# 45 lbs. of  BACON! Plain, Peppered, and Tatonka Dust



## mneeley490 (Dec 4, 2013)

Decided to do a bunch at once, since it seems to go so fast around here. Bought 3 skinless bellies from Restaurant Depot, and one more skin-on from Cash & Carry. Soaked in Pop's Brine for 10 days, then divided. Most were plain, but I peppered about 10 lbs, and coated a 4 lb piece on both sides with Tatonka Dust. Smoked at 120° for about 12 hours, then bumped up to 130° for 3 hours more. Used a 50/50 mix of corn cob and cherry pellets in my AMNPS. They seemed to burn slow, but still put out plenty of TBS, so I never had to refill. I did have to re-light once about 5 hours in, but it couldn't have been out for more than 45 minutes.

Here's some pics:

One of the skinless bellies still cryovac'd. They came to about 9-1/2 lbs each.













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The skin-on one at over 15 lb. It was still a little frozen. I brined with the skin still on, and found it is much easier to remove after brining.













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Funny how something so delicious can be made from just a few ingredients.













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45 lbs of belly and 30 lbs of brine made for a heavy bin. Not to mention the wrapped,10 lb flat brick I had on top of them. Lucky my daughter had a spare fridge in her garage.













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Out of the brine.













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Into the smoker with a box fan blowing on them overnight to form the pellicule. It was about 40° in my garage.













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Done! The finished IT was about 105° Now I cut it into smaller slabs and vacuum packed, about 2.5 lbs avg, plus a couple bigger 5 lb slabs that managed to fit into the sealer bags. Should be set for a while.













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Note the time on the clock. Yes, it was 11:45 pm when I got done. I started at 6 am.













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And a test fry on a few small trimmings, as a reward. I don't believe in perfection, but these are very good. Skinny piece on the right was from the Tatonka slab. Dang, that's good! I should've made more of that. Next time for sure.













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## woodcutter (Dec 4, 2013)

Nice pile of bacon! There is just something about that belly meat.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 5, 2013)

Now that's a great big fantastic looking pile of bacon!!! MMMMM!!!


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 5, 2013)

Question, was the Belly from C&C in the meat locker or the freezer section? My C&C only has boxes of bellies, 50lb. per box.


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## rbranstner (Dec 5, 2013)

Awesome bacon. I sure wish we had a Restaurant Depot around here.


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## pc farmer (Dec 5, 2013)

I need to do more bacon.   Only 2 packs left.

Yours looks good.


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## Bearcarver (Dec 5, 2013)

Nice Job, Mneeley !!!

All looks Great !!!

I like your smoking times & temps!!

Bear


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## bad santa (Dec 5, 2013)

Definitely going to be some good eating, good job and thanks for sharing your pictures with us!.


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## snorkelinggirl (Dec 5, 2013)

Hey Mike,

What a great looking batch of bacon!  Tatonka dust....I'm intrigued!  I'll definitely have to give that a try.

Thanks for posting, there's got to be a happy bunch of bacon eaters in your house!  
Clarissa


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## driedstick (Dec 5, 2013)

That looks great, nice load of bacon there.


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## humdinger (Dec 5, 2013)

Man that looks awesome! Love the shot of all the bellies soaking in the brine! I have to pick up some of that tatonke dust...


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## driedstick (Dec 5, 2013)

Just wondering what did the bellies run you as far as cost?


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## mneeley490 (Dec 5, 2013)

driedstick said:


> Just wondering what did the bellies run you as far as cost?


The skinless ones were about $2.60 or so per lb. @ Restaurant Depot. Skin-on there was $2.05, but I didn't want the hassle of removing all that skin.

Cash & Carry only has skin-on, and I think I paid about $2.65 lb. for that one.


Bearcarver said:


> Nice Job, Mneeley !!!
> 
> All looks Great !!!
> 
> ...


Yep, I took them directly from your "Extra-Smokey Bacon" thread. Thanks!  The AMNPS was still going, so I just let it go a little longer, as I was using a lighter wood than hickory.


dirtsailor2003 said:


> Question, was the Belly from C&C in the meat locker or the freezer section? My C&C only has boxes of bellies, 50lb. per box.


It was in the freezer section, 1 per box, about 13-15 lbs avg.


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## mossymo (Dec 7, 2013)

Wow, your should have enough bacon there to last a few weeks... :drool:
The Tatonka Dust seasoning I feel takes bacon to the next level, tastes like your eating gourmet bacon...


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## mneeley490 (Dec 7, 2013)

Gave some of the regular to a friend the other day.  He called me at 9am this morning to tell me that he just fried some, and it is the best bacon he's ever had, & his kids were in agreement.


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## samuel trachet (Dec 14, 2013)

Great looking bacon!!


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## mneeley490 (Dec 14, 2013)

MossyMO said:


> Wow, your should have enough bacon there to last a few weeks...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


MossyMo, you might think that. But about 15 lbs. (post smoking) of it went to a friend, as we split the cost of the box of skinless. Then, as I now have the brine recipe down to something I really like, I gave a few pounds to other friends to try. That may have been a mistake. The demand is starting to grow, so it looks like I will be making another big batch very soon.

MossyMo--how much Tatonka dust did you put in your brine?


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## woodcutter (Dec 14, 2013)

mneeley490 said:


> Then, as I now have the brine recipe down to something I really like, I gave a few pounds to other friends to try. That may have been a mistake. The demand is starting to grow, so it looks like I will be making another big batch very soon.


People like bacon the way it is but when you give them something of this caliber you will definitely be hearing from your friends again!


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## mossymo (Dec 15, 2013)

mneeley490 said:


> MossyMo--how much Tatonka dust did you put in your brine?



I used a dry cure - http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/139399/bacon-making-with-a-unique-flavor


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## hoity toit (Dec 15, 2013)

Nice job. Bacon is on my to do list.


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## dave17a (Dec 15, 2013)

Gonna have to get some of that dust. The jar which I think is 9 oz. is enough for how much bacon? Gonna order my bellies soon. Thanks


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## mneeley490 (Mar 1, 2014)

I finally got around to trying the peppered bacon. The Pop's brine I use only has 1/3 cup of salt per gallon, so the bacon comes out on the sweet side, which everyone seems to like. But the pepper really seems to balance out the sweetness to me. I think I like it better, but no one else in my family likes a lot of black pepper. Too bad. I will be making up another batch soon, and there will be more Tatonka and pepper bacon this time.


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## dave17a (Mar 1, 2014)

mneeley490 said:


> I finally got around to trying the peppered bacon. The Pop's brine I use only has 1/3 cup of salt per gallon, so the bacon comes out on the sweet side, which everyone seems to like. But the pepper really seems to balance out the sweetness to me. I think I like it better, but no one else in my family likes a lot of black pepper. Too bad. I will be making up another batch soon, and there will be more Tatonka and pepper bacon this time.


Only 2nd year on bacon. Can do full recipe on pop,s brine. Love it specialy with some onion and garlic powder.  Sausage makers is salty. Feller needs to soak at least a hour or two


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## mneeley490 (Mar 2, 2014)

dave17a said:


> Only 2nd year on bacon. Can do full recipe on pop,s brine. Love it specialy with some onion and garlic powder.  Sausage makers is salty. Feller needs to soak at least a hour or two


That's the beauty of using Pop's recipe. YOU control the salt. I have found that 1/3 cup per gallon (plus maybe a tablespoon) is the sweet spot for me.


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## dave17a (Mar 3, 2014)

Full cup is great with us. Your avatar keeps me wonderin'


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Mar 3, 2014)

mneeley, oh man does that look good !  I have got to try that someday soon.  Again, very nicely done !  Thumbs Up


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## smoken north (Mar 3, 2014)

Ok so I've never cold smoked bacon....is there a certain temperature to smoke at? I can keep my cold smoker just above freezing. Any reason this method wouldn't work?


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## mneeley490 (Mar 4, 2014)

dave17a said:


> Full cup is great with us. Your avatar keeps me wonderin'


It's an image of me that I made on AMC's Mad Men website. People think it looks pretty close.


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## mneeley490 (Mar 4, 2014)

smoken north said:


> Ok so I've never cold smoked bacon....is there a certain temperature to smoke at? I can keep my cold smoker just above freezing. Any reason this method wouldn't work?


I'm not an expert on cold smoking, but I believe you want your smoker temp between 45° and 70° to keep condensation from forming and blocking the smoke penetration. I'm sure somebody with more knowledge about that will chime in soon.


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## dr k (Mar 5, 2014)

Wow lotsa bacon.  I have a skinless 12lb. belly quartered in 4 foodsaver bags in the freezer @ $2.99lb I need to cure.  I've been hearing meat prices are suppose to go up soon.  I got a couple Boston butts @ $.99lb. this winter.  I may try Buckboard bacon if bellies keep rising.  I am finishing Pop's wet cured Canadian bacon from last Fall.  Kroger has boneless pork loins on sale @ $1.89lb. starting tomorrow.  I'll have to load up.


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## mneeley490 (Mar 5, 2014)

Dr K said:


> Wow lotsa bacon.  I have a skinless 12lb. belly quartered in 4 foodsaver bags in the freezer @ $2.99lb I need to cure.  I've been hearing meat prices are suppose to go up soon.  I got a couple Boston butts @ $.99lb. this winter.  I may try Buckboard bacon if bellies keep rising.  I am finishing Pop's wet cured Canadian bacon from last Fall.  Kroger has boneless pork loins on sale @ $1.89lb. starting tomorrow.  I'll have to load up.


Dr. K, most Boston butts have a thick layer of fat on the top. If you slice off about the top 2" of the butt, you have a small slab you can cure that looks virtually indistinguishable from belly, for a fraction of the price.


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## mneeley490 (Mar 5, 2014)

BTW, my wife of 32 years, who has proclaimed during that entire time that she does not like black pepper, *LOVES*  the peppered bacon. She wants me to make more.


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## mneeley490 (Mar 9, 2014)

Just started another 40 lb. batch this morning.  Here's a couple pics of the sliced peppered bacon from last time.













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Just after I sliced this, I was cleaning my new fancy slicer, and it only took a moment of inattention to put a nice, clean gash in my fingertip. I slapped on a band-aid, and that wasn't doing the job, so I put on a latex glove while I finished cleaning the slicer. After I was done, I saw the finger of the glove had filled up, so I was off the to dr's office to see if I needed stitches. Thank goodness none were needed, but it still smarts two weeks later. A very valuable lesson was learned.


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## woodcutter (Mar 10, 2014)

You have some nice long great looking bacon! I'm in the cut yourself while cleaning your slicer group as well. Twice!


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## humdinger (Mar 11, 2014)

That makes 3 of us! Darn near cut off my right index finger about 10 years ago while cleaning the slicer at work. That's funny you say it still smarts Mneely. The thing I remember the most is even after I got the wound closed up, it was sore as heck for a long time.


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