Finally found some thick bellies!

[indaswamp]

Went to Costco with my Uncle yesterday. They had 2 bellies left in the meat case and both were over 2" thick. I grabbed them both...price was good too; $3.69/#.

That stainless tray is about 4" high. I put the salt box there as a reference. The bellies are right near the top of the tray.

Got them in the cure now, along with a belly I pulled from the freezer. No room in the Stainless tray for all of them so I have the belly from the freezer in a 2 gallon ziplock bag. In 2 weeks I'll be cold smoking 30# of bacon!

 

[DRKsmoking]

Sounds good , everyone is happy on bacon day. Nice score with the bellies

David

 

[Brokenhandle]

Gonna be good! And a good price also!

Ryan

 

[SmokinEdge]

Excellent! Nice find.

 

[Rafter H BBQ]

Awesome, that’s gonna be some good eats!

 

[tx smoker]

Great find Keith. I always look for the thickest and largest bellies in the case and like you, I do them 3 at a time. Takes a while to slice and vac seal it all but well worth the effort.

Robert

 

[mneeley490]

Nice! I was at my local business Costco yesterday. They had skin-on and skin-off for the same price, $3.49 lb. That's a little unusual.

 

[indaswamp]

Sounds good , everyone is happy on bacon day. Nice score with the bellies

David

Thanks David. I was a little too excited when I found them...LOL!!

Gonna be good! And a good price also!

Ryan

Thanks Broken.

Excellent! Nice find.

Thanks SE!

Awesome, that’s gonna be some good eats!

Thanks WHB!

Great find Keith. I always look for the thickest and largest bellies in the case and like you, I do them 3 at a time. Takes a while to slice and vac seal it all but well worth the effort.

Robert

Thanks Robert. I like to cold smoke my bacon so that limits me to the colder months. Time is running out and I needed to get some bacon made so I jumped on them when I saw them. Timing is good...I'll be done with deer processing day and the big run of smoke sausage afterwards by the time the bellies are cured.

Nice! I was at my local business Costco yesterday. They had skin-on and skin-off for the same price, $3.49 lb. That's a little unusual.

Thanks mneeley. That is weird same price skin on or off.

 

[indaswamp]

Oh-
1.75% salt
0.25% cure #1
1% brown sugar

 

[Gonna Smoke]

Ok, I'm hitching a ride-along on this...

 

[JLeonard]

Nice score!

Jim

 

[indaswamp]

Tonight is the first night of cold smoke on the bacon. I let them cure in the fridge a few extra days....won't hurt them....because a cold front stalled just north of us. It had been highs in the 80's (Baton Rouge set a record of 85*F Weds.) with over night lows in the high 60's. I was wearing shorts and even turned the A/C on one day while cooking in the kitchen! LOL! Anyways, tonight lows in the 40's and will stay like that for the next 5-6 nights so perfect for cold smoking bacon.
I am using daveomak 's pellet dust in the Amazn tube. Using 60% hickory and 40% apple pellets. Should get 10-12 hour burn with the tube packed tight. Nice thin clean blue smoke.....pics. tomorrow.....gonna cold smoke 4 nights.

 

[BrianGSDTexoma]

I pulled from the freezer

Man I would love to raid your freezer! Got to be lots of goodies in there.

 

[pineywoods]

Looking forward to the pics

 

[Brokenhandle]

Looking forward to the pics

Pics of the pork bellies please! Be careful what you ask for Jerry...some of us are not getting any thinner...Inda might post up pics of porker bellies!

Ryan

 

[crazymoon]

IDS, Lucky man, around here there are no costco/kirklands and a pound on pork belly is about 8 bucks ! :(

 

[indaswamp]

IDS, Lucky man, around here there are no costco/kirklands and a pound on pork belly is about 8 bucks ! :(

Damn! That's rather high! I can get berkshire belly at my farm to table butcher shop for $7.50/#...If you lived closer, I'd share with ya.....

Including the 10# of wild hog bacon I made earlier this year, all in I'll have 40# put up for the year.

 

[indaswamp]

Man I would love to raid your freezer! Got to be lots of goodies in there.

HA! I have 4 freezers!!!! All full. The chest freezer outside has unprocessed meats-goose, wild hog, and domestic hog. Stay tuned,,,more stuff to come.

Looking forward to the pics

I'll go snap a pic.... I just sprayed the bellies down with K+ Sorbate.

Pics of the pork bellies please! Be careful what you ask for Jerry...some of us are not getting any thinner...Inda might post up pics of porker bellies!

Ryan

HA!

 

[indaswamp]

It's a good thing these bellies were skin off, and my maturing chamber is full.....otherwise I likely would have made pancetta with one of them!

 

[indaswamp]

First round of cold smoke, K+ sorbate applied...