# make'n a 6 lb slab of bacon



## joed617 (Aug 27, 2006)

The 6lb slab <belly>

Joe


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## joed617 (Aug 27, 2006)

all brined, using salt and sugar. now I have to wait it out.




Joe


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## vulcan75001 (Aug 28, 2006)

Joe

Are you getting the pork belleys at the Whole Food  Market also?

Richard


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## joed617 (Aug 28, 2006)

Hey Richard,  No, they don't carry pork bellies .. The wife found a place in NH.



Joe


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## brandx (Aug 28, 2006)

JoeD where in NH are you buying port bellies? Every place I checked will only sell by the case. I just want 1 maybe 2.


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## joed617 (Aug 28, 2006)

My wifes sister found them, I have no idea where but I'll ask when she gets home.  .. Hey.. If you know where there is a "Super 88" store or an asian market you can get one there but you'll have to ask the butcher.

Joe


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## joed617 (Sep 2, 2006)

Almost time to smoke the bacon .. here is a pic of it all cured with some rub on it .. It finished curing yesterday .. I washed it off, patted it dry and put some rub on it lastnight .. ready to go into the smoker ..



Joe


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## vulcan75001 (Sep 2, 2006)

Looks good Joe..

I found a couple of places in town here where I can get pork bellies.. You'll have to refresh my memory as to your process of doing them..Thanks

Later
Richard


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## joed617 (Sep 2, 2006)

Hi Richard, No problem.. wash the pork bellies... make a mixture of 60% salt and 40% sugar <white or brown> rub the mixture into the belly as I did above.. Place the belly into a clean leak proof plastic bag and store in your fridge .. 1lb per day for curing. so 5lbs = 5 days of curing. remove from bag at the end of curing. rinse off and pat dry .. let air dry for an hour or so until it gets a dry glossy look.. I made a rub of paprika, garlic granuals, onion powder, salt and pepper.  rub the belly and smoke it with your wood of choice .. oak, hickory, apple or cherry.. apple and cherry are light in flavor and oak and hickory have a moce robust flavor.. smoke the bacon for as long as you like until you get the flavor you like .. for me it's 4 to 5 hours between 90 and 100 deg.  After it's smoked you can remove the skin <I removed the skin before curing> reason being when I rub it I want the flavor to go into the meat and when smoking it as well.. either way works .. If you want a maple flavored bacon you can use maple sugar in the cure instead of the white or brown sugar.. Hope this helps you .. 

Joe


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## vulcan75001 (Sep 2, 2006)

Thanks Joe...much appreaciated...got it all printed out...now to go get a piece...(pork bellie)...LOL..

Thanks again

Richard


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## cajunsmoker (Sep 2, 2006)

Looks like another winner Joe :D .  I can't wait for it to cool off down here so I can try bacon and ham.


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## joed617 (Sep 2, 2006)

Rodger, Looks great .. I am also smoking some sea slat and white peppercorns .. It's chilly here today .. 65 deg and windy .. Do I dare ask what the temp is down there? 

Joe


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## joed617 (Sep 2, 2006)

Richard, That would be the first step.. <getting the pork belly> my wife and daughter freaked out when they seen the nipples still on the belly.. <wimmin>  Good luck and if ya get stuck.. just yell

Joe


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## cajunsmoker (Sep 2, 2006)

Not too bad today joe,  90 degrees with 45% humidity.

Pig nipples, the other white meat :D


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## joed617 (Sep 2, 2006)

Oh Man!  The wife would love to move to La. actually she said this morning just say the word.  I think the humidity would kill me .. The weather sounds great.. I'm gonna leave the nipple thingy alone for now .. I'm behaving .. lol 

Joe


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## joed617 (Sep 3, 2006)

The end product!


Joe


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## cajunsmoker (Sep 3, 2006)

Damn Joe,  It's 2 PM and now I want bacon and eggs. :oops: 

Great job :D


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## monty (Sep 3, 2006)

Superb! I am gonna seek out some pork bellies and get some of that stuff going for myself. Of, course, next year it will be in my back yard! Congrats on a fine job, Joe!`

Cheers!


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## vulcan75001 (Sep 3, 2006)

Joe..
Thats some fantastic looking bacon...I swear I can taste it now....and it tastes good...

Richard


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## joed617 (Sep 4, 2006)

The bacon came out great.. I would suggest a meat slicer though .. I put an order in yesterday for beef ribs ... The butcher said "That those ribs I got last time were from the rib eye steak, He told me they cut the ribs from there to make boneless rib eyes steaks. I'll post a pic later when I pick them up..  and thanks for the compliments on the bacon .. You guys are the best.

Your Brother in Smoking,
Joe


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## chris_harper (Nov 29, 2006)

joe, how much salt and sugar do you use per lb? my wife loves bacon, i want to make her some, as a surprise.  i guess you then fry it like you would store bought bacon?


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## joed617 (Nov 29, 2006)

Congrats on the new born Chris, Nice looking family you have there.  I use a 60 - 40 mix ... 60% kosha salt and 40% sugar mixture.. You can adjust that to your liking later but that's a good place to start .. 

Good luck
Joe


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## chris_harper (Nov 29, 2006)

ty for the congrat. i meant how much per pound of belly? like x amount of salt & y amount of sugar per pound. i don't want to make a big batch of mix and use just a little bit of it.


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## joed617 (Nov 29, 2006)

Chris, You just want enough to put 1/4" on the bottom of the pork belly and 1/4" on top of it .. If you mix more than you can use you can store it in a zip lock bag. Or add it to your next brine. 


Joe


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## chris_harper (Nov 29, 2006)

ahh ty


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## cajun_1 (Nov 30, 2006)

What great looking Bocon. Gotta hunt me down some bellies. No local stores have any. Special order, caseload only. Local butcher didn't have any.


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## larry maddock (Nov 30, 2006)

hello hello,
ive never seen a pork belly in stores.


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## up in smoke (Nov 30, 2006)

I found a butcher close to me that butchers 15-20 hogs on Friday and I can buy fresh single pork belly slabs (6-7 lbs.) for $2.79/lb on the following Monday.â€¦is that a fair price? :roll:


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## joed617 (Dec 1, 2006)

Hi Carl,  Not too bad of a price concidering the end product. 

Joe


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## deejaydebi (Dec 8, 2006)

Hi Joe -

I am about to do a pork belly shortly and was wondering if you cut the thick fat rind off before curing and smoking?
Thanks 
Debi


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## deejaydebi (Dec 8, 2006)

Hi Larry -

I never saw pork bellies in the stores either - I had to ask the butcher. They automatically get them and smoke them so you have to ask them to save you one.

Debi


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