why is my bacon not crispy?

[kegracing]

Hi all,

Been here a while, read a lot, but don't post much yet... still learning.

I killed a wild hog, about 200 lb sow, before Christmas.  Oldest son also killed a nice older 8 pt whitetail buck.  I process all my own meat, so had knives and grinder running for a couple of days.

Took my 2nd shot at bacon.  Fresh belly.  Know exactly where she came from and what she was eating, LOL.

Used Pops brine, and cured about 15 days.  I did a small batch last year, and was a little salty for my wife, so cut the salt back a little this time, and double rinsed.  Dried and left in fridge about 24 hours.  Had some cool weather, and I did a true cold smoke.  I have a offset smoker, and got the temp up over 100 F, put the meat on for half hour to finish drying, then lit a pan of apple pellets.  Let the charcoal burn out.  Got about 8 hours of smoke on it, and outside temp was 32-38 all day.  Put back in fridge overnight, then put another 8 hours on it second day, about same temps outside, all cold smoke 2nd day. 

Flavor is very good.  Taste great. But just cant seem to get crispy bacon.  Tried pan frying and oven at 425 on rack over pan.  Taste great both ways, just little chewy.  Bacon I made last year was same way?

Am I doing something wrong with my cure or smoking method?

thanks in advance!

Ken 

 

[daveomak]

Maybe you are slicing the bacon with the grain...  I did a test on my last bacon...  sliced across and with.... with the grain was really chewy....   To slice across, slice from the teats toward the backbone....     Try smoking it at 60-70 deg.... 

 

[dirtyduc83]

Dave's answer is likely why you have chewy bacon. The only other thing to try is starting at a lower temp when cooking the bacon. In the oven I usually bake at 375 and put the bacon in when the oven is cold. I also start with a cold pan if I'm cooking on the stove. Seems to help render out the fat and moisture in the meat.

 

[bama bbq]

Like DirtyDuc, I like to fry my home cured bacon at a lower temp than I would store bought. As long as you're slicing across the grain, maybe try lower heat.