Recently I asked the bacon experts here for help in deciding whether or not to remove the rind from my first ever belly. To be honest the nipples on the rind were creeping me out so I opted to remove the rind as soon as the belly thawed. It was a PITA but I was happy with the result.
Bellies are hard to find in my area and frozen was all I could find. It didn't seem nearly as thick/meaty as the bellies I've seen on here but beggars can't be choosers. I would have to settle for junior sized bacon strips.
Once thawed and rind removed, I cut into 4 slabs and used Morton's Sugar Cure. After some days in the cure I took a little vacation with the Mrs and upon returning it was time to smoke some belly(after the BBB of course). Yesterday the slabs were soaked, rinsed and sat under a fan to get the pellicle forming. Coated with maple syrup and some pepper and ready for smoke. Cold smoked these with the mighty AMNPS using maple pellets. Let rest in the fridge over night and just sliced a few hours ago. Ended up with just over 5 lbs of slices and a little over 1 lb of ends/scraps that are perfect for beans, omelettes and salads.
Not bad for my first belly ride but I would like to find a better belly so my slices are bigger like some that I've seen here.
Bellies are hard to find in my area and frozen was all I could find. It didn't seem nearly as thick/meaty as the bellies I've seen on here but beggars can't be choosers. I would have to settle for junior sized bacon strips.
Once thawed and rind removed, I cut into 4 slabs and used Morton's Sugar Cure. After some days in the cure I took a little vacation with the Mrs and upon returning it was time to smoke some belly(after the BBB of course). Yesterday the slabs were soaked, rinsed and sat under a fan to get the pellicle forming. Coated with maple syrup and some pepper and ready for smoke. Cold smoked these with the mighty AMNPS using maple pellets. Let rest in the fridge over night and just sliced a few hours ago. Ended up with just over 5 lbs of slices and a little over 1 lb of ends/scraps that are perfect for beans, omelettes and salads.
Not bad for my first belly ride but I would like to find a better belly so my slices are bigger like some that I've seen here.
