banderson7474
Smoking Fanatic
Bear or anyone that has done it, is it a significant price difference buying the bacon and doing it yourself? Just wondering if anyone has compared the price.
Bear or anyone that has done it, is it a significant price difference buying the bacon and doing it yourself? Just wondering if anyone has compared the price.
A little late to the party, just saw this. I wonder if at this point, with 2 out of 3 bags leaking, I think I would abandon the dry brine and move the bellies into an equilibrium wet brine like Pop's to finish.
First crack at Bears recipe. I had to the soak the bacon for a hour to get the salt taste to my liking. Success for sure!
I would still make it if it cost more, it's like the difference between a garden tomato and a store bought tomato, no comparison.Bear or anyone that has done it, is it a significant price difference buying the bacon and doing it yourself? Just wondering if anyone has compared the price.
This slab cured 10 days. I used 2 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar. I’m getting ready to start another slab. Any suggestions on the next one. I’m learning this stuff and it’s a blast so I’ll take more advice :) One thing this stuff tastes way better then store bought bacon for sure.Looks Great, Ishi!!!
Nice Bacon & Sammy!
I've never had any salty Bacon from my method, using TQ.
However There are numerous reasons it could be salty.
Here are just 2 common ones;
Not using enough Sugar to counter the salt in the TQ.
Curing too long. You can cure too long when Dry Curing with TQ. It's not the same as Brine Curing with #1 Cure.
Bear
This slab cured 10 days. I used 2 Tbs Dark Brown Sugar. I’m getting ready to start another slab. Any suggestions on the next one. I’m learning this stuff and it’s a blast so I’ll take more advice :) One thing this stuff tastes way better then store bought bacon for sure.
I actually finished the cure in the bags, and everything turned out just fine. Very little liquid came out of the bag. Biggest adjustment I have made moving forward is using 2 1/2 gallon bags instead of 1 gallon bags. I've done several batches since, and they have all turned out very well.A little late to the party, just saw this. I wonder if at this point, with 2 out of 3 bags leaking, I think I would abandon the dry brine and move the bellies into an equilibrium wet brine like Pop's to finish.
I actually finished the cure in the bags, and everything turned out just fine. Very little liquid came out of the bag. Biggest adjustment I have made moving forward is using 2 1/2 gallon bags instead of 1 gallon bags. I've done several batches since, and they have all turned out very well.
I have used the pops brine method in the past as well, but everyone seems to prefer the dry brine method better.
Maybe you started it already , but the last BBB i did , I left out the brown sugar . I like it like that .I’m getting ready to start another slab. Any suggestions on the next one.
Maybe you started it already , but the last BBB i did , I left out the brown sugar . I like it like that .
Then you got lucky.
That will normally cause it to be very salty.
Bear
No worries! Second belly two days into the cure. Per bears advice the sugar amount was increased. I will smoke it next weekend.Yeah I know that it is there to counter the salt , and almost said that when I posted . I should have , because I would hate to mess him up .
Ish ,,, don't listen to me ! LOL .
The BBB I just did was TQ only . No sugars . Gets a good rinse , no soak .
I picked up two bellies (8.1# and 11.6#) at my sort of local slaughterhouse/butcher. Cost this time was $2.30/lb. Usually they are around $2.80-3.00 so I am feeling smart. I will need get these into the cure this weekend because the tomatoes are coming along nicely. This will be my first go at "Extra Smokey." I'm probably going to use cherry.
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No worries! Second belly two days into the cure. Per bears advice the sugar amount was increased. I will smoke it next weekend.
TQ Tender Quick (Meat cure it comes in a dark blue bag ) Morton Tender QuickHi Bear, I new to making some bacon my question is what is " TQ "