A chef friend of mine spoiled my wife with an outstanding slab of fresh (never frozen) bacon. I've been hearing about it since we polished it off so I finally got around to picking up a pork belly. This is the real deal here, farm raised, hormone free. This one is about 8 lbs, cut in half (stacked on top of each other in picture). Real simple honey cure here.
1 cup Salt
4 Tbl #1 curing salt (aka pink salt, Instacure No. 1, Prague powder #1 or DQ curing salt #1)
2 cups honey
(I threw in a handful of brown sugar, not necessary though)
Mix the salt and curing salt together. Rub thoroughly into bacon. Pour honey on the bacon so it's distributed evenly. Be sure to do this in a 2 gallon ziploc or other non-reactive container that can be sealed. You want the ingredients to mix with the natural liquids to form a sort of brine for the belly slabs to marinade or "cure" in.
Seal up the ziploc or container and place it into the fridge for 6 days. Place a weight on top of the ziploc bag or container lid (in this case, you want the container to be tight with a flexible lid), a 12 pack of beer works nicely as a weight. I've been turning the bacon every other day.
To be continued in the OBS...
-Brian
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/halbleib/bacon-1.jpg)
Got one slab out, removed the skin and refrigerated. Here's the second slab coming off the smoker. Hickory smoke for about 3 hours and brought the internal temp up to 128 degrees.
-Brian
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/halbleib/bacon2.jpg)
You won't see anything this pretty at the grocery store. Nice stuff, eh?
-Brian
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/halbleib/bacon3.jpg)
You can never go wrong with fresh Italian bread French toast and some fresh fruit. I was a hero this morning.
-Brian
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/halbleib/bacon4.jpg)
Great Job Stick!
Man... I'm at work and real hungry now! ;D
I've done Canadian Bacon but not Belly Bacon. Looks excellent!
Mike
hey stick whats the pound ratio looks real good i need to find a good slicer. ive use high mountains bbb cure and turned out good but the color on yours is like seeing castro fall off the stage (Amazing)
Quote from: Stickbowcrafter on June 22, 2007, 07:24:43 AM
You won't see anything this pretty at the grocery store. Nice stuff, eh?
-Brian
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v85/halbleib/bacon3.jpg)
How does a poor starving dude go about ordering from you Stick??? :P :P :P
I belong to the "Bacon of the Month Club" and that by far looks better than anything I've seen.
Fantastic job you did there. ;) :)
When you go to the butcher can/do you specify back belly or front belly or is it all one belly side and you cut it up? Folks sat the back belly makes better bacon.
Can't wait to try the applewood smoked bacon
Steven
Looks great stick...thanks for sharing.
Thanks everyone.
Clarego, I don't know the pound ratio. But I know this was fresh pork belly from a farm raised pig. No hormones or any other stuff found in regular commercial pork.
Hold your order Ice, this may be beginner's luck ;D
Steve, I just ask for a pork belly. I was given a 7-8 pound slab with the skin on. I cut it in half so it would fit in the smoker. I removed the skin just after smoking and cut into smaller slabs for storing/sharing. Give it a try and let us know how it turns out.
-Brian
Quote from: standles on June 22, 2007, 03:51:28 PM
When you go to the butcher can/do you specify back belly or front belly or is it all one belly side and you cut it up? Folks sat the back belly makes better bacon.
Can't wait to try the applewood smoked bacon
Steven
That depends on the butcher or place you buy it. Where I get mine, I have to purchase the full slab, which averages around 12 pounds.
and what is the price per lb (I think i missed it) for the raw slab...it do lQQk good, CONGRATS
i pay over 3lb a pound maybe napas has an idea where i can get it cheeper
Damn Stick, that bacon came out picture perfect. :o Like Habs where I get my belly from you have to purchase the whole slab which averages from 12 to 14 pounds.
Man, we should have mandatory warningsor ratings when there are photos. Kinda like in the movies, rated for everyone, or "WARNING: Those not near a food source are advised to read this post at a later time."
I have GOT to try that bacon recipe. Thanks for sharing Stick.
Nice job Stick,
I love making my own bacon also. Now the only thing I get cured by the butcher is the hams, I make sure I freeze the bacon fresh and then do it myself for superior results.
Good job in pointing out the skin removal. I do it hot out of the smoker also, it peels off like a wet beer label out of the ice bucket.
Thanks for sharing.
The last batch I did, after pulling of the skin and slicing up some of the bacon I placed the skin back in the bag with the slab and the slices. Not sure if it helps but thought the smoke flavor on the skin was so powerfull that it would help deepen the smoke on the rest. The smoke flavor was great on that batch but don't know if the skin helped it or not.
Stick...That right there would make good Baptist go into glossolalia.
NICE JOB! and Welcome fellow bacon maker
Brian,
Bacon is one thing I have been dying to try and your post may be what inspires me to finally try it. Got a few questions.
1. At what temp did you smoke the bacon at for 3 hours?
2. Is there a reason you leave the skin on until after it has smoked?
3. Will the butcher ask if I want a belly with the skin on or off? If so, should I have them leave it on. Never used a pork belly before so I am not sure what I am dealing with.
4. Is 128 the max the IT should come up to?
Thanks for the help,
Bryan
"Is there a reason you leave the skin on until after it has smoked?"
Because it is hard as all h#@@ to trim it off prior to it being smoked :)
At least for me it is.
And just a difficult to remove after the bacon has cooled. :)
i leave the skin on until time to eat - really on your plate to eat. Pretty simple to remove with pointed knife. just like a sausage casing on one side only ;)
Giz i do think the skin carries smoke flavor that transfers while it is being stored. ??? At least my senses are sure it does ;D
Thanks everyone. I just followed the instructions in the book Great Sausage Recipes And Meat Curing. Great resource for all things sausage and meat curing.
Plenty of hickory smoke flavor for my taste, and I like a lot of smoke flavor. That's with the skin being removed immediately out of the smoker.
Answers to Begolf's questions:
1. Since the bacon will be cooked after smoking, I set the smoker at 135 degrees F (57 C), applied smoke and brought the internal temp to 128 degrees F (53 C). You don't want to risk too high a temp that may start rendering the fat.
2. Seems the skin is easiest removed right out of the smoker while hot.
3. I got my pork belly from a farm and I was given my slab with the skin on. They didn't ask if I wanted it skinless.
4. Pork fat will start to render (turn into liquid oil) around 160 degrees F (71 C). You definitely want to stay away from that mark. Again, since it will be pan fried or baked later, there is no need to worry about getting the internal temp high enough to "safe" numbers.
-Brian
I smoked a slab of bacon eight days ago, and just finally getting around to tasting it. I purchased a 12 pound slab and divided it into four sections prior to curing. I cure one with a honey brine (pickle); use a maple sugar dry cure on another, the third I used a basic dry cure with herbs and peppercorns, and made pancetta with the fourth. I haven't tasted the savory bacon, but the maple, honey and pancetta were all good.
The slab came with the skin on, and I skinned 3 pieces prior to curing (man was that a pain in the neck), and left one piece (savory bacon) with skin on. The savory bacon will be used for various dishes. Today I removed the skin from the savory bacon. It came off real easy. I just used a knife to separate about 1 inch of the skin from the fat, grasped the skin and peeled back. It peeled off very easy.
If you never made pancetta, it is fairly simple; other then the fact that you have to remove the skin first. So the next time you get a slab, save a piece to make pancetta. I used the recipe out of Charcuterie. I air dried it for 7 days. Today I trimmed off about 3/4 off each end, because I felt they were getting too dry, and now I am hanging it for another 7 days, to see if the flavors get more intense.
NICE! Been eyeing up that pancetta recipe in the Charcuterie book myself. Had the book for a few months now and I'm starting to wear out the spine I think :D
-Brian
Thanks for the info fellas. I am going to try some bacon very soon.
I've been doing home cured/smoked bacon in my Bradley since 2005. I've got the routine down pretty well, I cure my bellies for no less than 2 weeks in a brown sugar cure I found from Zach's. I've been getting my pork from a local grocer a case at a time (usually 3 full bellies to a case) at a very good price. I soak the pork after the curing process in my bathtub for about an hour, then rub pepper and brown sugar on them, let them air dry for about an hour, then put them in my 2 Bradleys I have on my back deck. I'll usually use pecanor hickory pucks and smoke the pork for about 6 hours (we like the deep smoke flavor) to about 100 deg or so. Take them off, peel the skin off and place in the refrigerator overnight. The next day I'll trim them up and vacumn seal them, freezing most of them, but leaving one out for sure.
Rex
I agree there needs to be a rating system when pictures are included! I just ate ribs for lunch and dinner is not far away and I am starving now!
Only thing I didn't see asked, answered, or mentioned: Do you need to hang it like in the picture or can you lay it out on a standard OBS rack? If you have to hang it, what kinda setup do you use?
I am guessing this is a dumb question but how long and how many people does it take to eat a full 10-14 pound slab of bacon? I would love to do this but my wife is getting upset with the way I am filling up the freezer with smoked meats! ;D
Congrats on that bacon tho .. looks damn good!
you can lay them on the racks. Looks more authentic hanging though ::) Most BBQ place will sell stainless hooks - like a clothes hanger on one end to hook over a dowl and then multiple hooks you can stick through the bacon.
You can do it with pure cotton string also.
I think one person could eat a 12 pound slab in about 2 hours... :D :D
not sure i want to be around about 2 hours after that :-\
Congrats on filling the freezer. ;) When the kids come from Tucson they do pretty good at resetting my supplies ;D
I still dont get why taking the skin off ahead of time is necessary - ???
Quote from: West Coast Kansan on July 09, 2007, 07:06:29 PM
I think one person could eat a 12 pound slab in about 2 hours... :D :D
not sure i want to be around about 2 hours after that :-\
I still dont get why taking the skin off ahead of time is necessary - ???
I wish you had told me that way ahead of time, on how fast the bacon would disappear.
I prepared bacon both ways, and it is much better when you skin it prior to smoking. Warning, skinning a belly will challenge your will power. I sliced a slab into four pieces, and left the skin on one piece. The piece of belly I left the skin on, it did not have as much of a smoke flavor, compared to the other pieces that were smoked at the same time. Though not necessary, from my experience skinning prior to smoking produces a superior product.
QuoteWarning, skinning a belly will challenge your will power.
Yep..... a heck of a tedious job although as HS says, bacon turns out better if it's done beforehand !!
I have found my salmon knife is the best knife for skinning pork loin and belly as it has a rounded tip rather than sharp tip but maybe that is just me? :)
Manxman;
Thanks for the tip. I'm getting ready to order a couple of slabs. What is the length of your salmon knife.
More smoke flavor makes sense. Pig skin is a pretty effective protective layer. I think i will just stay lazy, we are getting the flavor we are looking for... Thanks :)
QuoteWhat is the length of your salmon knife.
12" blade, be interested to see how you find it but the rounded tip certainly helps me when skinning pork.
It may be even easier with a smaller blade as it is the round tip more than the length of the blade that helps IMHO.
Not looked for a smaller knife with a rounded tip as yet?
Quote from: manxman on July 11, 2007, 01:23:14 AM
12" blade, be interested to see how you find it but the rounded tip certainly helps me when skinning pork.
It may be even easier with a smaller blade as it is the round tip more than the length of the blade that helps IMHO.
Not looked for a smaller knife with a rounded tip as yet?
I forgot to ask the second part of my question. Is it a flexible or rigid blade. Also; I've been planning to purchase a 12" slicer. I know you posted the brand name of your slicer in the past, but I can't recall which brand you did purchase. Or do you have any other recommendations?
QuoteI forgot to ask the second part of my question. Is it a flexible or rigid blade. Also; I've been planning to purchase a 12" slicer. I know you posted the brand name of your slicer in the past, but I can't recall which brand you did purchase. Or do you have any other recommendations?
The one I got has a pretty rigid blade, it is from a French company called Laguiole. Amazon amongst others sell the salmon knife.
http://www.laguiole.com/index2.htm
I have been more than happy with this knife although I am sure there are better (and more expensive!) around. The wooden handle is very comfortable which is helpful when skinning pork loin/belly etc.
Certainly the best knife I have come across to date for skinning and also very good for slicing my cold smoked salmon and bacon plus hams etc.
Manxman;
Finally got a chance to check out the site. They do have some unique knives. I'll check Amazon.com to see if they have the 12" slicer.
QuoteThey do have some unique knives.
They certainly do, this one at $770 is one I won't be getting!
http://www.laguiole.com/images/exceptionaljuniper6.jpg
Hope you find the 12" salmon knife on Amazon.com
Congratulations on such an excellent job! Your recipe reminds me of one that I used years ago called Honey Bacon. I'm sure that the eating makes all of the hassle worth it.
When I made the honey bacon, I used a process very similar to yours, but with the exception of using Morton's TQ. The end product was very good, but had a slight tendency to burn when cooked due to the high sugar content (it would caramelize easily). I found that low, slow cooking was in order.
I am at a little bit of a loss about all of the fuss over the rind being on or off the bacon. Years ago, the rinds were included as a matter of course here. Nowadays, it is hard to find a fresh side with a rind. The comments about the bacon being less smoky are well taken, but it seemed to me that it was just fine if I left the thing in the smoke a little longer and then let it stabilize in the smoker for some time. I seems the smoke penetrates the meat better if it has a good resting period.
I have an added motive about the rinds: in the States, it is common to use the rinds as flavoring for other dishes, e.g., baked beans or bean soup stock, so there are good reasons for some of us to continue the practice of leaving the rind on.
I came across this thread quite late, so I hope that my comments are not redundant.
BF just a preference thing on the rind ;) I do agree with you the smoke flavor improves with time in the fridge even if only overnight.
Quote from: Skipystu on July 09, 2007, 03:02:28 PMIf you have to hang it, what kinda setup do you use?
I do a lot of sausage in my OBS and I like a simple hickory dowel rod or two. Just cut to length to fit in the OBS.
-Brian
Quoteit is common to use the rinds as flavoring for other dishes, e.g., baked beans or bean soup stock,
Yes, on this side of the pond also, as WCK says just personnal preference.
When I smoke a pork loin or belly for bacon I also smoke the bits I have trimmed off to tidy it up, tend to use them in bean and soup dishes too. ;)
Couple of points here from when dad was alive and cold smoked a hundred or so of bacons and hams at a time.
1. Fillet knife removes the skin after smoking - he used to cold smoke 2-3 days with the skin on and use a flexible fillet style knife to remove the skin.
2. Use the skin as a flavoring ie when you fry something, put a piece of the skin into the fat to add a smokey flavor to what your cooking. You can also use in place of salt pork (if you leave some fat on it when skinned) if you prefer a smokey flavor to the dished.
3. Because of the cold smoking process, skin on was ok. But with the limited time in the Bradley ( i am sure no one wants to smoke that long...lol) skin off makes sense to maximize the smoke absorption.
This is repeated from my bro, and not my ideas... had a great conversation with him...lol
Quote3. Because of the cold smoking process, skin on was ok. But with the limited time in the Bradley ( i am sure no one wants to smoke that long...lol) skin off makes sense to maximize the smoke absorption.
Yes, I agree. That's the very reason I take the skin off when cold smoking bacon. :)