Fresh Pepper Bacon

[viper125]

 Well its been a long winter, and mostly down the whole time. Still pretty cold here. 9 Degrees this morning with wind chill.  Sorryi haven't been around much, But between health, then trying to get things done on days i can, and of coarse the fixed low income budget it is harder these days.  Don't make the amounts i use too unless for others when im ok. But hey better days are coming and I feel blessed with what i got. That said even a scold as it is, that sun always gives me cabin fever. on top of the fact were out of bacon.  So wife was going to Walmart to get me a pack of "good Bacon" She calls back and said for 4.25 they have some cheap fatty bacon, and i won't quote what they think their good bacon is worth!  What in the world do people think these days. So I called a friend with a butcher shop and ask about pork belly. Said he'd sell me one for 1.69 a lb. Unless i want to buy his bacon... LOL!
So now im the proud owner of a 7.5 lb. Nice meaty pork side about 1.5 inches thick. One of the b est I've seen in ages. So after talking to the wife, i'm making fresh side Pepper Bacon. Most know i usually do the precooked. Decided on a dry brine with no cure at all.

So here's my recipe I prefer. Pretty common. Not sure where i got it but i'd guess here. But since dry brining I will use plastic gallon bags. And divide the mixture between 2 bags of roughly 1.5 - 2 lbs of meat each So the whole thing will fit 4 bags. I also don't turn once a day. I love playing with my Meat! ;) I usually get in the fridge when out in the kitchen and massage and flip  bag over quite often. Some times 4-6 times a day. But  once a day will do if you get busy.


My Homemade  Fresh Pepper Bacon

makes 3-5 lbs
Ingredients

1/4 cup  coarse kosher salt.    or  1/4 cup + 1 tsp. Fine  sea salt,    or  1/4 cup coarse sea salt,     or 1/4 cup Canning or pickling.
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Butcher pepper.

3-5 lbs pork belly

Instructions

Mix all the cure ingredients and rub the cure on all sides of the pork belly.  Place pork in a gallon sized zip top plastic bag and put in the          fridge for seven days.  Flip the bag daily to make sure liquid that's drawn out is evenly distributed.
After one week, I wash, pat dry and test. If too salty soak till just right. At one hour intervals in cold water. I use the kitchen sink.
I use 2-3 hours  of cold smoke. This will be a nice apple smoke.
Let the meat cool,  slice it into strips, I do thick in thin as I prefer thick and wife likes thin, and you've got your bacon!!
Refrigerate what you don't cook up right away and freeze the rest within 5 days
Keeps in fridge for a week and remains tasting the same in freezer for 2-3 months if frozen. I have ate it a year old and its good but not the same fresh taste.
  Will try to post pics when its done. Again Hi every one. Haven't forgotten any one. Keep on smoking.

[RedJada]

 Sounds great Viper, and your not kidding about the cold. Check your forecast for tonight.... But they say warming after that. Don't know about you but I got 6" out of the 1" they said we were going to get yesterday. But it's spring snow. Shoot me an email or PM if you need more belly, I have a pretty good place out here that usually have it in stock. If not, only takes a day or two.

[Tenpoint5]

Viper did you use any kind of cure in the dry mix?

[pondee]

Viper did you use any kind of cure in the dry mix?

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't there be a cure if you are going to cold smoke?  Shouldn't you smoke/cook at over 140* without a cure?  Just asking.

[viper125]

No cure! A simple old type brine i'm sure alot of others use. 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup of Kosher salt, and 1/4 cup of butchers pepper.
No cure added. But yes and no. Im using cold smoke and temp in cabinet won't be above 40 degrees. And if temps get to 40 I'll pull. I can achieve this with an alternative smoke device. And wouldn't do this with the Bradley smoke generator. If  I was using the smoke generator and pucks, I would be forced to use cure #1 to protect from the heat. And yes I would bring the meat to 145degrees. But this is really a precooked bacon. And quite a different animal to me. Dont forget my roots are from Kentucky, far back in the  Appalachian
mountains were the sun don't come up over the mountains till 10:00 and sets at 2 in the afternoon. LOL! Not many use cure in their bacon there. In fact been reviving recipes as i find them from relatives who still live there. And yes many do require cure. But cure has many uses besides protection such as color and taste. Which im not after in this. And im sure some of the other old timers know the bacon i mean.
  This is fresh slab bacon like i grew up on. And ideal temps now to make it. the colder the meat stays the better. If the chamber rises a little to close I can interrupt and put back in fridge or out side. LOL! To re chill and proceed again. trick is not getting it above 40.
  Also with a dry mix its a stronger flavored and Delicious bacon. And adding the Pepper to the cure means a lot sticks to the meat.

[viper125]

I am sorry i didnt take some pics of the full 7.5 side. But here is two slabs I cut from it. I was able to get 4 on these out of it.


http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/viper1233/media/odd%20and%20ends/20140326_170752_zps4eelbebf.jpg.html][/url]

When you get it rubbed in it looks more like this.
]http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/viper1233/media/odd%20and%20ends/20140326_170927_zpstjxvzrcq.jpg.html]

Place in 1 gallon zip lock plastic bags

]http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/viper1233/media/odd%20and%20ends/20140326_171023_zpstkva3zt2.jpg.html]

Pour the rest into the bag. Approx. 1/2 on each side of meat

]http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/viper1233/media/odd%20and%20ends/20140326_170814_zps7hsuaruv.jpg.html]

Place in bowl in case of leakage and place in refrigerator.

]http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/viper1233/media/odd%20and%20ends/20140326_171526_zpspzttj1yw.jpg.html]

Massage each piece daily. I do morning and night. And make sure to place bag on opposite side it was on every time.
My cure mix is good for 3-5 lbs of pork belly. So as I cut them into approx.1.5 - 2 lb pieces I simply got 4 small bowls and split the mix. Instead on 1/4/1/4/1/4  I  used 2 TBS / 2 TBS / 2 TBS to each bowl. Or 1/8 cup of each.
Then sprinkled and used 1 bowl on each. Rubbed as much into the meat on all surfaces as possible. Then took the rest and put in the bag, 1/2 on each side of the piece. A simple and easy way to make bacon.
If you have no smoker you could add some liquid smoke to the bag. For after 7 days this is bacon. No nitrates ,nitrites or any other stuff. Now other spices can be added to this. But i wanted this fresh slab.
  And if done with hot smoke cure would be needed for safety but does change the flavor. Also hot smoking will mean meat should be done to at least 142 degrees to be safe.
  With out cure this meat needs cooked as it is raw. And can not hot smoke it with out cure either.
But i will do a couple hours of apple as grandpa did. Care to hold temps below 40 degrees. Even if its done in stages.
Hopefully i'll remember to slice and fry some finished bacon  in about 5 more days. Oh i wont forget to fry. Its just some times i for get the pics when im enjoying. LOL!