The_Utility_Dude
Well-Known Member
My brother raised a pig for slaughter and it's at the butcher now. His plan is to cure his own bacon. Any tips from those that have experience would be appreciated.
Makin' Bacon
- Thread starter The_Utility_Dude
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DennyB
Well-Known Member
I haven't bought bacon in a long time. I make it myself without the sugar and spices. Just tenderquick and smoke. I can't make it fast enough for friends and family.
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?13312-B ... ight=bacon
http://tvwbb.com/showthread.php?13312-B ... ight=bacon
The_Utility_Dude":3p38mwpw said:
It's ridiculously easy. I use Michael Ruhlman's garlic dry cure. The only modifications to his that I like are doubling the garlic & chopping it more finely than he calls for. This recipe also calls for honey/syrup, nutmeg, juniper, and thyme. Sure it's worth trying, but I've used his other variation that doesn't call for these ingredients. I don't use the oven, but will get a rolling smoke going on my barrel grill. Keep the temp below 225°, and you can let it smoke for about 2 hours. Leave it fat-side up, and pull it when the fat cap gets a nice golden hue to it.
http://ruhlman.com/2010/10/home-cured-bacon-2/
There are a couple main differences you'll notice in cooking hot-smoked bacon. For one (especially if you're hand-slicing the bacon), a uniform thickness is nearly impossible to achieve. It's not going to cook as nice & even as a mechanically sliced storebought bacon will. Since this bacon is already cooked, it won't require nearly as much heat to fry in a skillet as store bacon will. If your stovetop is higher than a medium setting, you're likely to scorch the bacon before it's "cooked". Keep an eye on it and move it around as necessary, especially if you're not successful in getting uniformly thin slices.
SAVE THE GREASE!!! And one other thing....since it's fully cooked when it comes off the smoker, you won't have the cross-contamination "raw meat" considerations that you would otherwise.
After a couple slabs, I suspect you'll end up looking for a meat slicer. You'll need a large one to effectively slice a whole pork belly.
The_Utility_Dude
Well-Known Member
Thankyee fellers for the input. We'll give it a whirl and see how it turns out.
