Jack Daniels Bacon

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philyar

Newbie
Original poster
Sep 17, 2012
6
10
Ramsey, mn
First time trying this, I call it Jack Daniels Bacon.

I used the Basic Bacon recipe from the Culinary Institute of America, Garde Manger Text Book, around $65 but well worth it.
Using honey instead of the white sugar.


For 10 lbs of pork belly

4 oz salt
2.8 oz sugar, or 3.2 fl oz honey, or 3.2 fl oz real maple syrup
0.8 oz TCM, which is equal to 2 tsp

Weigh the pork bellies, and adjust recipe as necessary.
Mix cure ingredients.
Rub cure on both sides of belly.
Cure under refrigeration for 7 to 10 days, overhauling every other day.
Rinse, and pat dry, air dry for 18 hours, till tacky.
Hot smoke at 185 to reach an internal temperature of 150, approx 3-4 hours.


For the JD bacon, I used honey in place of the sugar, added 2 fl oz of JD in the cure, and I always cure 1/2 a slab of belly, usually around 5 lbs.
Take the recipe divide it by 10, then you have what you need per pound of meat.
After I smoke my bacon, I let it cool down on a rack for a bit, then put in the fridge (do not want to raise the temp of everything in my fridge) overnight, then I put it into the freezer for 1 month before slicing. I have found out that this really mellows out the smoke and salt, I do not know why, it just does.

TCM is tinted curing mix, or pink cure, or Prague powder # 1, it is 94% salt, and 6% sodium nitrite, it is tinted pink with FD&C#3 to make it easily identifiable.
2 oz of TCM is enough to kill a person, this is why most people use Morton's Tenderquick, or the brown sugar cure, Which is a pre mixed amount of salt and TCM to use per lb of meat, I do not, because I like to be in controll of the amount of salt in my meat, not Morton's.






 
Fantastic color on that bacon...is the Jack Daniels flavor very noticeable in the bacon or is it a light side note? Thanks for sharing!!!
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Thank you, the bourbon flavor is noticeable, if you are looking for it. I would like to try a test to see if someone can taste it, if I didn't tell them it was there. The bag of wood chips, says it is 100% JD oak aging barrels, when you open the bag, you smell bourbon, as if you were boiling a entire bottle of JD on the stove. MI paid $5 for the bag of chips at Menards, I have seen the JD chips at Cabellas for much more.
 
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