Bacon made the easy way...

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thanx for the link to the thread. i'm gonna try to get some. when i did a "dry cure" in a ziploc bag after i rubbed it with the dry ingredients i slathered on some honey and left in in the fridge for 10 days flipping it every other day. i also left the rind on. when i cooked it up you could taste the honey in the rind bites. i'm thinkin i might just do the same cure and then try the brine cure on my next batch. i'll see how many people want more bacon after they get this run.
 
got my first batch of belly coming today!  I have a few overall questions....

1. can this process be used for both skin on and skin off pork belly?

2. does the bacon need to smoke until it reaches any specific internal temp?

4. any recommendations for how long to leave in the smoker- i dont want to oversmoke it !

5.  anyone ever use LEM Meat Cure (bass pro sells it)  says it continans salt and 6.25% sodium nitrite (looks like normal pink salt)

6. i got about 5-6 lbs of belly, i can just make enough cure to cover them....no special instructions for a smaller batch ?

thanks guys  - i'll post some pics along the way here.
 
So after all these years, I'm finally going to ask about the brining method.  I have always done my bacon with a dry cure.  One of the reasons is I can coat it in the cure mix on sunday night, and smoke it by the next saturday.  If I leave it more than 5-6 days, it becomes so salty that I can't soak it out.  For ease of measurement I've been using High mountain seasonings buckboard bacon cure as I find it makes good BBB, and excellent bacon.  Typically I cold smoke it over a double lit AMS for 14-16 hrs, replenishing the AMS after 8 hrs.     I prefer Hickory or apple.

Now, what is the advantage of the wet cure/brine method?  Is it because you don't have to measure per lb? Also, for those that are smoking it for 30+ hrs I noticed it is quite browned on the outside by the pictures.  I've always been concerned that it would get bitter letting it run that long, I'm guessing it's not an issue?


Catz, morning..... If you use cure #1 and your spices of choosing, you can adjust the salt in a dry rub curing process.... I add 2% salt, based on the weight of the belly... let it sit for up to 2 weeks... never gets too salty....
 
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No weighing,no calculator, just a simple recipe that works quite well, from a man I have known all my life. 

Pops Dad..Carl Fassett owned a store and was very highly regarded for his smoked and cured products.

There are lots of ways to make bacon. This is what I use. From Pops6927..

real simple curing brine:

 for every 1 gallon of water, add:

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)

1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji]

1 cup brown sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji] brown sugar mix

1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.)   If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce.  The maximum concentration allowed safely is 3.84 ounces per 1 gallon of brine (24 lbs.per 100 gallons: 16 oz. x 24 = 384 ounces, 1/100th is 3.84 ounces).  You can experiment with different concentrations as long as you keep it between those parameters.

I add pepper,onion, garlic, old bay.

My buddy Raptor and I split a 4 bellie case a few weeks ago.

Cut them up and put them in a bucket with the cure mix...then into the spare fridge for 15 days.

No specific reason for 15 days..it just worked out that way.

Rinsed and put back in the fridge with a generous coating of pepper onion and garlic on half. Added a thick coat of Slap Yer Mama on the other half.

2 days later they got 34 hours of pecan dust smoke using 2 amazens.

Sliced off the skins with ease using my Granpas steel filet knife.. Skin side down cutting like skinning fish.

Back into the fridge for a couple days.

Used my awesome Berkel commercial slicer and had 22 pounds sliced and 2 pounds of ends in no time.

Vac packed using Lisa Bs superb bags.

Try it you will like it..

Here's the B-View. Enjoy!!

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do you have a rough estimate of about how much pepper, onion, garlic, and old bay you add per gallon of brine? or do you just put them on after they are brined, rinsed, and dried?
 
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Put that stuff on after it comes out of the brine.  I've tried all kinds of stuff in my brine and what I've noticed is that you don't see any difference in the end product.  Just stick to the sugars, salt and cure.  I've done this receipt 4-5 times now and tried all kinds of rubs (hot, sweet, just peppercorn, etc.).  What I've noticed is the best is peppercorn and garlic powder, done.
 
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Ok, so I am smoking my first bacon tomorrow, i plan on doing 8 hours of cold smoke then bringing the IT up to 130-135... My plan after that is to leave it in the fridge and sit until friday evening when I plan on slicing and vacuum packing.. My question is, when you leave it sit for what will be close to 48 hours before slicing. would you recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap for the 48 hour sit, or just leave in the fridge uncovered? thanks! 

-Baydoe
 
Yes the fridge will smell of smoke but the hanging is also to help dry the surface moisture after it has been in the smoker. At least for the first 24 hours you should leave it hanging unwrapped. The fridge is going to smell of smoke anyway after that so you may as well leave it unwrapped for the whole 48 hours... I have a separate fridge that I use to hang my bacon for just that reason.

Great looking bacon 
icon14.gif
 
 
Ok, so I am smoking my first bacon tomorrow, i plan on doing 8 hours of cold smoke then bringing the IT up to 130-135... My plan after that is to leave it in the fridge and sit until friday evening when I plan on slicing and vacuum packing.. My question is, when you leave it sit for what will be close to 48 hours before slicing. would you recommend wrapping it in plastic wrap for the 48 hour sit, or just leave in the fridge uncovered? thanks! 

-Baydoe
You want to keep the temperature under 120.  I try to cold smoke between 80-100.
 
Leave it hang in the smoker with the heat off.... I smoke at 70 and then I do not raise the cooking temp.... there is no cooking cycle when I cold smoke... 70 for 4 hours then hang and rest/bloom/equilibrate for a few days... in the freezer for 3-4 hours and slice...
 
I got a package of pork fresh side from my butcher and when I opened it it is all ready sliced do I need to do anything to it besides tie it up before I put it in the brine and I got a pork loin roast out to make some CB can I put them both in the same brine
 
I got a package of pork fresh side from my butcher and when I opened it it is all ready sliced do I need to do anything to it besides tie it up before I put it in the brine and I got a pork loin roast out to make some CB can I put them both in the same brine

You can brine/cure the slices, then smoke them then package and freeze...
I would use an equilibrium brine because they are thin, they will be done in 12 hours... meat + water weight in grams (about 1/4 of the meat)..... X 0.02 for salt, X 0.01 for sugar, X 0.0019 for cure #1... mix/dissolve... add together with the belly strips and stir a bit... lightly rinse, dry, smoke, bag and freeze...

The roast will take about 15 days... and uses a different concentration of nitrite....

Smoke for a very short time as the smoke is adhering to all sides of the strips.... maybe an hour....
 
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Leave it loose.... that way, the slices will absorb the cure, salt and sugar uniformly... should be absorbed pretty quickly considering the thickness of the slices... rinse lightly..... dry on paper toweling.... and lay the slices out in the smoke for a short bit.... the smoke will attack the meat quickly considering the surface area... soooo.... be careful of over smoking... but I suppose that depends on how much smoke you like... remember you are adding smoke to the whole slice, not just the edge...

Calculations....
2.43 #'s meat x 454 = 1100 grams + 275 grams water = 1375 grams of stuff....
X 0.02 = 28 grams salt
X 0.01 = 14 grams sugar
X 0.0019 = 2.6 grams cure #1

Dissolve in the liquid... add to the bacon slices.. You can not over salt or over cure the bacon using this method... It can be left in the brine/cure for days or even weeks in the refer.....
You can even take out 1/4 # and smoke it.... test for taste... add more salt or sugar... add cracked black pepper... etc.... those salt/sugar numbers are mid range for everyday folks taste... (from my butcher guy).. smoke longer, smoke with different wood flavors...
Curing slices and smoking them opens up a whole new world to testing recipes... although the test will not "accurately" represent curing and smoking a slab, it will give you a very good "ballpark" idea....
 
No weighing,no calculator, just a simple recipe that works quite well, from a man I have known all my life. 

Pops Dad..Carl Fassett owned a store and was very highly regarded for his smoked and cured products.

There are lots of ways to make bacon. This is what I use. From Pops6927..


real simple curing brine:

 for every 1 gallon of water, add:

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)
1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji]
1 cup brown sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji] brown sugar mix
1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.)   If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce.  The maximum concentration allowed safely is 3.84 ounces per 1 gallon of brine (24 lbs.per 100 gallons: 16 oz. x 24 = 384 ounces, 1/100th is 3.84 ounces).  You can experiment with different concentrations as long as you keep it between those parameters.

I add pepper,onion, garlic, old bay.

My buddy Raptor and I split a 4 bellie case a few weeks ago.

Cut them up and put them in a bucket with the cure mix...then into the spare fridge for 15 days.

No specific reason for 15 days..it just worked out that way.

Rinsed and put back in the fridge with a generous coating of pepper onion and garlic on half. Added a thick coat of Slap Yer Mama on the other half.

2 days later they got 34 hours of pecan dust smoke using 2 amazens.

Sliced off the skins with ease using my Granpas steel filet knife.. Skin side down cutting like skinning fish.

Back into the fridge for a couple days.

Used my awesome Berkel commercial slicer and had 22 pounds sliced and 2 pounds of ends in no time.

Vac packed using Lisa Bs superb bags.

Try it you will like it..

Here's the B-View. Enjoy!!






















I just started curing 12 pounds of bellie using Pop's recipe for the 2nd time. All my other bacon were dry cured. Was the "Carl Fassett" you mention from Adams Center NY by any chance?
 
Yes and the father of Pops on this forum.....



Wow. Small world... although I didn't know him personally, I knew his store and shopped there. Right on the intersection of 177 and 11, across the street from Knapp ' s Hardware..... still shop at Knapp s, but the owners are definitely aging
 
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Wow. Small world... although I didn't know him personally, I knew his store and shopped there. Right on the intersection of 177 and 11, across the street from Knapp ' s Hardware..... still shop at Knapp s, but the owners are definitely aging
I grew up there too... South Harbor Rd
 
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