Tough/chewy bacon

[cole5000]

I've made bacon about 3-4 times. I cure for 10 days in a wet cure. And then cold smoke for about 11 hours. It bacon has excellent flavour but when I slice and cook it it's either tough and chewy or I have to damn near burn it to get anything crispy. What am I doing wrong? I have to slice it pretty thick with the type of slicer I have could that be the problem? Thanks any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[tropics]

I've made bacon about 3-4 times. I cure for 10 days in a wet cure. And then cold smoke for about 11 hours. It bacon has excellent flavour but when I slice and cook it it's either tough and chewy or I have to damn near burn it to get anything crispy. What am I doing wrong? I have to slice it pretty thick with the type of slicer I have could that be the problem? Thanks any help is greatly appreciated!!

That sounds like the problem, try putting it in the freezer to particle freeze then slice thinner

Richie

 

[SmokinAl]

Are you letting the bacon rest for a few days uncovered in the fridge before & after smoking it?

Also I think you get a better flavor & texture with a dry cure.

If you use cure#1 here is a handy calculator.

http://diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html

I dry cure mine for 14 days, then rinse & leave uncovered in the fridge for 4 days.

Cold smoke for 10 hours, then back in fridge uncovered for 4 more days.

Then into the freezer for 2-3 hours & slice.

Hope this helps!

Al

 

[WillRunForQue]

I agree with Tropics, I find my thicker slices are less crispy and always partially freeze first. How are you cooking it? I bake on parchment paper lined sheet pans at 350* to cook it more evenly than pan frying.

 

[shyzabrau]

Because it is thicker, cook it in the oven (directly on a cookie sheet lined with foil - no rack) at a lower temperature for a longer time. Try 350 for 45 minutes, test one and keep going if needed, depending on how thick you sliced it.

Putting it directly on the cookie sheet means that it will cook in its own fat which will help keep it from drying out (like on a rack). Blot it when it is done to remove some of the extra fat. Cooking it at a lower temperature will make it more tender. Play around with temperatures and time. (Who doesn't like to spend an afternoon doing "experiments" where you eat bacon to test the results?)

If you have a sous vide circulator, you can sous vide it at 145 for 8-24 hours than give it a good sear on one side (hot grill pan or the grill). That should make it tender with a good crisp, like good pork belly.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Thinner will be crispier. Also make sure you cut across the grain of the meat to be tender...JJ

 

[cole5000]

I do partially freeze it before slicing it but my slicer is a very cheap one and will only go so thin. I've tried baking in the oven and pan frying with similar results. I don't let it sit in the fridge to long after it's been smoked because we only have one fridge and the girlfriend doesn't like me smoking out all the food in the fridge. I try to cut across the grain but maybe I'm doing it wrong??