# Duroc Pork Belly Bacon



## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

*Duroc Pork Belly Bacon*

Started off whipping up a batch of Pops Wet Curing Brine.

28 grams Cure #1
200 grams Kosher Salt
200 grams Turbinado Sugar








Added 10 grams Quad Colored Peppercorns







A 4.9 pound Duroc Pork Belly  sourced from one of the local grocery stores.













A 1.5 gallon container for a 14 day rest in the refrigerator.



I fill a plastic bag with brine to act as a weight so of the bag leaks it's not diluting the brine.







After 14 days the belly was removed from the brine, the brine and peppercorns discarded, rinsed and dried and on a wire rack in a pan for another overnight stay in the fridge.

Prior to firing up the Pit Boss Copperhead 5 Vertical Smoker I tested both a remote probe and my Meater Plus in an ice bath and boiling water... looks like both of them are off just a few degrees but now I know!

























High ambient temps in the 90s and high humidity plus never having smoked bacon on the pellet smoker I filled the water pan with ice.







I ended up cutting the belly in 2 pieces and laid out black pepper on one and left the other plain.







After about 4 1/2 hours I was nearing the 145F goal and had an error on the Pit Boss that shut it off! Knowing that I'll be the only one eating this bacon and knowing that I will cook it anyway I just pulled them.



















Back on a wire rack and another overnight stay in the refrigerator to chill down.

Then this morning I put them in the freezer wrapped in plastic wrap for about 1 hour in preparation for slicing.

The small 7 1/2 blade slicer just won't cut it for this job. (Pun intended) Between the back of the slide and the edge of the blade is only 6 3/4 inches and the bellies are just over 9 inches wide .

A visit to Bass Pro Shops this morning taught me something. They had an 8 1/2 inch slicer for $299, a 10 inch for $329 and a 12 inch for $449. I'm thinking heck yea! I'd invest in a slicer if it'll be wide enough to slice bacon.

Lucky for me a worker opened the box on the 12 inch and pulled out the book that covered all 3 slicers! As you can see by the photo, they all 3 have 9 inches between the slide and the edge of the blade!!







I decided I would continue to look for a slicer with at least 10 inches.

Instead I returned home and put a fresh edge on my Dexter Slicing Knife.







Not bad for hand sliced! Probably thicker than some people would do but it's my bacon and I'm ok with it! HAHAHA!







The Duroc is a Heritage Breed that has red skin and big floppy ears. It's known for the red meat and a mild flavor. You can see how red it really is!






Time for a taste test!

A cold cast iron pan  and cold bacon (plain version to check the flavor) getting started on the stove top.







One good thing about homemade bacon is it doesn't splatter! That color is gorgeous!







The money shot!!







The Verdict:

Super nice color! Nice pork flavor with a slight bit too much salt. The pepper flavor from the Peppercorns didn't come through as I had hoped. Likely won't waste good peppercorns like this again.  When using the Duroc Pork I'll probably drop the salt to 180 grams.

Thank you so much for reading this far!!


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## SecondHandSmoker (Jul 1, 2021)

Outstanding!


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## cornman (Jul 1, 2021)

Yum!!!  That’s some nice looking bacon!


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

SecondHandSmoker said:


> Outstanding!



Thank you!


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

cornman said:


> Yum!!!  That’s some nice looking bacon!



Thank you!


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## JLeonard (Jul 1, 2021)

Good looking bacon......Y'all gonna make me go out and buy a belly yet!
Jim


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## browneyesvictim (Jul 1, 2021)

Gorgeous looking slabs there! BLT time!!!


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## smokerjim (Jul 1, 2021)

Looks excellant


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## SmokinEdge (Jul 1, 2021)

Nicely done! Looks delicious.
As to the slicer, you can fold the bacon slab and slice it that way. For longer slices in a short machine.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

JLeonard said:


> Good looking bacon......Y'all gonna make me go out and buy a belly yet!
> Jim



Thank you!

Making your own bacon is definitely a rabbit hole!


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## zippy12 (Jul 1, 2021)

I have found 2.5% of the belly weight is a good salt content.. and I dry brine..


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

browneyesvictim said:


> Gorgeous looking slabs there! BLT time!!!



Thank you! 

I'm sure I'll come up with something!


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

smokerjim said:


> Looks excellant



Thank you!


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> Nicely done! Looks delicious.
> As to the slicer, you can fold the bacon slab and slice it that way. For longer slices in a short machine.



There's no way to fold it in half. Trust me I've tried all sorts of things. 

I'll  invest in the right slicer when I find one


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

zippy12 said:


> I have found 2.5% of the belly weight is a good salt content.. and I dry brine..



It wasn't like it was inedible... it was great but I  could see someone complaining about the salt.. I suspect the Duroc Belly played a role in it too.. I've used Costco bellies at the same rate and they were great. The Duroc is known for being a milder flavor which is why I thought the black pepper might shine through.

The belly  started out at 4.92 pounds.. 2.5% of that is 0.123 .. are you saying I should drop all the way down to 123 grams? If not, please educate me.


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## SmokinEdge (Jul 1, 2021)

kilo charlie said:


> I decided I would continue to look for a slicer with at least 10 inches.


My LEM Big Bite 10” slicer has 7.5” cut. That’s pretty standard for most slicers. You will have to get a Hobart commercial slicer for anything bigger. That’s why if I want long slices, I leave the belly whole and roll into a “C” then slice. Otherwise I cut the belly to fit and be happy.


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## zippy12 (Jul 1, 2021)

4.92 lbs meat = 2231.674g
2231.674g X .025 = 55.79g

We dont do much salt here and I use the costco bellies


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## 912smoker (Jul 1, 2021)

Yes sir that looks great Charlie ! Never tried making bacon but I know it's delish smoked !


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## SmokinEdge (Jul 1, 2021)

zippy12 said:


> 4.92 lbs meat = 2231.674g
> 2231.674g X .025 = 55.79g


In a brine don’t forget to add water weight. 1 gallon is 8.33 lbs so 8.33+4.92x454=6015.5g x 0.025=150.38g salt


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## zippy12 (Jul 1, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> In a brine don’t forget to add water weight. 1 gallon is 8.33 lbs so 8.33+4.92x454=6015.5g x 0.025=150.38g salt



I dry brine so its less


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## SmokinEdge (Jul 1, 2021)

zippy12 said:


> I dry brine so its less


Me too, but OP is bringing. So in a brine you include water weight.


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## pushok2018 (Jul 1, 2021)

Fantastic looking bacon!  Nice color... Like!


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> My LEM Big Bite 10” slicer has 7.5” cut. That’s pretty standard for most slicers. You will have to get a Hobart commercial slicer for anything bigger. That’s why if I want long slices, I leave the belly whole and roll into a “C” then slice. Otherwise I cut the belly to fit and be happy.



The Bass Pro Shops/Cabelas model will handle 9 inches.. I could probably work with that.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

zippy12 said:


> 4.92 lbs meat = 2231.674g
> 2231.674g X .025 = 55.79g
> 
> We dont do much salt here and I use the costco bellies


Forgive me.. I was sitting in the sun too much this morning or something! 

Thanks for the reference.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

912smoker said:


> Yes sir that looks great Charlie ! Never tried making bacon but I know it's delish smoked !



Thank you! 

Give it a try sometime!


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

zippy12 said:


> 4.92 lbs meat = 2231.674g
> 2231.674g X .025 = 55.79g
> 
> We dont do much salt here and I use the costco bellies





SmokinEdge said:


> In a brine don’t forget to add water weight. 1 gallon is 8.33 lbs so 8.33+4.92x454=6015.5g x 0.025=150.38g salt





zippy12 said:


> I dry brine so its less





SmokinEdge said:


> Me too, but OP is bringing. So in a brine you include water weight.




For reference.. I'm using Pops Wet Curing Brine and weigh my ingredients so it's consistent.  I don't weigh meat or water.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

pushok2018 said:


> Fantastic looking bacon!  Nice color... Like!



Thank you!


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## mneeley490 (Jul 1, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> My LEM Big Bite 10” slicer has 7.5” cut. That’s pretty standard for most slicers. You will have to get a Hobart commercial slicer for anything bigger. That’s why if I want long slices, I leave the belly whole and roll into a “C” then slice. Otherwise I cut the belly to fit and be happy.


I do the same.  I have a large Italian made slicer, but it still isn't big enough to slice a flat slab. After smoking, I wrap in plastic wrap and let it settle for a few days in the fridge. Then I fold in "half", making the "C" shape, and slide about 3 silicone bbq bands over it. (They're like rubber bands, but don't melt in heat or crack in cold. I use these things all the time.) Then when it's the proper shape, I put them in the freezer until I'm ready to slice. At that time, simply unwrap and let thaw a bit, and run it past the blade. Partially frozen slabs slice up so much easier, than not.
I usually do 30-45 lbs at a time, so slicing by hand was really wearing me out.


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## GonnaSmoke (Jul 1, 2021)

912smoker said:


> Yes sir that looks great Charlie ! Never tried making bacon but I know it's delish smoked !


I've never done it, either, but curing my own bacon if definitely in the near future.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

mneeley490 said:


> I do the same.  I have a large Italian made slicer, but it still isn't big enough to slice a flat slab. After smoking, I wrap in plastic wrap and let it settle for a few days in the fridge. Then I fold in "half", making the "C" shape, and slide about 3 silicone bbq bands over it. (They're like rubber bands, but don't melt in heat or crack in cold. I use these things all the time.) Then when it's the proper shape, I put them in the freezer until I'm ready to slice. At that time, simply unwrap and let thaw a bit, and run it past the blade. Partially frozen slabs slice up so much easier, than not.
> I usually do 30-45 lbs at a time, so slicing by hand was really wearing me out.



I did freeze mine for about an hour before slicing.. and I did attempt to fold mine for the small slicer I do have.. I gave up while I still had all my fingers. 

The small amount I did was acceptable to cut my hand. 

Thanks for the ideas though


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

GonnaSmoke said:


> I've never done it, either, but curing my own bacon if definitely in the near future.



There's  a few schools of thought on this and it does cause a lot of "discussion" especially on SMF. 

You can dry brine.
You can wet brine.
You can use Pops Wet Curing Brine (The method I used here)

I recommend doing your research and picking your method and you'll have to sorta ignore all the others until it's completed. Otherwise it's going to confuse you and everyone has their own opinion and thinks their way is the right way.


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## SmokinEdge (Jul 1, 2021)

kilo charlie said:


> For reference.. I'm using Pops Wet Curing Brine and weigh my ingredients so it's consistent.  I don't weigh meat or water.





kilo charlie said:


> For reference.. I'm using Pops Wet Curing Brine and weigh my ingredients so it's consistent.  I don't weigh meat or water.





kilo charlie said:


> Started off whipping up a batch of Pops Wet Curing Brine.
> 
> 28 grams Cure #1
> 200 grams Kosher Salt
> 200 grams Turbinado Sugar


Then this is a teachable moment.
Im going to assume you used 1 gallon of water? 
Going with that, when brining generally, as in Pop’s brine, there is never a meat weight connected to the brine ingredients. So it could be 1 pound or 20 pounds, just whatever the brine will cover.
In this case where you have 4.92lbs of belly, the brine will impart about 3.8% salt, and 3.35% sugar In equilibrium. The salt is higher because we include the salt in the cure so you have a total of 228.0g total salt. This is way over on salt. The sugar is just for taste (balance the salt) and provides no curing properties. However, the next time you mix this brine and soak 15lbs of belly, you would end up with 2.15% salt. Pretty big difference.

Pop’s brine is fine to get your feet wet, but there really is no reason to weigh the ingredients since the results will change with different meat weights applied. This also applies to cure #1 concentration (nitrite). Pop’s brine is accepted as safe, that’s why it’s great for beginners, but hardly consistent unless you always use the same type of meat and exact weight.

If you want to brine, and be consistent with the results, add all the meat weight and water weight together. Then apply the salt % you want. (Generally between 1.5% and 2.0% is most palatable) do the same for curing salt. Apply that at 0.25%. Add the sugar as a % to weight as well. (Generally between 1.0% and 2.0%) you can use the digging dog calculator for this to simplify. This is called equilibrium brining, and is consistent. Also, whole muscles like loin will uptake more of the brine than something fatty like belly, it varies.


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## jcam222 (Jul 1, 2021)

Looks fantastic!! I’d love that belly uncured too. Can’t tell you jealous I am of you having a source for the Duroc belly at that price!! Amazing.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

jcam222 said:


> Looks fantastic!! I’d love that belly uncured too. Can’t tell you jealous I am of you having a source for the Duroc belly at that price!! Amazing.



Thank you!


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## kilo charlie (Jul 1, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> Then this is a teachable moment.
> Im going to assume you used 1 gallon of water?
> Going with that, when brining generally, as in Pop’s brine, there is never a meat weight connected to the brine ingredients. So it could be 1 pound or 20 pounds, just whatever the brine will cover.
> In this case where you have 4.92lbs of belly, the brine will impart about 3.8% salt, and 3.35% sugar In equilibrium. The salt is higher because we include the salt in the cure so you have a total of 228.0g total salt. This is way over on salt. The sugar is just for taste (balance the salt) and provides no curing properties. However, the next time you mix this brine and soak 15lbs of belly, you would end up with 2.15% salt. Pretty big difference.
> ...



I'm understanding what you're saying  and appreciate the clarification.


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## Brokenhandle (Jul 1, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> Then this is a teachable moment.
> Im going to assume you used 1 gallon of water?
> Going with that, when brining generally, as in Pop’s brine, there is never a meat weight connected to the brine ingredients. So it could be 1 pound or 20 pounds, just whatever the brine will cover.
> In this case where you have 4.92lbs of belly, the brine will impart about 3.8% salt, and 3.35% sugar In equilibrium. The salt is higher because we include the salt in the cure so you have a total of 228.0g total salt. This is way over on salt. The sugar is just for taste (balance the salt) and provides no curing properties. However, the next time you mix this brine and soak 15lbs of belly, you would end up with 2.15% salt. Pretty big difference.
> ...


I agree to disagree.  This subject has been covered so many times. Only difference is Pops is no longer here to explain it again. Using Pop's brine there is no need to weigh the meat or water... weather it's 1 gallon of brine or a 50 gallon barrel of brine

Ryan


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## SmokinEdge (Jul 1, 2021)

Brokenhandle said:


> I agree to disagree.  This subject has been covered so many times. Only difference is Pops is no longer here to explain it again. Using Pop's brine there is no need to weigh the meat or water... weather it's 1 gallon of brine or a 50 gallon barrel of brine
> 
> Ryan


And I suppose it matters not if it 1 pound of meat or 50?


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## Brokenhandle (Jul 1, 2021)

SmokinEdge said:


> And I suppose it matters not if it 1 pound of meat or 50?


According to Pop’s... No. And not gonna argue with you or anyone on this. Will only leave you with this question... How many times did Pop’s ever weigh the meat or the weight of water when using his brine? 

Ryan


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## SmokinEdge (Jul 1, 2021)

Brokenhandle said:


> According to Pop’s... No. And not gonna argue with you or anyone on this. Will only leave you with this question... How many times did Pop’s ever weigh the meat or the weight of water when using his brine?
> 
> Ryan


If you are happy with that, then I am just tickled. Carry on.


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## kilo charlie (Jul 2, 2021)

Brokenhandle said:


> I agree to disagree.  This subject has been covered so many times. Only difference is Pops is no longer here to explain it again. Using Pop's brine there is no need to weigh the meat or water... weather it's 1 gallon of brine or a 50 gallon barrel of brine
> 
> Ryan





SmokinEdge said:


> And I suppose it matters not if it 1 pound of meat or 50?





Brokenhandle said:


> According to Pop’s... No. And not gonna argue with you or anyone on this. Will only leave you with this question... How many times did Pop’s ever weigh the meat or the weight of water when using his brine?
> 
> Ryan





SmokinEdge said:


> If you are happy with that, then I am just tickled. Carry on.




Listen fellas.. I can understand how some  camps want to weigh the meat and water and everything else and I can understand Pops Brine.  

Never not once in my conversations with Pops did he ever tell me to weigh the meat. He told me specifically to weigh my ingredients so that my brine was consistent no matter what I was doing. 

I'm not going to argue with any of you about it. I'm not going to make a big deal about it.  I was trying to show off my accomplishment with the Duroc Pork.  I KNOW curing is a sensitive subject on this site and honestly.. I'm over all the arguing and the pissing contests.  I will try and refrain from posting any future curing projects! 

Good Day!


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## 912smoker (Jul 2, 2021)

And the Duroc Pork look great and a great price, too !


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## kilo charlie (Jul 2, 2021)

912smoker said:


> And the Duroc Pork look great and a great price, too !



Thank you! I was back there yesterday and it's up to $4.99 a pound so I left them there.


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## Brokenhandle (Jul 2, 2021)

kilo charlie said:


> Listen fellas.. I can understand how some  camps want to weigh the meat and water and everything else and I can understand Pops Brine.
> 
> Never not once in my conversations with Pops did he ever tell me to weigh the meat. He told me specifically to weigh my ingredients so that my brine was consistent no matter what I was doing.
> 
> ...


Sorry Charlie! Didn't mean to hijack your thread or get into it with anyone.  That includes 

 SmokinEdge
  No disrespect was meant in anyway.  
But I didn't take the time to weigh out the ingredients like you did... but pop's had his regular brine and also lower salt one. Just have to find what you like. Maybe the duroc is different but the only belly we have available close,  unless we butcher a pig.

Ryan


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## kilo charlie (Jul 2, 2021)

Brokenhandle said:


> Sorry Charlie! Didn't mean to hijack your thread or get into it with anyone.  That includes
> 
> SmokinEdge
> No disrespect was meant in anyway.
> ...



No worries ! There's a thousand ways to skin a cat right?


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## olecrosseyes (Jul 5, 2021)

kilo charlie said:


> No worries ! There's a thousand ways to skin a cat right?


Not if you ask SWMBO, there are zero ways, (supper feline lover).

I've been doing my bacon with pop's brine incorporating Bear's cold smoke method then hot smoke it to 135-140. I have a LEM slicer and I cut the bacon in half widthwise. I cut ours kind of extra thick and have only a few instances when I want full length bacon when I wrapping my meat to grill or smoke.

My bacon vs commercial bacon, hands down my bacon wins, just ask family,  friends and neighbors.
I want to try and compare the dry brine when I do up a big batch again.

Awesomeness!

KC, one thing I missed, did you use cure #1? OOps, never mind I see it in post #1


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