# Curley’s Ground Bacon



## redheelerdog (Dec 1, 2012)

Somebody was posting here about ground bacon, that got my attention!

Researched “Curley’s Ground Bacon” from Curley’s Sausage Kitchen

Thought I would give it a try, I just got a nice medium size mule deer buck so I an going to use most of him to try this ground bacon out.

Here is the instructions - I bought 2 packages, going a little heavy on the seasoning, one seasoning pack per 22.5lbs meat.













1.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012


















2.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012


















3.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012






I only put 11 lbs. of fat in this, we'll see how it turns out, here is a pic after the first grind.

I added the seasoning and then ground it once more through.













4.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012






Found an old pecan pie box to mold the grind into













5.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012






Use freezer paper to line the box













6.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012


















7.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012






Let these sit overnight - garage temp: 38F













8.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012






I was kind of worried I would have a hard time getting them out of the freezer paper, I had to wrap the bottom with 2" masking tape to keep the shape.

It turned out better than I thought.













9.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012






I sprayed the racks with cooking spray but I was worried it would still stick on the grates so I later put foil down













10.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 1, 2012






More to come


----------



## brewandsmoke (Dec 1, 2012)

I'll be watching! My muley is waiting in the freezer for something like this!


----------



## sound1 (Dec 1, 2012)

I'm in.


----------



## mike johnson (Dec 1, 2012)

I'll be watchin.


----------



## redheelerdog (Dec 2, 2012)

That was a ton of work! Well worth it though, 38lbs of ground bacon in the freezer.

This seasoning is great, I was kind of risking 35lbs of deer on this deal but it came out great which is a relief, nothing worse than having a bunch of something that is not that good.

It really tastes like bacon, I like the flavor and my kid loves it. I am glad I only put in 10lbs of fat, if you follow the recipe it calls for 40% pork, I put 22% fat in this batch and I would go even a little less next time, I like my food lean though.

The seasoning was not overpowering, I used a seasoning package measured for 25lbs of meat but I used 22.5 lbs of meat and I thought it was just right. Also, I only used 2.5 cups of water, the recipe calls for 4 cups of water, in my opinion it would take too long to dry out the moisture when smoking, just my opinion.

That was a big smoke! Had to do two batches, started the first batch at 7am Saturday, finished it about 5pm, put the next batch in right after that, smoked all night, got done this morning around 6am. Cooled them in the freezer, sliced and then vac packed, worked on this all weekend, it did come out great though and I am happy with it.

Who would not be happy with 38lbs of BACON?

Here we at mid smoke on the first batch













1.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






Four finished Bacon "loafs", ended up with seven total from 44lbs of meat/fat mix.













2.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






They look really nice when they come out of the smoker













3.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012


















4.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






Slicing













5.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012


















6.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






Had to immedeatly fry some up for a breakfast test, I was really hoping this was going to be good.













7.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






Sunny side up with wheat toast! mmm-good.













8.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012


















9.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






Heres how my son eats it, toast sandwich with Tabasco!













10.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






This is one loaf sliced up, it slices allot better if put in the freezer for 30-60 mins.













11.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






Bacon! Everyone loves Bacon!













12.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






Vac packed and frozen













13.jpg



__ redheelerdog
__ Dec 2, 2012






If you are thinking about making this go for it - The stuff is great.

Thanks for looking - Have fun.


----------



## reinhard (Feb 12, 2013)

went through the whole thread. even looks like we got the same smoker. great work on your part. i'll be ordering some up from Curleys. Thanks, Reinhard.


----------



## smoke happens (Feb 12, 2013)

Well done, awesome. Never even seen that before, love this site.


----------

