How to Make Homemade Bacon - Recipe
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i need help with bacon so i tried to make bacon out of a wild boar it was a small one so i figured i would be ok because the rest of the meat teats good but when i tried to make the bacon it did not turn out i injected it as even as i could then let it sit over night in refrigerator in a haft brine then next morning i cooked using the walts cook time to 145 internal and then cooled in a ice bath till internal got to under 100 then let it sit out for 2hrs and when i cooked it , it turned out bad it had right color but very salty and fat did not cook out ether what did i do wrong? does it mater what cut of meat i use? did i miss a step please let me no if you can help
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i need help with bacon so i tried to make bacon out of a wild boar it was a small one so i figured i would be ok because the rest of the meat teats good but when i tried to make the bacon it did not turn out i injected it as even as i could then let it sit over night in refrigerator in a haft brine then next morning i cooked using the walts cook time to 145 internal and then cooled in a ice bath till internal got to under 100 then let it sit out for 2hrs and when i cooked it , it turned out bad it had right color but very salty and fat did not cook out ether what did i do wrong? does it mater what cut of meat i use? did i miss a step please let me no if you can help
KARLHEIDOLPH What cure and how much of it did you use? What was the weight of the belly before you injected it? It could be a combination of any of these things. From what else you said your process sounds good so I dont think it was anything to do with that. There can be some problems when making bacon from wild hogs as they rarely have enough fat content to make proper bacon, so that might have been an issue as well.
Let me know about the cure and I will see what I can figure out!
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KARLHEIDOLPH What cure and how much of it did you use? What was the weight of the belly before you injected it? It could be a combination of any of these things. From what else you said your process sounds good so I dont think it was anything to do with that. There can be some problems when making bacon from wild hogs as they rarely have enough fat content to make proper bacon, so that might have been an issue as well.
Let me know about the cure and I will see what I can figure out!
I used the maple bacon cure and the bacon booster I used 1 pound to a gallon of water it distilled and I used 3oz of booster the water was at frigerator temperature the start weight was 4 lb and I injected it till it got 8 pounds or very close to it it wieghed 7.5 lb when I let it sit overnight I did like they said and I covered it up with the left over solution I am wandering it it was that there was not enuff fat like you said let me now if that sounds s right
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I used the maple bacon cure and the bacon booster I used 1 pound to a gallon of water it distilled and I used 3oz of booster the water was at frigerator temperature the start weight was 4 lb and I injected it till it got 8 pounds or very close to it it wieghed 7.5 lb when I let it sit overnight I did like they said and I covered it up with the left over solution I am wandering it it was that there was not enuff fat like you said let me now if that sounds s right
KARLHEIDOLPH That’s the issue, if your bacon was 4 lb you should have pumped it to 4.4 lb and it sounds like you added almost 3.5 lb to the belly. I am surprised you got the belly to take that much of the solution without it all leaking back out. The rest of your process sounds like it was correct but just injected too much cure into it!
Let us know if you need anything else.
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bart Yes, you can use Blue Ribbon Maple Bacon Cure if you are vacuum tumbling, it is formulated for tumbling or injecting. Since it has sodium erythorbate included you do not need to add any, and you can go directly from Vacuum Tumbling to the smokehouse. If you want to hold it overnight that is fine as well but straight to the smokehouse after tumbling will work.
When Vacuum Tumbling I would recommend you use Bacon Taste Booster as it helps impart an old world taste when using modern curing methods.
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I swear I purchased some bacon cure from you a few years ago, that I need now… that you don’t use water. I thought you put the cure on the bacon, let it sit for a few days then wash it off and smoke. Does this not exist anymore?
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lilbitinnd Absolutely, it is Dry Rub Bacon Cure and you can buy it in 5 lb bags. If you need any instructions the “how to” video is here https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/800/cured-whole-muscle-meat-104-bacon-basics
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Hi. First time i tried to make the imitation bacon recipe and it turned out really brittle after smoking it. I used 50% venison and 50% pork butt. I let it cure 24 hours before smoking it. I smoked it at 150 for 2 hours then 180 for 4 hours until an internal temperature of 160 was reached. The only step I missed was adding water to the meat. The taste is TERRIFIC though! Is there any other suggestions you might have so it doesn’t turn out so brittle. It practically falls apart into bits when I slice it.
Thank you.
Ken Sigurdson -
Siggy Yeah, if you didn’t add any water and you used 50/50 pork to venison then I can see that happening. Your fat content was probably 15% at best and the lack of water would make it brittle. Next time try adding more pork fat and add some water plus a binder like Carrot Fiber or even better Sure Gel and those should fix your issues! Also, if you can’t find just pork fat you will still be okay with the 50/50 mix but it is on the low end of fat so it does need that water.
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Siggy https://meatgistics.waltonsinc.com/topic/811/additive-conversion-chart has brealkdowns for both of those in 1 and 5 lb batches Sure gel will get a better bind but it is more expensive.
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Siggy I agree with Jonathan about using Sure Gel. I haven’t used carrot fiber in imitation bacon, but have made it with and without sure gel and binder products. Sure gel gets my products.
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I purchased a hog from a butcher and they delivered ‘fresh side’ which was belly cut into strips, uncured, unprocessed. I would like to turn this into bacon but find very little info on how to brine belly that has already been cut into strips, turning it into bacon. I have smokers, dehydrators, press, mixer, everything needed but the ‘know how’ Help please.
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How thick are the strips? It is going to make a difference in how long you let it cure for as it won’t have as much meat to go through.
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ratman6 Oof that’s gonna be fast curing. Figure 1/2 inch of penetration per 24 hours on whole muscle cuts and you’ve got 1/4 of that so figure 12 maybe 15 hours?
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ratman6 Oof that’s gonna be fast curing. Figure 1/2 inch of penetration per 24 hours on whole muscle cuts and you’ve got 1/4 of that so figure 12 maybe 15 hours?
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