another batch of loin bacon

TonyA

Great looking bacon guys.

I'm going to throw my hat in the loin conversation here, because the loin muscle has quite a transformation from one end to the other.  If you look at Canugghead's packaged pictures, the change in the bacon is vast.

On the one end is the Sirloin - usually sold as a roughly 2.5lb roast.  I like to tie these for small 'hams'.  They are of medium, even marbling.  

From there, you get center loin and center rib cuts. The loin muscle is very lean with a small handle of fat and much smaller muscles on the handle. Rib chops typically have a band of darker muscle surrounding the loin - not unlike a thin deckle.

Then, there is the rib end.  As far as loin bacon is concerned - this is where mama keeps the cookies.  The loin and other muscles are much closer in size with good intramuscular fat.

BigWader

TonyA said:

Great looking bacon guys.

I'm going to throw my hat in the loin conversation here, because the loin muscle has quite a transformation from one end to the other.  If you look at Canugghead's packaged pictures, the change in the bacon is vast.

On the one end is the Sirloin - usually sold as a roughly 2.5lb roast.  I like to tie these for small 'hams'.  They are of medium, even marbling.  

From there, you get center loin and center rib cuts. The loin muscle is very lean with a small handle of fat and much smaller muscles on the handle. Rib chops typically have a band of darker muscle surrounding the loin - not unlike a thin deckle.

Then, there is the rib end.  As far as loin bacon is concerned - this is where mama keeps the cookies.  The loin and other muscles are much closer in size with good intramuscular fat.

Great comments Tony. Obviously you have more than a passing interest in meat cuts. Sort of by accident I followed your description with the first cuts taken used for lunch s this week like ham and subsequent slices getting more marbled for breakfast meats. Next time I will try and get chops from the middle section and save all the rib end for breakfast bacon.

I can't wait for Eggs Benny this weekend

BigWader

@Canugghead - here is the recipe that I followed. 

4 quarts filtered water

1 Cup white sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar

3/4 Cup Sea Salt

2 oz. Cure #1 (Pink Salt)

6 Fresh Thyme Sprigs

2 Fresh Leafy stems Tarragon

6 Garlic Cloves Smashed

1 small cooking onion chopped coarsely

1 Lemon quartered and juice squished into brine

6 Bay Leaves

1 tbsp. pickling spice

1 star anise broken

2 tbsp. whole peppercorns

1 tbsp. juniper berries crushed

1 1/2 Tablespoons whole Allspice

2 Tablespoons Whole black Peppercorns

8 # whole pork loin

I boiled the everything in 2 quarts of water then added the remainder to chill it down before putting in fridge the night before I tackled the meat

I injected the loins all over with strained brine to ensure a full cure in 7 days.  The pumped loins went into the brine and were weighted down for the week.

I test fried a piece on day 7 and felt it didn't need to be soaked to remove salt.  It sat about 30 hours in the fridge before smoking.  It took 6 hours to smoke at 200 (I bumped the temp to 225 after 4.5 hours and 250 after 5.5 hours)

Canugghead

Thanks so much @BigWader for taking the care and trouble to share, it's bookmarked.