Any Bacon Makers Here?

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snoyes

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I have been making my own bacon for years now. Anyone else into this delicious hobby? I also dive into sausage making and of course lots of homebrew.
 
I make all sorts of Charcuterie belly bacon, Buckboard Bacon, and Canadian Bacon included. It's really easy to do.

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I've done shoulder and belly bacon, turkey legs, and corned beef. It is surprisingly easy. I thought I would just try shoulder bacon (buckboard) to make something leaner/healthier, but it turned out to be a gateway meat. Th turkey legs were ok, but it's hard to get big slices off them. Next time, it will be thighs.
 
My first thought...

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But seriously...anyone care to post a primer on DIY bacon? I didn't see a bacon sticky in the meat-smoking section. What equipment is needed? Processes? Best cuts of meat, etc.?
 
My first thought...

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But seriously...anyone care to post a primer on DIY bacon? I didn't see a bacon sticky in the meat-smoking section. What equipment is needed? Processes? Best cuts of meat, etc.?

Equipment: large ziploc bags (2-2.5 gallon, depending on the size of the meat), refrigerator, a container to put the ziploc bagged bacon in while it cures (to catch leaks), a grill or smoker if you want to smoke it.

Best cuts of meat: belly or side is the classic bacon we get, but shoulder works, too. Pork loin is Canadian bacon. Lots of opinions on this, but belly and shoulder are the most common, and belly is fastest and easiest for a first time.

The process is 2 steps: cure and smoke. Curing is preserving and flavoring the meat with salt and (usually) nitrate/nitrite. Pink curing salt is what give it the color and some flavor. Read up on it - it's poisonous to eat straight, but you're using a tiny amount. You might be able to buy it from a sporting goods store if they sell stuff for hunters to make jerky or cure meat. You might find it at a brewing store, or you might have to order it online.

The basic cure (by weight) is 1lb kosher salt, 1/2 lb sugar, and 2oz pink salt.

Using belly: Wash and pat the meat dry. Put it in a sheet pan and cover it with cure. Flip it over and cover it with cure again. Make sure the edges and every bit of it are covered. Check again.

(You should have leftover cure unless you did a big piece. Don't save the stuff that touched the meat, but save the leftovers that didn't.)

Slide the belly into a ziploc bag, push all the air out, and seal it. Put that package in a container and put it in the refrigerator. It needs to cure for 5-7 days per inch of thickness, so for belly, that's usually a week. For thicker pieces, measure from the center to edge, and that's the thickness. (A shoulder might be 3 inches, so about 3 weeks.)

While it is curing, flip it over every day or every other. It will be expelling liquid and making a brine. Make sure the brine stays in contact with the meat.

After a week, it should be firmer than when you started.

Rinse it off well. I find cured meat is often too salty, so soaking in cold water for a couple of hours will help to draw some out. Or put it in a pot of water, heat it to a boil and turn it off. Let it sit till cool.

Dry the meat well and put it in the fridge uncovered for a day. This forms a better surface for smoke to stick to.

You can then smoke the meat at 200 degrees or so until it hits 150 degrees internally. You can also roast it in the oven without smoke at 200 degrees. OR you can start on the smoker for a couple of hours, then switch to the oven. Let it cool enough to handle and cut the skin (rind) off.

Cool completely, then refrigerate overnight BEFORE trying to get thin slices. (But you should cut a small slice and fry it just to taste!) But you'll get even slices if it is cold.

You can vary the cure by adding garlic, maple syrup, bourbon, lots of black pepper, etc. You can also re-coat it with pepper before smoking.


It is pretty easy and straightforward. I would say almost foolproof.

Now that I spent all this time typing, I'll see if someone beat me to the punch!
 
Ericbw: thanks for the detailed instructions! I might have to give that a try. I don't have a smoker, but my neighbor does. The rest of the process looks straightforward. Might have to make up a batch of thick-sliced maple bacon. Mmmmmm...bacon.
 
Ericbw: thanks for the detailed instructions! I might have to give that a try. I don't have a smoker, but my neighbor does. The rest of the process looks straightforward. Might have to make up a batch of thick-sliced maple bacon. Mmmmmm...bacon.

Then I would add about 1/4 cup of maple syrup to the curing bag. Try to massage it around when you're flipping the meat to get it evenly distributed.
 
I made some last year. My wife rolled her eyes at me, but 10 lbs went in about 3 weeks (gave some to friends, etc). One of the pork bellies, I used this maple syrup that was aged in rye whiskey barrel. That stuff was delicous.
 
I started a piece of bacon yesterday, and I was going to post pictures. I guess I don't understand how to do that. All pics have to be hosted somewhere and linked from here?
 
I made bacon once, and it was delicious. My wife gave a ton away, which I was. Rather upset about.
It is easy, but the devil is in the detail. Good information here.
One suggestion for first timers, when you get the big piece of pork belly, it's probably too big for ziplock bag, so you will need to cut it most likely. When you do this, think about how you want to slice the bacon when it's finished before you do any cutting. It's best if the pieces result in uniform thickness and square or rectangle pieces for even slicing and similar sized pieces of bacon for even cooking. If you're using a meat slicer machine, check the travel if you want to before cutting the bacon. I can't do full sized bacon slice (lengthwise) on my budget slicer. I will also add that I often buy regular or thin sliced bacon because it cooks faster, but will tell you it is usually harder and more time consuming to try to slice your homemade bacon thin, and is a little easier to slice and package the thicker slices.
I had been planning to do some this year, maybe after spring break.
Would like to try some jowl bacon.

By the way, just assembled the parts to build an arduino controlled and monitored dry curing chamber based on some sketchy plans and code I spotted on egullet forum. Uses fans, micro relative humidity detector, lamps, and ultrasonic humidifier to regulate humidity and temperature. I think I should be able to conduct fermented sausages, as well as cured meat etc. might consider someday adding a cold smoke feature to cold smoke inside of it, but concerned all other meats would take on the smoke flavors.... Will be posting pics as soon as I can get some time to begin working on it. I am relying on some help from forum members for the coding.
 
I thought I would throw my process into the mix. I use this for belly bacon, buckboard bacon (made from pork shoulder), and cheek or jowl bacon. I've been curing and smoking my own bacon for years now.

IMG_2097.jpg

(Buckboard Bacon)

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(Belly Bacon)

My Dry Cure Bacon Method:

  1. Follow the cure instructions precisely: (1/2 ounce of Tender Quick per pound of meat. ½ ounce = 1 TBSP). I apply the Tender Quick directly to the meat, and I rub it into every nook, cranny and fold of the meat surface.
  2. I rub brown sugar & pepper onto the meat over the Tender Quick. Others apply all manner of spices, sugars and syrups at this point (particularly Grade A Maple). Your imagination is your only limitation. Still others believe that adding syrups or honey at this point is not very effective toward adding flavor.
  3. I seal the bacon in Foodsaver bags, although Ziplocks work fine. Just get as much air out of the bags as possible.
  4. I flip & massage the bacon daily for 8-10 days. A little longer is better than too short a time in the cure. The cure salts will pull moisture out of the meat; do not drain off the moisture during the curing process.
  5. Once the appropriate cure time has passed, perform a fry test for saltiness. If the bacon is too salty for your taste, soak in cold water for an hour or two, and re-test. Some advocate soaking overnight in the fridge. Again, this is a matter of personal taste and preference. DO NOT skip this step or you will have a salt bomb.
  6. Once the salt level is to your liking, pat dry and refrigerate uncovered for at least 4 hours on cooling racks to form the pellicle ( a dry but tacky feel to the meet surface). Some will leave uncovered in the refrigerator overnight to form the pellicle. I prefer to set the BBB on racks on the counter and blow a fan over them for an hour or so. This step helps the bacon take up the smoke. If the surface is still wet, it will not take up smoke very well.
  7. Some apply spices at this point because they believe that the spices take better than when added in with the cure. Syrups or honey may also be brushed onto the bacon at this point. Others believe that adding syrups (particularly Grade A Maple) or honey at this point is not very effective toward adding flavor. Again, this would be personal preference and taste; experiment and decide for yourself.
  8. Some begin the cold smoking process at this point. I set the bacons on racks in the smoker without smoke at 130˚ for 1 hour to ensure good pellicle formation.
  9. Smoke 6 to 8 hours at 130˚ with smoke. Then raise the smoker temp to 170˚ to 180˚ with smoke, until the internal temp of the bacon reaches between 145˚ and 150˚.
  10. Cool bacon and refrigerate (cold bacon is easier to slice). Some advocate resting the bacon refrigerated overnight before slicing and consuming.
  11. Slice and portion according to preference.
 
I make all sorts of Charcuterie belly bacon, Buckboard Bacon, and Canadian Bacon included. It's really easy to do.

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Nice little rig there. Is that sitting in a Weber Smoky Mountain, or another type of smoker? Did you make the rack for hanging the meat yourself or buy it?

Not having a real full blown smoker and just a weber kettle my issue with getting bacon right has been not being able to keep the temp down for bacon. Have been thinking about trying this out:

http://www.amazenproducts.com
 
I have one of those amazin tube smokers. It can be tricky to get lighted up and staying lit. They do generate some heat, at least in my smoker. I don't use it much, but it will crank out the smoke.
 
Not having a real full blown smoker and just a weber kettle my issue with getting bacon right has been not being able to keep the temp down for bacon. Have been thinking about trying this out:

http://www.amazenproducts.com

I have and use several different smokers, and I always return to the good old Weber for small jobs. Cool smoking in a Weber kettle is easy with either the Amazen rig or an even simpler method. I use a soldering iron poked through the side of a metal coffee can near the bottom of the can. Pile wood dust or chips over the tip of the soldering iron and plug it in. This will generate a nice smolder without too much heat. I smoke bacons, fish and cheeses this way in my Weber (or any other rig) regularly.

A few things to note:

  • Use a brand new soldering iron
  • Cool smoking is not cold smoking
  • Wood dust works better than chips, but mixing the two works fine as well
  • finding a good, clean metal coffee can is getting more difficult!

Your new rig will look like this:

solderingiron.jpg


Ironically, I found this pic from another post somwhere here on HBT. :mug:
 
I have and use several different smokers, and I always return to the good old Weber for small jobs. Cool smoking in a Weber kettle is easy with either the Amazen rig or an even simpler method. I use a soldering iron poked through the side of a metal coffee can near the bottom of the can. Pile wood dust or chips over the tip of the soldering iron and plug it in. This will generate a nice smolder without too much heat. I smoke bacons, fish and cheeses this way in my Weber (or any other rig) regularly.



A few things to note:



  • Use a brand new soldering iron
  • Cool smoking is not cold smoking
  • Wood dust works better than chips, but mixing the two works fine as well
  • finding a good, clean metal coffee can is getting more difficult!



Your new rig will look like this:



solderingiron.jpg




Ironically, I found this pic from another post somwhere here on HBT. :mug:


What temp are you getting in the grill with that. What about the temp of the meat?
 
Tried this for the first time last weekend. Simple dry cure mix of salt, sugar, and Insta-cure #1.

Dry rubbed the fresh pork belly and bagged it up in the frig for 6 days.
Smoked at 160 degrees for 4 hours.

Delicious.

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Bacon maker checking in from Canada. I just tried one of my latest recipes on tenderloin instead of belly. Came out great!

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I will have to find the finished product pic.
 
I used one of our original bacon cures (http://www.brewandbeast.com/product/brew-and-beast-original-bacon-cure/) on 5lbs of tenderloin.

The recipe is based off this one from Michael Ruhlman (http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2/)

Basically take your cure and rub it into the meat, put into a pan and place it covered in the fridge for a week. Turn it every other day and rinse off the excess salt. I added some Korean chilli flakes for a little extra kick.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1445214356.552300.jpg

And the end result! Texture is similar to a pastrami.
 
I used one of our original bacon cures (http://www.brewandbeast.com/product/brew-and-beast-original-bacon-cure/) on 5lbs of tenderloin.

The recipe is based off this one from Michael Ruhlman (http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2/)

Basically take your cure and rub it into the meat, put into a pan and place it covered in the fridge for a week. Turn it every other day and rinse off the excess salt. I added some Korean chilli flakes for a little extra kick.

View attachment 310394

And the end result! Texture is similar to a pastrami.


I did the same with shoulder. It's a lot less fatty than belly, so it's healthier. It's more meaty, like ham, and it doesn't crisp the same. But very good.

I would expect tenderloin to be really good!
 
I love making bacon, either belly (streaky in the UK, or hotel bacon as a friend of mine calls it) or back (Canadian) bacon. I tend to cure in salt, sugar, herbs (garlic, thyme, oregano, juniper...all good!) and a tiny amount of salt petre for 5-7 days before smoking.

bacon.jpg


Bacon2.jpg
 
I love making bacon, either belly (streaky in the UK, or hotel bacon as a friend of mine calls it) or back (Canadian) bacon. I tend to cure in salt, sugar, herbs (garlic, thyme, oregano, juniper...all good!) and a tiny amount of salt petre for 5-7 days before smoking.


What cut is the first pic? Back?
 
I'm excited! Butcher is calling me back next week when our half a hog is cut up. I'm getting belly so I can make my own bacon. I gotta dig up that recipe that guy in the uP used to make his. It was phenomenal!

I might try a couple of different recipes though.
 
What cut is the first pic? Back?

Yup, back AKA loin. MY first attempt so just a cheap supermarket tied roasting joint, opened out, hence the slightly funny shape. Now Winter approaches in the UK my local butcher will be getting some more business...
 
Yup, back AKA loin. MY first attempt so just a cheap supermarket tied roasting joint, opened out, hence the slightly funny shape. Now Winter approaches in the UK my local butcher will be getting some more business...


It's kind of a different looking cut than we get here.
 
Bought some bacon at the asian market not long ago. Didn't really pay attention to what I got.

Turns out it was uncured pork belly and sliced like bacon. Thing was the skin was still on and being sliced so thin you could even see hair follicles. (shudders)

I fried and tried it anyway. Won't do that again. It was very bland and the skin was far too firm and chewy.
 
I am yet to make bacon but it is on the list of things to try doing very soon. I am cooking homemade sausage for dinner, tonight, that I stuffed over the weekend in natural casings. I also have supplies on the way for making pepperoni. Next year, house will be purchased ==> Then it will be everything from building my ideal in-home brewery and growing hops to building a smoker, raising pigs and curing everything under the sun.
 
Bought some bacon at the asian market not long ago. Didn't really pay attention to what I got.

Turns out it was uncured pork belly and sliced like bacon. Thing was the skin was still on and being sliced so thin you could even see hair follicles. (shudders)

I fried and tried it anyway. Won't do that again. It was very bland and the skin was far too firm and chewy.


Uncured belly should be cooked low and slow. Could be the base for a pot of beans.

But I don't know why it would be sliced if it's raw.
 
Uncured belly should be cooked low and slow. Could be the base for a pot of beans.

But I don't know why it would be sliced if it's raw.

Quite common in the asian markets in the Vancouver, Canada area. It really is meant to be cooked low and slow or in a soup.

In Canada I can get belly(side pork) through the superstore chain. Just have to call ahead.

We use it all the time for testing new recipes since it's the cheapest and if our cures work on this, we know it's going to be awesome on the nicer cuts and qualities you get from your local butcher.
 
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