# BACON!!! Bacon, bacon, bacon!!!!!



## wes w (Mar 3, 2013)

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Ok, found that the other day and it made me smile!   Thought I'd share it.  Gotta love bacon,

Here my first shot at bacon.

Ordered a 16lb.  belly this week from the butcher.   First one I had ever bought.  I  thought it was a nice piece of meat.  Not sure on the cost.  It was 2.69lb.  Good, bad, about right?

Flopped that bad boy out on the cutting board and started trimming.  Put half in the freezer and half into "Pops wet brine"  I know nothing about curing, but if ya'll say it works, thats good enough for me.  If something happens to me, my wife can post my regards.. :-) Until then,  I'm going to enjoy some homemade goodies.













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Three going into the freezer













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Three into the brine for 10 days with pepper and garlic

I did weight it down with a ziploc with water.

.....and we wait......

I have a question.   Does anyone know how to make fat back?  Do you just simply cover it with salt and frig it?   Why buy it for pintos when I just cut off enough to do 4 or 5 pots of pintos.

Yes it is a sheetrock bucket.  Clean, washed and scrubbed.  I got tons of them.

I shall return with more details....


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## pgsmoker64 (Mar 3, 2013)

Lookin good Wes!

Can't wait to see the finished product!

Bill


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## kingfishcam (Mar 3, 2013)

Off to a good start!  I paid 2.99 a pound, so you did good on price.


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## lu1847 (Mar 3, 2013)

Off to a good start.  Is the sheet rock Pail food safe?


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## wes w (Mar 3, 2013)

lu1847 said:


> Off to a good start. Is the sheet rock Pail food safe?


No clue,  It was a new bucket minus the sheetrock mud.   I washed it out with soap and water.  Its plastic....   I've brined  venison in them before. 

What makes a plastic bucket food safe?     I can change the bucket if I need to.


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## wes w (Mar 3, 2013)

PGSmoker64 said:


> Lookin good Wes!
> 
> Can't wait to see the finished product!
> 
> Bill


Thanks Bill.   I can't wait to taste it!   
	

	
	
		
		



		
			







kingfishcam said:


> Off to a good start! I paid 2.99 a pound, so you did good on price.


I had no idea what it would cost.    Now we wait.  :-)


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## fpnmf (Mar 3, 2013)

Looks great Wes!!!

Be prepared to be bombarded by the safety squad...hahahahha

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch/?search=food+safe+bucket&type=all

  Craig


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## davidhef88 (Mar 3, 2013)

fpnmf said:


> Looks great Wes!!!
> 
> Be prepared to be bombarded by the safety squad...hahahahha
> 
> ...



Lol


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## kathrynn (Mar 3, 2013)

I am going to do this tooooo! Love the intro Wes! Almost fell on the floor laughing!  Watching to see how things turn out. Bought some sugar cure today.

Kat


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## wes w (Mar 3, 2013)

fpnmf said:


> Looks great Wes!!!
> 
> Be prepared to be bombarded by the safety squad...hahahahha
> 
> ...


Thanks Craig.  LOL!   I just checked the bucket HDPE #2   Checked the milk jug, HDPE #2.   Same plastic.  Good enough for me.  I'll look for one next time, I ain't changin this one.   I know people that do Kraut in the same buckets.  They been here longer then I have.


KathrynN said:


> I am going to do this tooooo! Love the intro Wes! Almost fell on the floor laughing! Watching to see how things turn out. Bought some sugar cure today.
> 
> Kat


Haha, I ran across that the other day.  It was just to good not to post.   Finally got a spare frig.  Wife was not liking the fact of all her stuff being put on the counter.  :-)


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## dirtsailor2003 (Mar 3, 2013)

A spare fridge and a second freezer becomes a must once you start smoking bacon!!! I used to dry cure all my bacon.  Pop's brine method is just too easy not to like! I plan on doing some pastrami soon and will use Pop's brine for that too!


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## wes w (Mar 3, 2013)

I should add, that I followed the brine as far as cure.  I used dark brown sugar in place of reg. brown sugar and only used 1 cup in the two gal. that I prepared.  I'm thinking I can get the same sweet and a little more molasses flavor with a smaller amount.   Time will tell.


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## kathrynn (Mar 4, 2013)

the only difference in the light and dark BS....IMHO....is the amount of molasses in it.  Others may have a different spin on that.

Kat


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## toby bryant (Mar 4, 2013)

Looks like a great start Wes.  I paid 2.99 for my bellies, but still cheaper than bacon, and waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy better. Love the intro pic


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## wes w (Mar 4, 2013)

KathrynN said:


> the only difference in the light and dark BS....IMHO....is the amount of molasses in it.  Others may have a different spin on that.
> 
> Kat


That is the difference Kat.  I like molasses.  Several people in this area make it each year.


Toby Bryant said:


> Looks like a great start Wes.  I paid 2.99 for my bellies, but still cheaper than bacon, and waaaaaaaaayyyyyyy better. Love the intro pic


Thanks Toby.     I can't wait to try it.


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## wes w (Mar 5, 2013)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> A spare fridge and a second freezer becomes a must once you start smoking bacon!!! I used to dry cure all my bacon.  Pop's brine method is just too easy not to like! I plan on doing some pastrami soon and will use Pop's brine for that too!


I've always been a fan of chest freezers, being you can get more stuff in.  I'm now looking for a good used upright.   I'm not liking digging to the bottom every time I restock just to rotate the product.    This is the first brine cure I've done.   I trust this site and the knowlege it holds.


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## dirtsailor2003 (Mar 5, 2013)

Wes W said:


> I've always been a fan of chest freezers, being you can get more stuff in.  I'm now looking for a good used upright.   I'm not liking digging to the bottom every time I restock just to rotate the product.    This is the first brine cure I've done.   I trust this site and the knowlege it holds.


When I was fishing for a living I had two freezers. A chest freezer for bait and an upright our food. Didn't have to dig around in the chest freezer since all it held was frozen herring!!

We're almost out of bacon (not Canadian, have plenty of that right now). When I did the Bacon trifecta we decided that we really liked the Buck Board Bacon the best. So our next batch isn't going to be belly bacon. Probably should get some brining!


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## daveomak (Mar 5, 2013)

Wes, Look for an older freezer that is not frost free...   IMO, frozen food keeps better and won't freezer burn near as fast...  

I recently bought a new upright that was not frost free so they still make them....   Dave


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## wes w (Mar 7, 2013)

Thanks Dave.   I've never really given that much thought but growing up Dad would freeze meat  just wrapped in butcher paper and it would keep the whole year without freezer burn.  Mom would  defrost it once a year before butchering our hog and chickens.    Thanks for sharing the info.


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## wes w (Mar 9, 2013)

Three more days to go.    Bacon is looking good.   It comes out of brine on Tuesday.  I'll be smoking it Sat.













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Edit:   I checked some smaller "food safe" containers that our son had brought home and they had HDPE #2 on them as well.


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## wes w (Mar 9, 2013)

I have noticed that my cure solution is getting lighter in color.  Do I need to stir it at some point or is this normal?


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## fpnmf (Mar 9, 2013)

Wes W said:


> I have noticed that my cure solution is getting lighter in color.  Do I need to stir it at some point or is this normal?


Normal..

  Craig


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## kingfishcam (Mar 10, 2013)

Looking good!!


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## wes w (Mar 10, 2013)

Thanks Craig.   Just wanted to make sure.   I pulled a slab out to look at it today.   Can't wait to put it in the smoker.  

Thanks King.


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## jp61 (Mar 10, 2013)

> Originally Posted by *Wes W*
> 
> 
> I pulled a slab out to look at it today.   Can't wait to put it in the smoker.


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## wes w (Mar 12, 2013)

Took a night off from darts to take care of my pork belly. Well, I guess its bacon now.

Took it out and rinsed it well with cold water.  Did a test fry.  Nice flavor.  Slices were kinda big but its the best I could do.  Brother-in-law said I could use his slicer when I got ready for it. 

I used Pops brine.  I used 3/4 cup salt and used dark brown sugar and cut it in half.   I also added some pepper and garlic.  No flavor of pepper or garlic but a hint of sweet and the salt level was perfect.  I took my sample off the thickest slab.

Here are the results.  I plan to smoke one day this week-end.   Looking like Sunday.   An old friend of mine wants to play golf Friday and I need to cut some more wood (hickory) Sat.   My planned smoke is 12 hours.  













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Three slices off the end













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Test fry and a fatty end













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Course ground pepper and gran. garlic.  Into the frig.

Question:   How do you know if the cure is all the way through?

Hope everyone has a great evening!

Update after there smoked


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## dirtsailor2003 (Mar 12, 2013)

Bacon is looking great Wes! I found the same thing with adding other flavorings with the brine. They don't do much for the flavor. Last batch I did I put the seasonings on after the rinse and before forming the pellicle. The Seasonings then came thru in the finished product.


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## kathrynn (Mar 12, 2013)

Wes....those are looking soooo good!  Cant wait to see them after the smoke!

Kat


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## kingfishcam (Mar 13, 2013)

I am curious on opinions on the cure getting all the way through also.  My bacon, on the thicker end looked the same way.  I asked the same question but did not get any answers.  So I did not keep the dark red sections.


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## woodcutter (Mar 13, 2013)

If part of the belly doesn't cure it looks like raw pork. From your picture it looks like it has cured very nicely.


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## wes w (Mar 13, 2013)

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Bacon is looking great Wes! I found the same thing with adding other flavorings with the brine. They don't do much for the flavor. Last batch I did I put the seasonings on after the rinse and before forming the pellicle. The Seasonings then came thru in the finished product.


Being the first run a bacon, I tried to keep it simple.  A little pepper.  Not sure what the garlic will do to it, but I like garlic.   Thanks DS


KathrynN said:


> Wes....those are looking soooo good!  Cant wait to see them after the smoke!
> 
> Kat


Thanks Kat.   I think I got my cold smoke figured out.   I ask Dave for advice on cold smoking.  He said cold smoking over fire is like snow skiing in Florida...    It just doesn't work.  :-)

I can't wait to see how the smoke changes the flavor.   


kingfishcam said:


> I am curious on opinions on the cure getting all the way through also.  My bacon, on the thicker end looked the same way.  I asked the same question but did not get any answers.  So I did not keep the dark red sections.


KF, I'm don't know the colors yet either.   I followed Pops wet cure to a tee as far as the cure part.  1/4in. per day plus 4 day.   8 days would have probably been enough, but I went 10.  With the amount of salt I added  the salt content was perfect. 


Woodcutter said:


> If part of the belly doesn't cure it looks like raw pork. From your picture it looks like it has cured very nicely.


Thanks Wood.    It was a bright red in the center.   I was pretty sure I had succeeded, but wanted to make sure I had got it right.


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## pjnla (Apr 10, 2013)

Bacon...you want bacon. i got bacon for ya!













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## tsin (Apr 10, 2013)

You can go to the bakery in your grocery store and ask for buckets they are food grade I get them free..Tom


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## pjnla (Apr 11, 2013)

I tinkered and toyed with my cure and came out with something good. Not as much salt, but lots of spices and brown sugar. Let it cure for about 10 days in the outside fridge. Turning each day.













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Ready for the smoke!












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## yance (Apr 11, 2013)

Bacon's lookin' good Wes!!!  You up around Boone?

Another angle on "food safe" plastic are Rubbermaid's line of "Take Along" containers.  Nice snap on lids and stackable in the fridge.  I don't have a dedicated fridge to hold 5 gallon buckets.  One of their "large rectangle" size was perfect for a 5+ lb half loin (cut in half) and 3 quarts of Pop's Brine.


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## wes w (Apr 11, 2013)

Hey Yance.  Yeah, about 20 miles north of Boone. Hadn't thought about those containers.  Great idea.  

I had to freeze my bacon before I got it done.   We had  a family  tragedy  and it didn't get finished.   I got about 4 hours of smoke into it and into the freezer.  I'll probably just slice it up and eat as is.  I still have a half belly in the freezer to try again.


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## pjnla (Apr 11, 2013)

This is after the smoke. I love the deep color and flavor. I let it sit for a couple days before slicing and freezing. 













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## drakin (Apr 19, 2013)

Great Looking Bacon!!!....How many hours on smoke and what temp?


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## wes w (Apr 19, 2013)

About 10 hours of smoke.  I cold smoked  as close to 85 degrees as possible, but not over.


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