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Shoulder Bacon

This was second time around making shoulder bacon. I had a two pack of bone-in butts in the freezer so I thawed them out and did my best (which was kind of ugly) at deboning. Then used the basic cure from Ruhlman's Charcuterie and threw in bags in fridge for 10 days. Then soaked in clean water in a stock pan for 36 hours changing the water twice. Dried in fridge for another 9 days which was a little longer than planned due to busy schedule but it didn't have any adverse effect on it. Smoked with Cherry to 140* IT. Sliced and vacuum sealed. Fried a little for breakfast yesterday morning and very happy with the results. Pictures start at point of resting in fridge after clean water soak.
LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
Columbus IN

Comments

  • That's a bunch of bacon! Glorious bacon! I'm curious how it fries up with so little fat.
  • Really well. The downside to it is that there are some pieces that have basically no fat at all. Those taste more like a canadian bacon but there are very few of those pieces. Most of it is fantastic. It is much easier and cheaper for me to source shoulder than uncured belly. I don't think I will even bother again. My family likes it better than store bought for sure.
    LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
    Columbus IN
  • Thanks. Belly is easy for me to source, but it is frozen and a little more expensive. I have some in the cure now. Will definitely try shoulder.
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,458
    Love it!  I have been using Ruhlman basic cure for shoulder and loin bacon as well, as you said easier to source, less fat and le$$ than belly.
    canuckland
  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,629
    Looks great! I have a loin in the cure now. I need to do another shoulder.

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

  • Thanks all!
    LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
    Columbus IN
  • minniemoh
    minniemoh Posts: 2,145
    @Egghead_Daron - I'm curious about your recipe and curing process. I just put some bacon in cure and the Ruhlman recipe I found said 7 days in cure, rinse, and cook or smoke. I'm guessing the purpose for the soak in fresh water was to reduce the saltiness? Also, any reason to go 10 days in cure, or is that a different recipe than the one I found? I have seen some dry overnight and then smoke but Ruhlman says you can go straight to the smoker too? 

    I'm certainly not questioning your method as your's looks fantastic! Just trying to be better informed as I dig into this process for the first time. Sorry for all the questions.
    L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
    eggAddict from MN!
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,458
    Sorry to butt in.  I also use the same Ruhlman basic cure and go 9-10 days, the rationale being shoulder and loin are generally thicker than belly.

    I also dry overnight or even longer if I'm busy before smoking but if you're tight for time, perhaps few hours will do, don't think it'll make a significant difference, would like to see what others think of this.
    canuckland
  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    minniemoh said:
    @Egghead_Daron - I'm curious about your recipe and curing process. I just put some bacon in cure and the Ruhlman recipe I found said 7 days in cure, rinse, and cook or smoke. I'm guessing the purpose for the soak in fresh water was to reduce the saltiness? Also, any reason to go 10 days in cure, or is that a different recipe than the one I found? I have seen some dry overnight and then smoke but Ruhlman says you can go straight to the smoker too? 

    I'm certainly not questioning your method as your's looks fantastic! Just trying to be better informed as I dig into this process for the first time. Sorry for all the questions.
    I have done shoulder bacon also with great success.  I choose the fattiest shoulder so it's more like regular bacon.  As for the cure time, the shoulder is thicker than belly, and you want to be sure the cure penetrates completely - with a shorter cure it might not.  Tastes just like bacon for sure, and you can't beat the price.
    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
  • I did purposely go longer in the cure just because of the thickness. Beyond that, there was no method to the madness. The 36 hours in the water was because that is when I got back to it. Then I intended to just let it dry for a day or two but time got away with kids schedules etc so it went longer. It just so happened to be 9 days later before I got it smoked. I don't have any brilliant secret or anything. If anything, I think it shows how easy the process is. You don't have to be exact with timing at all. As long as you don't cure it too little, I don't think you can mess it up.
    LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
    Columbus IN
  • Ruhlman's cures seem to turn out really salty for me. And I love salty food.

    I always soak after to tame it a little. I have found that an hour or 2 is plenty for me. 
    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • Canugghead
    Canugghead Posts: 11,458
    Ruhlman's cures seem to turn out really salty for me. And I love salty food.

    I always soak after to tame it a little. I have found that an hour or 2 is plenty for me. 
    This may be of interest to Canucks:

    I should clarify that since pink salt is hard to find in the GWN, I use Canada Compound's Ready Cure and follow the package label's dosage guide and not worry about salt since salt is already mixed in.  I then use Ruhlman's basic cure salt:sugar ratio to derive roughly the amount of sugar... turns out that by weight sugar is slightly less than Ready Cure. Since Ruhlman suggests more sugar as an option, I could have just put in same amount of sugar as Ready Cure by weight.

    We don't like too much salt. After curing I soak for couple of hours with water change halfway, comes out just right for us.
    canuckland
  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,629
    My 2 cents ..... I agree with all the above. It is better to go a day or two longer in the cure than go a day or two short. You can't really over cure but you can definitely under cure. Like Cen Tex the cure is to salty for me so I like to soak for an hour or two. I let it dry in the fridge for a day or sometimes two if I get busy. I usually just dredge the meat in the cure instead of measuring per pound. You waste a little but it's easier for me and I'm always afraid I'm not gonna get enough cure on the meat. With the dredge method there is no doubt. Hope this helps.

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

  • minniemoh
    minniemoh Posts: 2,145
    edited December 2014
    Sorry if I hijacked your thread @Egghead_Daron. By the way, thank you for providing the insight to your process.

    Since it seems we have a quorum of experienced bacon smokers here, do you all mind if I ask a few more questions? I've read so many threads I'm getting confused. I put 7.5 lbs of shoulder in the cure yesterday and I already had 5 lbs of belly in cure since Thurs so I have some time to sort things out a bit.

    Hot smoke? If so, why do you prefer?

    Cold smoke? Why? How long and type of smoke preferred?

    I have an A-maze-N smoker so I could do either way. I have blended apple pellets and 100% hickory pellets on hand.

    Thanks in advance for sharing your expertise.
    L x2, M, S, Mini and a Blackstone 36. She says I have enough now....
    eggAddict from MN!
  • shtgunal3
    shtgunal3 Posts: 5,629
    I prefer the hot smoke because in a sense you are cooking it as you smoke. It seems to me that the smoke gets deeper in the meat with a hot smoke. I go until an internal of 150.


    I too have the A-maze- N smoker. I don't know why but when I cold smoke the meat seems to take on a dirty smoke taste. Maybe I need to try it again now that I am more seasoned.

    ___________________________________

     

     LBGE,SBGE, and a Mini makes three......Sweet home Alabama........ Stay thirsty my friends .

  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    Ruhlman's cures seem to turn out really salty for me. And I love salty food.

    I always soak after to tame it a little. I have found that an hour or 2 is plenty for me. 
    Ruhlmans basic cure is about 2.5% salt (on the high side) and 1.1% sugar.  Here is a link to a cure calculator that you can use to work out your own cure, sweeter or saltier.  Of course the one thing that is not negotiable is the amount of pink curing salt.  
    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
  • I have the ANS too and used it a couple times for belly bacon. I have hot smoked both times with shoulder and I much prefer the flavor I got with it vs. the ANS. The ANS is awesome for a lot of things but I will stick to hot smoke for bacon.
    LBGE 2013, SBGE 2014, Mini 2015
    Columbus IN