# First belly bacon attempt, will update as i go



## njfoses (Dec 17, 2012)

Going to give cold smoking bacon a shot in my mes with amnps.  Using the "easy way" wet brine.  I used 2 gal of water, 1 cup sea salt, 4 cups sugar in the raw, and 2 tbsp pinksalt (cure #1) http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/124885/bacon-made-the-easy-way    Picked up 5 lbs or so of skin on belly ($3.49/lb) from an Asian market today.  Didnt realize until after i purchased that it is a bone in belly.  Considering the price and the fact it's bone in I need to find a new source in S Jersey.  I forgot to take a pic before removing the bones, but below is after removing the bones, skin side down













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__ njfoses
__ Dec 17, 2012






.  One piece had bone running the entire length while the other was only half.  They are now in the fridge in the brine which i also added granulated garlic and whole peppercorns to as well.  I plan on stirring the brine every other day and moving the two pieces around.  I plan on removing them from the brine on 12/26 and will update then.  Thanks for looking!


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## tennsmoker (Dec 17, 2012)

NJ,

That sure does seem expensive for belly bacon 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






I just called the butcher shop today about getting two pork bellies I asked the price because they fluctuate $1.69 coming from Hopkinsville, Ky. None available, got on a waiting list.

This is more of a pork area than S.Jersey.

Keep the Q-Views coming, 1st one looks good

al


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 17, 2012)

The price here in good ol Central Oregon is anywhere from $2.89-$8 + depending on rind on rind off, bone in bone off, and which butcher you go to!!!

You may want to brine for a few extra days. I do believe that the range for Bellies using Pop's brine is 10-14 days. Always good to go a few extra. I too put peppercorns into the brine, but I didn't notice any pepper flavor on the meat when I did the fry test. You could smell it in the brine but it was not detectable in the meat. So seasoned the meat after rinsing and prior to forming the pellicle.

Good luck and post lots of Q-view!


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## njfoses (Dec 18, 2012)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> The price here in good ol Central Oregon is anywhere from $2.89-$8 + depending on rind on rind off, bone in bone off, and which butcher you go to!!!
> 
> You may want to brine for a few extra days. I do believe that the range for Bellies using Pop's brine is 10-14 days. Always good to go a few extra. I too put peppercorns into the brine, but I didn't notice any pepper flavor on the meat when I did the fry test. You could smell it in the brine but it was not detectable in the meat. So seasoned the meat after rinsing and prior to forming the pellicle.
> 
> Good luck and post lots of Q-view!


I can smoke either 12/28 or 12/30 so i may just pull them from the brine on 12/28 at night instead of 12/26 and smoke them on 12/30.  This would give 11 days or so in the brine.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 18, 2012)

njfoses said:


> I can smoke either 12/28 or 12/30 so i may just pull them from the brine on 12/28 at night instead of 12/26 and smoke them on 12/30.  This would give 11 days or so in the brine.


That sounds like a good plan! How long are you planning on smoking?


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## njfoses (Dec 18, 2012)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> That sounds like a good plan! How long are you planning on smoking?


Was planning on about 12 hours of cold smoke.  Im going to smoke with the skin on.  I was going to arrange the two pieces in the smoker skin side up so the smoke hits the meat first opposed to the skin.  Any reason not to smoke skin side up?


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 18, 2012)

I can't think of any, though I have never done skin on. I am going to rig my smoker so that I can hang the meat when I cold smoke. Dont know if really matters all that much. I just think it looks cool in the pictures!


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## njfoses (Dec 28, 2012)

Belly came out of the brine a few min's ago after 11 days.  Rinsed and dried well they are going in the fridge on a bakers rack until tomorrow am to form the pellicle.  One part now has cracked black pepper and garlic while the other has no seasoning as it will get a honey maple syrup mixture brushed on right before smoking.  Will update tomorrow during smoke time!













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__ njfoses
__ Dec 28, 2012


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## daveomak (Dec 28, 2012)

Mike, morning.... Bacon looks good... When you cold smoke, consider 6 hours of smoke/day over several days...  or even skip a day....  Are you planning on keeping the smoker below 70 ish degrees??  Below is an excerpt from a well known source....   This method provides an "old world"  bacon flavor and texture most folks younger than me don't know about... It surely is not your store bought bacon of today...  The key words in the directions are  "THIN SMOKE" ...  wispy and see thru "blue" smoke....    Dave
[h1]Cold Smoking[/h1]
Cold smoking at 52-71° F (12-22° C), from 1-14 days, applying thin smoke with occasional breaks in between, is one of the oldest preservation methods. We cannot produce cold smoke if the outside temperature is 90° F (32° C), unless we can cool it down, which is what some industrial smokers do. Cold smoking is a drying process whose purpose is to remove moisture thus preserving a product.


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## njfoses (Dec 28, 2012)

I do plan on cold smoking.  I live in S Jersey so outside temp wont be an issue as its supposed to be a mix of rain and snow tomorrow.  I can smoke at the front of my garage with the door open so the smoker wont get wet.  I also plan on adding 2 frozen water bottles to my mes with amnps as well just to be sure.  Due to scheduling with work and wife lol i can only smoke for one day (tomorrow.)  I plan on smoking for 10-12 hours.


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## sam3 (Dec 28, 2012)

Good luck tomorrow njfoses. All snow up north for us. Maybe smoke something on Sunday if time permits.

I let my bacon rest for two days in the refrig to mellow out a bit before slicing. I'm happy with it.


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## njfoses (Dec 28, 2012)

sam3 said:


> Good luck tomorrow njfoses. All snow up north for us. Maybe smoke something on Sunday if time permits.
> 
> I let my bacon rest for two days in the refrig to mellow out a bit before slicing. I'm happy with it.


Yeah i was planning on wrapping and leaving in the fridge prob overnight after smoking.  Then i will remove the skin and slice.


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## njfoses (Dec 29, 2012)

Just pulled the bacon from the mes 30.  Used a 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry pellets in the amnps and cold smoked for about 12 hours.  I had to keep the door cracked a tiny bit along with 2 bottles of ice to keep the smoker temp around 70 deg (40 deg ambient.)  Removed the skin which i vac sealed and put in the freezer and the bacon is now wrapped in saran wrap in the fridge waiting to be sliced sometime tomorrow.  Some pics from today below.

Getting started.













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__ Dec 29, 2012






Another view.













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__ Dec 29, 2012






Smoke shot.  The camera makes it look thicker than it was.













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__ Dec 29, 2012






Out of the smoker, skin removed.













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__ njfoses
__ Dec 29, 2012


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## tennsmoker (Dec 29, 2012)

Looks goodI bet it will taste good too,

al


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## therealfrosty (Dec 30, 2012)

Looks awesome good job!


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## njfoses (Dec 30, 2012)

All sliced up and ready to be vac sealed.













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__ njfoses
__ Dec 30, 2012


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## daveomak (Dec 31, 2012)

Mike, morning.... Congrats on the bacon....  It looks good....   Dave


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## themule69 (Jan 9, 2013)

njfoses said:


> Just pulled the bacon from the mes 30.  Used a 50/50 mix of hickory and cherry pellets in the amnps and cold smoked for about 12 hours.  I had to keep the door cracked a tiny bit along with 2 bottles of ice to keep the smoker temp around 70 deg (40 deg ambient.)  Removed the skin which i vac sealed and put in the freezer and the bacon is now wrapped in saran wrap in the fridge waiting to be sliced sometime tomorrow.  Some pics from today below.
> 
> Getting started.
> 
> ...


nice looking bacon.....the skin makes good pork rind pellets.i have a post of making pork rind pellets from scratch. you might give that a try. it's yummy.


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## njfoses (Jan 9, 2013)

themule69 said:


> nice looking bacon.....the skin makes good pork rind pellets.i have a post of making pork rind pellets from scratch. you might give that a try. it's yummy.


Thanks i will check it out!


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