Need to Sweeten up my Hams and Bacons

[Habanero Smoker]

Hi Deb;

The blue is really a very dark brown color. I refer to it as "the blue" because it comes from the blue agave plant. What I am referring to as gold can also be called amber. I haven't come across any brand that was lighter then amber. I have 3 bottles of the blue, so I may open one today and see if there is any difference in taste.

Though my favorite grocery stores are Price Chopper and Hannaford, I'm going to have to make a trip to Stop & Shop in my area to see if they carry Agave Nectar. I usually have to go to a health food store or buy it online.

[deb415611]

My choices are ShopRite or Stop&Shop.  Price Chopper closed earlier this year.  I wish we had a Hannaford , it's where I shopped when I lived in NH.

This is the brand they have at my Stop & shop:



Stop & Shop only carry the smaller size.  If you use alot of it I Amazon.com carries agave.  I just looked - they have several kinds -- you have to buy 12 of the smaller bottles but they come to 2.87/bottle -  I think I paid 4.39.   


I'm going to do some Canadian Bacon & Bacon in a few weeks - I think I'll try the agave

[Habanero Smoker]

Deb;

Thanks for the information. I finally got around to tasting the Blue Agave Nectar. The blue definitely has a distinctive taste, with a slight bitter after taste. I'm not sure if I will continue to use this; I'll try it in a few recipes.

The gold (lighter color nectar) just add sweetness, with no noticeable taste.

I can't wait to hear Thunder Fish and your reports.

[Thunder Fish]

The bacon is one of the nicest product to come out of my Bradley,very "rich" smooth flavor,I did soak it down a few times with honey prior to smoking and it was same Agave as in the pictures in the previous post..Light I think I used.really great bacon..........only problem is I only purchased 3 full loins..........should of got more  ::)

[Habanero Smoker]

Thunder Fish;

When you used the Agave Nectar did you reduce the amount, or did you use the same measurement for the sweetner that the recipe called for? I thinking when I use it the next time if the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of sugar, or syrup; I'll use the same amount of nectar.

[Thunder Fish]

In the picture above from deb415611........I used the second bottle from the left(8 or 12 oz)and did 9 packs of 2-2.5 lbs each and stuck to the recipe amount of brown sugar(I believe it was your recipe).After rinsing and letting them sit on a rack for 30-45 min I gave them a drink of honey(#1 amber),let them sit for 30 min did that a second time and there was still very little dripping off,hit them a 3rd time about 30 min later and the honey was just about running off...........into the smoker they went.
I have some of my wife's relatives in from eastern Canada,so after they cooled on the racks,I gave them a light dusting of more honey(#1 amber)and rolled them in corn meal.......aka"Peameal Bacon"......I have yet to try any that have been vacuum packaged yet just the stuff right off the racks from the smoker :P
I'd be careful with the Agave nectar......stuff is really sweet.......and I saved a bunch of coin on the maple syrup even though I get it from Quebec for $5 a 8 oz can,never used any this smoke time.

[Habanero Smoker]

Thunder Fish;

Thanks for the additional information. You used what I call the gold nectar. From your recipe it seems that you uses approximately the amount I had used in my last batch. I may adjust the amount of nectar up for my next batch.