Bacon made the easy way...

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I don't much care for crispy bacon either gibsorz. The flavor is different though. I salted a slab then let it sit overnight. It's much closer to the flavor I prefer now.
 
What size of a meat slicer do u guys recommend to slice bacon? All the ones I've seen I feel are to small to slice bacon?
 
You really need a 12" slicer to cut a large slab. I have a Torrey commercial 12", but most of the time I just cut the slabs in half & use my chef's choice 8". The big slicer is really heavy & it's a lot of work to clean it up, but it is a dream to use. If you are looking for a big one check out Craig's list.

Al
 
I have a commercial 10", and even that is too small. As Al says, you either have to cut the slabs in half, or fold them over and freeze in order to slice.
 
I too have a 10" and a 12" slicer. As Al mentioned the 12" is really a beast. It takes two people to move it (safely) and is a a lot of work to clean. The 10" is just big enough for back (loin) bacon but it struggles with the full size of belly bacon without first bending it. I now find myself cutting the pork to the size that best fits the slicer before I cure it. This makes the final slicing easier with less waste.
 
Thanks for the info on the slicers guys. Kinda what I figured that u needed a giant slicer. Maybe I'll get a smaller one and try folding the bellie. Until then I'll be doing it by hand and checking Craigslist daily!
 
You do not indicate what area you are from but you might check to see if you have a used restaurant supply near you. you might find the deal you are looking for. i Have a very old well used 8" Waring and a 12 " commercial Hobart (that as said above is a beast to move and clean) but well worth the trouble when you need it.

Keep O Smokin,

OS
 
I'm in southern California and thanks I'll have to check that out. Just finished slicing about 18 1/2 pounds of bellies today, so ya a slicer would be wonderful. I did find as so.done mentioned above that throwing them in the freezer for about 30-45 mins made it much easier but still was almost impossible for me to get it really thin
 
No weighing,no calculator, just a simple recipe that works quite well, from a man I have known all my life. 

Pops Dad..Carl Fassett owned a store and was very highly regarded for his smoked and cured products.

There are lots of ways to make bacon. This is what I use. From Pops6927..


real simple curing brine:

 for every 1 gallon of water, add:

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)
1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji]
1 cup brown sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji] brown sugar mix
1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.)   If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce.  The maximum concentration allowed safely is 3.84 ounces per 1 gallon of brine (24 lbs.per 100 gallons: 16 oz. x 24 = 384 ounces, 1/100th is 3.84 ounces).  You can experiment with different concentrations as long as you keep it between those parameters.

I add pepper,onion, garlic, old bay.

My buddy Raptor and I split a 4 bellie case a few weeks ago.

Cut them up and put them in a bucket with the cure mix...then into the spare fridge for 15 days.

No specific reason for 15 days..it just worked out that way.

Rinsed and put back in the fridge with a generous coating of pepper onion and garlic on half. Added a thick coat of Slap Yer Mama on the other half.

2 days later they got 34 hours of pecan dust smoke using 2 amazens.

Sliced off the skins with ease using my Granpas steel filet knife.. Skin side down cutting like skinning fish.

Back into the fridge for a couple days.

Used my awesome Berkel commercial slicer and had 22 pounds sliced and 2 pounds of ends in no time.

Vac packed using Lisa Bs superb bags.

Try it you will like it..

Here's the B-View. Enjoy!!





















No weighing,no calculator, just a simple recipe that works quite well, from a man I have known all my life. 

Pops Dad..Carl Fassett owned a store and was very highly regarded for his smoked and cured products.

There are lots of ways to make bacon. This is what I use. From Pops6927..


real simple curing brine:

 for every 1 gallon of water, add:

1/3 - 1 cup sea salt (depending if you're on a lo-salt diet)
1 cup granulated sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji]
1 cup brown sugar or Splenda[emoji]174[/emoji] brown sugar mix
1 tbsp cure no. 1 pink salt

stir thoroughly until clear amber color, pour over meat, inject if necessary to cure from inside-out as well as outside-in

weight down with a partially filled 1 qt or 1 gal. ziploc bag or bags to keep meat immersed

Curing times vary with meat, but generally overnight to 2-3 days for chickens and turkeys, 8-10 days buckboard bacon, 10-14 days belly bacon, pork shoulder, whole butts, 3-4 weeks whole hams, 10-20 days corned beef (fresh beef roasts, briskets, rolled rib roasts, etc.)   If whole muscle is more than 2" thick, then inject so it can cure i/o as well as o/i, and/or in and around bone structures, etc.

You can add any other flavorings you'd like, this is just the basic curing brine. 1 heaping tablespoon of cure is about 1 ounce.  The maximum concentration allowed safely is 3.84 ounces per 1 gallon of brine (24 lbs.per 100 gallons: 16 oz. x 24 = 384 ounces, 1/100th is 3.84 ounces).  You can experiment with different concentrations as long as you keep it between those parameters.

I add pepper,onion, garlic, old bay.

My buddy Raptor and I split a 4 bellie case a few weeks ago.

Cut them up and put them in a bucket with the cure mix...then into the spare fridge for 15 days.

No specific reason for 15 days..it just worked out that way.

Rinsed and put back in the fridge with a generous coating of pepper onion and garlic on half. Added a thick coat of Slap Yer Mama on the other half.

2 days later they got 34 hours of pecan dust smoke using 2 amazens.

Sliced off the skins with ease using my Granpas steel filet knife.. Skin side down cutting like skinning fish.

Back into the fridge for a couple days.

Used my awesome Berkel commercial slicer and had 22 pounds sliced and 2 pounds of ends in no time.

Vac packed using Lisa Bs superb bags.

Try it you will like it..

Here's the B-View. Enjoy!!





















 
Last belly I smoked had 32 hours of cold smoke. 8 hours x 4 days. This upcoming batch will probably go 40 hours.
 
So I just took my bacon out of the brine today. I'm not sure if it's just on the edges or what but mine does not look pink. It's more of a flesh tone. Did I
A fry test and it taste pretty good . A little sweet and a little salt. Added onion powder pepper and garlic powder to two and a homemade rub I have on the other . Smoking tomorrow . I was thinking 11 hours with amazen but was maybe gonna run it through twice for 22 hours or however long two runs with that thing goes. Outside temp will be 45 . Any suggestion before I go at it . Oh and here is a pic . Not real good cause it's the two edge pieces which I am gonna trim after it smokes. It's actually even less pink then it looks in the pic?
 
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So I just took my bacon out of the brine today. I'm not sure if it's just on the edges or what but mine does not look pink. It's more of a flesh tone. Did I
A fry test and it taste pretty good . A little sweet and a little salt. Added onion powder pepper and garlic powder to two and a homemade rub I have on the other . Smoking tomorrow . I was thinking 11 hours with amazen but was maybe gonna run it through twice for 22 hours or however long two runs with that thing goes. Outside temp will be 45 . Any suggestion before I go at it . Oh and here is a pic . Not real good cause it's the two edge pieces which I am gonna trim after it smokes. It's actually even less pink then it looks in the pic?

It looks fine to me. The outside won't turn pink cause of the oxygen in the water. The inside should be pink.

How long did you cure it?


I would start with one run with the smoker then try some after a day or two. If it needs more then smoke again
 
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Ok thanks farmer. I brined for 14 days . Gonna let it sit in the fridge and the. Smoke tomorrow afternoon or evening . Now that I look at the spot where I cut the test pieces off, I can see it is much more pink past the edge. I didn't even notice that until now. And I will try one run with the amaze. So after I smoke it, do I put it back in the fridge on the cookie racks for a day or so? Or should it be wrapped? Thanks again man, I appreciate the reassurance .Thumbs Up
 
After the smoke I wrap in plastic and put in the fridge for at least 2 days before slicing.

I have been doing a week.
 
Ok sounds good to me ! I can wait a few days. I'm not real excited to slice it anyway hshahah. My slicer is only 8 inch so it may be a long process of freezing a little and using the trusty knife. None the less, some will be sliced off the same day for Saturdays breakfast. I just have too. Thanks again


John
 
I been taking pics along the way so plan on some eye candy! Also, I was gonna let this stuff sit in the fridge 24 hours to dry out. I know 48 would be better but it's not working out that way because I only have one free day to smoke it then I'll be too busy. Can I pull them out after the 24 hours and set them on the counter with a fan blowing on them to speed drying? If so, how long should I let the fan blow? Would a couple hours do the trick? Even three or four hours would still leave me time to smoke it.
 
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