Opinions on adding Bacon

[Revvy]

If I wanted beer and bacon flavor, I would have my nice beer in one hand, a plate of bacon in my lap. I would take a bite of my bacon, and then a swig of my beer. Glad I could help.

Cheers.

Wow.... really helpful there. SMH.

 

[ss4ivan]

My sister bought me the smoked bacon red ale from northern brewer and it uses an ounce of bacon extract in the fermentor. Kind of weary to brew this one, but I have to now that she bought it with milled grains. Other places probably sell the extract as well.

 

[Revvy]

So a question on this as well. I noticed you said at the end of the thread you used a different amount of salt. For a pound of pork belly how much salt would you suggest. Also just so I have it right, you basically let it sit in a rub and create a brine, let it dry, then use a drip pan method when baking and allow the drippings to fall into the alcohol. Then you just do the freeze method and straining.

Have you read about "EQ- Curing?" it differs from the saltbox method which (which is pretty much make a whole bunch of cure, rub it on, and let it go. EQ curing is done by calculating everything base on the weight of the meat, and using the minimum percentages (including the FDA recomended amount of pink salt) of all the ingredients.

here's a article about it.

I use this online EQ calculator to figure out the amounts needed. If I'm going by someone's bacon recipe, I tend to keep the spices and "adjuncts" the same the first time, but use the calculator for the salt, pink salt and (usually) the sugar amounts.

There's a cool bacon makers thread going on here now.

Also BYO magazing has an article on using bacon in beer.

And this is an interesting looking article explaining the "Fat washing" process I discussed earlier.

 

[Revvy]

Basically when "makin bacon" I use a two gallon ziplock bag, mix up my cure and spices, rub it on the belly, shove it in that baggie, stick in in a try in the fridge (try is optional, but just in case the seal goes) then twice a day I give the bag a rub to re-distribute the cure and then flip it over... usually in the morning when getting my coffee out of the fridge, then at dinner or bedtime when I'm going in the fridge.

Do this for a week to 14 days, then I rinse the cure off (if I used salt box method instead of EQ, I MAY soak the bacon for an hour or more if I think it's going to bee too salty) then I pat it dry, and I set in on a rack on a baking tray and put it on top of my kegs in the keezer, right under where my circulating fan it. Leave it for a day (or overnight) in there to let the pellicule form on top so it takes the smoke better.

Then I may baste it with something if the recipe calls for it (like more maple syrup and bourbon) or crack pepper. Then I smoke it in whatever way works for me. ( I have an electric smoker at my new place now, and I can hot or cold smoke it- or use a stove top smoker or the methods in that thread.)

225 for 5-6 hours until internal temp of 150-155 degrees

Then I save any of the fat/cracklings from the smoking along with some of the bacon I fry up after to infuse my alcohol.

 

[Sourz4life]

Basically when "makin bacon" I use a two gallon ziplock bag, mix up my cure and spices, rub it on the belly, shove it in that baggie, stick in in a try in the fridge (try is optional, but just in case the seal goes) then twice a day I give the bag a rub to re-distribute the cure and then flip it over... usually in the morning when getting my coffee out of the fridge, then at dinner or bedtime when I'm going in the fridge.

Do this for a week to 14 days, then I rinse the cure off (if I used salt box method instead of EQ, I MAY soak the bacon for an hour or more if I think it's going to bee too salty) then I pat it dry, and I set in on a rack on a baking tray and put it on top of my kegs in the keezer, right under where my circulating fan it. Leave it for a day (or overnight) in there to let the pellicule form on top so it takes the smoke better.

Then I may baste it with something if the recipe calls for it (like more maple syrup and bourbon) or crack pepper. Then I smoke it in whatever way works for me. ( I have an electric smoker at my new place now, and I can hot or cold smoke it- or use a stove top smoker or the methods in that thread.)

225 for 5-6 hours until internal temp of 150-155 degrees

Then I save any of the fat/cracklings from the smoking along with some of the bacon I fry up after to infuse my alcohol.

Much appreciated on all the info here. I'm definitely going to use this method. I'll of course post all the results.

I had another question that pertained to something you had mentioned in your https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=384898&page=4 thread. The closet curing set up. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time but never though I had the room. After looking at your set up I could def do something like that. My question is, after reading the info you linked on that thread on how to set it up, how did you allow airflow using that bag. Did you just leave it cracked open or cut a few holes in it.

 

[Rolsom]

I have the NB bacon red, just bottled last Tuesday. I'll let you know how it is when I pop one.
I also made a bacon tincture with vodka. Split one pound of bacon into three different experiments:
1) half cup of bacon fat with half cup of vodka.
2) half cup of toweled bacon in half cup of vodka.
3) half cup of fat, half cup of bacon, full cup of vodka.

My experiments have been sitting for 6 months, need to open them and see what the best combination is, or if it really mattered.

 

[Sourz4life]

Nice, definitely interested in your results.

 

[Revvy]

Much appreciated on all the info here. I'm definitely going to use this method. I'll of course post all the results.

I had another question that pertained to something you had mentioned in your https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=384898&page=4 thread. The closet curing set up. This is something I've wanted to do for a long time but never though I had the room. After looking at your set up I could def do something like that. My question is, after reading the info you linked on that thread on how to set it up, how did you allow airflow using that bag. Did you just leave it cracked open or cut a few holes in it.

IIRC I made a vent hole in the back, and covered it with mesh (I believe I used Drywall sanding screen) to prevent insects from getting in the hole. I made 2-3 hole near the top, and cut a rectangle of mesh and cut 2 larger rectangles of cereal box cardboard with the center cut out, and sandwiched the mesh between the two frames & glued it together then hotglued that inside over the area where the holes were.

Unfortunatly after my apartment building fire last year anything plastic that was food or brewing related had to be tossed out because of fear of chemical contamination from the smoke. I have a place that has both cool basement and an outside "shed" like pantry so I can do this stuff again, the basement appears to be year round in the 50's which is perfect for charcuterie. I haven't done a bag yet, but I just took a large rectangular rubbermade bin and turning it up on the side where the handle is I've made a "box" for the basement. I did pretty much the same gear setup inside, plus a coffee can 20w light bulb heater with one of my stc-1000 temp controllers to power it.

When I get back to sausage making I'll have to make a big bag setup again- It works great if you have a cool space to do it- then you just need to enclose it to provide moisture and protect the meat from insects and and any critters that might want it.

I have a pinterest board, or whatever it's called of Charcuteri stuff including info on making curing chambers, and recipes here.

 

[Sourz4life]

Much appreciated again!

 

[Revvy]

So if gelatin serves to bind fats in the consomme method, why would it not serve the same purpose if simply pitching gelatin after dry-hogging in secondary?

I've only ever done Heston Blumenthal's version of the consume method, and that requires freezing. Don't think you want to do that with your beer. It would be much easier to make an extract and clear that instead.

 

[Revvy]

Here are some pics my current curing chamber in my basement's fruit cellar. I have my first non bacon hunk of meat in there, it's a Spanish Lomo, a pork loin cured with real Spanish smoked paprika and garlic.

 

[FloppyKnockers]

I never thought that not adding bacon was an option.

 

[Sourz4life]

I dig the set up. You've inspired me to create my own!

 

[kombat]

I have no idea what I'm looking at, but it looks impressive and sounds delicious!

 

[Revvy]

I dig the set up. You've inspired me to create my own!

If you plan on curing your own meats, this is the Charlie Papazian or John Palmer must read bible on the subject.

Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing

 

[Sourz4life]

I bought the book from Amazon yesterday so going to give it a read once it gets here.

 

[Revvy]

I bought the booked from Amazon yesterday so going to give it a read once it gets here.

This thread reminded me to finally search for and order a copy of this book.

The reason I got into charcuterie was just my obsession with bacon, but because I'm Spanish, and growing up there was a certain type of Spanish Chorizo that our whole family would split a massive order of around every major holiday, it used to come up to Detroit from Carbondale Illinois. It would rotate as to which which family would place the couple hundred pound order, and whoever was the point person that holiday would then separate the orders into paper grocery bags and we'd go visit the various aunts uncles and cousins, and inevitably it would turn into a party. I remember when I was finally in my early twenties and I was the guy who went and placed the order for the family, and did all that. It was one of the last times the families did that. People got older and passed away, and traditions fell by the wayside.

And then sadly the Mexican Grocery that used to carry Spanish foods as well went out of business, so we couldn't even get it anymore (and I think the maker in Illinois went out of business too.)

I've searched for over 20 years to find Spanish Chorizo similar to what I grew up with, and nothing was even close. So I got into making my own cured meats to try to recreate from memory the flavors of that sausage. I've still not nailed it, so I'm hoping that this book helps.

 

[Sourz4life]

That's partly why I want to get into it. I grew up in Massachusetts with a Portuguese family. I grew up eating Chorizo and and Linguica. I moved to Maine about 6 years ago and that culture just isn't up here. When I go to visit my family in Mass I always end up coming back with a bunch of it for grilling and making Portuguese soup. Sadly its about a 6 hour drive so I don't make it down there often and the only place I can find it is a old time store that still makes it the same way for the last 80 years since they came to America. Unfortunately the man and wife that own the shop are getting old and its only a matter of time before it goes away completely. So that will be one of the things I will be trying to master as well so I can carry on the flavors of my childhood.

 

[LBussy]

Hickory smoke is 90% of the bacon flavor. That's what I'd go for.

Great, now I want to go learn to smoke meats.

 

[Revvy]

That's partly why I want to get into it. I grew up in Massachusetts with a Portuguese family. I grew up eating Chorizo and and Linguica. I moved to Maine about 6 years ago and that culture just isn't up here. When I go to visit my family in Mass I always end up coming back with a bunch of it for grilling and making Portuguese soup. Sadly its about a 6 hour drive so I don't make it down there often and the only place I can find it is a old time store that still makes it the same way for the last 80 years since they came to America. Unfortunately the man and wife that own the shop are getting old and its only a matter of time before it goes away completely. So that will be one of the things I will be trying to master as well so I can carry on the flavors of my childhood.

Next we'll want to try to make chorizo beer...

Nah, I don't think so... bacon + beer, yes. Anything else, no.

 

[Sourz4life]

Next we'll want to try to make chorizo beer...

Nah, I don't think so... bacon + beer, yes. Anything else, no.

Yeah, I would guess the flavor profile for something like that would be really hard to pair well. I will definitely be making some Chorizo though. Talking about all this is now making me take one of my batches of frozen Portuguese soup out so I can have it for lunch.

 

[Sourz4life]

Yea, the consensus is make an extract. I'm going to use the method Revvy suggested and documented.

 

[Revvy]

Yea, the consensus is make an extract. I'm going to use the method Revvy suggested and documented.

Have you decided if you're going to use a neutral alcohol or go with something like bourbon?

So, weird coincidence in regards to Portuguese Chorizo. I have a buddy who is a food reporter for CBC radio across the border in Windsor, Ontario, his wife has a major seafood allergy, one that's so bad that he can't even kiss her if he's been eating shellfish. She always goes back home to visit her parents right around this weekend every year, and he wants to then indulge in all the foods he can't eat around her.

I usually end up cooking mussels of some sort for him at this time. My facebook memories reminded me that a year ago last weekend I went and stayed at his place for the weekend and he took me around to some of his favorite places.

One of them was this great fishmonger owned by evidently an Italian Husband and a Portuguese wife so we're in there last year buying all sorts of beautiful shellfish including some juicy mussels, and over in a small meat counter there was Portuguese chorizo. I usually do a mussel dish with Spanish Chorizo so we got some and I whipped up the dish with some sourdough bread.

He raved about it so much he tweeted to his foody followers all about it.

So this morning he messaged me to say that his wife was leaving for the weekend, and he was going to be over this side the border most of the weekend working on a book he's writing. I mentioned if he wanted to swing by one night I'd cook something.

He brought up the mussels, and said he'd grab some of the chorizo if I was interested.

 

[Sourz4life]

Nice. Odd enough I spoke to my mother yesterday who still lives up in the area I grew up and when she comes down in May she's bringing me 15 pounds of chorizo and linguica

 

[Sourz4life]

Grabbing some fresh pork belly today to start the bacon extract process.

 

[Revvy]

I have a slab of pork butt which I'm going to make buckboard bacon with today. Buckboard I just learned is a type of bacon that used pork other than belly.

 

[Sourz4life]

I'm getting some fatback to make bacon with. I heard its popular in some parts of Europe. Just waiting for the pig to be butchered for that cut.

 

[Sourz4life]

Also, I'm curious. I'm using that EQ calc, what % do you usually go with the nitrate, also that is just the prague pink powder correct.

 

[spdalton]

Make a bacon infused alcohol, either Bourbon which is traditional in beers, or you could try with vodka or everclear (which won't add any additional alcohol flavor,) then "freeze" it so the fat cap settles on top and you can pull it out of solution (which will appease the armchair "it's gonna kill your head retention" chestnut that always gets repeated by people who never experiment but bring it up everytime someone attempts to get creative- I've done just about every thing someone has said would ruin head and had beautiful beers with plenty of head) strain it further, and add that at bottling or kegging time.

That's exactly how I did it for a Bacon Bourbon Stout I made a few years ago. Cooked up a few packs of bacon, drain just the fat into a 3/4 full bottle of cheap and nasty bourbon and let it sit for 2 weeks. Invite some friends over in the mean time to eat bacon sandwiches. After 2 weeks, I went through 2 or 3 cycles of freezing overnight, draining through a coffee filter to catch the frozen fat globules, and re-freezing.

The result was a rather strong smoky bacon bourbon which I would add a few drops to a poured beer, and that was really all you needed to give it a smoky, bacony, flavour and aroma punch.

Next time I would add it to each bottle before filling up and capping to let it mellow out and make it easier to serve but definitely experiment which another brew and add it post-bottle to find how many drops is right for the beer.

 

[nDub]

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