Make'n Bacon?

[omarick1948]

And not the cartoon photo type of two pigs!

Can anyone tell me how to make some homecured and smoked bacon? I do alot of home smoke cooking, but had never tried making my own slab bacon or is it too much trouble? Some of you fella's down south should know this one!

 

[buttonbuck]

from what I know you have to cure it in a brine for weeks at a time in cool temps and smoke it cold smoke it under 110 f hence a smoke house for weeks at a time. Morton salt has a book on curing meats that goes with the commercial cure tender quick. I make summer sausage and salami and buy bulk prague powder mix in canning salt and sugar to cure my own stuff.

 

[Billnpatti]

I sure hope you get better info than I can supply but I will tell you what I remember. I have never made bacon by myself but I used to help my greatgrandma make it. She used to mix salt and brown sugar together. I don't remember her using anything else in the dry rub. To the best of my memory, she used half salt and half sugar. She would take the fresh bacon slabs and rub them with a generous portion of the salt and sugar mixture. She would really pile it on and then let it sit for a day or two to cure. I am not sure of the actual time but it was a few days. It has to draw out the excess moisture from the bacon. When the curing process was over, she wold take the bacon to the smoke house and hang it on hooks. Grandpa would have a fire going outside the smoke house. He used well seasond oak for his fire. It would be a pretty big one so he would end up with a goodly pile of coals. He would use a shovel to carry the coals in and place them into a hole dug in the floor of the smokehouse. When the hole was full, he would pile mesquite and oak chunks on the coals and cover them with a piece of sheet metal. The wood would start to smoke and he would close the door and let the meat smoke for a day or two. he would occasionally add coals to the hole and wood chunks as needed during the smoking process. He knew when the meat was suficiently smoked by the color and texture. Man, that was some mighty fine eating. What I wouldn't give for just one more taste of gratgrandpa's bacon.

After all of the meat was smoked, greatgrandma would start on rendering the fat and making soap. But that is another story.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

rub and cover a side of bacon with salt and seasoning well and cover up in a cool place and cover the meat with burlap. let it rest a week or 2 and sprinkle more seasoning atop.
then get the smokehouse ready for cool smokeing and hang the bacon in there for at least 4 days. a week is better, and smoke comeing out the vent a bit.

 

[Birdman]

this is gonna sound crazy but try going onto the food network site n hunting through Alton Brown's shows. He did an entire show on how to make bacon(including really smoking it), I only caught the last few minutes of it but the show was quite good n ought to have all the info ya need if it goes the way the rest of his videos go.

 

[boar]

After you get the rub on like they told you, you put the bacon on corn cobs, turn over every few days. That's what I did. I used Mormons Salt Cure for the rub. Check out the Fox Fire book. Dilly

 

[Lostrifle]

this is gonna sound crazy but try going onto the food network site n hunting through Alton Brown's shows. He did an entire show on how to make bacon(including really smoking it), I only caught the last few minutes of it but the show was quite good n ought to have all the info ya need if it goes the way the rest of his videos go.

The wife and I watched that show, and found out why she had so much stomach trouble from eating commercially made bacon; the nitrites! The stuff that gets put in to retard spoilage!
We found some "uncured" bacon(no nitrites) in the supermarket, and she had no problems eating it.
Then, we got some slab bacon from Dietrich's in Krumsville PA (near Dixon's), and that was pure heaven!

 

[Hawken12]

I make my own,now just rub some curin salt all over yer slab ,put in a plastic bag ,that seals,turn it every day for 7 days ,that sucks the moisture out,you'll see that ...after the 7 ,rinse under the tap I tried 2 min,I like it saly,people say too salty .Hey its my bacon.
Out to the smoker ,I do 4 hours ,comes out lookin like mahogany.
A tip for ya ,if yer gonna make bacon sandwiches ,cut the rind off,don't ask...
storebought bacon is 30 % water ,they inject it ,for weight.(thats whats poppin the pan,the water)this has none ,so stays flat in the pan,don't curl,up ,little shrinkage .Taste great,15 minutes work ,plus turnin ,plus smokin

 

[omarick1948]

Thanks Peter,
I think that method will work for me! Do you use a belly or ?

Rick

 

[Hawken12]

yup pork belly up here,check the ends ,for fat ,too much or not enuf.Let me know how it turns out.I cooked 2 an 1\2 lbs for boxing day breakfast ,was hopin to take a wee bit home ...no luck,it goes fast.I'm up to a five min rinse ,an I like it salty.luck to ya

 

[Blizzard of '93]

my grand dad had a smoker he built into a hillside to smoke meat with. he also smoke-cured beef. folks came from miles around to bring him meat to smoke. this was after he retired from r/r.
he used grape vine, hickory and sweet maple and apple.
the best hams&bacon slabs around these parts. low and slow and cool.

 

[Hawken12]

hmmm grape vine ,never thot o usin that one done the hickory an apple,both good.I tried a slab with lotsa garlic in it ,but didn't really notice a difference in taste,maybe cuz the salt is drawin the moisture out ,not in,oh well the fun is in the tryin,oh and the tastin

 

[the11]

Here are a couple of youtubes of my first bacon making experience. Hope they help.

part 1
part 2

 

[Hawken12]

yup he's good ,cept I use them sealable bags ,no leakin.(it is 7 days in yer wifes fridge )smokin was top notch an hitech too ,for me cold smoke ,imparts the flavour ,170 is hot smoke,and for safety which I do after the smoke in the oven for an hourkills ****) which I like doin ,an doesn't waste smoke .before or after don't matter
damn his bacon looked good lotsa meat on them babies

 

[the11]

Thanks Hawken. It was a lot of fun, and I plan to do it again this fall. But I'll go a little easier on the salt this time. And since I did that bacon, I have bought one of them vacuum sealer machines, which I think should work great to keep the slabs from leaking as they cure.

I want to set up my smoker so I could do either cold or hot smoke. You see in the vid how it is currently set up. If I made a separate firebox off to the side, do you think I would need to elevate the smoker to make it work? If so, how much?

 

[Hawken12]

Thanx would be eatin some ,,lol. well smoke rises so don'y yhink it would be a problem ,its gonna get out one or tother ,I'mn thinkin,as ya already got a vacumn sealer ,there's lots of work for it anyways,I just use them reasealable bags ,That are big enuff ,(as in lotsa room,and I tip up the end after I turn ,have had no problems.
Next batch gonna try half salt an half sugar (brown I think and see how she goes.That is the fun,tweakin the mix.
Good Luck

 

[Blizzard of '93]

add some coarse ground black and a little red pepper to your 'rub'

 

[the11]

Hot red pepper? I'm not sure I could get away with it. My wife doesn't like the heat. But I could probably get away with the black pepper though.

 

[Hawken12]

gotta shoot comin up on the long weekend comin up,I do like the idea of the black pepper and red pepper,I'll try one with an one without ,just in case.
What kinda red pepper,do ya suggest?

 

[Black Hand]

Thanks Hawken. It was a lot of fun, and I plan to do it again this fall. But I'll go a little easier on the salt this time. And since I did that bacon, I have bought one of them vacuum sealer machines, which I think should work great to keep the slabs from leaking as they cure.

I want to set up my smoker so I could do either cold or hot smoke. You see in the vid how it is currently set up. If I made a separate firebox off to the side, do you think I would need to elevate the smoker to make it work? If so, how much?

But you do want them to leak. The main idea of salting/sugaring (curing) the meat is to remove the water. By letting them sit in their own juices you are defeating the purpose (unless you are making wet-cured bacon). Every recipe I have found for dry-cure sets up the meat so that any liquid that comes out of the meat due to the action of the salt & sugar, drains away.

All the bacon is then cold-smoked heavily for up to a week.

This is supposed to yield a bacon that needs no refrigeration, much like the old-fashioned bacon of yester-year.