
way too much effort for too little saving.
Moral: minimum 20% fat is needed for a moist (and more important, flavorful) end product, be it bacon or sausage (with the exception of back bacon).
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Same as with fresh sausage (no cure). Made it once out of picnic cut. Way too dry. This time I added 20% more fat (from trimmed loin). Wife says best ever sausage
Never using picnic again though. Wayyyyy too much trimming & waste. I had a nine lb picnic. After trimming (pig skin, honkin big bone and silver skin) I was down to 5 1/2 lb. Not worth the effort.
brought my purchase from .99 a lb to $1.60/lb
way too much effort for too little saving.
Moral: minimum 20% fat is needed for a moist (and more important, flavorful) end product, be it bacon or sausage (with the exception of back bacon).
Last week's country pate (pate de campagne) was made using 200g of fat + fatback and 300g lean pork loin. NEVER AGAIN. MY FIRST PATE FAILURE since first having made it in the '70s. I'll return to the original recipe: 300g butt and 200g fat+fatback. Already naturally marbled, the butt provides lots of good fat + moisture as opposed to lean loin.