Home Made Bacon

[blugill]

Last night was the culmination of seven days of curing a full slab of pork belly!

I started with a big, I mean big like around two foot by three foot, frozen pork belly. thawed it in the fridge overnight.

The next day I mixed up a batch of curing rub from kosher salt, brown sugar, and maple syrup. I cut the slab into two pieces and then applied the rub. Top, bottom, sides, just all over it.

Then each slab went into a two gallon ziploc bag. Then into the fridge for a week! Flipping each slab over once a day so that the brine that forms will coat the entire slab.

After seven days the meat is cured, you can cut it and fry it if you want but I smoked it instead! About an hour and a half in the BGE with hickory chips. I wanted to use maple chips instead but couldn't find any in town:(

This bacon is very rich. It would make for excellent BLT sandwiches instead of breakfast bacon. It's meaty and sweet. Very cool flavor and much different than store bought bacon.

[captain53]

That is an interesting undertaking, sounds good.:tu

[G G]

Love me some bacon

[Razorhog]

Interesting. Sounds awesome! I'll stick with turkey bacon though :)

[shilala]

Wow, Andy. Sounds incredible!!!

[replicant_argent]

I hate to say it.. but we need pics.


Like "bacon" doesn't already make me Pavlovs dog, I thought I would just get a bigger towel.

[Chainsaw13]

Most excellent. I've got two belly slabs, about 26lbs, in my freezer just waiting to be thawed, cured and smoked. Just waiting for a time when I know I'll be home long enough to go through the process. I've used maple syrup in the past but the flavor never seems to come through.

Here's a pic from the last batch.

[icehog3]

Raisin (Mike) makes bacon like this, and fed an army at one of the Shack Herfs.....made the best BLTs I have had before or since. :tu

[captain53]

I have just got to give this a try but not sure where I could get the frozen belly slabs around here.:banger

[blugill]

http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o478/blugill69/photo-36.jpg
Raw, uncured pork belly.
http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o478/blugill69/photo-37.jpg
After rubbing the curing mixture on the bacon and placing in the two gallon ziploc bags. That should give you an idea of how big the slabs are.

[blugill]

I have just got to give this a try but not sure where I could get the frozen belly slabs around here.:banger

I'd start with any butcher shop. Grocery stores really don't carry a cut of meat like that.

[kelmac07]

Sounds delish!! :D

[CEC_Tech]

If I did that, i'd be eating bacon every day. It's like crack to me. heh heh.

Way to go, that bacon looks excellent!

[Chainsaw13]

I'd start with any butcher shop. Grocery stores really don't carry a cut of meat like that.

Yep, that's the best bet. They should be able to special order it for you. I've found a local farmer that raises hormone/antibiotic free pigs and get mine from him.

blugill, post how they came out.

[dunng]

:dr :dr

[nater]

Oh my, that looks amazing! :dr

[jaydub13]

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bacon..... Nicely done, thanks for sharing!

[SvilleKid]

Andy??? What the Heck's the matter with you????!!!!???!??

Don't you know I'm trying to lose weight? Ain't gonna happen with you posting threads like this.

Darn. Now I gotta go find me some bacon fat to eat!

[blugill]

http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o478/blugill69/photo-38.jpg

http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o478/blugill69/photo-39.jpg

Pictures as requested:)

[OSV]

Kosher salt on pork hahaha very ironic

[Neuromancer]

Kosher salt on pork hahaha very ironic

:tpd: :r

[G G]

Can you bomb me with some of that?:tu

[GreekGodX]

add this to meats to smoke in the summer list :tu

[Salvelinus]

That sounds amazing. I would eat it all too quickly, and then regret ever making it.

[MortonMilo]

likely the most delicious sounding thing ive ever heard of.

[tx_tuff]

BACON BACON BACON!! I think J Drew is working on making a bacon cigar, or was that the Flying Pig LOL.

[ucla695]

Bacon makes everything better! :dr

[raisin]

Raisin (Mike) makes bacon like this, and fed an army at one of the Shack Herfs.....made the best BLTs I have had before or since. :tu

Thanks for remembering, Tom... but actually what i prepared was "Buckboard Bacon", made from the shoulder of the pig which is 90% meat as opposed to the 90% fat in belly bacon.
http://shop.himtnjerky.com/online/product.php?productid=25&cat=252&page=1




http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o478/blugill69/photo-36.jpg
Raw, uncured pork belly.
http://i343.photobucket.com/albums/o478/blugill69/photo-37.jpg
After rubbing the curing mixture on the bacon and placing in the two gallon ziploc bags. That should give you an idea of how big the slabs are.



This is not technically "bacon", either - no nitrates! If you want the real bacon color, flavor, and long shelf life you need the addition of nitrates to the salt. This is the difference between salt pork and bacon. I just this week had a BLT made from bacon 9 months old (unfrozen), i would not try that with bacon that was just salt cured.

[blugill]

This bacon will only last about two weeks. I specifically didn't want any nitrates in it. It is just salt and sugar cured.