# Bacon-mania!



## solaryellow (May 7, 2012)

Started curing a case of bacon two weeks ago. They are drying now to form a pellicle before smoking starts tomorrow.

Pancetta experiment #1. This is a fennel/cayenne test. After soaking for 20 minutes it will be skinned and then hung in my dry curing chamber until it loses 30% of its weight.








Pancetta experiment #2 is the same recipe but using chipotle powder instead of cayenne. I am anticipating a milder but smokier flavor.







Next up is a honey/chipotle bacon that smells promising. It will develop a pellicle overnight before getting a 12 hour dose of Todd's pitmaster smoke.







And then I have 3 of what I consider regular bacon soaking.


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## brokenwing (May 8, 2012)

Joes I will be watching this, I love me some bacon, and cant wait to see it hit the smoke.


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## smokinhusker (May 8, 2012)

Looking good and the pancetta flavors are interesting! Will be waiting for updates!


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## diesel (May 8, 2012)

Pancetta is awesome!  Can't wait to see the end result.


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## brican (May 8, 2012)

Can't wait for the outcome of these,    are you going to smoke them or just dry


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## scarbelly (May 8, 2012)

Hey Joel those all look great.  Looking forward to my sample of the Pancetta's


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## diggingdogfarm (May 8, 2012)

Lookin' good!




~Martin


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## jp61 (May 8, 2012)

Looking good so far!


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## ronrude (May 8, 2012)

Looks great!  I am looking forward to the pancetta especially.  It is in my list of things to do.  I need to build a drying chamber first.


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## solaryellow (May 8, 2012)

brokenwing said:


> Joes I will be watching this, I love me some bacon, and cant wait to see it hit the smoke.


Pics will be up in a minute Mike.


SmokinHusker said:


> Looking good and the pancetta flavors are interesting! Will be waiting for updates!


You aren't the first I have heard that from Alesia.


Diesel said:


> Pancetta is awesome!  Can't wait to see the end result.


Hopefully I will have something to share in 30 days Diesel.


Brican said:


> Can't wait for the outcome of these,    are you going to smoke them or just dry


You are being too kind Robert. I am drying the pancettas and smoking the rest.


Scarbelly said:


> Hey Joel those all look great.  Looking forward to my sample of the Pancetta's


C'mon down in 30 days and I will hook ya up Gary.


DiggingDogFarm said:


> Lookin' good!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thanks Martin!


JP61 said:


> Looking good so far!


I appreciate it JP!


ronrude said:


> Looks great!  I am looking forward to the pancetta especially.  It is in my list of things to do.  I need to build a drying chamber first.


This is my first ronrude. As long as the wifey is happy, all will be good.


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## solaryellow (May 8, 2012)

Fired up the 5x8 AMNPS tonight in the plywood smoker using Todd's Pitmaster pellets for 2/3 of the bellies.







And then the normal bacon went in to the plywood smoker. Care to guess which of the belly halves is the honey/chipotle?


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## jp61 (May 8, 2012)

You lit the wrong end!

Looking good!


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## gersus (May 8, 2012)

Very awesome solar! The honey chipotle sounds really good!


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## thoseguys26 (May 8, 2012)

Looks awesome! 

Question, what are the benefits to using those bacon hangers vs just laying them on your racks?  Thanks!  Bacon is greatness!


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## solaryellow (May 9, 2012)

The benefits are fairly minor thoseguys26. I can fit more in the smoker using the bacon hangers than if I used racks. I am sure some would also say the smoke is a little more uniform for each bacon, but I can't see that being a huge deal for personal consumption.


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## alelover (May 9, 2012)

A fine display of baconage my friend. I can smell it frying already.


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## jrod62 (May 9, 2012)

Now that some good looking bacon


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## solaryellow (May 9, 2012)

Smoke #2 tonight.


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## brican (May 10, 2012)

Looking good Joel, will you be doing another smoke or will this be the last?


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## desertlites (May 10, 2012)

Looks Great Joel!! and I love the flavor combos. thanks for the pics-prolly miss the bacon makin the most my friend.


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## solaryellow (May 10, 2012)

alelover said:


> A fine display of baconage my friend. I can smell it frying already.


Thanks Scott!


jrod62 said:


> Now that some good looking bacon


Thanks Ed!


Brican said:


> Looking good Joel, will you be doing another smoke or will this be the last?


Doing one more tonight Robert. I will be slicing it up on Saturday.


desertlites said:


> Looks Great Joel!! and I love the flavor combos. thanks for the pics-prolly miss the bacon makin the most my friend.


Thanks Bob! We shall see how the flavors turn out. Sounds like the sleeper needs a curing refrigerator and cold smoker.


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## chef jimmyj (May 10, 2012)

I almost missed this post. Damn fine Bacon! And I like the Pancetta spices you chose...JJ


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## solaryellow (May 11, 2012)

Thanks JJ!

Pulled the bacons out of the plywood smoker this morning before heading off to work and put them back in the fridge. Will slice tomorrow. I can't wait to get into the honey chipotle bacon.


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## pineywoods (May 11, 2012)

It all looks awesome I can't wait to see the sliced Qview and hear how the flavors worked out


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## deuce (May 11, 2012)

That is a BEAUTIFUL SIGHT!! I bet that is going to be awesome! I like the different seasoning choices. You could start your own bacon of the month club!


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## solaryellow (May 13, 2012)

As expected, I sliced up the bacons and my middle finger tonight. Luckily it is my left hand middle finger which I reserve for traffic jams.

Some Q-View:







Now the real deal:

Removing the skin.













The honey-chipotle came out perfect. We had some on burgers tonight.







Saved the skins for cracklins after an emergency counseling sessions with Eman.







Cutting up the odds and ends for my from scratch baked beans.







I am ultimately lazy and a poor multitasker. So, I decided to turn that paradigm on its head and do more multitasking with less effort by singletasking 3 belly halves. Worked out well.







2 pans and a bowl (for baked beans) of awesomeness.







Pancettta is drying. I will add some pics of that once it is done.


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## diggingdogfarm (May 13, 2012)

Ouch!!!!!

The bacon looks great!

~Martin


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## solaryellow (May 13, 2012)

DiggingDogFarm said:


> Ouch!!!!!
> 
> The bacon looks great!
> 
> ~Martin


Luckily I felt it as it happened Martin. I probably should have posted pics of the bloody glove instead of after the wound had congealed. Wifey was very impressed with my stupidity like usual.

The bacon turned out great too. I am very pleased with the honey/chipotle version. It has a depth to it that is hard to explain unless you taste it.


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## diggingdogfarm (May 13, 2012)

I know how that happens, I'm the poster boy for adult ADD so I'm easily distracted and have a myriad of scars to prove it!!!! LOL
I'm sure the great bacon will offer some solace! :wink:


~Martin


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## solaryellow (May 13, 2012)

Had some more of the honey-chipotle bacon this morning. I think I may have discovered my new favorite. The chipotle is a very minor accent and not hot at all. The honey doesn't stand out as honey, but rather a background sweetness in the bacon if that makes any sense. I also love the smoke flavor. 3 nights of smoke using Todd's pitmaster pellets did a tremendous job.


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## diggingdogfarm (May 13, 2012)

Sounds good!



~Martin


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## pineywoods (May 13, 2012)

It all looks great except that finger


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## ak1 (May 13, 2012)

Looks great!  Look at the bright side; the tip of the finger is still attached, unlike someone I know!


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