Bacon experiment

viper125 · July 22, 2011, 01:38:37 PM

Going to cut a 6 lb butt up into approx. 1/4's approx. 1 1/2 lbs. Going to make bacon from each piece but differant recipes to see which we like best. Any ideas or advice will be appreciated. Need to know how much cure and how long to cure a lb and a half piece. Going to use cure number 1 So any one with some good ideas go for it and well see how it comes out. I need 4 differant types, Wife dont like store bought Maple bacon I know. I do know she likes smoked and pepper bacon. Thanks for any help.

Smokeville · July 22, 2011, 03:57:08 PM

Just make sure you keep tabs on which is which..... ;D I once tried 6 different smoked shrimp recipes and got totally confused at the end, even with labels at the beginning! (Of course, I am over 60 and confuse easily anyway).....

Rich

viper125 · July 22, 2011, 04:09:52 PM

Well Im 58 and just as bad. Guess my real problem is their going to be so small i'm afraid to cure to much or to long. Hillbilly got a recipe that calls for bring a pork butt cut in half. Problem is it dont say what size. I think that the small pieces will have more surface to soak into and may cause a problem.Had tried to do this last week but ended up in Kentucky and didnt have time. Now everyones camping so Im going to try this in a day or two after it thaws. So Im open to ideas.

Habanero Smoker · July 23, 2011, 02:25:44 AM

During the curing time, it's the thickness not the weight you need to consider, and for best results you should make the slice uniform in thickness.

There are a couple of ways you can cure pieces of meat that have been cut less then a couple of inches thick. One way is dredging or "salt-box method"; that works well for cuts a couple of inches thick or less. This method is when you place a large amounts of a cure mixture in a pan, coat the slices evenly on all sides with the cure, pressing the cure into the meat. Remove the meat from the pan, allow it to cure in a plastic sealable bag, rinse well prior to smoking.

The other method; which I prefer is to weigh each piece of meat and make a separate cure mixture for each piece of meat. For example if a piece weighs 4 pounds then you will use 4 tablespoons of the Basic Cure, plus seasonings. Evenly coat the meat with all the cure, cure and rinse well prior to smoking. Either method works well, but I just feel I have more control using this method.

As for cure times, depending on the thickness; if it is less then a couple of inches thick it can take around 4 to 24 hours. If you cure a day too long, it may be salty, at that point you can soak it. If it is more then a couple of inches thick then it can take a couple of days or more. For thin cuts, if you are not sure you can insert a boning or paring knife, turn it sideways to check if the meat has cured all the way to the center.

To keep track of what pieces has which seasonings, write it down on the bag, and when you are ready the smoke I use toothpicks to keep track of each piece. For example, no toothpick is flavor #1, one toothpick is flavor #2 etc.

viper125 · July 23, 2011, 08:33:45 AM

Thanks for the info Haberaro smoker! Maybe I'll cut in three pieces about 2 lbs each and do it your way. Dont have to many ways to fix it any way. Dont think she'd like Maple shes says its uky store bought. She likes pepper and I thought she may like a little garlic because she loves garlic. Not sure how mollasses would taste. Oh the desisions....so many ways so little time LOL

Caribou · July 23, 2011, 08:46:21 AM

This will be interesting, make sure you post some pics to show us the result of your experiment.
Carolyn

viper125 · July 24, 2011, 06:32:57 PM

Well cut and in fridge. After the bone was removed I ended up with 3 pieces. 1 1/4 ,2 -2 1/2 ones plain with just TQ - 2nd has TQ -BS- 3d has TQ-BS- pepper-garlic - onion i'll pobably pull the 1 1/4 early when curing and smoking as to not over do it. Will try to get pics I seem to forget till done. That bone was a little tricky. But after cutting meat when younger and all the deer we do it wasn't to bad. The shape was a little weird to follow. Now to figure curing times any help is appreciated. One 1-11/2 thick other two just over 2 inches.

Habanero Smoker · July 25, 2011, 01:37:35 AM

Using a dry cure on thin pieces has alway been tricky with me. For boneless pork shoulder, most sources say 4 hours up to 2 inches thick; this is similar to tasso ham without the seasoning. I find that not to reliable, so you may have to cure longer. I would check them in 4 hours, using the method I described in my first post. If not fully cured all the way through, let it go an additional 4 hours retest etc.

viper125 · July 25, 2011, 09:01:35 AM

Well I went 14 he's on all. Then fried up couple slices of each. Smallest was a little salty but not bad. I soaked it an hour in cold water. The rest was just right. Picky as my wife is she said they were all great. But liked 3 best. Now to smoke. Have a few.pics will try to upload on computer.

viper125 · July 25, 2011, 10:10:16 AM

Bagged ready for fridge to cure.

Cured for 14 hours. Sliced and fried a few pieces to test. Thinnest was a hair salty but soaked for an hour. Other two were perfect. Wife loves it as is can't wait to smoke. So placed on a rack over a baking dish and put back in fridge to dry. Three different recipes and all three are great but last is surely the best.

Note: tooth picks are so I don't forget which is which also wrote in by book which amount of tooth picks are which. Bad Memory!

Habanero Smoker · July 25, 2011, 12:44:32 PM

Glad it turned out well.

I was beginning to question the cure time by the experts. Four hours seemed short, but I guess they were close to being on the money. I generally cure 2 days per inch, but will not use the dry cure method on anything more than 4 inches thick. Now I will have to rethink my cure times for certain projects.

viper125 · July 25, 2011, 05:20:59 PM

Well I keep it going till it was the same color all the way through. Like I said the little one was salty but I didnt use any sugar to counteract it. Wanted it unsweetened because I though wife might not like the sugar. But she liked it all so Im in the clear. LOL Since its my first bacon I may be wrong, don't know. But will continue to experiment with number 3 being my regular for now. Not sure weather or not to use pork belly. Butt is so much leaner. But I sliced it a little thick when testing and it seemed a little tough when fried. Is this something I done or normal. Tomorrow we smoke! Can't wait!

SiFumar · July 25, 2011, 05:26:10 PM

Interesting experiment....can't wait to see finished product.

Smokin Soon · July 25, 2011, 07:14:19 PM

I prefer as thin as possible, as the thicker slices taste more like ham than bacon. on the thicker cuts, I will not pull at 140, but take it right past the stall at 160 or so. Takes some experimenting for that type of bacon. Some folks love it, others do not. I don't use Maple Syrup any more due high price of the pure. Using a combo of brown sugar, honey and apple butter now that works well.

Habanero Smoker · July 26, 2011, 01:22:37 AM

My bacon taste is similar to your wife's, I don't like it too sweet. Morton's TQ is about 30% sugar to already counteract the saltiness, so that salty piece may have cured a little too long. If you took the slice from the edge, that is generally saltier then the center piece. Sitting in the refrigerator will allow the curing process to continue, and salt and cure will evenly distributed throughout the meat. So the salt taste you got from the end piece may mellow out a little.