Making Bacon

[docdix]

Hi I am new to the forum and my goodness that bacon looks excellent!

I have a question: Personally I have no qualms about eating cured meats and the pink salt doesn't bother me at all. But with people being so health conscious and shying away from Sod. Ni and all, would there be a difference in taste omitting the pink salt from the recipe? It seems that people are more receptive these days to "nitrite-less" foods.

thanks

[nickrey]

I have a question: Personally I have no qualms about eating cured meats and the pink salt doesn't bother me at all. But with people being so health conscious and shying away from Sod. Ni and all, would there be a difference in taste omitting the pink salt from the recipe? It seems that people are more receptive these days to "nitrite-less" foods.

thanks

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I have only done the bacon with the sodium nitrite, which tastes exactly like what I think bacon should be, only many times better than the store bought product.

A lot of people (see above) use less sodium nitrite than the recipes call for but removing it completely means that you will get salted, smoked pork belly with a few flavorings.

To my mind, this would not really be bacon.

[Tela T]

New to this post as well, and curious - we just got 62 lbs of pork from a friend who raised their own - and as part of our 'cut' we got loads of fat meat - now, I'm not afraid to use this for cooking vegetables - but I don't think that I could ever eat that many collards or butterbeans in my life! So, any suggestions - on what I might be able to do with it? smoke/cure it - render it down to make lard to get great pie crusts - any suggestions where else I might like in the egullet community for ideas??

Thanks!

[Chris Amirault]

Can you say a bit more what you mean by "fat meat"? Is it the fat cap from a butt or shoulder? Or belly? Or...?

[Tela T]

I should have said, Fat back - and I'm going to conclude that it's all from the back pig - we got everything frozen and I didn't even open the packages (there are at least 6 packs at about a 1/2 lb each) - making lard...?

[Chris Amirault]

Yup: lard is good, and having extra back fat around for sausages is a great thing.

[Tela T]

Ah, didn't think of that - sausages - and I've asked for a heavy-duty meat grinder for my birthday!!!

[MikeHartnett]

Has anyone cured pork in miso? I just saw a tub of miso in the fridge and it occurred to me that it's appropriately salty, and quite tasty, and would probably make an interesting "bacon."

Edited to remove a fantastic joke about mathematical theory, among other things...

Edited February 27, 2009 by MikeHartnett (log)

[randallrosa]

I've come across a great technique that came from me over curing my belly-

I started from the book's recipe for smoked bacon, but I was consistently getting salty bacon

(even reducing my cure to 5 days). I assume that Im using too much initial cure- which Ill reduce dramatically next time.

After rinsing the cure (which Ill scrub off next time) off I dried for 12-24 hours, and then low temp smoking (175F cherry/apple for about 3 hours or 150F internal).

It was too salty so I soaked the slab for about 1-2 hours in ice cold water- Which pulled a lot of a salt out.

I then dried it off and put it into a sweet brine (50% brown sugar, 50% salt, and pepper) over night.

Next day I dried it off and let it dry out in the fridge for a couple of hours.

I then smoked it again (about 200F this time for about 2 hours until 150F internal) which helped carmelized the outside more.

The result it complex layering to sugar, salt and smoke. It really brought out the wonderful Berkshire flavors - which it didnt have even when it was too salty.

Anyway, anyone with a little patience, I recommend it!

Randall

[thdad]

I've got a question after reading through this tasty thread. I live in an apartment where smoking is completely out of the question.

I was wondering if I could mix in some liquid hickory smoke during the brining process to impart the smoky flavor? Of course, it's not the perfect solution, but it's the best that I can do in my current environment.

[MikeHartnett]

I've got a question after reading through this tasty thread.  I live in an apartment where smoking is completely out of the question.

I was wondering if I could mix in some liquid hickory smoke during the brining process to impart the smoky flavor?  Of course, it's not the perfect solution, but it's the best that I can do in my current environment.

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Never tried it, but for what it's worth, I caught a minute or two of that stupid Food Detectives show on Food Network, and they showed that taste-testers couldn't distinguish between actual smoke and liquid. How valid that is among people who know what they're talking about, I'm not sure. I'm also not sure how it would affect the meat longer-term.

[Andrew Fenton]

I don't know one way or the other about liquid smoke. Certainly there are commercial bacons that use it, and while those bacons mostly suck, that's not to say you couldn't do better. So it might be worth a try.

But I'll point out that there are smoking options available for apartment dwellers: stovetop smokers (I have a Cameron) and smoking bags, to name two. They're not the same as smoking in an outdoor rig, but neither is liquid smoke, is it?

Also, unsmoked bacon is also very good. If you've never made bacon before, you might give that a try.

[OliverB]

I agree with the unsmoked bacon! I made my first batch recently and don't have a smoker (mainly because I can't decide between a Bradely and a Trager) and it was too cold and rainy outside to use the weber. The bacon came out fantastic and I too will not ever buy bacon again in a store. I have several Asian markets here that sell belly and can also order it at Whole Foods or a meat market (though I have to buy a whole one most likely). I made a savory brine with fresh rosemary, garlic and bay leaf, some crushed pepper. Can't wait to make the next batch but the fridge if full with 8lb veal bones for stock and the freezer has a duck in it that I first need to take care of this weekend :-)

As for liquid smoke, I read there are artificial ones and there are ones that are basically smoked water. The later is the one you want to use but with care, it's extremely strong. Fun stuff though, as you can add smoke to things that you could not possibly smoke. Just don't overdo it or it'll taste like eating from a fire pit after it rained.

[OliverB]

Hi, I just cured a bacon which I intend to smoke on the bbq (a first try). Now, I know it's good to have it dry a bit to form a "skin" that will help the smoke adhere better, but I can't find the reference. How long do I have to leave it open in the fridge? I have to smoke it tomorrow, will that be enough time?

Thanks!

Oliver

[infernooo]

Hi, I just cured a bacon which I intend to smoke on the bbq (a first try). Now, I know it's good to have it dry a bit to form a "skin" that will help the smoke adhere better, but I can't find the reference. How long do I have to leave it open in the fridge? I have to smoke it tomorrow, will that be enough time?

Thanks!

Oliver

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The pellicle? Yes overnight will suffice !

[OliverB]

Ah, thanks, that was the word I could not think of and thus not search for! Great :-)

[ElsieD]

How are you planning to use your BBQ to smoke the bacon? What kind of wood are you going to use for the smoke?

[Florida]

Does anyone have any experience using Morton Tender Quick to cure bacon?

Basically this is a pre-mixed dry cure mixture containing salt, sugar, 0.5% sodium nitrate and 0.5% sodium nitrite. The package says to cure for 4-8 hours, yet most bacon recipes call for curing for several days. In running the percentages against Ruhlman's basic dry cure recipe, the percentages aren't all that far off.

[nickrey]

How are you planning to use your BBQ to smoke the bacon?  What kind of wood are you going to use for the smoke?

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I use my Weber BBQ with a low heat indirect fire and soaked hickory wood chips -- the product is delicious.

[OliverB]

I also just smoked my 2nd bacon (first one I just roasted) in my Weber, worked out great! I was not sure how far I could control the heat, but I managed to keep it around 200F with little problem. I lit 8 briquettes off to one side, then covered them with wet Hickory chips and put the bacon on the other side. I had to add a couple more coals over time and went through quite some wood chips, but the outcome is fantastic. Very dark, smells like a mountain hut in Austria and is super delicious, smoky, moist, just great. I sliced some thinly and chopped it up a bit, put that over some thinly cut tri tip steak I put on the bbq later, made a kind of de-constructed bbq bacon cheese burger.

Some pictures:

The bacon fresh from the smoker

and sliced

It probably took between 2 and 3 hrs to get up to an internal temp of F 150.

I had to play with the vents a bit, I kept the top ones open just about the whole time, I closed the bottom ones a bit when it got too hot in there and also used a water spritzer to cool the fire off at times. Pretty easy, you just can't venture far away from the bbq. I preserved some lemons and kumquats at the same time.

Fun stuff :-)

Oh, bacon is made per Ruhlman's Charcuterie book

[snowangel]

I also just smoked my 2nd bacon (first one I just roasted) in my Weber, worked out great!

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What kind of Weber? Kettle? (I can only hope!) Or Bullet?

[nickrey]

I also just smoked my 2nd bacon (first one I just roasted) in my Weber, worked out great!

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What kind of Weber? Kettle? (I can only hope!) Or Bullet?

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Kettle

[OliverB]

just my regular weber grill, worked out pretty well. Just not something you can set and forget, I'd rather not use it for some really long smoke session, but I found it pretty easy to keep the temp around F 200.

It turned out delicious, I can't wait for lunch time, as I'm gonna have some of it again :-) Then I'll probably freeze the rest.

[prasantrin]

All of the recipes I've found for making bacon ask for skin-on pork belly which is very difficult for me to get.

Would it be so bad if I used pork belly without skin? Are there any changes I would need to make the recipe?

I'm planning on using this one http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Home-Cured-Bacon

[nickrey]

All of the recipes I've found for making bacon ask for skin-on pork belly which is very difficult for me to get.

Would it be so bad if I used pork belly without skin?  Are there any changes I would need to make the recipe? 

I'm planning on using this one http://www.saveur.com/article/Food/Home-Cured-Bacon

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My suspicion is that the main difference will be in the cooking rather than in the curing.

The skin provides a layer that protects the fat and stops it from rendering down in heat as much as it would without it.

The skin does not typically become crackling but it does change texture significantly in the cooking process. Without it, the heat would be applied directly to the fat.

The skin is removed prior to slicing the bacon, which leaves the fat that you see on the side of rashers of bacon. This is a central contributor to the cooked taste of bacon.

Without the skin, you could probably expect to lose much of the fat or have it rendered similar to that seen on a cooked pork cutlet. When cooked subsequently, it would not behave in the same way as conventional bacon fat.

If you are stuck with pork belly without skin, perhaps you could try lowering the cooking temperature and cooking for a longer period (still reaching the recommended core temperature)?