Made my first batch of bacon, wow, oh so good! Maybe sliced a bit too thick on the first round, but still OH SOOOO GOOD!! Simple salt and pepper seasoning, then smoked on the grill.
Making bacon
- Thread starter kckndrgn
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Yep, I love curing my own. It tastes so much better, and cooks so much better. Try finding a hippie farm near you that does heritage breed hogs. I love Berkshire meat, and can get it from the farm directly.
I bought a big 10" knife just to get the slicing down a little bit more precisely, but it's hard to get it uniform. I usually have to par-freeze mine, and even then its pretty all over the place. Looks like you hot smoked yours too, which is nice from a food safety perspective. But in my experience, it's more difficult to cook like normal because it's already been cooked. The only recipe I've ever used was this one:
2% kosher salt
1.25% brown sugar
0.25% pink curing salt
1 clove of garlic, per pound of meat, rough chopped
1 bay leaf per pound of meat, torn up
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
hand cranked black pepper until my forearms scream in agony. Usually about 15grams
5 days in the tupperware, flipping the meat each day to ensure contact with the curing brine. Rinse the granular off on the last day, set on a rack to dry in the fridge, then hot smoke appx. 250° for about 2 hours.
I bought a big 10" knife just to get the slicing down a little bit more precisely, but it's hard to get it uniform. I usually have to par-freeze mine, and even then its pretty all over the place. Looks like you hot smoked yours too, which is nice from a food safety perspective. But in my experience, it's more difficult to cook like normal because it's already been cooked. The only recipe I've ever used was this one:
2% kosher salt
1.25% brown sugar
0.25% pink curing salt
1 clove of garlic, per pound of meat, rough chopped
1 bay leaf per pound of meat, torn up
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
hand cranked black pepper until my forearms scream in agony. Usually about 15grams
5 days in the tupperware, flipping the meat each day to ensure contact with the curing brine. Rinse the granular off on the last day, set on a rack to dry in the fridge, then hot smoke appx. 250° for about 2 hours.
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No sugar in my cure, I'm eliminating as much sugar as I can. I know not much is left in the meat after rinsing it off, but if it's not needed I eliminate it. I don't recall the ratio's but it was salt, curing salt and pepper for 10 days, flipping everyday or there abouts (we had a family issue while it was brining so I was not available for a few days). Rinsed the belly off, then back in the fridge on a rack for 24 hours to dry.
I smoked it between 165-185 (trying to keep it on the lower end for about 8 hours. Internal temp of the belly was 150 when I removed it. Let it sit in the fridge overnight then sliced this morning. I have a deli slicer, so I was able to get consistent slices.
I'll look into the heritage hogs.
I smoked it between 165-185 (trying to keep it on the lower end for about 8 hours. Internal temp of the belly was 150 when I removed it. Let it sit in the fridge overnight then sliced this morning. I have a deli slicer, so I was able to get consistent slices.
I'll look into the heritage hogs.
Forvols
Well-Known Member
Man that looks great.
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Where do you get pork belly?
I got mine at Sams. A local butcher should have some as well.
I'm jealous of your deli slicer. I got a consumer-grade one that's just too small for this and it made a huge mess when I tried it. But the Berkshire bellies are incredible. If you can get a whole primal side of pork, it's got the belly portion, rib-bones, and a big chunk of the loin. I love getting those because I can render down lard, get at least 2 meals out of the loin, plus the ribs, plus the bacon, and then some. I cure mine skin-on, then remove the skin with a fillet knife while it's still warm. The skin is a great addition to stocks or soups
