# Bacon! Something to show finally.....



## SonnyE (Nov 24, 2018)

Not finished, in process, but moving along.
After 14 days curing (can't say I'm not thorough), I opened the first bag and took a whiff.
I was scared of bad smells.
I smiled as the aroma of sweet meat met my olfactory nerves and my brain registered pleasing thoughts. Bacon, Stage 1, Cured!
Finally, I can put to use the racks I bought for Stage 2, Pellical.
So here is 4 slabs of BACON! In progress. Current plan is for a Tuesday start smoking with Apple Wood Pellets, cold smoked @ 70 degrees. (Bypass Mode, Inkbird Controller 308)
Doing test runs today, and testing the BBQ therms.
So Stage two is well underway, day two is through.

No pictures, didn't happen... ;)







2 Pork Belly pieces on the bottom.
And 2 Pork Butt slabs shelf 2 and top. 36 degree fridge.
This is worse than waiting on shipping! :confused::rolleyes:o_O

I decided to use Daveomak's method on the Pork Belly. This was one piece, but I cut it in half to be able to bag it for curing.
The butt slabs got an Old Fashion cure of Salt and Brown Sugar.
I do believe I need my own fridge...


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## Scott Eisenbraun (Nov 25, 2018)

Sounds good, looks good, so far. Waiting for the finished product review. Pics!


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## SonnyE (Nov 25, 2018)

Scott Eisenbraun said:


> Sounds good, looks good, so far. Waiting for the finished product review. Pics!



 Thanks Scott! It sure takes a long time.... 

Low and Slow is one thing, but good grief. 3 dayz to smoke, I think.


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## Scott Eisenbraun (Nov 25, 2018)

Wow! That is a long smoke.


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## SonnyE (Nov 25, 2018)

Scott Eisenbraun said:


> Wow! That is a long smoke.



3 days forming the pellical left. (out of ~5)
Smoking is done in steps. 
Like 4 hours the first day, let it hang and mellow.
Then 4 hours the next days, until the color appears right.
And I imagine it smells like BACON.


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## gmc2003 (Nov 25, 2018)

Now with your medical condition Sonny - please feel free to send me any of that bacon for testing purposes and finishing. 

Looks like it's coming along nicely.

Chris


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## tropics (Nov 25, 2018)

Sonny when I make my Bacon I don't go for a heavy smoke flavor 4 to 5 hours is good with me.I recommend cutting a small slice every day to test it.Good Luck
Richie


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## SmokinAl (Nov 25, 2018)

Looks like you will have plenty of bacon for a while!
Al


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## chopsaw (Nov 25, 2018)

Gonna be good , nice work so far . Next up you need to do  Dave's method for ham . 


SonnyE said:


> I do believe I need my own fridge.


I have 3 full size . One for the house hold .
1 for holding hams and hanging Umai stuff 
1 for making sausage ( room for the meat lugs ) and briner buckets .


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## rob g (Nov 25, 2018)

I like your bacon racks. Makes better use of the fridge. Looking forward to the finished pics.  I've got a fridge in the garage I use for meat but it's slowly being taken over by apple cider and unnecessary stuff the wife keeps putting in.


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## gmc2003 (Nov 25, 2018)

rob g said:


> I like your bacon racks. Makes better use of the fridge. Looking forward to the finished pics.  I've got a fridge in the garage I use for meat but it's slowly being taken over by apple cider and unnecessary stuff the wife keeps putting in.



Next to a dog, a good lock is man's best friend.

Chris


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## ab canuck (Nov 25, 2018)

Sounds like your going to have a feast on your hands. Looks great so far.  Bacon doesn't last long at our place, usually the wife tells the vultures about it then they show up to Dad's food bank / grocery store for some cheap shopping.... It's amazing what a few words, hugs and kisses will buy for them......


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## SonnyE (Nov 25, 2018)

gmc2003 said:


> Now with your medical condition Sonny - please feel free to send me any of that bacon for testing purposes and finishing.
> Looks like it's coming along nicely.
> Chris



Ha, ha, haa... Message me your Email address Chris, I'll send you some. ;)



tropics said:


> Sonny when I make my Bacon I don't go for a heavy smoke flavor 4 to 5 hours is good with me.I recommend cutting a small slice every day to test it.Good Luck
> Richie



I was thinking about the very thing Richie. This is my first time Makin Bacon, so I was thinking about sampling as it goes along. 



SmokinAl said:


> Looks like you will have plenty of bacon for a while!
> Al



I'm sure it will evaporate quickly Al. Fortunately, I have another chunk of belly in the freezer. 



rob g said:


> I like your bacon racks. Makes better use of the fridge. Looking forward to the finished pics.  I've got a fridge in the garage I use for meat but it's slowly being taken over by apple cider and unnecessary stuff the wife keeps putting in.



I like them too, Rob. Walmart.  Inexpensive, and a bonus is they fit a sheet pan that is smaller, so it takes less room in our busy fridge. (I use a bottom pan so I don't have to clean the damn fridge.  )
I hear Ya about hostile take overs. For years a doll house occupied space on my tablesaw outfeed table. My shop is little more than a piling place anymore.  I'm too old to fuss about it anyway. 



ab canuck said:


> Sounds like your going to have a feast on your hands. Looks great so far.  Bacon doesn't last long at our place, usually the wife tells the vultures about it then they show up to Dad's food bank / grocery store for some cheap shopping.... It's amazing what a few words, hugs and kisses will buy for them......



I'm starting to become Infamous around here (Home), Charlie. I gave our next door neighbors a container of my Dutch's Wicked Beans (modified). Gerry called me last night just raving about how much they enjoyed those beans. He said I should market them because I could put Bush's out of business. 
So I have a new found taste tester base right next door. We talked about them trying some bacon when it is done.
Once I settle on a level of smokyness, I tend to lock in on my modified version of the Original Recipe, but call it Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans (Sonny's Version). So folks know my adulteration wasn't the Originators intent. 

I plan on making more Beans, because my wife just Love's them!  And what could be better than Home Made Bacon in them. 

Thanks Everybody!


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## disco (Nov 25, 2018)

Love home made bacon and this is going to be great. Watching!


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## SonnyE (Nov 25, 2018)

disco said:


> Love home made bacon and this is going to be great. Watching!



Thanks Disco!
I'm imagining this smoky goodness showing its taste in Baked Beans. Besides all the usual places.
I think I'm going to Pig Out. LOL! 
I'm going to have to come see what scrumptious recipes you have for BACON!


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## TomKnollRFV (Nov 25, 2018)

Looks Good Sonny!

I'm always afraid of off smells my self, but then I remember something not normal is to be expected. I'd look for weird mold and then worry! 

So..you gonna share it with the rest of the class?


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Nov 25, 2018)

Very nice, gonna be some tasty stuff!


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## HalfSmoked (Nov 25, 2018)

Looking great like that rack need one when doing Canadian bacon. Call when finished I can cook home fries and eggs I'll even furnish them.  :rolleyes: :D

Looking to see slicing photos.

Warren


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## SonnyE (Nov 25, 2018)

TomKnollRFV said:


> Looks Good Sonny!
> I'm always afraid of off smells my self, but then I remember something not normal is to be expected. I'd look for weird mold and then worry!
> So..you gonna share it with the rest of the class?



Of course I'll share! Message me your email address and I'll send you some. o_O:confused:
Naw if it would have smelled 'off' it would have stopped right there. But it smelled wonderful.



WaterinHoleBrew said:


> Very nice, gonna be some tasty stuff!



I'm a hopin so!



HalfSmoked said:


> Looking great like that rack need one when doing Canadian bacon. Call when finished I can cook home fries and eggs I'll even furnish them.  :rolleyes: :D
> Looking to see slicing photos.
> Warren



I decided I needed the right tool for the job. So I waded through the Walmartins and found those. I was trying them in various cookie pans and couldn't find one I liked.
I bought the rack package anyway and came home. There was a cookie pan in the cupboard that was almost just right. :rolleyes:
Wife asked where the pan came from and I told her the pan cupboard. She claimed she never saw it before. o_O
Anyway, I think it is a 1/4 sheet baking pan. But I was thinking I'd make a foil pan if I had to.
Works perfect for my allowed space in the fridge. LOL!
Home fries and eggs sound great! I like my eggs medium. (Whites done, Yokes runny) ;)


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## HalfSmoked (Nov 26, 2018)

Yup eggs same way we call over light. Thanks for the like it is greatly appreciated.

Warren


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## SonnyE (Nov 26, 2018)

HalfSmoked said:


> Yup eggs same way we call over light. Thanks for the like it is greatly appreciated.
> 
> Warren



When I was a teenager, and unwise to the ways of the World, Ordered some eggs in a restaurant. I didn't know how to order them the way Mom made them, or splashed with bacon grease the way Dad made them, so I ordered Sunny Side Up. 
The waitress saw me staring at the raw warm eggs, and was nice enough to ask me if they were the way I wanted them.
After explaining she told me she'd fix them, dumped the runny whites eggs, and ordered two over medium. Just right!
Over Light, over medium, bacon grease spooned over to cook the whites, I think we agree on our eggs Warren.
We like yokes we can poke, and spread over the egg. Or dip our toast in. And the whites palatable.

I believe tomorrow I'll smoke my first bacon.  Or maybe tonight...


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## HalfSmoked (Nov 27, 2018)

Yup that splashed bacon grease was awesome. Like eggs on toast or a pancake to anyway to enjoy all that juicily yoke.

Warren


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## SonnyE (Nov 27, 2018)

OK, here's an Update.
By Last night, I was ready to do some cold smoking of the BACON I've been Makin.
The wife wanted some Grandpa's Ribs for dinner, so I was out in the lamplight anyway, why not go for it?
(Yeah, I couldn't think of an excuse either....)
Here's the Chronicles:







4 slabs, two Buckboard, two Pork Bellies.






TBS from the de-constituted pellet dust.






Is it possible to have too much monitoring?






TP-08 and the Inkbird  head to head. 1 degree difference, linear.






My tray of "Dave's Dust", reduced and dried pellets to make sawdust.






At my 4 hour mark. Pulled 2 slabs, left two slabs to smoke longer. Heat off.






We have BACON! Yeah, I thought it looked light, too. That's why I pulled two and left two.






The proof is in the tasting the next day (today). Top strip is the last Belly Bacon piece, bottom 5 are the Shoulder, or Buckboard samples.

Now, in all fairness there was 4 belly bacons I cooked up. But they magically disappeared. 
The wife taught me how to do BACON in the oven, plus I did some in a frying pan on top.
It is just downright delicious! In my opinion, the Buckboard is a bit on the salty side, but yummy.
I can see healthy portions in my next Dutch's Wicked Beans and having the hoards hooked on my version of Dutch's creation. More on that some other time.
I have this bagged and in the fridge to mellow a bit more before the big slicing and packaging for the freezer.

Ahhhh... BACON!


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## rob g (Nov 27, 2018)

That looks really good. How long did you get from a tray of dust?


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## pc farmer (Nov 27, 2018)

Looks great.   So 4 hours smoke was enough?


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## SonnyE (Nov 27, 2018)

rob g said:


> That looks really good. How long did you get from a tray of dust?



I believe it was right around *6 hours*.
I pulled one of each at 4 hours, and left the other two in an unheated cabinet to finish.
But the heat held for the duration.

I was trying to replicate the same level Daveomak did with his tray. I filled the tray and struck it off. Then pressed it with my big fat thumb to try and compress it a little. And a little was all it did.
But it stayed in it's row the whole way, no lane jumping. And just a nice wisp of steady smoke. It lazily drifted out the stack. (No wind either)


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## SonnyE (Nov 27, 2018)

pc farmer said:


> Looks great.   So 4 hours smoke was enough?



I think so, Adam. I've finally learned that a little is good, too much gags my group. I kind of like it better, too.
It lingers on the tongue. So I will probably target 4-6 hours next time. And use Daveomak's dust.
Might use dust for everything. It worked really good for cold smoking the bacon.
And leading up to this, I did a load of Jerky and cold smoked it with the same Apple wood dust for 2 hours before dehydrating it. OH! Soo good!

I think I concur with Dave that the dust is more intense. But this is my first time for making bacon myself.
The process (for me) was rather elongated. I cured for 14 days, probably long in the tooth, but thorough.
And I think it made my Shoulder (Buckboard) bacon a bit salty. But not too salty. It tastes good, and has a good smoky flavor. Just a tad salty for my taste.
I'm on a lowered sodium diet, so I think I am a poor judge of saltiness. I'd eat it, just think it's a tad salty. So not too bad.

I have the remainder of my slabs individually bagged and in the fridge today to rest for a couple of more days. Just resting overnight really mellowed the smoke scent on the bacon. Smelled so good this morning :rolleyes:. Last night, a bit pungent. I was worried.
I would have left it in the smoker to hang and season, but our daytime temperatures was bumping 76 or 77 here. And I'm a little paranoid about meat hanging out in the warm So Cal weather. And a don't trust the damn ants.

But yes, 4 hours seemed good, 6 hours may as well. I wanted to take the slow road, but think I (joyfully) got there on the expressway and faster.
If it tastes good, eat and enjoy it! We never know when our last day has arrived.

BTW: These are Treager pellets, Apple Wood, de-constituted and dried into dust.
I am still narrowing my search for a pellet or blend I truly love. Getting close just not perfected quite yet.

Thank You for looking in. :D


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## pc farmer (Nov 27, 2018)

SonnyE said:


> I think so, Adam. I've finally learned that a little is good, too much gags my group. I kind of like it better, too.
> It lingers on the tongue. So I will probably target 4-6 hours next time. And use Daveomak's dust.
> Might use dust for everything. It worked really good for cold smoking the bacon.
> And leading up to this, I did a load of Jerky and cold smoked it with the same Apple wood dust for 2 hours before dehydrating it. OH! Soo good!
> ...




Great explaination.  You will be doing more, experiment some.  I do mine different ways.


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## SonnyE (Nov 27, 2018)

pc farmer said:


> Great explaination.  You will be doing more, experiment some.  I do mine different ways.



Thank You Adam.
Oh, Most definitely. I guess I'm mellowing in my senior years. 
I got locked in on my Grandpa's Ribs. Got told in no uncertain terms to "Don't mess with the ribs recipe!" So I'm handcuffed to that grill.
May as well get nailed down on Makin Bacon. 

There is a bit of narrow mindedness around me.
I have to get really sneaky just to add a smidgen of Cyan Pepper. 
I get found out right away... :oops: :mad:


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## desertlites (Nov 27, 2018)

Do you soak your bacon after cure? Removes a lot of the salt


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## gmc2003 (Nov 28, 2018)

Bacon, Bacon Bacon Bacon. Really nice job on your bacon Sonny. I haven't ventured down that highway yet, but hope to do so in the near future.

Point for sure.
Chris


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## tropics (Nov 28, 2018)

Sonny That Bacon looks great!! I like it with the lite smoke 4 to 5 hours POINTS
Richie


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## SonnyE (Nov 28, 2018)

desertlites said:


> Do you soak your bacon after cure? Removes a lot of the salt



Thanks!
Actually, I did forget that step. Remembered it after the bacon was forming it's pellical in the fridge.
You know the commercial where they say, "<smack> I coulda had a V-8!"
Yeah, I'm that guy. :eek:
Dave asked if I weighed my salt out. Ummm....   nope. :oops: I'm not worthy.... LOL.



gmc2003 said:


> Bacon, Bacon Bacon Bacon. Really nice job on your bacon Sonny. I haven't ventured down that highway yet, but hope to do so in the near future.
> Point for sure.
> Chris



Thanks!
You should Chris. The waiting is the hardest part, I'll warn Ya.



tropics said:


> Sonny That Bacon looks great!! I like it with the lite smoke 4 to 5 hours POINTS
> Richie



Thanks Richie!
I'm quite pleased with the amount of smoke, at this point anyway.
It is "aging" in the fridge right now, in Ziploc bags. I might have to do another "taste test" later today. :rolleyes:
Gotta go. Dropping the wife at the airport this morning.


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## HalfSmoked (Nov 28, 2018)

Awesome Awesome Awesome I to need to try some of this. Been just making the Canadian in the past.

Warren


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## SonnyE (Nov 28, 2018)

HalfSmoked said:


> Awesome Awesome Awesome I to need to try some of this. Been just making the Canadian in the past.
> 
> Warren



Heck yeah, Warren. Give it a go!
I have another Pork Belly in the freezer. 
I think in our house the Pork Belly is going to be the favorite.
It looks like the store bought that the wife is use to. ;)
Confidence is slow to build around here. :rolleyes:


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## HalfSmoked (Nov 29, 2018)

HalfSmoked said:


> Awesome Awesome Awesome I to need to try some of this. Been just making the Canadian in the past.
> 
> Warren




SonnyE Thanks for the like it is greatly appreciated.

Warren


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## TomKnollRFV (Nov 29, 2018)

Buckboard is my favourite for the fat to meat ratio. :)


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## SonnyE (Nov 30, 2018)

TomKnollRFV said:


> Buckboard is my favourite for the fat to meat ratio. :)



I'll have to wait (still...), my bacon is aging like a fine steak, or good bourbon. I bought a small fridge just for my growing culinary adventures. Right now the smoked bacon is racked in it, aging in the cold.
But I did put my beer in it, too. So I'm wondering about beer cans with a delicate Bacon scent to them. o_O

My buckboard bacon make very little bacon grease. If it is me making the eggs, I like to do what my Dad use to do.
Take a teaspoon and spoon the bacon grease onto the eggs to fry the tops. Just get that BACON flavor all over them eggs.
But I haven't done that in a long time now. :(


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## TomKnollRFV (Nov 30, 2018)

SonnyE said:


> I'll have to wait (still...), my bacon is aging like a fine steak, or good bourbon. I bought a small fridge just for my growing culinary adventures. Right now the smoked bacon is racked in it, aging in the cold.
> But I did put my beer in it, too. So I'm wondering about beer cans with a delicate Bacon scent to them. o_O
> 
> My buckboard bacon make very little bacon grease. If it is me making the eggs, I like to do what my Dad use to do.
> ...


I keep a specific jar for bacon grease now, but I haven't used it for any thing yet but popcorn. That's my favourite way to pop that goodness. Bacon grease instead of oil! Try that some time Sonny!

PS: I hear ya on the fridge just for projects!


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## rob g (Nov 30, 2018)

I haven't made popcorn in a pot since I was a kid. I used to catch hell from mom for the burnt pot bottom lol. Now it's the microwave because I'm lazy and it's easy. Using bacon grease sounds like I might have to give it a try and risk the wrath of the wife


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## SonnyE (Nov 30, 2018)

TomKnollRFV said:


> Bacon grease instead of oil! Try that some time Sonny!



It sounds interesting Tom.
Do you inject it into the Microwave bag? o_O
We are fortunate enough to have a Popcorn button on our microwave.
But not one for Bacon Grease Popcorn.:confused:
Like Rob, it's been a coons age since I popped popcorn in a pan. But we used to use a Hot Air Popper. I can't remember the procedure (oil, or no oil), but we were away from hot oil popcorn.
Instead of Bacon and Eggs, it sounds like Bacon and Popcorn for you Tom. :rolleyes:


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## TomKnollRFV (Nov 30, 2018)

SonnyE said:


> It sounds interesting Tom.
> Do you inject it into the Microwave bag? o_O
> We are fortunate enough to have a Popcorn button on our microwave.
> But not one for Bacon Grease Popcorn.:confused:
> ...


Harr Harr! Sonny! I don't microwave popcorn! Oil popper all the way!


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## SonnyE (Dec 2, 2018)

TA-Daaa....
Sliced, weighed, packaged, and in the freezer.
With about a pound of trimmings for some wicked beans. 

Started with Belly.







First pound, Vacuum packed and freezer bound...






One small slab for the freezer, One giant leap for Sonny... (About 2 and 3/4 pounds)






4 pounds of Buckboard Bacon... And a celebratory PBR (yes, it was After Noon)






I got quite fast at handling, weighing, and getting my sliced bacon into the 11" X 11" vacuum bags.
Under the bacon is "Patty Paper" to make the pile easier to slip from my slicers tray, into the bags.
And hopefully easier to get back out. 

All in all, fun! But Holy Mackerel, it took a long time to get around the mountain. I have another slab of Pork Belly to begin curing.
But first, some Dutch's Wicked Beans, with some extree Home Cured BACON added.

Mistakes NOTED for the next time:
Weigh the bacon for the salt to weight ratio 1-2% per pound.
Soak after curing to reduce the saltiness.

I think I'll have me another PBR and catch a nap.
Between Maken Bacon, and playin with me nuts, I'm feelin pooped.


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## rob g (Dec 2, 2018)

If you have too much you can send some up here. I can hardly wait for my slicer to arrive


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## SonnyE (Dec 2, 2018)

rob g said:


> If you have too much you can send some up here. I can hardly wait for my slicer to arrive



Hi Rob. Pick a picture and print it out. There ya go. 
Slicer makes a lot of difference.
I'm finding I like my meat frozen for slicing.
I've made a few batches of Pork Loin Jerky and sliced the meat frozen and it comes out best.
Less than frozen I seem to get 'tails'. I'm surprised the slicer is happy carving frozen meat.
My next slabs I'm going to hard freeze before slicing.

The waiting is the hardest part...


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## pc farmer (Dec 2, 2018)

Looks great.  I wrap mine in parchment paper , then into the bag to seal.  Works great


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## SonnyE (Dec 3, 2018)

pc farmer said:


> Looks great.  I wrap mine in parchment paper , then into the bag to seal.  Works great



Great idea Adam!
I'll remember that. In fact, I'm headed to Sam's Club. So I'll look for some more appropriate for my packaging needs.
Instead of messin with my Patty Papers

I made a batch of Dutch's Wicked Beans last night and used some of my trimmins from the BACON in the recipe.
OH! So good! :rolleyes:

EDIT IN:
Hey, you might be interested in a lifetime supply of Dry Waxed Paper for your Pork Belly adventures.
These are just like Patty Wax papers, but bacon sized. ;)


And yeah, I got some Pork Belly. And yeah, here I go again.
How much is a lifetime supply anyway? 






https://www.samsclub.com/sams/membe...-wrap-2pk/prod22274391.ip?xid=plp_product_1_1


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## GaryHibbert (Dec 6, 2018)

Sonny, I waited and waited for your post on bacon.  Then when you finally got around to makin' bacon, I missed your post.  So I'm a wee bit late here.   :cool:
Your bacon looks absolutely delicious!!  You certainly did a bang up job on it.  
I haven't tried making buckboard bacon yet, but after seeing yours I'm going to give it a try.  I really do like the meat to fat ratio--as in, MORE MEAT.
POINT for sure.
Gary


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## SonnyE (Dec 6, 2018)

GaryHibbert said:


> Sonny, I waited and waited for your post on bacon.  Then when you finally got around to makin' bacon, I missed your post.  So I'm a wee bit late here.   :cool:
> Your bacon looks absolutely delicious!!  You certainly did a bang up job on it.
> I haven't tried making buckboard bacon yet, but after seeing yours I'm going to give it a try.  I really do like the meat to fat ratio--as in, MORE MEAT.
> POINT for sure.
> Gary



Thank You, Gary!
My Mom always said better late, than never. 
I'm sure happy with it, all in all. It takes forever though. About a month all told.
14 days curing, 5 days making pellicle (Pelicans), 4 hours hanging and smoking, overnight hanging and cooling, more daze dry aging after all in a curing fridge, and finally... to the slicer, arranging, weighing, bagging, vacuum sealing, and into the freezer.
I have another slab curing as we speak. Going to cook some up this afternoon for the Grandkid's to get their critical opinions.
I need to do another Buckboard Bacon, though. I flubbed a critical 1 hour soaking in Iced water to reduce the saltiness.
So my Buckboard Bacon is for the beans...
I'll let that soak in a minute.... For the beans... it's going to do great in Dutch's Wicked Baked Beans.
Which have come into high demand around here. My neighbors love then, the wife loves them, I love them, and everybody who has had some loves them.
But Makin Bacon is quite easy. I used Daveomak's dry brining method for the slabs. And ran my Buckboard bacon at the same time, but took a right turn and did an Old Fashioned Sugar/Salt Cure.
But I think the wife and I prefer the traditional Pork Belly style bacon.
If you can find you some Pork Bellies, and grab a Boston Butt (Pork Shoulder), you're all set.
I'm old fasioned and wanted Bacon Hangers like Dave uses. So durin the curin I was procurrin some. 
I find the 4 prong did fine for my slabs.

Give it a go! You'll be glad you did.


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## Rings Я Us (Dec 6, 2018)

All looks great!
  I didn't notice why you had temp probes in the meat.. Did you want the bacon to reach a specific internal temp? I used 100% Apple pellets by lumberjack. I used a few chunks of hickory on the charcoal also. I ran a tray in the cooking chamber and the charcoal in the fire box. Held about 80° average for 12 hours.  Points!


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## SonnyE (Dec 6, 2018)

Rings Я Us said:


> All looks great!
> I didn't notice why you had temp probes in the meat.. Did you want the bacon to reach a specific internal temp? I used 100% Apple pellets by lumberjack. I used a few chunks of hickory on the charcoal also. I ran a tray in the cooking chamber and the charcoal in the fire box. Held about 80° average for 12 hours.  Points!



Because I could. LOL!
It let me watch each slabs IT. One was my ThermoPro, the other 3 were the Inkbird. Brian Mudd helped me to order a 4th meat probe for the Inkbird. So If I ever do another 4 slab grab, I can monitor each slab and rely on my TP-08 for the "grate" temperature.
The TP-08 and the Inkbird stayed right at 1 degree difference for this bacon smoke. (The TP-08 was consistently at 1° lower than the newer Inkbird) I was impressed that the two ran so close during this little test.
Granted the only "test" was at a cold smoke temperature run. And two of the four slabs stopped at 4 hours. The remaining two just soaked in the smoke from the AMNPS. (no heat)
Then the 4 slabs just hung in the smoker until the next morning and went into my little curing/beer fridge to dry age for 5 days. I fried up a 12 ounce leftover package today and let the grandkids and Grandma all enjoy it.
It was a big hit.
Yesss... 

I have a second slab curing now (cut in half, 2.89#, and 2.97#) for my next batch. I can see this stuff disappearing fast around here. The 5 YO Grand Daughter LOVES being in the kitchen, and REALLY LOVES bacon. She hung out and ate most of what I cooked this afternoon.
I think I have an heir for my BBQ stuff.  Ava can Cook!


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## GaryHibbert (Dec 7, 2018)

SonnyE said:


> I'm sure happy with it, all in all. It takes forever though. About a month all told.
> 14 days curing, 5 days making pellicle (Pelicans), 4 hours hanging and smoking, overnight hanging and cooling, more daze dry aging after all in a curing fridge, and finally... to the slicer, arranging, weighing, bagging, vacuum sealing, and into the freezer.



Sonny, if you want to speed up the pellicle formation, lay the meat out on racks and put a fan on low blowing over the racks.  That's what I do and it makes a huge difference in time spent.
And yes, I got the crack about "for the beans".  LOL
I know it's the accepted practice, but why ice water as opposed to cold water to soak the salt out of the meat????  If anyone has discussed this, I missed it.
Glad to hear that Ava can cook.  Now it's up to you to encourage her.  I know, tough job, but somebody's got to do it.  LOL
Gary


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## SonnyE (Dec 7, 2018)

GaryHibbert said:


> Sonny, if you want to speed up the pellicle formation, lay the meat out on racks and put a fan on low blowing over the racks.  That's what I do and it makes a huge difference in time spent.
> And yes, I got the crack about "for the beans".  LOL
> I know it's the accepted practice, but why ice water as opposed to cold water to soak the salt out of the meat????  If anyone has discussed this, I missed it.
> Glad to hear that Ava can cook.  Now it's up to you to encourage her.  I know, tough job, but somebody's got to do it.  LOL
> Gary



Ha, Ha! I did this for some Salmon I was sm00king.
Sped those pelicans right up, it did.

Not sure why "Ice Water", I just figured it was to keep the meat as cold as possible during the hour. Shrug. Anyway, I missed that step. Beginner boo-boo's.
But probably over cured, actually.

Oh yeah, when I see a talent or interest I encourage it. And she love's how Grandma and I let her help. She's not too interested in popping hot grease from the simmering bacon. But then, me neither.
But she loves to eat it!


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