Any Bacon Makers Here?
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Came out nice and spicy,happyView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1456159348.819524.jpg
im about due to start the process on some more beggin. i need to call up BJs and see if they stock pork belly by me... I imagine this time I'll do around 30 pounds of it (which is 3 pieces, prior to trimming up)
zippybasher
Well-Known Member
Going to give Bacon a shot!
Just picked up a 9lb Belly @ Costco, some Pink Cure salt and Chines Five Spice.
Planning 5lb of Cayenne & Black Pepper
and 4lb of C5S
Was going to do 1/2 in Maple, but the C5S sounds like it will fit the bill nicely. Something different!
Just picked up a 9lb Belly @ Costco, some Pink Cure salt and Chines Five Spice.
Planning 5lb of Cayenne & Black Pepper
and 4lb of C5S
Was going to do 1/2 in Maple, but the C5S sounds like it will fit the bill nicely. Something different!
zippybasher
Well-Known Member
I added it right from the beginning... Ended up doing 3rds.
1 Salt and Sugar (Gotta compare to something)
1 S&S + Cayenne & Cracked Black Pepper ( a **** Ton
)1 S&S + Chinese 5 Spice (only 3 tsp) its strong and I didn't want to overdo it.
They are juicing out nicely, cant wait to smoke these babies! :rockin:
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1457632262.856215.jpgfirst attempt, 12lb from Costco.
Sliced into 4ths. First was equal cure and brown sugar, second was equal cure and brown sugar with black pepper, third was cure with 2 parts brown sugar and 1 part maple syrup I will add in a day or so, fourth was cure, brown sugar, pepper, crushed garlic cloves, and cayenne powder.
Fourth and 2nd look the prettiest going into the bags.
I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out!
Sliced into 4ths. First was equal cure and brown sugar, second was equal cure and brown sugar with black pepper, third was cure with 2 parts brown sugar and 1 part maple syrup I will add in a day or so, fourth was cure, brown sugar, pepper, crushed garlic cloves, and cayenne powder.
Fourth and 2nd look the prettiest going into the bags.
I'm pretty excited to see how it turns out!
Thats a great lookin belly moscoeb. Mine was much thinner. How are the laces of fat thru the thicnkess? Keep us posted! May have a friend go by Costco and grab me a belly. What were they charging per pound?
Next batch I do I want to overload it with pepper... mmmm
Next batch I do I want to overload it with pepper... mmmm
BaylessBrewer
Well-Known Member
I recently did a belly from Costco and IIRC I paid $2.79lb. Hard to see in the pictures but I was very pleased with the distribution of fat and meat.
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1458316271.062736.jpgView attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1458316282.536347.jpg
zippybasher
Well-Known Member
If you have a business Costco membership you may be able to order it from their website.
IDK, just a thought.
I paid $2.79 as well here in SoCal. Some of the bellies are very meaty and well marbled.
IDK, just a thought.
I paid $2.79 as well here in SoCal. Some of the bellies are very meaty and well marbled.
ericbw
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I think almost any grocery store with a butcher/meat department should be able to order it for you. If they cut meat at all, they should be able to, even the small shops that just cut steaks from a roast.
Asian stores often carry belly, if you have one of those around. (We have a grocery store that carries a lot of stuff that various "ethnic" groups like - Hispanic, Asian, Caribbean, etc.
Just about ready to cure my belly. Ordered some Pink Salt stuff on Amazon. Lifetime supply, apparently, but it was so cheap I can share it!
Just need to verify what temp to smoke it at. I want to have time to tweak my smoker if necessary. The original element burned out and I have used a smaller element but I don't think it gets as warm. I don't think I could cook a butt on it, anyway!
I'm thinking I remember 225 being the right temp. I'll have to rig up a thermometer and see if I can tweak it to reach that temp now that winter is over.
Just need to verify what temp to smoke it at. I want to have time to tweak my smoker if necessary. The original element burned out and I have used a smaller element but I don't think it gets as warm. I don't think I could cook a butt on it, anyway!
I'm thinking I remember 225 being the right temp. I'll have to rig up a thermometer and see if I can tweak it to reach that temp now that winter is over.
BaylessBrewer
Well-Known Member
My initial temp was 150 for the first 2-3 hrs and then I ramped temp to 170 for 30min and then 190 and pulled the bellies when internal temp was 150.
Too hot and you will start to render the fat and that's not what we want. Best advice I can give is to keep it below 200
Sweet! I can rig up a thermometer and I have lots of time to read up while it's curing. Mentioned I'm making bacon to the wife last night and she was all for it. She remembers Tiber's bacon too well!
I see there are all kinds of flavor possibilities, so I suspect I will be on a search for more pork bellies before too long.
BaylessBrewer
Well-Known Member
Be careful! This stuff is redneck crack I tell ya. Once you taste the difference between that slop at the store and what you're about to make you're bound to quit your job and lay up eatin homemade bacon all day! Lol
I didn't do any "flavors" so to say. Just went with the recipe from The BBQ Bible. One of these times I intend to add something extra to one or two bellies but for now I'll just stick to the original.
Dfitz
Well-Known Member
I think Ive made about every kind of bacon I could dream of. The standard side bacon flavored in many different ways.
Canadian bacon, this one a maple variation.
I've even made something called Lendenspeck. A Canadian bacon of sorts wrapped in bacon.
Yeah, who doesn't love bacon?
Canadian bacon, this one a maple variation.
I've even made something called Lendenspeck. A Canadian bacon of sorts wrapped in bacon.
Yeah, who doesn't love bacon?
Omg...
@Dfitz Need recipe for Lendenspeck, this is of the utmost importance!
I think Ive made about every kind of bacon I could dream of. The standard side bacon flavored in many different ways.
Canadian bacon, this one a maple variation.
I've even made something called Lendenspeck. A Canadian bacon of sorts wrapped in bacon.
Yeah, who doesn't love bacon?
OMG! See @Yooper THIS is why you need to make bacon. Just show this post to Bob...
Before you start, pull your slabs out of cure and rinse well. Hang or pat to dry at room temp. Use this time to get set up, no hurry. I preheat to 135*-145* F then hang or rack the slabs until they are dry if still needed, full open dampers. Don't apply smoke until they are dry. You have the time to wait so don't rush. Moisture isn't our friend.
I open the smoker door to drop heat a little, then apply chips, open dampers. I shoot for 3-4 hrs of smoke at this temp range and half damper. If ambient temps rise and I don't get decent smoke then I will go as high as 165* gradually, up to full open damper. That is near getting out of the cold smoke range but not bad. You shouldn't get too much fat drip if you are careful about raising heat. You get far better smoke results at lower temps because the slabs don't seal over like at higher temps and you get better absorption with less smoke application. When smoking at below freezing and lower ambient temps you may want to keep at the lower range during smoke application if your smoke generator burner and heat burner are the same one.
If you smoke too cool you don't get as good absorption in the same time period. There is nothing wrong with going higher or lower, longer or shorter. It is personal preference. I know a guy that loved salt pork smoked heavily in a smoke stack at about 110*. It was pretty good actually, I wouldn't do a 30# slab that way myself but a little was very good.
I have a 25# half side to smoke tomorrow or Friday. Brown sugar honey dry rub. Pecan smoke I guess. I should have gotten some maple cut but time slipped away. Pecan doesn't need any help just the same.
Making bacon is pretty easy. Making great bacon, well, that is easy too. Making fantastic bacon, like beer, may take a few tries. Making bacon that will be the best you can do? Ain't going to happen. Welcome to the addiction.
Have any of you made this Chinese Bacon Recipe? I made it last summer. Really interesting with the sichuan peppercorns.
Sichuan Chinese Bacon.
I did this Maple Expresso Bacon for my last batch.
Another interesting style I've played with is English Suffolk Style bacon made with a dark ale such as stout, porter or brown ale. I've done it with both a smoked stout (a waste if you're smoking it anyway) and of course homebrews.
My next bacon project is Lamb Bacon, but finding a Lamb Belly is difficult.
For folks who live in apartments where they can't have BBQ grills I posted some hot and cold smoking alternatives in this thread where I made maple bourbon bacon, maple bacon bourbon, and bacon balls with the bacon, powdered bacon fat, and the bourbon. 1st Charcuterie/Molecular Gastronomy Experiment, Maple Bacon Bourbon Balls I posted some attempts that worked for hot and cold smoking in my kitchen.
This was a way to both introduce smoke and cook the bacon in an oldschool griddle pan
Sichuan Chinese Bacon.
I did this Maple Expresso Bacon for my last batch.
Another interesting style I've played with is English Suffolk Style bacon made with a dark ale such as stout, porter or brown ale. I've done it with both a smoked stout (a waste if you're smoking it anyway) and of course homebrews.
My next bacon project is Lamb Bacon, but finding a Lamb Belly is difficult.
For folks who live in apartments where they can't have BBQ grills I posted some hot and cold smoking alternatives in this thread where I made maple bourbon bacon, maple bacon bourbon, and bacon balls with the bacon, powdered bacon fat, and the bourbon. 1st Charcuterie/Molecular Gastronomy Experiment, Maple Bacon Bourbon Balls I posted some attempts that worked for hot and cold smoking in my kitchen.
This was a way to both introduce smoke and cook the bacon in an oldschool griddle pan
I had just thought about using oriental 5 spice powder on my last cure then realized I was out of finished bacon. I'll probably try it on my next slab.
I don't see much heat out of hot peppers applied to curing sides, too much fat thus little absorption?. I did a custom pastrami rub which should have been pretty snappy, yet the finished smoked product didn't have any latent heat to speak of. It was still a great lunch/dinner bacon, just a little short of intended results. Then again, that is my opinion.
I don't see much heat out of hot peppers applied to curing sides, too much fat thus little absorption?. I did a custom pastrami rub which should have been pretty snappy, yet the finished smoked product didn't have any latent heat to speak of. It was still a great lunch/dinner bacon, just a little short of intended results. Then again, that is my opinion.
The sichuan pepper corns don't add heat as much as that mouth numbing sensation, been playing a lot with that lately.
I may have added some chilli flakes too, but I can't recall.
Jowls also make good bacon. The lean and fat pattern is weird looking. These usually go to grind. The best maple syrup bacon I ever made was from jowls. They really took up the flavor, better than sides do by far. I'd say it was due to the lean pattern. It has been 5 years since I've used them. I usually have around 100# of sides for myself every year and haven't given it much thought until just now.
Oldskewl
Well-Known Member
Anyone have a good Hillbilly(Buckboard) bacon recipe? I would like to try one in a couple weeks
I'm terrible about recording recipes whether beer, cured meats or cooking. I'm starting to correct this bad habit of relying on memory of past experience seeing as in a few years I may be classified as an old dub. Still, I like to shoot from the hip and generally don't miss. So... what the hell were we talking about? Oh yeah. Wimmin. No,bacon. Both are critical.
If you take any bacon or ham recipe that sounds interesting use it. You can modify it on the fly to fit your preference. What you can't modify are the cure amount, application and time. Flavoring, seasoning and sugar types are pretty much wide open.
I always took fresh hams and made deboned 2-2.5" slices then used those for Buckboard and Canadian bacon. Granted these are a bit lean but older gilts and sows tend to marble a bit after 8 months. Granted you need to raise your own or find a custom grower which I am.
My personal reason for using hams mostly is because they are the least wanted/valued cut. Too lean. I end up with a lot of fresh ham by weight. You can grind them but still need to add fat for decent burger or sausage and that fat comes most conveniently from sides which I prefer to put into side bacon.
If you take any bacon or ham recipe that sounds interesting use it. You can modify it on the fly to fit your preference. What you can't modify are the cure amount, application and time. Flavoring, seasoning and sugar types are pretty much wide open.
I always took fresh hams and made deboned 2-2.5" slices then used those for Buckboard and Canadian bacon. Granted these are a bit lean but older gilts and sows tend to marble a bit after 8 months. Granted you need to raise your own or find a custom grower which I am.
My personal reason for using hams mostly is because they are the least wanted/valued cut. Too lean. I end up with a lot of fresh ham by weight. You can grind them but still need to add fat for decent burger or sausage and that fat comes most conveniently from sides which I prefer to put into side bacon.
brewbama
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use cure #2 if you are making pancetta--Cure #2 is for dried/fermented meats and sausage like Coppa, pancetta, salami, etc.
Right. Cure #2 contains nitrates which slowly convert to nitrites which in turn oxidize off during the curing process. Thus my raising the question. If I read the recipe correctly it is a short term curing process, guess I better look again.
I bookmarked it for later reading. Kuma says it is past field check time.
ericbw
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Buckboard bacon is cured and smoked shoulder rather than belly. Remember to cure longer because it's thicker. Look up the recommended times per inch of thickness (measured from the center out, not the total thickness of the meat).
Got 3 two lb. chunks of bacon in the fridge with the cure. There isn't that much brine per baggie, though. I suppose it's just enough to cover the meat. I'll be turnign them over each day until the time is up.
Oldskewl
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the recipe brewbama! I was surprised to see cure#2 for that short of a cure also.
Just about to smoke my bacon (again. If only other sht didn't keep getting in the way!). I turned my bags of bacon yesterday again and I noticed there was NO moisture in the bags now. I thought the cure would draw a little out of the meat, not be completely absorbed by it!
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