Bacon
- Thread starter Beerrific
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Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Buy pre-cooked bacon for the drunken bacon cravings. 
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I like to cook a whole package ahead of time & refrigerate it, then it's 10 sec in the microwave to eat.
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Eat it! Eat it!
When I'm a little drunk I tend to really enjoy very bold flavors, such as charred bacon. But what exactly is so delicious about it?
1) It's bacon, so already it ranks above all other meats (and food stuffs in general)
2) The charred flavor can make you think of BBQing, or if you eat it and then drink a beer, you've got a [Insert beer stlye]-bacon-rauchbier
Aaaaaaaaaand now I'm obsessing over making a Bacon Rauchbier...*Homer Simpson drool sounds*
1) It's bacon, so already it ranks above all other meats (and food stuffs in general)
2) The charred flavor can make you think of BBQing, or if you eat it and then drink a beer, you've got a [Insert beer stlye]-bacon-rauchbier
Aaaaaaaaaand now I'm obsessing over making a Bacon Rauchbier...*Homer Simpson drool sounds*
chefchris
Well-Known Member
Ever had bacon with chocolate? Delicious. They even sell bacon infused chocolate and the local wine/beer/deli store. I've pondered making a smoked chocolate stout many a nights.
And, yeah, just drink a smoked beer like Left Hand's Smoked Jumper Porter. You got your beer and your bacon in one serving. It's a balanced meal.
And, yeah, just drink a smoked beer like Left Hand's Smoked Jumper Porter. You got your beer and your bacon in one serving. It's a balanced meal.
chuggs
Well-Known Member
If you like bacon...you've got to try a fatty!
Take a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage...roll it out into a sqare. Put your favorite filling on it. I like Jalapenos & Cheddar. Roll it up. Wrap the whole thing with sliced bacon. Place on a Smoker and smoke until done at 220 degrees F. Let cool a bit to firm up. Slice & Serve.
Now if that doesn't get your bacon motor running...nothing will.
http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=18355&highlight=fatty
They've got some fatty porn at that link...
Take a roll of Jimmy Dean sausage...roll it out into a sqare. Put your favorite filling on it. I like Jalapenos & Cheddar. Roll it up. Wrap the whole thing with sliced bacon. Place on a Smoker and smoke until done at 220 degrees F. Let cool a bit to firm up. Slice & Serve.
Now if that doesn't get your bacon motor running...nothing will.
http://www.barbecuebible.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=18355&highlight=fatty
They've got some fatty porn at that link...
Seems like something you'd find on thisiswhyyourefat.com... but seems delicious nonetheless!
BarleyPop
Active Member
Im fat because of the beer I brew. 
ChshreCat
Well-Known Member
Microwave bacon pan FTW. Not QUITE as good as pan fried, but it's hard to screw up when you're drunk unless you punch 20 minutes instead of 2.
Yeah, thanks, pal. I've been craving bacon for over 2 weeks now and you just _had_ to bring it up.
I've burned pounds and pounds of bacon, so I learned to cook at a low heat and then sit somewhere close to the kitchen so I could smell it. Even after a few, the smell got me over to check it.
Anyhow, I completely understand and sympathize. After all, the _only_ thing better than bacon is beer.
F* that. Oven bacon is the way to go. I cure and smoke my own bacon, but this method works just as well for thick-cut commercial bacon (thinner cut bacon needs too be turned a little sooner).
I use a half sheet pan and wire rack arrangement for my bacon. A half sheet pan is the largest that will fit in a home (as opposed to commercial) oven. The wire rack is optional but well worth it. If you don't have a half sheet pan, use your broiler pan. One comes with every oven, so you have one, even if you've never used it. It's that sort of homespun enameled-looking thing with the slotted top rack. That'll do. Not as well as a half sheet pan with wire rack, but it'll work.
Lay your bacon out on the top rack (either the wire rack or the slitted top of the broiler rack) overlapping slices as little as possible. Slide the whole thing into a cold oven and turn it to the "Bake" setting at 400°. Set a timer for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, flip the bacon. Reset the timer for another 15 minutes. That'll usually do it, but depending on your oven, your bacon and your desired chewy/crispy ratio, you might want to let it cook for another 5 minutes or so. Up to you.
Oven bacon frees the stovetop for the rest of the breakfast cooking, but more importantly it produces perfectly cooked, flat bacon, and allows you to strain the bacon grease off for other purposes -- all without having to deal with a spitting, sizzling pan of curled up bacon. I keep a ramekin of bacon grease in the fridge at all times for biscuits and other savory baked goods. It also goes into greens & soups if I don't have some cubed bacon ready to go for rendering down.
Chad
I use a half sheet pan and wire rack arrangement for my bacon. A half sheet pan is the largest that will fit in a home (as opposed to commercial) oven. The wire rack is optional but well worth it. If you don't have a half sheet pan, use your broiler pan. One comes with every oven, so you have one, even if you've never used it. It's that sort of homespun enameled-looking thing with the slotted top rack. That'll do. Not as well as a half sheet pan with wire rack, but it'll work.
Lay your bacon out on the top rack (either the wire rack or the slitted top of the broiler rack) overlapping slices as little as possible. Slide the whole thing into a cold oven and turn it to the "Bake" setting at 400°. Set a timer for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, flip the bacon. Reset the timer for another 15 minutes. That'll usually do it, but depending on your oven, your bacon and your desired chewy/crispy ratio, you might want to let it cook for another 5 minutes or so. Up to you.
Oven bacon frees the stovetop for the rest of the breakfast cooking, but more importantly it produces perfectly cooked, flat bacon, and allows you to strain the bacon grease off for other purposes -- all without having to deal with a spitting, sizzling pan of curled up bacon. I keep a ramekin of bacon grease in the fridge at all times for biscuits and other savory baked goods. It also goes into greens & soups if I don't have some cubed bacon ready to go for rendering down.
Chad
The Ancient Scripts mentioned something about a person like you. Here you are, incarnate and willing to help us.
iotw, that's just plain cool. Seriously cool. :rockin:
If you ever need a taste tester, please let me know.
My god, a man who knows something on this board.
Trencher
Well-Known Member
+1000 for oven cooked bacon. I learned the beauty of this approach after being roped into making breakfast for SWMBO's friend's wedding shower. Made bacon, eggs, homefries and french toast for a dozen ladies, all in the oven.
Quick and easy!
Quick and easy!
Just got the pork belly and cure to make my own bacon. I'll have about 20 lbs when its done in about a week.
ChshreCat
Well-Known Member
When I was a kid, we used to raise a few pigs. I miss having fresh bacon in the freezer all year 'round.
arturo7
Well-Known Member
mmmm, bacon!
Scut_Monkey
Well-Known Member
Thanks for making me hungry OP, you jerk. Hahaha just kidding. I love bacon too, almost as much as beer, sleep, sex, sex and sex.
Scut_Monkey
Well-Known Member
Oh $h!t balls I'm on post 911 I have to get rid of that bad omen.
There done.
There done.
jmp138
Well-Known Member
This website gets alot of talk of the wonders of bacon, but we shouldn't forget the humble pork belly. A pork belly braised over night, sliced and then fried in little squares is one of the most amazing things you will ever eat.
Disclaimer: I love bacon, and pretty well any animal for that matter, but have you noticed that a great deal of the bacon out there today is just pure crap. Its tough to find a good strip of bacon, and when you do, its not in a pack. Even alot of the stuff you are getting at your local organic grocery store is almost pure fat. If you have the means and the will to do it, pin down a local farmer who can set you up with fresh bacon. I've developed a very nice working relationship trading growlers of homebrew for fresh local bacon and eggs.
Disclaimer: I love bacon, and pretty well any animal for that matter, but have you noticed that a great deal of the bacon out there today is just pure crap. Its tough to find a good strip of bacon, and when you do, its not in a pack. Even alot of the stuff you are getting at your local organic grocery store is almost pure fat. If you have the means and the will to do it, pin down a local farmer who can set you up with fresh bacon. I've developed a very nice working relationship trading growlers of homebrew for fresh local bacon and eggs.
dataz722
Well-Known Member
I agree completely. I hardly even eat it anymore just because it is crap. I have been looking into just buying bellies and smoking my own though.
ChshreCat
Well-Known Member
Check out craigslist. In most areas you can find people raising pigs and you can buy them at slaughter or cut and wrapped to order. Just fill your freezer, baby!
jmp138
Well-Known Member
I live in a fairly small farming community and I have found that producers of good meat are more than willing to deal with you on a barter system. And lets not kid ourselves, we make beer, who doesn't want to barter with us!
I had my first experience slaughtering a whole pig last week, basically the farm that I deal with raises and heirloom variety of pig, and they charge an exorbitant amount for the processed meat at market, but since I was willing to head out and slaughter it, I got enough pork for a year at a dollar a pound.
Slaughtering and butchering a pig is absolutely horrible work, there is just no way around that, but being into the whole cost effective thing, I am so very happy now.
I had my first experience slaughtering a whole pig last week, basically the farm that I deal with raises and heirloom variety of pig, and they charge an exorbitant amount for the processed meat at market, but since I was willing to head out and slaughter it, I got enough pork for a year at a dollar a pound.
Slaughtering and butchering a pig is absolutely horrible work, there is just no way around that, but being into the whole cost effective thing, I am so very happy now.
Hey, JMP138, where did you go for your hog? (And a PM is fine if you don't want to put it into writing in public).
I'm in Apex, just up US64 from you, and generally get my bellies from Rainbow Meadow Farm (100% Berkshire hogs) or Cane Creek Farm (Ossabaw Island hogs). While Eliza McClean at Cane Creek does an amazing job with her hogs, I find that for the way I cure and smoke, the Berkshires are better suited. I'm looking for a producer of English Tamworth hogs, the traditional hog breed for English bacon. Anybody around here who is willing to let you slaughter and/or break down your own hogs is worth looking into. Drop me a note.
Chad
I'm in Apex, just up US64 from you, and generally get my bellies from Rainbow Meadow Farm (100% Berkshire hogs) or Cane Creek Farm (Ossabaw Island hogs). While Eliza McClean at Cane Creek does an amazing job with her hogs, I find that for the way I cure and smoke, the Berkshires are better suited. I'm looking for a producer of English Tamworth hogs, the traditional hog breed for English bacon. Anybody around here who is willing to let you slaughter and/or break down your own hogs is worth looking into. Drop me a note.
Chad
Snyder
Well-Known Member
Came across this wonderful flowchart on another website. Don't know if it made the rounds around here yet.
[IMG="http://lowereatside.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/2129889439_efe6cc3215_o.jpg"]
[IMG="http://lowereatside.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/2129889439_efe6cc3215_o.jpg"]
jmp138
Well-Known Member
Chad,
Eliza knows whats up, Cane Creek Farm is putting out some of the best pork I have ever had. Thats where I get my cuts from. The ossabaw's have tremendous flavor as I am sure you are aware. Everything I have gotten from her has been through chatham market place or the carrboro farmers market. The pig I recently took was from a small farm that a friend owns, they had three berkshires and needed one to be gone so I helped them out. I just paid them a flat 100 bucks for the whole pig and they let me break it down right there.
Eliza will let you buy whole pigs at a live price and take care of everything right there at cane creek. I believe her price is around a dollar a pound if you harvest it yourself.
Let me know if you wanna talk about local sources for quality products, I know of a few folks putting out some very good fare.
Jason
Eliza knows whats up, Cane Creek Farm is putting out some of the best pork I have ever had. Thats where I get my cuts from. The ossabaw's have tremendous flavor as I am sure you are aware. Everything I have gotten from her has been through chatham market place or the carrboro farmers market. The pig I recently took was from a small farm that a friend owns, they had three berkshires and needed one to be gone so I helped them out. I just paid them a flat 100 bucks for the whole pig and they let me break it down right there.
Eliza will let you buy whole pigs at a live price and take care of everything right there at cane creek. I believe her price is around a dollar a pound if you harvest it yourself.
Let me know if you wanna talk about local sources for quality products, I know of a few folks putting out some very good fare.
Jason
bulletproof4age
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Is that what I had at The Strip House in NYC? I let my friend order. He got this, what I thought was Bacon, appetizer. It was definitely thicker than normal bacon and more layered. It was the most delicious bacony thing I have ever had. He said this type of appetizer was common place at steakhouses
?
jmp138
Well-Known Member
May very well have been, the pork belly is definitely having its renaissance. You are starting to see alot of it being served at fine dining establishments, but really its a cheap cut and best prepared at home, where you can enjoy all that artery clogging goodness along side a homebrew for about a tenth of the price.
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I think I've posted this on just about every HBT bacon thread; so here goes -- from my housboat trip on Lake Powell this summer:
Glasfeena
Well-Known Member
Oven bacon FTW!
This was a pound of bacon I made on a recent brew day. I made BLTs with it. The best part is that if you bake it in the oven, the fat is generally clear without bits of black carbon in it. Just pour it out into a jar and use it for frying up eggs or in soup or whatever!
This was a pound of bacon I made on a recent brew day. I made BLTs with it. The best part is that if you bake it in the oven, the fat is generally clear without bits of black carbon in it. Just pour it out into a jar and use it for frying up eggs or in soup or whatever!
jgln
Well-Known Member
I'd have a hard time doing this even not drunk. I'd spend hours trying to roll it into a square if I were drunk! :cross:
forcera
Well-Known Member
remilard
Well-Known Member
Is that what I had at The Strip House in NYC? I let my friend order. He got this, what I thought was Bacon, appetizer. It was definitely thicker than normal bacon and more layered. It was the most delicious bacony thing I have ever had. He said this type of appetizer was common place at steakhouses
Bacon is pork belly, cured and, generally, smoked.
Slab bacon is useful because for anything other than strips of bacon breakfast style, other cuts are more useful.
Very thick cuts, like you describe, can be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. These are great on sandwiches.
Lardons (little rectangles) can demonstrate the same contrast in textures and are good on salads.
If you are making BLT's or salads (or heaven forbid carbonnara, but this is a topic for another day) with sliced (even thick) bacon, you are doing it wrong IMO.
You can buy slab bacon, but I recommend curing your own. It is stupid easy, it makes extract brewing look like rocket surgery.
ChshreCat
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ChshreCat
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cyclogenesis
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barneygumble
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