Makin' Bacon! (and other cured meats)

[Coach McGuirk]

This is awesome. I'm going to try this out prior to a camping trip. I'm sure this bacon will get me chicks.

When all else fails, wrap it in bacon.

[Shaka]

When all else fails, wrap it in bacon.

A clever idea!

[MarkGrace]

When all else fails, wrap it in bacon.

[CJF]

I just put two bellies to bed. Same basic recipe (I bought the book) except I used maple sugar and one I added about 1/4 cup of black pepper. I will add cracked pepper when I air it out. I can't wait for next Saturday.

[kccougar]

So does the cure require some kind of liquid or could you do it with just the dry ingredients? I'm not a fan of maple bacon, but I'd love to try to make some regular bacon.

[CJF]

So does the cure require some kind of liquid or could you do it with just the dry ingredients? I'm not a fan of maple bacon, but I'd love to try to make some regular bacon.

Dry ingredients only are fine. I love maple bacon so I went with that. If this turns out well, I'm going to try a belly without maple specifically for BLT's. We grow a lot of tomatoes in the summer and BLT's are a regular part of our summer menu. A good peppered bacon with garden fresh tomatoes sounds heavenly to me.

[The Wankster]

Your next step is....

Bacon is just the starting point, Ham is next and wowzer is there a difference in what you make and store bought...
I've been making it for a few years now and OMG you will never even think about going back to the stuff from the store...

Corned beef and Pastrami are just as simple and again you will never go back to store bought again...

[CJF]

Bacon is just the starting point, Ham is next and wowzer is there a difference in what you make and store bought...
I've been making it for a few years now and OMG you will never even think about going back to the stuff from the store...

Corned beef and Pastrami are just as simple and again you will never go back to store bought again...

I would like to try a ham. First, I want to try Canadian bacon. I love Canadian bacon.

[Drunk Tank]

CJF,

When you take the bacon out of the cure, I would soak it in clean fresh water for at least 2 hours before smoking. Although the one I made was delicious, it was way too salty. I later found out most guys who cure their own bacon regularly soak theirs between 2-8 hours before they smoke it. What I'll do next time is soak for 2 hours, fry up a small piece and check for saltiness. If too salty repeat. Keep doing this until the salt level is to my liking. Let it rest in the fridge for 24 hours, then smoke it.

[CJF]

CJF,

When you take the bacon out of the cure, I would soak it in clean fresh water for at least 2 hours before smoking. Although the one I made was delicious, it was way too salty. I later found out most guys who cure their own bacon regularly soak theirs between 2-8 hours before they smoke it. What I'll do next time is soak for 2 hours, fry up a small piece and check for saltiness. If too salty repeat. Keep doing this until the salt level is to my liking. Let it rest in the fridge for 24 hours, then smoke it.

Great advise . Thanks!

[bronson_tyler]

I have to try this one! I really love how you portrait/detailed your explanation.

[CJF]

After DT's advice I started getting a little nervous. I read several forums and some swore by soaking while others were completely against it and suggested a shorter cure. So I decided to give shorter a try first and pulled the smaller of the two bellies tonight. I'm a little nervous. The bellies were a little frozen when I started the process. Opening the package tonight I saw that it had major silver skin. So I removed as much as possible. The color difference in the meat from the top to even 1/16 of an inch in is drastic. Also, these bellies have had the rinds removed already, so I'm afraid they will be very salty.

After rinsing and drying, I covered the entire belly in coarse ground pepper. It is now air drying. I will smoke tomorrow. If it goes well, BLT's for dinner tomorrow. If it doesn't, I'll soak the bigger belly for a couple of hours before air drying and smoking.

[CJF]

Very good. A little salty, but very light and very flavorful. Much leaner than what DT experienced. Almost no fat rendered off. I wish I had a slicer. The slices were a little too thick. The pepper took the sweetness away. Very tasty first try. Looking forward to the maple tomorrow.

[Coach McGuirk]

Man, I would love to make my own bacon. Looks awesome, CJF

[CJF]

Just finished packing my maple bacon. A few things I learned. If/when I do this again, I need a slicer. Slicing up 10.5 pounds of cured and smoked by hand sucks. Second, not as salty as I feared. Use Morton's kosher salt and if the belly is on the smaller side of 5 pounds, take it out a day or two earlier than the full week. Third, a simple rub can be put on for the over night drying process. The first was coarse ground pepper. The second was about 1/8 cup maple syrup and about 1/8 cup of maple sugar. Both turned out very tasty. Lastly, lardons are awesome.

Here is a mountain of maple bacon.





Some lardons.