First, it's incredibly easy. I followed this method:
http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2/
I used pink salt. I also doubled the black pepper, added some additional garlic cloves, and chopped the garlic, as well. Ultimately, I didn't wholly improve on bacon. It was delicious, but it's not enough to make you wholly swear off store-bought stuff, either. But the pride you feel in succeeding at something like this is immeasurable. And the bacon really is delicious....but then again, it is bacon.
I bought the belly at the new Whole Paycheck in Memphis. I'm not sure if they'll always have it in the case, but they make a lot of their own in-house bacon. So ask your butcher. The quality of meat at Whole Paycheck is also miles above standard grocery store stuff. Here are the pictures:
Skin Side
"Meat Side"
After rinsing
I used a mix of hardwood charcoal and "competition" mesquite briquettes. I happened to have them on hand from previous projects, so there's no real preference. I used apple and maple woods for smoking. Since I needed the grill to make dinner, I put the 225�-250� heat to it for about 2 hours, and achieved an internal temp of 140�. Suits me.....didn't see much need to get up to 165� like the recipe called for.
After a couple hours in the fridge, I started slicing. I tried to get it as thin as possible, but some came out thick-cut.
I couldn't go to all this work without tasting it, so I had to fry some up. One thing to note, even after cooking to 140�, it still felt like raw bacon. Once it hit the frying pan, there's no difference in taste or texture with fully-cooked bacon like what I have and the uncooked stuff in the grocery store.
http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2/
I used pink salt. I also doubled the black pepper, added some additional garlic cloves, and chopped the garlic, as well. Ultimately, I didn't wholly improve on bacon. It was delicious, but it's not enough to make you wholly swear off store-bought stuff, either. But the pride you feel in succeeding at something like this is immeasurable. And the bacon really is delicious....but then again, it is bacon.
I bought the belly at the new Whole Paycheck in Memphis. I'm not sure if they'll always have it in the case, but they make a lot of their own in-house bacon. So ask your butcher. The quality of meat at Whole Paycheck is also miles above standard grocery store stuff. Here are the pictures:
Skin Side
"Meat Side"
After rinsing
I used a mix of hardwood charcoal and "competition" mesquite briquettes. I happened to have them on hand from previous projects, so there's no real preference. I used apple and maple woods for smoking. Since I needed the grill to make dinner, I put the 225�-250� heat to it for about 2 hours, and achieved an internal temp of 140�. Suits me.....didn't see much need to get up to 165� like the recipe called for.
After a couple hours in the fridge, I started slicing. I tried to get it as thin as possible, but some came out thick-cut.
I couldn't go to all this work without tasting it, so I had to fry some up. One thing to note, even after cooking to 140�, it still felt like raw bacon. Once it hit the frying pan, there's no difference in taste or texture with fully-cooked bacon like what I have and the uncooked stuff in the grocery store.
