Intro to bacon

fishrman · January 24, 2012, 05:25:53 PM

OK, this is all about MY intro to bacon. I've never done bacon before and am following the recipe for maple cured bacon so graciously provided at http://www.susanminor.org/forums/showthread.php?542-Maple-Cured-Bacon. It so happens that one of my daughters is genetically primed to respond to bacon. On our annual houseboat trip the only way to wake her up is to simply put bacon in the cast iron pan and get the ungodly great aroma of the frying pork to waft gently through the length of the houseboat. Invariably, she will come out of her cabin, usually eyes still closed, saying "Bacon, I. Smell. Bacon." So, venturing into bacon was a foregone conclusion. Currently I have a beginner parcel, 2.5 lbs. of pork belly maturing in the fridge. I've been flipping it every 12-24 hours religiously and it is nearing the point of smoking. ETA is Thursday, but I'll be doing the poke test to make sure that it is firm and ready to go. If it takes til Friday, so be it. Told my bacon-primed daughter about this today and her response was, "So, we'll be at your house for breakfast on Friday?" Stay tuned . . .

mikecorn.1 · January 24, 2012, 05:30:15 PM

Will be waiting.

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FLBentRider · January 24, 2012, 05:44:40 PM

I'm going to warn you now, order more pork belly!

The bacon from the grocery store will never "do" again.

Just sayin'...

KyNola · January 24, 2012, 06:15:31 PM

Quote from: FLBentRider on January 24, 2012, 05:44:40 PM
I'm going to warn you now, order more pork belly!
The bacon from the grocery store will never "do" again.
Just sayin'...

Yep!

OldHickory · January 25, 2012, 04:07:36 PM

You are really into it now and having fun. When your kids enjoy your work, it is even better. Looking forward to your pics and comments.

bille · January 25, 2012, 04:14:52 PM

Quote from: FLBentRider on January 24, 2012, 05:44:40 PM
I'm going to warn you now, order more pork belly!

The bacon from the grocery store will never "do" again.

Just sayin'...

Ditto

bears fan · January 25, 2012, 06:37:27 PM

MMMMMM, bacon.

sdcaller · January 25, 2012, 07:41:31 PM

Hey Fishrman
I'm a fisherman here in Ontario as well.
Go to www.spoonpullers.proboards.com
and see my post re New Bradley Smoker (I think it is under General Items) (I post there as sdcaller as well), follow it and see the posts put up by Glenn. He includes lots of pictures.
If your bacon comes out the way his did and some of his other stuff, you will be doing well.
SDC

fishrman · January 25, 2012, 08:56:55 PM

Thanks SD. I checked it out and it is a good step by step with great photos. I was a litle surprised Glenn only got 8 lbs. of bacon out of all that belly it'll be interesting to see how much I end up with from my smaller piece. I suspect the answer will be ,"Not enough!" and it'll be back to the butcher in short order.

fishrman · January 26, 2012, 10:29:35 PM

Pulled the trigger on smoking the bacon today. Air dried in the fridge overnight the took it out for an hour as the smoker warmed up. Used a fan over the surface to make sure it was good and dry for that period. Started out 9am at 130F with two hours of maple smoke, then upped the temp to 155F. IT was only 109 after the smoke, and I figured another 2 or so hours to get up to the target of 140F. Boy was I surprised when it took 6 hours to get there! But the wait was worth it. Here's how it came out of the BDS (skin removed post-smoke):

Dang, that looks good enough to eat, doesn't it? Let it cool for an hour on the counter then into the fridge to cool it down. My fridge has a neat drawer that has an "express chill" feature that'll take 12 cans from room temp to <40F in 45 minutes, so I didn't have to wait long for the bacon to be chilled enough to slice on, wait for it, my brand new slicer I got yesterday (Chef's Choice 915). Yup, the slicer was christened with the smokey goodness of maple cured bacon. Here's what the final product looked like:

So, depending on what you read, there is a pretty wide spread of opinion on how soon after you smoke the bacon you should cook it up so that you don't get too coarse of a smoke flavor. Well, after seeing this come out of the smoker I was given no choice. SWMBO commanded a sample be prepared immediately. And the verdict is - no waiting required on this one. It is outstanding. Just the right amount of saltiness and a great maple taste following the salt. I did find the outer edge of the bacon tends to brown more quickly, perhaps because of the maple, so will fry at a lower temp going forward. Or better yet, maybe just cook it on a rack in a sheet pan in the oven at 425F.

The kids have yet to get a sample, and I'm guessing that there will be nothing left once they do and demand their fair share of the finished product. This was only a 2.5 lb belly piece. Looks like I'm going to have to upsize going forward. Cryin' shame ain't it ;D?

watchdog56 · January 27, 2012, 09:45:33 AM

Nice looking bacon. I may have to get me some bellies and do another batch.

beefmann · January 27, 2012, 10:47:15 AM

nice looking bacon, great job

OldHickory · January 27, 2012, 03:45:10 PM

That is some good looking bacon. After it is in the refer for a day or two it is even better. I think you are going to be busy for a while maken becon.

fishrman · January 27, 2012, 03:50:23 PM

Quote from: OldHickory on January 27, 2012, 03:45:10 PM
Thatis some good looking bacon. After it is in the refer for a day or two it is even better. I think you are going to be busy for a while maken becon.

Makin' Bacon. That's ALWAYS a good thing!

FL: You betcha. And this was only my first foray into bacon. Damn, the future looks bright. Just so you know, I'm an old Florida boy myself, having grown up in Pensacola (I know, some folks would call that Southern Alabama - for good reason), and I still feel the pull to move back down there.

sdcaller · January 27, 2012, 04:36:27 PM

Hey Fishrman
Nice looking bacon.
I'm not much into side bacon like that, but prefer back bacon which I think you folks like to call "Canadian Bacon".
There is another Bradley Forum member--"JimO" who lives near me and who I have had contact with since I joined the Forum. He told me an easy way to do back bacon and I'm going to do it when I have a chance.
In this part of the world, we can buy what is called a "peameal bacon" roast. It is the pork loin which has been brine cured, rolled in peameal and is then ready to roast whole.
Jim says that he washes off the peameal and then smokes the loin to the desired temp and then slices it.
Sounds easy, so I will try it when the weather is right.
Obviously our weather is a bit different than yours and it's no good putting the smoker out when it's snowing and blowing strongly.
What do you fish for?
I fish 12 months of the year here. This time of year we are ice fishing for Lake Trout and Whitefish on Lake Simcoe which is about 70 miles North of Toronto. I live about 10 miles from the North end of the lake.
The rest of the year I troll Lake Simcoe as well as Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay for Pacific Salmon and Rainbow Trout.
In the Fall, after the boat is put away, I shore fish Georgian Bay at the mouth of a river for Rainbow Trout. They can be up to 15 lbs, which is a lot of fun on a light 13ft rod and 10lb test line.

Keep on smoking. While I'm new to the Bradley, I've been smoking food for about 25 years and you can sure make some delicious stuff.
SDC

Intro to bacon

beefmann