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Makin\' bacon...thanks y\'all

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vidalia1
vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
On the way home from the airport last Monday we stopped by Super H and bought a little over 6#'s of pork belly with the skin on. After a confab with FlaPoolman (thx Pat) I trimmed the skin off. I coated the bacon with Hi Mountain buckboard bacon cure and let it sit until last night. I turned it once a day. I started washing it off yesterday and rinsed it several times and let it sit over night in water.

Today I started the large and put in apple chunks (thx Anne & Del). I coated one piece in RichardFl (thx Richard) Indian River Pepper rub. I coated 2 pieces in pure Maine syrup (thx Julie & Neil). I cooked the bacon for 2 hours at 160 indirect and 2 hours at 190 until it reached 145 internal.

Anyway here are some before and after pics. I will slice it tomorrow eve so more pics to follow:

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So thanks to Pat, Julie, Anne & Richard oh and Dr Seuss (Doug) for bringing my Digi Q by this afternoon... ;):)
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  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
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    Nice looking cook. Sure that is not mislabeled boneless country ribs??
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  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
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    Could be...they are nice chunks of meat...I thought you meant the rub since Ginny combined so many together???
    ;)B):)
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  • Richard Fl
    Richard Fl Posts: 8,297
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    I have a new jug for your use and she is not allowed to mix it with anything else. However I think the mixture would have been a good rub on the bacon. LOL
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  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
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    looks great... dang.
    cold smoked 6 pounds of belly today. cured it with pink salts and a maple dry cure for a week. the smoke never got above 140/150, and the internal only got as high as 80. going to chill it and slice maybe thursday or so. made canadian bacon last week, which i hot smoked.

    9 pounds (before trimming) of loin. man. it all smells fantastic. the curing is transformative. i can get used to this.

    got a fresh ham coming. will be curing our ham for easter again this year....
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  • vidalia1
    vidalia1 Posts: 7,092
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    That all sounds great. I know mine smelled great. I love the smell of the apple chunks. I can't wait to try this bacon.
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
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    I been wanting to try to homecure a ham,any tips?
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  • Cheesegghead
    Cheesegghead Posts: 42
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    I have been buying whole hogs from a local farmer the past couple years and doing all the butchering/processing myself. The most recent one I used Dizzy Pig's method as on the website. It worked Great! I modified the brine a bit for personal taste, used a little apple and orange juice. Make sure to use the cure as specified on the package as too much can be poisonous. :blink: I also cut each ham into thirds befoe brining. That way I don't have to cook up a 20 pound ham for our four person family. Give it a try, takes some time and effort but well worth it!
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  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
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    ah. well. i'm just following the michael ruhlman from the book "charcuterie", probably the single best book on food that i have gotten for myself.

    that, and third-eye held my hand via email last year the first time i did it. hahaha

    it's easily the best ham you'll ever have, even if you screw up. i was crunched for time, and had an inadequate amount of pink salts... so when i sliced it on easter, about three inches deep was ham, and the inner portion was pork roast. hahaha

    but it is just wonderful stuff, and fun to do. i dunno, the whole charcuterie thing just amazes me and has provided the most reward of almost anything since getting the bGE itself.
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
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    I have done a little Web research on it.My Grandpa used to do it but I was too young to get the grasp of what was goin on.I had no trouble eating it though.He had a REAL smokehouse,he would put the hams in a wooden box and cover them with some concoction,when he said they had "taken the cure" he would hang and smoke them.I have access to 2 walkin coolers that can be set to any temp I want,but I don't know how to control the humidity,which I should check into.Maybe I should talk to my HVAC man and get a Humidity controller.I could Dry age several tons of steak at once! :)
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
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    I'll give it a look.Thanks! :)
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  • Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker
    Humphrey Chimpden Earwicker Posts: 3,743
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    after i did the bellies today (cold smoke) i told my wife i could really get into doing a ton of them at once. pictures swimmin in my head of a smoke house out back. hahaha

    if you have one, man. could be fun
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  • Hoss
    Hoss Posts: 14,600
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    I can DAYUM sure build one! ;) It's been on my mind for a while.Already got the coolers if needed! :)
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  • EgginDawg
    EgginDawg Posts: 747
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    Hey, wait a minute. Didn't you say you were coming over and cooking me breakfast on Saturday? We'll be up by 9. :laugh:
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