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**nsh22** · 11-26-2011, 09:33 PM

Hey!

Im curing bacon tonight and was looking for some flavour suggestions. I have maple syrup and brown sugar. I also have quite a few spices. do any one you have any really nice combinations? I am already going to do one with just straight smoke but I would like to experiment with other flavours.
Also im curing 2.5lb pieces, is that too big of a piece to do in a small smoker? Howlong and at what temp should it smoke at? (i will only have an oven thermometer to tell :\ ) I will also be using curing salt.
Will post pics and recipe when I am done.

**Warped04** · 11-26-2011, 09:45 PM

So awesome! I love seeing people do this. You are curing it first for a couple of days before smoking right? Also, are you able to do cold smoking?

Are you looking to go "outside the box" with flavors? I've done a couple of pieces with fennel and ground up crushed red pepper and thyme, that I've loved, but I didn't smoke them.

**nsh22** · 11-26-2011, 10:36 PM

No, im not cold smoking, but it is a relatively slow smoke I think. one of my chefs suggested I smoke at 165F until the pork comes to the same temp. I'm still not quite sure about that, and I would like to hear some thoughts from members of the community.
I will be curing for about a week before I smoke so I have time for feedback. I think I will just add some maple syrup to the tester batch, I've done it before but didnt get much maple flavour so I will increase the amounts. I have a curing spreadsheet that puts in the correct amount of cure if anybody wants it.

**Warped04** · 11-26-2011, 10:43 PM

Interesting. Does your chef practice Charcuterie? I've used the smoking gun to get smoke in salmon and what not, and we have used our smoker with 200 pans of ice to get the smoke cold, and I have not smoked low to bring a temp up to 165, so I'm curious to see how this works out.

boo boo · 11-26-2011, 11:22 PM

[QUOTE=nsh22;3519240]No, im not cold smoking, but it is a relatively slow smoke I think. one of my chefs suggested I smoke at 165F until the pork comes to the same temp. QUOTE]

I think that would mean it was cooked at that temperature.

If you want to cold smoke, you could funnel the smoke from the smoker into a box containing the meat.
It's something I have to do when I smoke cheese again.
I had to recalibrate the thermometer on my smoker today... it was off by 100f.
Not good when smoking ribs slow only to find them over done.

**nsh22** · 11-26-2011, 11:34 PM

well the end product will come out cooked, not like storebought bacon.
and the chef im talking about did a month course i think at CIA and is big into charcuterie., it will be direct smoke, i will have a small electric burner with a pie plate of chips in an old barbecue. Im thinking it will take about 3 hours to smoke, should get enough flavour in it.
heres some pics of the belly

and possibly nsfw???

lol

boo boo · 11-26-2011, 11:42 PM

Looks like a fine slab of meat.
I haven't tried curing or smoking bacon yet, but when I get a belly, I just cut it up for fresh bacon. Not the same as cured though. I love bacon.

**nsh22** · 11-26-2011, 11:57 PM

The first batch uhhh..... kinda went up in flames... but was salvageable.

The recipe I will be using tonight:
Belly 1
Weight: 1150g
Cure Ratio: 0.05
Amount of Basic Cure Mix (below) Needed: 1150 x 0.05 = 57.5 (60g)

1. Rub cure mix and any other ingredients all over the belly, getting mix into every crevice. Stack Skin side down in plastic bag or other air tight container.
2. Refrigerate (below 40F!)for 7-10 days, turning them over and redistributing the cure every other day.
3. Pat dry and place on a stainless steel rack in fridge to sit over night, forming a pellicle.
4. Hot smoke at 185F to reach internal temp of 155F or about 3.5 hours. Cool and remove rind.
5. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks

This is the recipe from my school manual; we did this in class with a professional smoker and ice. I do not have access to either :P (well I could bring it to school.........)

Belly 2
Weight: 1265g
Cure Ratio: 0.05
Amount of Basic Cure Mix (below) Needed: 1265 x 0.05 = 63.25 (65g)
Maple Syrup: 1/4 cup
Vanilla: 1 Bean, Scraped

Basic Curing Mix
45g Tinted Curing Mix (Prague Powder #1) (6.25% sodium nitrite)
227g Salt
156g Sugar

Mix Thoroughly.

I tried to upload my spreadsheet but it didnt work, any ideas on how to do that?

Hugh_Jass · 11-27-2011, 12:04 AM

Cure, course black pepper, garlic, bay leaf, FTW

**Warped04** · 11-27-2011, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nsh22

it will be direct smoke, i will have a small electric burner with a pie plate of chips in an old barbecue.

Dude, I don't think that's going to be that hot. Alton Brown style, you could do it pretty cold in a cardboard box under the BBQ with a small pipe into it (where the rotisserie slot is or under the bbq if it's gas).

That basic cure is straight Ruhlman? It's nice, I've used it a couple of times, and that is a nice piece of belly you have. Are you going to hang it afterwords?