# Ground and formed bacon...  my attempt



## daveomak (Dec 31, 2016)

The start of my 100% pork G&FB....  I used up part of a pork butt last week for Korean Pork Jerky... used all the lean meat for that...

SOOOO, I had the fatty meat and trimmed fat left over....   about 4#"s of the stuff...  must be near 50% fat....  decided to try this G&FB..

Ground it all through the small grinder plate..  Put it in the KA mixer with the paddle.... I added my commercial bacon Maple Sugar Cure to see what the difference would be when not using belly....  It's  85% salt, 0.75% nitrite and I assume the rest might be maple sugar and cure accelerator of some sort... 

At 2% addition to the meat, the salt content will be 1.7%...  the cure will be 150 Ppm nitrite and the rest, who knows.. I added about 14 oz, of water while the meat was mixing in the KA to get it to mix well, at 2 oz. per shot...  It was really dry...   I didn't want too much liquid...   The mix was really sticky...  the KA does a good job....   I tried to press the meat in the pan really well but I noticed a few air pockets...   I'll have to work on that...

It's been in the smoker for 2 hours and it ain't dry enough, on the surface yet to add smoke....   I think I screwed up leaving the meat in the refer overnight...   It was covered with waxed paper...  should have left it uncovered so it would have dried out a bit..   Next time...  if I remember...

Here it is drying in the smoker....  been trying to get the temp stabilized at 130...  been running about 110-115..   It will take a bit longer before the hickory pellets give up their love on the slab...













Gound and formed bacon.JPG



__ daveomak
__ Dec 30, 2016






Well, at 5 PM the smoke ran out...   smoked at 130 ish....  Now the smoker is up to 140 ish to start the cook...    Probably5-6 more hours before a final IT of 138-140 is reached...

I will be sticking to the pasteurization table for non-intact meats, to determine when it's safe to eat...  even though I will be frying/baking it..

I always cook longer than the time table, just to be sure, in the event my therm is not calibrated perfectly..

FSIS Guidance on Safe Cooking of Non-Intact Meat Chops, Roasts, and Steaks April 2009

Temp °F / Time for 5.0 log Reduction

135.......... 28 min.

136 ..........22 min.

137 ..........18 min.

138 ..........14 min.

139.......... 11 min.

140 ...........9 min.

141........... 7 min.

This Time/Temperature table is based on Thermal Death Curve for Salmonella in Beef Emulsions in tubes (Derived from Goodfellow & Brown1, 1978) Regulatory Curve obtained from Jerry Carosella, Deputy Director, Microbiology Division, Science and Technology. All times that were a fraction of a minute or second was rounded up to the next whole number (e.g., 16.2 seconds for 155 °F was round up to 17 seconds).

________________________ 1. Goodfellow, S. J. and W. L. Brown. 1978. Fate of Salmonella Inoculated into Beef for Cooking. Journal of Food Protection. 41:598-605.

About 5 hours of hickory...  140 ish IT for1 hour...  It's in the refer on a wire rack to "mellow"....













Ground Formed Bacon 001.JPG



__ daveomak
__ Dec 31, 2016





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Ground Formed Bacon 002.JPG



__ daveomak
__ Dec 31, 2016





...

Right now, I'm not "thrilled" with the size of the slab...  Next time I'm thinking of using bread pans and making smaller slabs...  Primarily because of the "uneven" heating in the MES 30...  Even after all the crap I've done to try and eliminate it....  Then I can easily move the small slabs around...

First taste test...   about 12 hours in the refer....  pretty good...  I find the crispy edges are the best..   I will cook this stuff longer, in the oven, to get it crisped up.....  Well, I think I'm hooked....  Takes 1 day as compared to 30 days for great belly bacon....  About 1/2 the price...   and with some experimenting, I CAN change the flavor profile.....













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__ Dec 31, 2016


















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__ Dec 31, 2016





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Thanks to everyone that started this G&FB stuff..  WELL WORTH IT !!!

Dave

I just put some of my home made maple syrup on it.....   WOW !!!  does that ring my bell....


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## dirtsailor2003 (Dec 31, 2016)

Looks tasty Dave! 

Point. 

When I've made formed jerky I place the blob of meat in the middle of the pan and then roll it from the center out to the edges with a 22 oz beer bottle (SWMBO won't let me use her rolling pin). This method won't leave air pockets in the meat.


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## daveomak (Dec 31, 2016)

Good to know.... Thanks Dirt...


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## pc farmer (Dec 31, 2016)

Very nice.   I love mine that I made, bout ready for more.

What sized pan did you use?   I used 11x11 or something like that.

I also covered mine then overnight in the fridge, it took awhile in the smoker to dry out.


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## daveomak (Dec 31, 2016)

c farmer said:


> Very nice.   I love mine that I made, bout ready for more.
> 
> What sized pan did you use?   I used 11x11 or something like that.
> 
> I also covered mine then overnight in the fridge, it took awhile in the smoker to dry out.


The pan is a 9X12 or so..    I'm thinking a 9X5 bread pan would work better in my smoker..   then heat could pass through between the slabs ...    At one point, the big slab was  138 on one end and 127 on the other...    When you are trying to "pasteurize" a hunk of meat, so you don't overcook it, that difference is no good...  I will be able to check individual hunks and pull them when they are ready and let the others cook...


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## SmokinAl (Jan 1, 2017)

It sure looks good Dave!

And I have to give you a point for a very detailed post.

But I think I'll just stick to my belly bacon!

I love that crispy, chewy texture that you get with belly bacon.

Al


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 1, 2017)

Good lookin GFB.......Dave


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## daveomak (Jan 1, 2017)

SmokinAl said:


> It sure looks good Dave!
> 
> And I have to give you a point for a very detailed post.
> 
> ...


I agree A, I've got 2 bellies in the freezer now....    Just a test in the event I run out...   30 days is too long to wait for great bacon.. and I refuse to buy store bought at $6 a pound...


nepas said:


> Good lookin GFB.......Dave


Thanks Rick.....    It taste pretty good too....


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 1, 2017)

It is good. my next batch is going to be GB/GP cut.

Did some on the optigrill lastnight.













ogfbac.jpg



__ BGKYSmoker
__ Jan 1, 2017


















ogfbac2.jpg



__ BGKYSmoker
__ Jan 1, 2017


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## SmokinAl (Jan 1, 2017)

nepas said:


> It is good. my next batch is going to be GB/GP cut.
> 
> Did some on the optigrill lastnight.
> 
> ...


It looks good Rick, but tell me that all that grease isn't dripping on the counter top!

Al


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## BGKYSmoker (Jan 1, 2017)

SmokinAl said:


> It looks good Rick, but tell me that all that grease isn't dripping on the counter top!
> 
> Al


My wife would kill me for that.  








Has a tray that slides into a track under the grill.













gtray.jpg



__ BGKYSmoker
__ Jan 1, 2017


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## daveomak (Jan 1, 2017)

Scared of the missus are we ???   Good plan.......


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## bdskelly (Jan 1, 2017)

That looks pretty dang tasty Dave!  Point!


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## crankybuzzard (Jan 1, 2017)

That looks good for sure Dave.  I'm yet to try this.  May have to soon


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## daveomak (Jan 1, 2017)

BDSkelly said:


> That looks pretty dang tasty Dave!  Point!





CrankyBuzzard said:


> That looks good for sure Dave. I'm yet to try this. May have to soon


Thanks for the compliments men.....   Pretty good for bacon in 3-4 days...


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## redheelerdog (Jan 1, 2017)

Looks tasty Dave. I made this several years ago and it was great.

I am going to have to make some more after looking at yours.

Nice how-to post and pics.  TTU!


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## whistech (Jan 1, 2017)

Dave the ground and formed bacon looks delicious!      Was the cure Mortons Sugar Cure?


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## smokin jay (Jan 1, 2017)

Looks tasty Dave! Points!


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## daveomak (Jan 1, 2017)

whistech said:


> Dave the ground and formed bacon looks delicious!      Was the cure Mortons Sugar Cure?


Afternoon whistech.....   Nope on the Morton's...    Too much salt per amount of nitrite for this old dog....  It's a commercial cure I use.....  I got it from my meat guy.... 

85% salt....  0.75% nitrite + sugars etc...  they don't say....    use 2% per weight of the meat...  7 days per inch of thickness in the refer at 38 deg. F....  I cure 14 days...  

I like the fact when using it, the salt content in the bacon is 1.7%....   I'm cutting back on salt...

Similar pre mixed cures can be purchased from different suppliers...   If they say "make a brine" you can use them as a rub...   you need to know the amounts of stuff they use in the product...   AND you can still add stuff to the bacon....

Morton's TQ or Sugar Cure have 0.5% nitrite + 0.5% nitrate and 99% salt + sugar + glycol...













MORTON tender quick.jpg



__ daveomak
__ Jan 1, 2017


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## whistech (Jan 1, 2017)

Thank You Dave.    Again, the bacon looks delicious.


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## nicefly (Jan 2, 2017)

That was interesting.  I learn something new all the time on here. point.


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## tallbm (Jan 2, 2017)

DaveOmak said:


> It's been in the smoker for 2 hours and it ain't dry enough, on the surface yet to add smoke....   I think I screwed up leaving the meat in the refer overnight...   It was covered with waxed paper...  should have left it uncovered so it would have dried out a bit..   Next time...  if I remember...
> 
> Here it is drying in the smoker....  been trying to get the temp stabilized at 130...  been running about 110-115..   It will take a bit longer before the hickory pellets give up their love on the slab...
> 
> ...


Hi Dave, great info!

I'm looking to do my first GFB this upcoming weekend.  I am going to use and follow the instructions from the LEM's Venison Bacon seasoning I purchased to make 10-12 pounds.

I noticed their instructions were very minimal when it came to cooking/smoking so I figured I would pick your brain on some info from your post in hopes to streamline my attempt.

From the info in your post I think this is what happened for you.  I plan to do much of the same so please correct me if I've got it wrong:

Dry meat in smoker (MES) for approx 2hrs as the Smoker temp (not IT) gets consistently to 130 degrees (No Smoke applied)
When Smoker temp gets to 130 degrees apply smoke and increase Smoker temp to raise meat IT to 140 degrees  (Approximately 5 hrs of smoked applied to hit IT 140)
When meat IT of 140 was hit you cooked for 1 hour for what I believe was pasteurization purposes  (no smoke during this 1 hr)
Refrigerate 12 hrs then try (I'm assuming you sliced at this point)
So here are a few of my questions if you would be so kind to answer:

What temp did you put your MES at to get to 140 degrees IT?  
LEM's instructions kind of mention going to 200 degrees and cooking until 165 degrees but I'm curious at what you did with your MES
 
Would you consider applying your hickory smoke for longer/lesser amounts of time?  
Please give any input you have on the amount of smoke you applied and any recommendations for next time
 
I'm doing 80% lean ground Venison and 20% Ground pork for my GFB per LEM's instructions.  Would you feel a different wood smoke like Pecan or a Hickory/Pecan blend being a better choice if I end up smoking for 5hrs to hit my IT?
I've searched quite a bit of posts concerning GFB and your's has been one of the most detailed out there on the internet so I'm hoping your input rounds out any gaps I have in my mind.  Thanks for any info/input you provide :)


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## DanMcG (Jan 3, 2017)

Nice work on the bacon Dave!!


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## daveomak (Jan 3, 2017)

NiceFly said:


> That was interesting.  I learn something new all the time on here. point.


Me too.....   Great forum HUH !!!


DanMcG said:


> Nice work on the bacon Dave!!


Thanks Dan....


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## daveomak (Jan 3, 2017)

TallBM said:


> So here are a few of my questions if you would be so kind to answer:
> 
> What temp did you put your MES at to get to 140 degrees IT?   *160 ish....  Takes a looooooong time for the meat to get to 140 ish...*
> LEM's instructions kind of mention going to 200 degrees and cooking until 165 degrees but I'm curious at what you did with your MES
> ...


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## tallbm (Jan 3, 2017)

DaveOmak said:


>


Thanks for the input Dave.  The information is priceless!

Never having done GFB I think I'll do half a batch with the LEM meat ratio and then the other half with 50% ground pork.

I'm pretty sure you are right that more fat would make better bacon.

I'm also going to follow your lead on using smaller loafs.  They should be easier to manage and may likely cut down my overall cook time.

I'll be sure to post back with info and QView from my attempt. I'm really eyeballing this weekend for the cook.  Thanks!


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## daveomak (Jan 3, 2017)

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