# My First Attempt to make Bacon



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 4, 2019)

So I was kinda nervous about making some Bacon and Read up on it .
Some I made Maple Peppered Bacon and Peppered Bacon with Pepper Seeds ,
and yes there was some heat .


----------



## tropics (Jan 4, 2019)

Bacon looks good all the bellies I find around here are skinny.
Richie


----------



## mr_mike_m (Jan 4, 2019)

Looks great!  I'll be smoking mine this weekend.  Also did the maple pepper last time out and it was really good. Be careful - curing your own bacon gets _really_ addicting, and EVERYONE wants some!


----------



## rexster314 (Jan 4, 2019)

I put up 190 pounds of bellies in the cure yesterday


----------



## SonnyE (Jan 4, 2019)

Looks Great, Marianne!
So many variations to Bacon! I want to get some Pepper Bacon going, and some Maple Bacon.

daveomak helped get me going with the process's

I'm curing more of what I call "Disco's Bacon" (Back Bacon, Canadian Bacon). He's a great Canadian chef/contributor here.
I'm restricted off red meats, so I do a lot of Salmon and Pork.

Anyway, I got the Bacon Bug and been Maken Bacon for a few months now. Pork is one of my most economical meats around my home.



Welcome to:


----------



## disco (Jan 4, 2019)

Beautiful bacon. Looks perfect!


----------



## TomKnollRFV (Jan 4, 2019)

Looks great!

It is an addict hobby...they aren't joking..!


----------



## Bearcarver (Jan 4, 2019)

Looking Great, Marianne!!
If I may ask, where did you get your Belly?
Like.

Bear


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 4, 2019)

Bearcarver said:


> Looking Great, Marianne!!
> If I may ask, where did you get your Belly?
> Like.
> 
> Bear


Hi Bear, Got them at Costco in Pennsylvania


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 4, 2019)

disco said:


> Beautiful bacon. Looks perfect!


Thank you Mr. Disco !!


----------



## Bearcarver (Jan 4, 2019)

Marianne Kehr said:


> Hi Bear, Got them at Costco in Pennsylvania



I figured that, but what part of PA?
Is there one in Bucks County? If so where in Bucks County?
Like I said on the other Thread, I was born & Raised in Quakertown, and I didn't know we had a Costco around there.

Bear


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 5, 2019)

There's a new Costco off of Rte 222 
791 N KROCKS RD
ALLENTOWN, PA 18106-9046
(484) 273-7056


----------



## SmokinAl (Jan 5, 2019)

Nice job on your first try with bacon!
I think you have a new hobby now!
Congrats on making the carousel!
Al


----------



## klutzyspuds (Jan 5, 2019)

That looks great.  And I bet it tastes even better.  Nicely done.

I may just have to eventually break down and try my first shot at bacon soon.  After all it is my name.  Yes, really!

Mark


----------



## tx smoker (Jan 5, 2019)

Oh my dear girl....you are in big trouble :-) You have entered into a realm from which there is no escape. You won't find self-help literature, support groups, or a 12-step program for your new addiction. Ask anybody here who had made their own bacon: once you start, there is no turning back to store bought products. My recommendation would be to get the next batch started immediately and do 2 bellies. The first batch will likely be gone before the second one is ready. My first time I did one belly....the smallest one I could find. After that it was two bellies at a time and the biggest I could find. Now it's always a 20# to 22# batch minimum. It takes just as long to cure and smoke two as it takes to do one.

Knowing the addiction all too well,
Robert


----------



## Bearcarver (Jan 5, 2019)

Marianne Kehr said:


> There's a new Costco off of Rte 222
> 791 N KROCKS RD
> ALLENTOWN, PA 18106-9046
> (484) 273-7056




OK---Thank You Marianne!!
I knew about that one, but I thought maybe there was one down your way, in Bucks County.

Bear


----------



## bill ace 350 (Jan 5, 2019)

Looks great! 
Keep experimenting, tr new recipes!
Check out Pop's Brine, you won't be disappointed.
His family was in the smoked/cured meat business for years.


----------



## dward51 (Jan 5, 2019)

Looks perfect to me.  Great job!!!!

PS - welcome to the addiction....  and WE are your support group


----------



## SonnyE (Jan 5, 2019)

dward51 said:


> Looks perfect to me.  Great job!!!!
> 
> PS - welcome to the addiction....  and WE are your support group



Ha, Ha!
Like a Drug Pusher is a Pharmacist....
Caution Marianne! LOL!


----------



## uncle eddie (Jan 5, 2019)

Wow!  Looks awesome.  Big Like!

Congrats on making the headlines too!


----------



## gmc2003 (Jan 5, 2019)

That bacon looks great, Nice Job!!!!

Point for sure
Chris


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 5, 2019)

Hi All, So Today I Did a Bourbon Brown sugar recipe and also bought another package of pork belly. Any Recipe suggestions !


gmc2003 said:


> That bacon looks great, Nice Job!!!!
> 
> Point for sure
> Chris


Thank you


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 5, 2019)

Hi, So today I made Bourbon Brown Sugar Bacon . And also bought another slab of Pork Belly !! Any Recipe Suggestion which are low in Salt but Savory ?


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 5, 2019)

uncle eddie said:


> Wow!  Looks awesome.  Big Like!
> 
> Congrats on making the headlines too!


Thanks !!


----------



## chopsaw (Jan 5, 2019)

Marianne Kehr said:


> So Today I Did a Bourbon


Just one ? 
Nice job on the bacon .


----------



## SonnyE (Jan 5, 2019)

Marianne Kehr said:


> Hi All, So Today I Did a Bourbon Brown sugar recipe and also bought another package of pork belly. Any Recipe suggestions !
> 
> Thank you



No, no suggestions. Just keep your bacon curing.
If you need ideas, check out Disco's recipes.
I seem to be starting up more as I finish some.
I had a chunk of Pork Loin in the freezer, and have a slab stashed away in the chest freezer.
Plus a good store of previous trials, Buckboard Bacon I like to use in Beans.
Right now I have a second Canadian Bacon (Disco's Back Bacon) curing in the fridge.
I'm thinkin maybe some Peppered Bacon this round.
We burned through a 1/2 a pound of Belly this morning. Delicious!


----------



## gary s (Jan 6, 2019)

Congrats from East Texas. Beautiful Color, nice job and a thumbs up for making the Carousel 

Gary


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 6, 2019)

rexster314 said:


> I put up 190 pounds of bellies in the cure yesterday


So what is your recipe for making Bacon ?


----------



## crazymoon (Jan 6, 2019)

MK, Nice job on the bacon, looks awesome !


----------



## disco (Jan 6, 2019)

SonnyE said:


> No, no suggestions. Just keep your bacon curing.
> If you need ideas, check out Disco's recipes.
> I seem to be starting up more as I finish some.
> I had a chunk of Pork Loin in the freezer, and have a slab stashed away in the chest freezer.
> ...


You are too kind to a fat old Canadian! It is the cook not the recipe!


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 6, 2019)

Hi All, So i decided to make some bacon! Used the Dry Cure Bacon Calculator, what a nice tool !
and I added my own touch to it Rosemary and some Black Pepper !


----------



## pa42phigh (Jan 6, 2019)

Marianne Kehr said:


> Hi All, So i decided to make some bacon! Used the Dry Cure Bacon Calculator, what a nice tool !
> and I added my own touch to it Rosemary and some Black Pepper !


How much pepper and rosemary do you add?


----------



## SonnyE (Jan 6, 2019)

Marianne Kehr said:


> Hi All, So i decided to make some bacon! Used the Dry Cure Bacon Calculator, what a nice tool !
> and I added my own touch to it Rosemary and some Black Pepper !



That's the fun part!
Take any recipe (or make your own) and vary it.
I usually follow the original the first time. Then change it up on a whim.

I add Cayenne pepper to heat things up.
My first batch of spiked Jerky took too much beer to wash it down. 
I use 1/2 or 1/4 that now. 

Making Pepper Canadian Bacon will be a bit out on a limb for me.


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 6, 2019)

Marianne Kehr said:


> Hi All, So i decided to make some bacon! Used the Dry Cure Bacon Calculator, what a nice tool !
> and I added my own touch to it Rosemary and some Black Pepper !


Hi pa42phigh, 
I added about 3 TBSP dried Rosemary and 1 TBSP ground pepper to all the other ingredients and placed them in my Bullet Mixer to mix them up really well for a 10 lb piece of pork belly


----------



## bbqbrett (Jan 7, 2019)

Wow, that bacon looks really, really good!


----------



## ab canuck (Jan 8, 2019)

Well Marianne Congrats are in order. Now you have hook line and sinker into the smoking world lol. Welcome to your new addiction. Congrats on the carousel ride.


----------



## Marianne Kehr (Jan 8, 2019)

ab canuck said:


> Well Marianne Congrats are in order. Now you have hook line and sinker into the smoking world lol. Welcome to your new addiction. Congrats on the carousel ride.


Thanks and It's so nice to be able to ask questions and sometimes some real odd ones too , but there is someone that will try to answer if they can and if not another person Will


----------



## nanuk (Jan 12, 2019)

Marianne, that bacon looks very tasty!
beautiful colour.    Could you post some pics of some slices?



SonnyE said:


> ....
> I'm restricted off red meats, so I do a lot of Salmon and Pork.



Seriously???   I don't eat much, but I can't imagine being told I CANNOT eat any more!



Marianne Kehr said:


> Hi, So today I made Bourbon Brown Sugar Bacon...



I've never tasted Bourbon Brown Sugar, but I have drank Wild Turkey Dark, and someone told me it was bourbon....   I prefer it to any Rye whisky. 



SonnyE said:


> That's the fun part!.....
> My first batch of spiked Jerky took too much beer to wash it down. ...



Too much beer???   I don't even know what that means!!!



SonnyE said:


> That's the fun part!
> Making Pepper Canadian Bacon will be a bit out on a limb for me.



I made some using POPS brine, and it turned out PERFECT.
So easy, even this fat old bald guy can do it!  Uh... I mean ME!  Not some of you other fat old bald guys!


----------



## SonnyE (Jan 13, 2019)

Well, I had a heart attack in 2010. Damn near died, I guess.
They talked like I needed to become a vegan.  Yeah, right!
So I'm... compromising. I avoid red meat.
Not a huge chicken fan. It's OK, but hey, not 7 days a week like the wife likes it.
But I do like pork. So Bacon, Pork Loin for Jerky, Pork Loin roasted in the Air Fryer... heck yeah!
And Salmon is my new "Rib Eye Steak".
My goal is to live till I die. 
So far, so good.  I'm goin out happy.

I have a Loin curing for Disco's Back Bacon (Canadian Bacon). I watched his video and well, same as Canadian, is the Pepper Bacon. So today I ground up some peppercorns for Pepper Canadian Bacon with the loin I'm curing.
Bag opening on the 15th, plan to attend. LOL! 
The ceremonies will include a wash and soak cycle, a pat dry, and a peppering. (I have to check about before or after Pelical forming) I think it was after, but that doesn't make sense to me. I'd think before so the pepper sticks bettermore.
But either way, that's the current course.
I just tonight pulled a pile of Pork Loin chunks to play with. Jerky to make, a pork loin roast, and start another Canadian Bacon curing. If there is room in the freezer, it's time to make bacon.
(Sorry Disco, I'm in the USA. Besides, you use funny measuring spoons.) 

So there you go Nanuk, now you know more than you wanted too.
If you make your Jerky with a teaspoon full of cayenne pepper, you'll understand the jerky requiring too much beer. I like 1/2 tsp. Works well with my choice of swill. LOL!


----------



## nanuk (Jan 13, 2019)

Hey Sonny, I can't do "Heat" much anymore...  had an "issue" one time...  almost ended up in the hospital ....

but I do look for any excuse to drink beer!
and I certainly could NOT do Vegan.

But, as long as you have some compromises and good substitutions, you can enjoy life to the fullest, and for a LONG time yet!
and I could eat chicken and turkey almost every day!


----------



## SonnyE (Jan 13, 2019)

nanuk said:


> Hey Sonny, I can't do "Heat" much anymore...  had an "issue" one time...  almost ended up in the hospital ....
> 
> but I do look for any excuse to drink beer!
> and I certainly could NOT do Vegan.
> ...



Take my wife... please! 
She could eat chicken 7 days a week.
OMG, Turkey! I'll gladly give you mine!
Sorry.
Livin till I'm diein. Then somebody else can clean the damn floors.


----------



## Phil Chart (Jan 14, 2019)

Looks great excellent job on your first attempt. Keep up the nice work and enjoy


----------



## dcecil (Jan 15, 2019)

This bacon really looks fantastic.  Great job    LIKE


----------

