Bacon Experiments
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DougSmokes I’ve got a legitimate problem on my hands here…since I last posted about this I have made 3 full batches of jerky with different seasonings!!! The Buttery Garlic was amazing as well and your concoction sounds amazing. The only downside is the fat is a little chewy (ok ok a lot chewy) but the feeling of it melting as soon as you bite into it is worth it! My suggestion would be to take small bites.
Glad other people are gonna try this! It’s almost like making a piece of weird charcuterie but in just a few hours!
Jonathon Ha,Ha. Now I’ve got someone to blame !!!
Took another 2 hours in the oven at 190*, but they came out perfect, not chewy at all like your experiencing for some reason. It actually snaps like a SlimJim. I gave up on the dehydrator after 7 hours @ 165* setting. Meat topped out at 145* after 6 hours, almost like a brisket. The oven did the trick though. May have been the thick cut bacon…? What did you use?
I was a little disappointed with the heat, next time Ghost pepper powder
Here are the done pics.
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DougSmokes We also did some straight in the oven just like normal bacon but we sprinkled seasoning shakers on it and it was amazing. You can get to that crispy level without the dehydrator if you want! Glad it came out well but not surprised the heat mostly disappeared, ghost pepper powder will help a little but with such a dry product it might still cut down the heat a significant amount.
Do you think there was a difference in going from dehydrator to the oven other than starting out in the oven? Should i try it?!
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
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DougSmokes We also did some straight in the oven just like normal bacon but we sprinkled seasoning shakers on it and it was amazing. You can get to that crispy level without the dehydrator if you want! Glad it came out well but not surprised the heat mostly disappeared, ghost pepper powder will help a little but with such a dry product it might still cut down the heat a significant amount.
Do you think there was a difference in going from dehydrator to the oven other than starting out in the oven? Should i try it?!
Jonathon Have you tried this with beef bacon?
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DougSmokes We also did some straight in the oven just like normal bacon but we sprinkled seasoning shakers on it and it was amazing. You can get to that crispy level without the dehydrator if you want! Glad it came out well but not surprised the heat mostly disappeared, ghost pepper powder will help a little but with such a dry product it might still cut down the heat a significant amount.
Do you think there was a difference in going from dehydrator to the oven other than starting out in the oven? Should i try it?!
Jonathon I usually do my muscle meat and ground jerky on the dehydrator with no issues. 6 hours, done. My thought with the bacon, is the issue may be the fat in the bacon. I plan to do this again with regular bacon both ways to see which is better. I would think that doing it all in the over should work. Just cheating a bit, like a Traeger…
(Which I soon plan to buy !) -
Tex_77 I like that idea !!! Or turkey ?
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DougSmokes Yes, the issue is 100% the bacon fat, the lean doesn’t get chewy at all but I feel like I’m not selling this well enough somehow. The fat is the best part! You bite into it and it just melts, its awesome…but then it doesnt melt all the way and gets chewy, so take small bites.
Ive tried thin cut, thick cut and regular and regular is the best in my mind.
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
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Tex_77 Haven’t tried with anything other than pork yet. Beef could work well I would imagine? DougSmokes So turkey bacon is restructured and made like we did here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkarprCyccw and I would be interested to seeing what happens if you added it during the mix?
My worries are specifically with the Salt & Vinegar as it could make it overly salty and the vinegar could denature the proteins and make the binding process tough but adding any shaker during this process could cause issues. Probably just make it regular and sprinkle on the seasoning at the end.
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DougSmokes Yes, the issue is 100% the bacon fat, the lean doesn’t get chewy at all but I feel like I’m not selling this well enough somehow. The fat is the best part! You bite into it and it just melts, its awesome…but then it doesnt melt all the way and gets chewy, so take small bites.
Ive tried thin cut, thick cut and regular and regular is the best in my mind.
This post is deleted! -
I did another batch this morning. I wanted our customer service and a few select other people to try this to see how good it was! After I was done I took the pH and the water activity and it was 6.01 ph on Cinnamon Toast and 5.15 with Salt & Vinegar, the water activity was .48 though, so the pH is pretty much a moot point, these were shelf stable.
So, I did this by sprinkling seasoning on both sides and then putting it in the dehydrator for 5 hours at 160°. I rotated the trays from top to bottom twice and one time I flipped the pieces of bacon, probably didnt need to do it but I figured why not?
What this gives you is a piece of bacon that is ready to eat at any time that still has some nice moisture to it, it doesnt overly dry it out. Now, take SMALL bites. The initial bite into it is awesome the fat practically explodes and you get a huge amount of flavor, take small bites though because once you bite into the fat and get that awesome flavor it gets more than a bit chewy!
Get more help with your processing questions and learn more about processing meat by subscribing to our waltonsinc.com youtube page at https://wltns.link/waltonstv I am a Gorilla, love yourself
-
DougSmokes Yes, the issue is 100% the bacon fat, the lean doesn’t get chewy at all but I feel like I’m not selling this well enough somehow. The fat is the best part! You bite into it and it just melts, its awesome…but then it doesnt melt all the way and gets chewy, so take small bites.
Ive tried thin cut, thick cut and regular and regular is the best in my mind.
Jonathon You don’t need to sell me/us bro. We’re all quirky scientists in our own right willing to share what we find. And that’s what makes us family
If I may, by just joining… -
I did another batch this morning. I wanted our customer service and a few select other people to try this to see how good it was! After I was done I took the pH and the water activity and it was 6.01 ph on Cinnamon Toast and 5.15 with Salt & Vinegar, the water activity was .48 though, so the pH is pretty much a moot point, these were shelf stable.
So, I did this by sprinkling seasoning on both sides and then putting it in the dehydrator for 5 hours at 160°. I rotated the trays from top to bottom twice and one time I flipped the pieces of bacon, probably didnt need to do it but I figured why not?
What this gives you is a piece of bacon that is ready to eat at any time that still has some nice moisture to it, it doesnt overly dry it out. Now, take SMALL bites. The initial bite into it is awesome the fat practically explodes and you get a huge amount of flavor, take small bites though because once you bite into the fat and get that awesome flavor it gets more than a bit chewy!
Jonathon Exactly where my science brain went…
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If you made a batch of venison bacon using ground meat you smoke that to 155 anyway then dehydrate it with some other seasoning might be worth a try.
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Riley Renwick I should hsve some more venison to play with here soon so I will give that a try!
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