# Hickory Smoked Maple  Bacon



## wrestler75 (Jul 9, 2017)

Time to put the maple syrup and maple sugar I made this spring to use in making more maple bacon.













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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017






I scored a 13 lb. slab of side pork and I decided to make some maple cured bacon.

I cut the slab into four pieces and placed them in pops brine for 16 days.













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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017







Used a plastic container with a plate covering the side pork to keep it fully submerged.  Added 1 pt.of pure maple syrup I made this spring and a 1/4 c. of Maple sugar, 1/2 c. Salt, 1 T. Pink curing Salt, 1 T. Maple extract, 1 gallon of water.













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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017






16 days later I took bacon out of brine and put it in the refrigerator for two days (pelicle formation time).

Fry test for saltiness...Spot on..












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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017


















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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017






Rubbed three slabs with cracked black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and maple sugar.  One slab I rubbed with garlic siracha powder and maple sugar.












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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017





Heated my MES to 120 degrees.  Filled my AMAZEN smoker full of hickory and maple pellets.  I started both ends of the AMAZEN on fire got the smoke rolling and placed it at the bottom middle of the MES chip tray.  Removed both the loader and chip tray to get good air flow to keep the smoke rolling.













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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017






After 12.5 hours I opened the door on my smoker and let the slabs cool for an hour.  I wrapped them in plastic wrap and placed them in the refrigerator for
Two days.  Then in the freezer for a couple hours to make it easier to slice.













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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017







Fry tested for level of smoke and saltiness.  Both spot on.  Loved the hint of smoke with the sweetness of the maple flavor. If you find they are notsmokey enough just put then back into the smoker for another 12 hours.













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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017





  This plate did not last long!

The garlic siracha rubbed bacon was a hit.  The sweetness of the maple sugar and the subtle heat from the siracha was awesome.













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__ wrestler75
__ Jul 9, 2017





Vacuum sealed and into the freezer...


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## SmokinAl (Jul 10, 2017)

Nice job on the bacon!

It looks delicious!

Al


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