# Bacon Time



## GaryHibbert (Nov 2, 2020)

Well, I finally got around to posting this. Took a while.

October weather turned out to be perfect for cold smoking, so I decided to pull a pork belly out of the freezer to thaw. It was time to make bacon.

Since I’ve always had great luck with it, I cured the bacon according to the great 

 Bearcarver
  method. After adding the proper amount of Tender Quick, brown sugar, and garlic powder to each section of belly, I put each in a gallon ziplock (taking care to add in any of the cure mix that had fallen off) and sealed the bags, leaving enough air in to allow the juices to move about easily.

I massaged each bag daily and returned them to the fridge, after turning them over. I continued this process for 14 days. Then life happened, and nothing got done with the cured bellies for about a week and a half.

When life returned to normal, I took all four pieces of cured belly out of the fridge, rinsed, and did 2 one hour soaks in ice water. After rinsing and patting dry, I returned the pieces (uncovered) to the fridge for two days.

Finally, it was time to smoke. The meat was removed from the fridge, put on two racks, and left at room temperature while I preheated the MES and nuked and lit some Hickory pellets in the AMNPS.








It was a beautiful day, with the thermometer sitting at a steady 40F.







When the PID was sitting at a steady 65F and the pellets were smoking nicely, the meat went into the smoker.














Lots of nice TBS






I smoked the bacon for 9 hours, and returned it (uncovered) to the fridge.







Day 2 was a perfect copy of day 1, and I smoked the bacon for another 9 hours. So 18 hours total smoke time.







The bacon was returned to the fridge, where I let it sit uncovered for 2 days.

Just as a side note, my step-daughter and grandson came up for a visit a week later, and told me I had the best smelling fridge in the world. LOL

After letting it sit for 2 days, I dug out my meat slicer and sliced up the bacon about ¼” thick. Two of the pieces were nice and meaty, but the other 2 not so much. You can easily see the difference in the sliced bacon. I vac sealed all the bacon and then it was into the freezer.








The bad news was the high fat to meat ratio in half of the belly pieces. The good news is I ended up with lots of bacon in the freezer—even after giving away a bunch of it.














Sorry, but no plated pics—turned out my phone died before I could take any. So I’ll just have to tell you that, once fried, up it was delicious. I even enjoyed the more-fat-than-meat slices.

Thanks for looking.

Gary


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## Murray (Nov 2, 2020)

Looks good. I just bought a belly locally for $10.18/kg and I see why it was so cheap. Mine is worse than your from a meat/fat ratio.  WTF with Alberta hogs, all fat....


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## Brokenhandle (Nov 2, 2020)

That's some great looking bacon Gary! I too love the smell in the fridge after resting the bacon. I've had that same problem with fat to meat ratio in some bellies, usually just try to spread it out so we don't end up with an all fat package. 

Nice job
Ryan


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## sawhorseray (Nov 2, 2020)

Looks really nice from where I'm sitting Gary, Like! I reckon Forrest Gump would know about belly for bacon, you never know what you're going to get until you've got it. RAY


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## GaryHibbert (Nov 2, 2020)

Murray said:


> Looks good. I just bought a belly locally for $10.18/kg and I see why it was so cheap. Mine is worse than your from a meat/fat ratio.  WTF with Alberta hogs, all fat....


I just don't know.  This pig and the one before it were both raised by the same friend of mine in Alberta, just for me.  The last one was great, this one not so great.
Too bad I didn't know you were in Grande Cache.  I spent the summer up there, a couple of years ago.  Hauling asphalt to the paver doing the highway, and hauling gravel for RoDar Construction.
Gary


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## GaryHibbert (Nov 2, 2020)

Brokenhandle said:


> That's some great looking bacon Gary! I too love the smell in the fridge after resting the bacon. I've had that same problem with fat to meat ratio in some bellies, usually just try to spread it out so we don't end up with an all fat package.
> 
> Nice job
> Ryan



Yeah that's what I did too--half good, half poor.
Thanks for the like.
Gary


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## GaryHibbert (Nov 2, 2020)

sawhorseray said:


> Looks really nice from where I'm sitting Gary, Like! I reckon Forrest Gump would know about belly for bacon, you never know what you're going to get until you've got it. RAY


Thanks Ray.  Ain't that just the truth.  At least it's great eating.
Gary


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## chopsaw (Nov 2, 2020)

That looks great Gary . Nice work . I have a brat recipe that calls for a pound of fatty smoked bacon . Some of that would be perfect . 
It'll render down . I bet it's great . I like the Bearcarver method too .


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## HalfSmoked (Nov 2, 2020)

Bacon is bacon in my book fatty or lean.

Warren


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## gmc2003 (Nov 2, 2020)

I'm not complaining about that ratio Gary. It looks great to  me.

Point for sure
Chirs


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## pushok2018 (Nov 2, 2020)

Gary, that bacon look gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful color.... I have the same problem in regard to fat/meat ration if I buy full slab of belly from Costco or from Smart Foodservice store... Lately I am buying pork belly from Filipino Supermarket where they cut a slub into three pieces. That way I can see what to expect and buy only what I like....


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## Winterrider (Nov 2, 2020)

Looks good Gary.


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## pc farmer (Nov 2, 2020)

Great color on that fatty bacon.  I have some like that out of pigs I raise.  Luck of the draw I guess.


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## Murray (Nov 2, 2020)

pc farmer said:


> Great color on that fatty bacon.  I have some like that out of pigs I raise.  Luck of the draw I guess.


And I thought it was the breed or the method or feed or something that the farmer did or didn’t do.  If I was a geneticist I’d be working on hogs that would be all ham and side belly.   We would also have chickens with 6 legs and 10 wings. LOL


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## pc farmer (Nov 2, 2020)

Murray said:


> And I thought it was the breed or the method or feed or something that the farmer did or didn’t do.  If I was a geneticist I’d be working on hogs that would be all ham and side belly.   We would also have chickens with 6 legs and 10 wings. LOL




I didnt say it was not what they was fed.  I raise show pigs for my son to show.  I butcher the ones he dont show.    We will feed a fatty diet to get them to eat more if I need more weight on them.  Hence the fatty bacon.   But just normal feed some will have more fat.  We usually have cross breeds but have a purebred too.  Some pig breeds are just have more fat.  Alot goes into it.


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## Murray (Nov 2, 2020)

GaryHibbert said:


> I just don't know.  This pig and the one before it were both raised by the same friend of mine in Alberta, just for me.  The last one was great, this one not so great.
> Too bad I didn't know you were in Grande Cache.  I spent the summer up there, a couple of years ago.  Hauling asphalt to the paver doing the highway, and hauling gravel for RoDar Construction.
> Gary


If your ever up this way again reach out, we only spend winters in Grande Cache, summer is spent at the lake in SK.  Spent a couple of winters in Drayton Valley when I was seismic surveying.  Gorgeous country!  Was through there last February so depressing seeing the empty buildings along the highway. Without getting to political that “gentleman“ in Ottawa could care less about communities in western Canada that rely on O&G.


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## Fueling Around (Nov 2, 2020)

The fattier bacon  chunked up makes great add for mac-n-cheese, tater soup, baked beans, etc.


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## disco (Nov 3, 2020)

Beautiful bacon, Bro! Big like!


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## SmokinAl (Nov 3, 2020)

I’m with you on the fatty bacon!
It’s the best, always crispy & never chewy!
I think your bacon looks fantastic!
Al


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## HalfSmoked (Nov 3, 2020)

Thanks for the like Fueling Around it is appreciated.

Warren


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## chef jimmyj (Nov 3, 2020)

Superior Belly and beautiful Bacon. Love getting them Fatty like that. If I want Lean Bacon I'll cure a Loin!...JJ


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## GaryHibbert (Nov 3, 2020)

chopsaw said:


> That looks great Gary . Nice work . I have a brat recipe that calls for a pound of fatty smoked bacon . Some of that would be perfect .
> It'll render down . I bet it's great . I like the Bearcarver method too .



Thank you.  John's method is so easy to use, and I have a goodly amount of TQ but very little Cure #1
Gary



HalfSmoked said:


> Bacon is bacon in my book fatty or lean.
> Warren



I can't argue with that Warren.  As long as it tastes like great bacon, I'm satisfied.
Gary



gmc2003 said:


> I'm not complaining about that ratio Gary. It looks great to  me.
> Point for sure
> Chirs



Thanks Chris.  Tastes good too.
Gary



pushok2018 said:


> Gary, that bacon look gorgeous! Absolutely beautiful color.... I have the same problem in regard to fat/meat ration if I buy full slab of belly from Costco or from Smart Foodservice store... Lately I am buying pork belly from Filipino Supermarket where they cut a slub into three pieces. That way I can see what to expect and buy only what I like....



Thanks.  I like smoking it over 2 days, really just for the color.  
Unfortunately, when it's your own pig you gotta take home what you brought in.
Gary


Winterrider said:


> Looks good Gary.



Thank you.  We're sure enjoying it.
Gary



pc farmer said:


> Great color on that fatty bacon.  I have some like that out of pigs I raise.  Luck of the draw I guess.



I don't know what my friend feeds his pigs, but he  doesn't try for any extra fat--just size and flavor.  He usually kills at about 300 pounds.
Gary



Fueling Around said:


> The fattier bacon  chunked up makes great add for mac-n-cheese, tater soup, baked beans, etc.



It sure does.  I always use it when I make beans from 

 gary s
 recipe.  Fantastic!!
Gary



disco said:


> Beautiful bacon, Bro! Big like!



Thanks Disco.  I only make bacon twice a year, so I try my best when I do.
Gary



SmokinAl said:


> I’m with you on the fatty bacon!
> It’s the best, always crispy & never chewy!
> I think your bacon looks fantastic!
> Al



Thanks Al.  I like my bacon crispy too.  Seems this batch cooks up pretty quickly, even though it's thick cut.  Sure works for me.
Gary


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## TNJAKE (Nov 3, 2020)

Bacon looks great to me. Nice job


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## GaryHibbert (Nov 3, 2020)

chef jimmyj said:


> Superior Belly and beautiful Bacon. Love getting them Fatty like that. If I want Lean Bacon I'll cure a Loin!...JJ





TNJAKE said:


> Bacon looks great to me. Nice job



Thanks guys.  We're sure enjoying it.
Gary


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