How I make my bacon.
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kyle Yes, maybe it’s the “easy way out”. But, your method cuts out the middle man. I’m liking your theory because I’m restrained with available space. Is your store a restaurant supply house? I like the way you think
zbigjeff one more thing is if your local grocery store has the boxes of “ends and pieces” that are usually pretty cheap, I put foil down on my grates, poke a bunch of holes in it and spread the bacon pieces out and smoke them. They are nice to have around to add to your beans, spaghetti, or any other dish you like to add bacon to.
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To figure out the amount of cure, salt and sugar I use this cure calculator
http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html
You just enter the weight of the meat and the calculator gives you the correct amount of cure needed. I usually buy a whole pork belly (around 11-12 lbs. and I cut it in 1/2. I weigh each piece and then use the calculator. I change the amount of salt on the calculator from 2% to 3% (personal preference) . I also change the amount of sugar from 1% to 3% (again personal preference). When I get the amount of sugar needed I weigh 1/2 of the amount needed and use regular sugar and the remaining 1/2 of the sugar weight I use maple sugar (not maple syrup). Once I have all the ingredients weighed I mix them throughly. I then lightly coat the pork belly with maple syrup and I then evenly apply the cure mixture to both side of the pork belly including the sides. It should be noted that the pork belly I use does not have the skin on. If the pork belly you use has the skin on then I would put the majority of the mixture on the skin side and just lightly coat the skin side as the cure has a hard time penetrating the skin. Once I have coated the pork belly with the cure mixture I apply a heavy dose of coarse black pepper and then another coating of maple syrup to the pork belly. Once the pork belly is fully coated in place it into a large zip lock bag and I then place that bag into another zip lock bag to prevent any leakage if the first bag should leak.
The bags are then placed into the fridge in a tray for 14 days. Most web sites state 7-10 days but I do it for 14. I flip the bags every 3 days making sure that whatever liquid is in the bag stays around the meat.
After 14 days I remove the pork belly from the bag and thoroughly rinse off the cure mixture. Once the cure is rinsed off I pat it dry and apply a coat of black pepper. I then place the pork belly on a wire rack in a tray and then I put it back into the fridge over night to dry.
The next day I start my smoker at 100 degrees and hang my pork belly in the smoker to dry for an hour. After the hour has passed I bump up the temperature to 130 with what ever wood I want to use. I use a mix of apple and hickory. After 2 hours I bump up the temperature to 160 and let the pork belly cook until the internal temperature of the pork belly is 145.
When the pork belly reaches 145 degrees I remove it from the smoker and place it on a wire rack to cool down at room temperature. Once the pork belly is cool I wrap it in plastic wrap and place it back in the fridge for a day or two to let the smoke do it’s thing. Something of note if the pork belly you used has the skin on it now is the time to remove it. It’s much easier to cut the skin off when the pork belly is warm then it is when cold.
After it’s been in the fridge for the day or two I slice it up and package it into 1lb. batches.John Belvedere Good recipe. It’s always good to see how others go through the process. Thanks
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Dr_Pain said in How I make my bacon.:
Bacon is on my to-do list!!! I will bookmark this for sure
The recipe I follow is just one of many bacon formulas. There are many others out there that are excellent. Once you do make your own bacon it’s very hard to go back to commercially made bacon. When I do run out of my own bacon I have two family run butches near me that mange a very good product. If you have any questions on my procedure or any other questions please feel free to reach out.
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Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
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Dr_Pain I plan on giving it a try soon, maybe when hunting season comes to a close.
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Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
PapaSop said in How I make my bacon.:
Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
Is that $5.99 for raw pork belly? I picked up my last pork belly at Costco for $3.99 lb. and I thought that was expensive.
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zbigjeff one more thing is if your local grocery store has the boxes of “ends and pieces” that are usually pretty cheap, I put foil down on my grates, poke a bunch of holes in it and spread the bacon pieces out and smoke them. They are nice to have around to add to your beans, spaghetti, or any other dish you like to add bacon to.
kyle You should stop talking “dirty” like THAT!!! You just kicked my salivary glands into hyper drive.
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To figure out the amount of cure, salt and sugar I use this cure calculator
http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html
You just enter the weight of the meat and the calculator gives you the correct amount of cure needed. I usually buy a whole pork belly (around 11-12 lbs. and I cut it in 1/2. I weigh each piece and then use the calculator. I change the amount of salt on the calculator from 2% to 3% (personal preference) . I also change the amount of sugar from 1% to 3% (again personal preference). When I get the amount of sugar needed I weigh 1/2 of the amount needed and use regular sugar and the remaining 1/2 of the sugar weight I use maple sugar (not maple syrup). Once I have all the ingredients weighed I mix them throughly. I then lightly coat the pork belly with maple syrup and I then evenly apply the cure mixture to both side of the pork belly including the sides. It should be noted that the pork belly I use does not have the skin on. If the pork belly you use has the skin on then I would put the majority of the mixture on the skin side and just lightly coat the skin side as the cure has a hard time penetrating the skin. Once I have coated the pork belly with the cure mixture I apply a heavy dose of coarse black pepper and then another coating of maple syrup to the pork belly. Once the pork belly is fully coated in place it into a large zip lock bag and I then place that bag into another zip lock bag to prevent any leakage if the first bag should leak.
The bags are then placed into the fridge in a tray for 14 days. Most web sites state 7-10 days but I do it for 14. I flip the bags every 3 days making sure that whatever liquid is in the bag stays around the meat.
After 14 days I remove the pork belly from the bag and thoroughly rinse off the cure mixture. Once the cure is rinsed off I pat it dry and apply a coat of black pepper. I then place the pork belly on a wire rack in a tray and then I put it back into the fridge over night to dry.
The next day I start my smoker at 100 degrees and hang my pork belly in the smoker to dry for an hour. After the hour has passed I bump up the temperature to 130 with what ever wood I want to use. I use a mix of apple and hickory. After 2 hours I bump up the temperature to 160 and let the pork belly cook until the internal temperature of the pork belly is 145.
When the pork belly reaches 145 degrees I remove it from the smoker and place it on a wire rack to cool down at room temperature. Once the pork belly is cool I wrap it in plastic wrap and place it back in the fridge for a day or two to let the smoke do it’s thing. Something of note if the pork belly you used has the skin on it now is the time to remove it. It’s much easier to cut the skin off when the pork belly is warm then it is when cold.
After it’s been in the fridge for the day or two I slice it up and package it into 1lb. batches.John Belvedere great post. Thanks for that since I’m still new to makin bacon.
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PapaSop said in How I make my bacon.:
Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
Is that $5.99 for raw pork belly? I picked up my last pork belly at Costco for $3.99 lb. and I thought that was expensive.
John Belvedere said in How I make my bacon.:
PapaSop said in How I make my bacon.:
Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
Is that $5.99 for raw pork belly? I picked up my last pork belly at Costco for $3.99 lb. and I thought that was expensive.
Yep. Thought that was a little high.
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PapaSop said in How I make my bacon.:
Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
Is that $5.99 for raw pork belly? I picked up my last pork belly at Costco for $3.99 lb. and I thought that was expensive.
John Belvedere said in How I make my bacon.:
PapaSop said in How I make my bacon.:
Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
Is that $5.99 for raw pork belly? I picked up my last pork belly at Costco for $3.99 lb. and I thought that was expensive.
DANG!!! At that price I may want ground meat
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John Belvedere said in How I make my bacon.:
PapaSop said in How I make my bacon.:
Been thinking about trying bacon for awhile now. What’s a good price? Found some locally for 5.99lb. I know this will vary greatly.
Is that $5.99 for raw pork belly? I picked up my last pork belly at Costco for $3.99 lb. and I thought that was expensive.
Yep. Thought that was a little high.
PapaSop that is plain crazy.
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I use this calculator also. The calculator can be used for both dry and wet brining. You just have to weigh out both the meat and the amount of water that you are going to use. Use the combined weight as the weight of meat. The nice thing about the calculator is that you can change the percentage of both salt and sugar to suit your taste. Once you have the salt and sugar to your liking you can repeat the results time after time. This is an equilibrium cure and once the bacon reaches equilibrium it will not get saltier. I have let bacon cure for 20 plus days and it tasted the same as bacon cured for 14 days. One thing to consider while you are making your choice of brine is does anything you are adding to the basic cure contain salt or sugar. The additional salt and sugar will change the calculations. I do several types of bacon using this calculator. I use the basic calculations and add a coffee scoop of Black Rifle Coffee to the brine. I vacuum pack belly and cure and add a couple of ice cubes to the bag. The ice cubes will add enough moisture to the bag to sort of kick start the process. They also let you pull vacuum on the bag without sucking the water into the vacuum chamber. I also do a Sweet Heat cure. The sweet heat rub has both salt and sugar in it so I reduce the salt and sugar calculations by a small amount. When the weather here is cool enough I cold smoke the bacon using a smoke tube. I usually do this over 3 days. I pull the bacon out of the smoker at night and put it a zip lock and then into the refrigerator and repeat the next day.
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I use this calculator also. The calculator can be used for both dry and wet brining. You just have to weigh out both the meat and the amount of water that you are going to use. Use the combined weight as the weight of meat. The nice thing about the calculator is that you can change the percentage of both salt and sugar to suit your taste. Once you have the salt and sugar to your liking you can repeat the results time after time. This is an equilibrium cure and once the bacon reaches equilibrium it will not get saltier. I have let bacon cure for 20 plus days and it tasted the same as bacon cured for 14 days. One thing to consider while you are making your choice of brine is does anything you are adding to the basic cure contain salt or sugar. The additional salt and sugar will change the calculations. I do several types of bacon using this calculator. I use the basic calculations and add a coffee scoop of Black Rifle Coffee to the brine. I vacuum pack belly and cure and add a couple of ice cubes to the bag. The ice cubes will add enough moisture to the bag to sort of kick start the process. They also let you pull vacuum on the bag without sucking the water into the vacuum chamber. I also do a Sweet Heat cure. The sweet heat rub has both salt and sugar in it so I reduce the salt and sugar calculations by a small amount. When the weather here is cool enough I cold smoke the bacon using a smoke tube. I usually do this over 3 days. I pull the bacon out of the smoker at night and put it a zip lock and then into the refrigerator and repeat the next day.
Idaho Smokey I really like that HACK of putting the ice cubes in the bag. That definitely will help keep the vac sealer clean. Thanks
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Here is another hack that I came up with when using smaller slicers. I started out with a 7.5 inch table top slicer and then upgraded to a 10 inch slicer, and now have a 12 inch. With the smaller slicers I couldn’t get a long enough carriage slide to cut a full width slice of bacon. I just let the slab of bacon sit out for a while to warm up and then rolled and tied it like a rolled roast. This actually made the 7.5 inch slicer overheat. The 10 inch handled it alright but did get a little warm. I got a heck of a deal on used Hobart 12" and haven’t looked back.
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Here is another hack that I came up with when using smaller slicers. I started out with a 7.5 inch table top slicer and then upgraded to a 10 inch slicer, and now have a 12 inch. With the smaller slicers I couldn’t get a long enough carriage slide to cut a full width slice of bacon. I just let the slab of bacon sit out for a while to warm up and then rolled and tied it like a rolled roast. This actually made the 7.5 inch slicer overheat. The 10 inch handled it alright but did get a little warm. I got a heck of a deal on used Hobart 12" and haven’t looked back.
Idaho Smokey I have an 8.7" and a 12", I use the smaller one most of the time but when I need it the 12" is nice to have.
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Here is another hack that I came up with when using smaller slicers. I started out with a 7.5 inch table top slicer and then upgraded to a 10 inch slicer, and now have a 12 inch. With the smaller slicers I couldn’t get a long enough carriage slide to cut a full width slice of bacon. I just let the slab of bacon sit out for a while to warm up and then rolled and tied it like a rolled roast. This actually made the 7.5 inch slicer overheat. The 10 inch handled it alright but did get a little warm. I got a heck of a deal on used Hobart 12" and haven’t looked back.
Idaho Smokey sir you are a wealth of information. Thank you
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To figure out the amount of cure, salt and sugar I use this cure calculator
http://www.diggingdogfarm.com/page2.html
You just enter the weight of the meat and the calculator gives you the correct amount of cure needed. I usually buy a whole pork belly (around 11-12 lbs. and I cut it in 1/2. I weigh each piece and then use the calculator. I change the amount of salt on the calculator from 2% to 3% (personal preference) . I also change the amount of sugar from 1% to 3% (again personal preference). When I get the amount of sugar needed I weigh 1/2 of the amount needed and use regular sugar and the remaining 1/2 of the sugar weight I use maple sugar (not maple syrup). Once I have all the ingredients weighed I mix them throughly. I then lightly coat the pork belly with maple syrup and I then evenly apply the cure mixture to both side of the pork belly including the sides. It should be noted that the pork belly I use does not have the skin on. If the pork belly you use has the skin on then I would put the majority of the mixture on the skin side and just lightly coat the skin side as the cure has a hard time penetrating the skin. Once I have coated the pork belly with the cure mixture I apply a heavy dose of coarse black pepper and then another coating of maple syrup to the pork belly. Once the pork belly is fully coated in place it into a large zip lock bag and I then place that bag into another zip lock bag to prevent any leakage if the first bag should leak.
The bags are then placed into the fridge in a tray for 14 days. Most web sites state 7-10 days but I do it for 14. I flip the bags every 3 days making sure that whatever liquid is in the bag stays around the meat.
After 14 days I remove the pork belly from the bag and thoroughly rinse off the cure mixture. Once the cure is rinsed off I pat it dry and apply a coat of black pepper. I then place the pork belly on a wire rack in a tray and then I put it back into the fridge over night to dry.
The next day I start my smoker at 100 degrees and hang my pork belly in the smoker to dry for an hour. After the hour has passed I bump up the temperature to 130 with what ever wood I want to use. I use a mix of apple and hickory. After 2 hours I bump up the temperature to 160 and let the pork belly cook until the internal temperature of the pork belly is 145.
When the pork belly reaches 145 degrees I remove it from the smoker and place it on a wire rack to cool down at room temperature. Once the pork belly is cool I wrap it in plastic wrap and place it back in the fridge for a day or two to let the smoke do it’s thing. Something of note if the pork belly you used has the skin on it now is the time to remove it. It’s much easier to cut the skin off when the pork belly is warm then it is when cold.
After it’s been in the fridge for the day or two I slice it up and package it into 1lb. batches.John Belvedere Thanks for sharing your process. I’ve never tried the maple sugar but will on the next batch. Sounds great.
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yep , i’m bookmarking this
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This curing method can be used for regular belly or “Side bacon” made from pork belly, Canadian (also known as back bacon or peameal bacon) made from pork loin, buckboard bacon made from pork butt. I have done all of these over the years. I have heard that it can be used to do bacon from beef and venison. I would think that it could be used to cure corned beef and pastrami. One thing I have found is that when you add additional seasonings like my Black rifle coffee bacon or sweet heat bacon the flavors turn out very subtle. I was on a bacon making forum where people were adding lots of different things to their bacon cures. Things like ground jalapeno’s and salsa’s but weren’t happy with the outcome because it was a subtle flavor addition. I did get an Excel program that was posted on the forum. This is a very handy and printable spread sheet using the Equilibrium Cure method. I don’t know if I can post it here so I will hold off until I get some feed back on this.
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