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Cape Brewing

DOH!!! Stupid brewing...
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I'm looking for suggestions on the cure for some bacon. It's the one thing I've tried to make a bunch of times and have never really been happy with it. The last batch I made was by far the best and that was the simple maple-cured bacon recipe out of Chacuterie.

I've made that cure before but the difference was, this time, I left it in the smoker much longer (about 6 hours) and it was dramatically better. It's not QUITE there though.

I don't want to do a "savory" bacon with herbs, garlic, etc. I am looking for a straight forward smoked bacon recipe.

The last one I did was:

2 oz salt
2 teas pink salt (#1)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup

The book says to then hot smoke it for about 3 hours until an internal temp of 150F. Like I said, I left it on for about 6 hours and it was much much better... and my internal temp was still only about 155F so it isn't like a roasted the stuff.
 
Why not cold smoke it. That might be the difference you need between what you have and what you are looking for.

I am actually going to pick up some bellies today to do over the weekend.
 
I dunno... I tried cold smoking my bacon a couple of times and the fat stayed crazy rubbery and nasty. Hot smoking seems to break down the fat so that, when you cook it, it actually crisps up a bit and isn't like chewing on rawhide.

Maybe I'm dreaming but the times I've made cold smoked vs. hot smoked... the hot smoked has always been dramatically better.

Even the recipes that I've seen for cold smoking... then tell you to bake the belly in the oven and I think this has a ton to do with what I was saying above.

no??
 
I dunno... I tried cold smoking my bacon a couple of times and the fat stayed crazy rubbery and nasty. Hot smoking seems to break down the fat so that, when you cook it, it actually crisps up a bit and isn't like chewing on rawhide.

Maybe I'm dreaming but the times I've made cold smoked vs. hot smoked... the hot smoked has always been dramatically better.

Even the recipes that I've seen for cold smoking... then tell you to bake the belly in the oven and I think this has a ton to do with what I was saying above.

no??

I have been wanting to do it for a couple years now but haven't so I can't say for sure. I just know that it does make a pretty big difference between the two. Maybe it has something to do with how thick you are slicing it? Main reason I haven't done bacon yet is because I was waiting to get a slicer.
 
Don't have a clue then. Either it was just the bellies you used. didn't let it cure long enough, or just personal preference. Hard to say.
 
When I have cold smoked... I sliced off a couple of pieces, cooked them up... and they were terrible. I then followed the last step in recipes I've seen with cold smoking and that is to put the belly in a 225F oven for a couple of hours and bring the internal temp up, cool and then eat.

... and once I did that final step, it was dramatically better.

it was way way better but still didn't have the exact taste I was looking for.

I am heading to the butcher in a few minutes to grab a couple more bellies so... I dunno... maybe I'll tweak the recipes just a hair here or there and see.

(got two really nice looking pancettas hanging in the curing closet now)
 
That is odd. I guess I will know in a couple weeks if I run into the same thing or not.
 
Hijack warning.

I've only made bacon once and its was pretty good (savory recipe out of Charcuterie). I don't really understand the point of putting it in the oven to bring the internal temp up to 150. I don't have a smoker, but can rig up a cold smoker fairly easily. Can you just cure and cold smoke without throwing it in the oven?

I can only imagine putting it in the oven at a low temp helps break down connective tissue and make it more tender?
 
That is all I can think of as well.

I might be in left field but it seems like bringing it up to temp changes the texture of the fat dramatically. I'm sure there are positives and negatives of of cold vs hot smoking but I don't think you want to skip the step of bringing it up to temp.

as I was saying in a post before, I've done a couple of cold-smoked and they were terrible until I put them in the oven and brought them up to temp, cooled them and then cooked as normal.
 
Cape, how much are you paying for the bellies? I thought when I called around before, not too long ago, that it was 1.99/lb. Now I am being told 3.99 everywhere I call.
 
and.... FINALLY... ordered my bactoferm

:ban: :tank: :ban:

I got the week off after Xmas and while I fully expect to get some stuff hung before that time off, I can damn giddy with what that meat curing closet is gonna look like come 1/1/12

I got those two pancettas in there... damn thing is freakin 60F and 60% humity in the button. Workin' like a rock star.
 
F-RM-52...

Pepperoni, salami and sopprasata right out of hte gates and then we'll see.

I am really happy with how the closet is working so I want to get a fair amount in there so I'll probably go a bit crazy trying all sorts of stuff.

The container of bactoferm that I got will make up to 110lbs of stuff so.... I should be fine for that week at least.
 
F-RM-52...

Pepperoni, salami and sopprasata right out of hte gates and then we'll see.

That is exactly what I would be doing too.

I can't wait until we move. The new house has an area that is practically completely unfinished that is larger than my entire house is now. I plan on making a decent sized room 10x10 maybe that I will keep at about 60 degrees and 60-65% rh. Since there is no basement it will be perfect for keeping beer, wine, cigars, and of course curing.
 
Holy shiit... Best bacon I've ever made...

Just did the basic maple bacon out of chacuterie and hot smoked it for about seven hours. I used hickory and apple and had the smoke really heavy throughout.

Wow.
 
Not really sure (embarrased to admit). I have an electric smoker and I simply plugged it in, kept tossing a ton of chips on it and let it go for 7 hours.

As long as you aren't "roasting it", I don't think it'll be a problem. You want to bring it up to around 165f as slow as possible. Trust me.

The new smoker the swmbo promised me has a thermostat so I plan at starting at 100f and slowly ramp up over as long as I can (honestly... Shooting for 24 hours ultimately)
 
ive made bacon a couple of times ive been using the ancient ancient technique with only using salt and some pepper and sugar. So far still alive! i dont have a smoker and have a tiny toaster oven, so after "curing" i slice as thin a possible, and bacon to the freezer! i find that streak bacon is a little not to my taste, i kinda prefer the lean bacon. also i make some mini slabs that i bake at around 250 for about 3 hours and then at 350 for about an hour and every 30 minutes i sprinkle brown sugar and more pepper and flip the slab to counter the saltiness and to ensure even cooking. but i may try to plain charcoal smoke with my open mini grill and cover using a garden pot but controlling the temp may very well be impossible. over here we never ever use electric grilling/smoking here it is just unheard of no matter what. and for my garden pot smoking plan i wil tryl fire up about a quarter or half of the grill and place the pot barely at the edge so it catches the smoke and some heat.
 
Weigh the belly. Then inject 20% of the weight of belly with a brine containing a mix of nitrate and salts. A little brown sugar in the cure off-sets the saltiness. The brine should be between 30 and 32-degrees on a salinometer (at 60F).

If a belly is say, 17-lbs to start, inject it until it weighs 20.4-lbs.

When the belly is injected to 20%. Sub-merge at least overnight in the same 30 to 32-degree brine. You can keep in the belly in the brine for at least a week. If mold and scum grows on the surface of the brine tank... just skim it off.

Bacon is efficiently smoked at 170F for upto 12-hours depending upon total meat weights in your smokehouse.

You might also like to try using a whole loin and also a boneless butt.
 
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