# My Wife Is Awesome



## solaryellow (Jun 24, 2011)

Came home from work today and found out we had to make a special trip into town. Turns out wifey had ordered a case of pork bellies from Whole Foods and they were in. I was shocked that she negotiated a price of $1.99/lbs for organic. Looks like 58 lbs of bacon has been added to my ToDo list this weekend. :agree:


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## adiochiro3 (Jun 24, 2011)

58 Lbs???!!!!!!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Are you feeding an army?!!!!  Is that a 1 year supply??!!!!  Are they gifts for the extended family??!!!!  Inquiring minds want to know!!!!!!!!!


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## solaryellow (Jun 24, 2011)

adiochiro3 said:


> 58 Lbs???!!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


To be fair, the answer is yes all the way around. My coworkers will buy most of it before I even have a chance to eat my first slice.


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## bmudd14474 (Jun 24, 2011)

She's a keeper Joel.


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## solaryellow (Jun 24, 2011)

For sure Brian.


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## meateater (Jun 25, 2011)

Looking forward to the BLT's !


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## adiochiro3 (Jun 25, 2011)

Your wife sounds like she is as good a sport as mine!!!


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## SmokinAl (Jun 25, 2011)

WOW!


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## solaryellow (Jun 26, 2011)

After a nice relaxing day of sitting in a mountain stream followed by fajitas, I got busy with the bacon. I am using the rub Al Blancher gave me a few months ago because it is incredibly simple and the flavor is perfect. The formula is fairly close to TQ substitute but without the nitrate.



















And into the 20 gal ziploc bag we go. I try to scoop up as much of the rub that doesn't stick as possible and place it on the pork belly once it is in the bag.







Working on another one.







Ready for a good rubbing.



















Unfortunately the wifey didn't get any shots of the sides being rubbed. :(

Should be ready to smoke in 10 days.


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## solaryellow (Jul 9, 2011)

Tonight I rinsed it all off and dried it until the pellicle formed. I just put my 12" cast iron pan filled with apple chips, cherry chunks, and hickory chunks covered with HD foil onto the hot plate. That should get me about 12 hours of smoke. I should have some pics to share later tomorrow.


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## pineywoods (Jul 9, 2011)

Looks and sounds awesome I'll be looking forward to the Qview to follow


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## solaryellow (Jul 10, 2011)

Bacon is done smoking. Once the sun rose this morning, I had a tough time holding temps in the 90's. By 8am the ambient temp was already 80*.







I do love these giant ziploc bags.







29" of smoky goodness







I will let it rest in one of my garage fridges for a couple days before slicing.


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## SmokinAl (Jul 10, 2011)

Looks beautiful! Can't wait to see it sliced! Nice job Solar.


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## jirodriguez (Jul 10, 2011)

Looks great Solar. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Yeah.... I keep a supply of the 3 gallon and 5 gallon ziplocs handy for all my overnight rubs, marinades, and brines. Then at Thanksgiving I buy the big 20 gallon ones for brining turkeys in.


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## smokinstevo27 (Jul 10, 2011)

Thats awesome man! Kudos to your bride.


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## eman (Jul 10, 2011)

Man that looks great.

 The recipe Al uses is my favorite as it is low salt . most store bought and tq cured bacon is to salty for my taste.


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## solaryellow (Jul 10, 2011)

eman said:


> Man that looks great.
> 
> The recipe Al uses is my favorite as it is low salt . most store bought and tq cured bacon is to salty for my taste.




Agreed. I also love that there is no need for soaking the meat in water to pull out salt.


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## cinderella (Jul 10, 2011)

Wow, those look gorgeous. I don't think my DH would EVER think of ordering a case of bellies at WF.


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## tjohnson (Jul 10, 2011)

Your bellies look great Solar!

Even though this is somewhere between "Cold Smoke" and "Hot Smoke", what was the temp inside your smoker?

Looks like your bacon sweated a little

I'm torn between "Cold Smoking" and Smoking at 140°.  I'm wondering if adding a little heat allows the cured bacon to absorb more smoke.

My next batch will be at 100° to start, and I'll ramp up to 140°.

Todd


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## solaryellow (Jul 10, 2011)

TJohnson said:


> Your bellies look great Solar!
> 
> Even though this is somewhere between "Cold Smoke" and "Hot Smoke", what was the temp inside your smoker?
> 
> ...




Thanks Todd! Overnight I stayed in the 90* - 100* range in the plywood smoker. Ambient temp overnight was 78* when I started around 11:30pm and got down to around 70* by 5am. When the sun came up this morning and the ambient temp started climbing so did the temp inside the smoker. By 9am I was seeing ambient temps around 80* and about 105* in the smoker. When I pulled it off around noon ambient temps were in the upper 80's and the smoker was around 120*.

I used to hot smoke bacon but actually prefer the cold/warm smoked version.


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## tjohnson (Jul 10, 2011)

Only time I added real heat, I ruined my bacon with creosote.  This stuff was so bitter that we could not eat it!

It only takes me one time to get smart!

I'm a little gun shy about oversmoking, so it's been a process to get where I am today.  Once you figure out a process, it's tough to take a chance on another person's process.

Todd


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## solaryellow (Jul 10, 2011)

TJohnson said:


> Only time I added real heat, I ruined my bacon with creosote.  This stuff was so bitter that we could not eat it!
> 
> It only takes me on time to get smart!
> 
> ...


I can imagine. The first thing I pictured was my wife making her screwed up face and shuddering with her first bite. lol

It is definitely a process. It took a lot of research and conversation for me to feel comfortable with what I am doing today.

On a different note, I was thinking about your product this morning when I was watching the temps start to climb. The smoker I am working with is 28" wide, 20" deep, and 72" tall. How much heat would your product add to that environment over ambient temp?


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## DanMcG (Jul 10, 2011)

Joel any chance we could exchange wife's, strictly for shopping purposes only. Mine wouldn't think to buy me a belly. She is a keeper.


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## tjohnson (Jul 10, 2011)

solaryellow said:


> I can imagine. The first thing I pictured was my wife making her screwed up face and shuddering with her first bite. lol
> 
> It is definitely a process. It took a lot of research and conversation for me to feel comfortable with what I am doing today.
> 
> On a different note, I was thinking about your product this morning when I was watching the temps start to climb. The smoker I am working with is 28" wide, 20" deep, and 72" tall. How much heat would your product add to that environment over ambient temp?




The increase in temp is usually 12° with sawdust and up to 20° with pellets.  That said, there are a few variables to consider. 

     1. An insulated smoker will retain more heat than an uninsulated smoker

     2. Smoking with a black smoker in the sun will greatly increase the inside temps - Experienced this myself!

     3. Smoking at 60° ambient temp has a lower increase in smoker temps than smoking at 90°

     4. Using a jug of ice lowers the smoker temp

     5. The size of the smoker will make a difference in how much is retained inside the box

Todd


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## venture (Jul 10, 2011)

Your wife must not be just awesome?  She must be an awesome negotiator?  They won't even let me walk in the door of Whole Foods for $2 a pound.

Good luck and good smoking.


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## solaryellow (Jul 10, 2011)

DanMcG said:


> Joel any chance we could exchange wife's, strictly for shopping purposes only. Mine wouldn't think to buy me a belly. She is a keeper.




Just for the fun of it I said to her "My internet buddy Dan was wondering if you would be interested in wife swapping..." and that is as far as I got before I got the death stare. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			









TJohnson said:


> The increase in temp is usually 12° with sawdust and up to 20° with pellets.  That said, there are a few variables to consider.
> 
> 1. An insulated smoker will retain more heat than an uninsulated smoker
> 
> ...


I typically try and do this type of stuff in the winter rather than the height of the southern summer but it just worked out this way. I suspect it would be equivalent to what I am doing now. Thanks Todd!




Venture said:


> Your wife must not be just awesome?  She must be an awesome negotiator?  They won't even let me walk in the door of Whole Foods for $2 a pound.
> 
> Good luck and good smoking.


There is more to the story that I kinda outlined in a rant I posted a few days ago. We went to Whole Foods initially and got a response of "I doubt it." so we asked the manager to try harder. What we got was something that we didn't expect. He introduced us to a farm that is 10 miles away that we had a chance to visit. Whole Foods more or less brokered the deal and we had a chance to see how they really worked. I was impressed.


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## bamafan (Jul 10, 2011)

Joel looks good. I have to get off my butt and try thr bacon? Don't think the bubba will do it but I have the MES that I haven't used in 2 years should work. Look forward to seeing you next year.


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## solaryellow (Jul 10, 2011)

BAMAFAN said:


> Joel looks good. I have to get off my butt and try thr bacon? Don't think the bubba will do it but I have the MES that I haven't used in 2 years should work. Look forward to seeing you next year.




You just need to invite yourself over to Jerry's to use his smokehouse Tim.


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## desertlites (Jul 10, 2011)

Looks great Joel! Ain't it true that no matter how much ya make it sure can go quick. That sure ain't the first time i've heard you speak so fine of your wife.


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## solaryellow (Jul 11, 2011)

desertlites said:


> Looks great Joel! Ain't it true that no matter how much ya make it sure can go quick. That sure ain't the first time i've heard you speak so fine of your wife.




She is a great woman and she puts up with my crap Bob.


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## cowgirl (Jul 11, 2011)

Looks awesome Solar!!!


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## alelover (Jul 11, 2011)

That looks great Joel. 1.99/lb is a great price. Almost worth a drive up there if gas wasn't so much.


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## solaryellow (Jul 11, 2011)

alelover said:


> That looks great Joel. 1.99/lb is a great price. Almost worth a drive up there if gas wasn't so much.




I was surprised at the price as well. It did take about 4 weeks for Whole Foods to coordinate delivery with the local farm though.


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## boneenterprise (Jul 14, 2011)

meateater said:


> Looking forward to the BLT's !


You mean BLT minus the LT, plus BBBB and add cheese.

Yeah I may die young, but hey I will be eating some tasty food in the mean time.


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## whiskeypapa (Jul 14, 2011)

Looks real good !!!!   Any chances of getting your recipe for the rub?


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## smokin - k (Jul 14, 2011)

A buddy and I just bought some pork bellies from a butcher and wondering if you would share Al's special cure / rub. I was looking to buy some TQ but you have my attention! :) Thanks, Smokin - K

P.S. Your plywood smoker looks to be working great. Loved reviewing your previous smoker tour post!


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## solaryellow (Jul 14, 2011)

WhiskeyPapa said:


> Looks real good !!!!   Any chances of getting your recipe for the rub?







Smokin - K said:


> A buddy and I just bought some pork bellies from a butcher and wondering if you would share Al's special cure / rub. I was looking to buy some TQ but you have my attention! :) Thanks, Smokin - K
> 
> P.S. Your plywood smoker looks to be working great. Loved reviewing your previous smoker tour post!




Here is a link to Al's calculator guys. http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/forum/thread/108842/bacon-calculator Al is working on a bacon wiki that should be very helpful.

Thanks Smokin! The plywood smoker has been without a doubt one of my better investments.


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## michael ark (Jul 14, 2011)

you lucky dog.


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## brdprey (Jul 14, 2011)

wtf no breakfast q view...........omg the anticipation


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## solaryellow (Jul 14, 2011)

lol I only have half of it sliced up. That damn full time job keeps getting in the way of my part time fun. I did bring a half pound to work today where one of my employees decided to microwave it all and share it with the rest of the IT staff. My guess is less than half will be left in the freezer by this time next week.


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## solaryellow (Jul 14, 2011)

More than a few of you asked for some sliced pics so here you go.








This is a pic from half of a belly and each pile is about 1 lbs. The scraps will go into the baked beans for our first vending gig in Sept. The smell of homemade bacon is hard to resist. :agree:


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## deebo65 (Jul 15, 2011)

Awesome Solar.  Not to get off topic really, but I was about to begin building a smoker out of wood (plywood) and I had some questions.  The majority of folks I have seen and read about using the plywood smokebox do mostly cold smoking.  I don't do a whole lot of it.  I have a GOSM now and I just want a bigger smoker.  The big boxes you and some others are exactly what I want.  Can I smoke butts and bird and brisket and sunch in there.  99% of the time i stay at 225 deg.  In your opinion, will that be an issue?  Thanks in advance


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## solaryellow (Jul 15, 2011)

Deebo65 said:


> Awesome Solar.  Not to get off topic really, but I was about to begin building a smoker out of wood (plywood) and I had some questions.  The majority of folks I have seen and read about using the plywood smokebox do mostly cold smoking.  I don't do a whole lot of it.  I have a GOSM now and I just want a bigger smoker.  The big boxes you and some others are exactly what I want.  Can I smoke butts and bird and brisket and sunch in there.  99% of the time i stay at 225 deg.  In your opinion, will that be an issue?  Thanks in advance




Sure you can. You do need to take some precautions though as it will go up in flames if you aren't careful.


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## murph77 (Jul 17, 2011)

that bacon looks amazing mouth watering is an understatement!


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## ellymae (Jul 17, 2011)

Looks awesome!


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## pittman (Jul 18, 2011)

Nice, nice, and nice!


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## solaryellow (Jul 18, 2011)

Thanks all. Again, my wife is the one to blame, err, I mean thank.


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## pdx210 (Jul 18, 2011)

wow looks fantastic 

let me know if you want to sell the wife


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## solaryellow (Jul 18, 2011)

PDX210 said:


> wow looks fantastic
> 
> let me know if you want to sell the wife




H to the E to the L to the L to the NO.


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