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Bacon Tastes Like Ham

QDude
QDude Posts: 1,066
in EggHead Forum
I did my first bacon using the maple recipe in the Charcuterie book.  It came out OK but tastes like ham.  Has anyone else had this happen?  Maybe I screwed up something.

Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

XL BGE and a KBQ.

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Comments

  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Which recipe did you use? There is one with four ingredients and another with the same four plus juniper berries, thyme, garlic and bay leaf. I did the shorter one a couple of weeks ago and the one with more ingredients today. The one with salt, curing salt, maple syrup and sugar came out great.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • QDude
    QDude Posts: 1,066
    I did the same one you did.  It tastes like sweet ham.  And there is hardly any fat that comes out when it is fried.  Weird.

    Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

    XL BGE and a KBQ.

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    You definitely don't get as much fat. I didn't notice a hammy taste at all. How long did you cure?

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • Cookinbob
    Cookinbob Posts: 1,691
    Did you cold smoke it or hot smoke it?  My cold smoked bacon tastes like bacon, not sure what you get when you hot smoke.  I did the recipe with thyme, garlic, ground bay leaves, and used black pepper instead of Juniper Berries.


    XLBGE, Small BGE, Homebrew and Guitars
    Rochester, NY
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  • stantrb
    stantrb Posts: 156
    Use sodium nitrate?
    Minimax and a wood-fired oven.
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  • QDude
    QDude Posts: 1,066
    I cured it for 7 days and cold smoked it for about 8 hours.  I used the pink curing salt.

    Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

    XL BGE and a KBQ.

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Not to mean to be insulting but you did use belly right? You can make bacon with loin and shoulder.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • QDude
    QDude Posts: 1,066
    Yes it was the belly.  Removing the skin was not fun.

    Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

    XL BGE and a KBQ.

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Did you remove it before the cure? That might be the problem.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • QDude
    QDude Posts: 1,066
    No, not till after it was cold smoked.

    Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

    XL BGE and a KBQ.

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  • U_tarded
    U_tarded Posts: 2,083
    Odd...maybe it was the pig. Hot smoking just changes the texture it makes it more firm.
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    Wish there was an expert here. I'm out of ideas. If only the stikemeister was still here

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • stantrb
    stantrb Posts: 156
    I'm thinking either not enough cure/lb or not enough time in the cure. Did you smoke straight from the cure or did you let it rest in the fridge a day?

    I've done this lots of times. Never had one taste like ham.
    Minimax and a wood-fired oven.
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  • Conneggticut_Yankee
    Conneggticut_Yankee Posts: 132
    Doing a little searching on line I see people having the same issue with too lean a slab, too thickly sliced or eating the end cuts vs the inner cuts. How much of the fat did you trim off, with the skin or otherwise? Maybe post a picture? Just some ideas. I've always hot smoked at 200 till 150. I've used the same charcuterie recipe as well as others. It's always been amazing.
    Madison, CT
    LBGE June 2013. 

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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
    stantrb said:
    I'm thinking either not enough cure/lb or not enough time in the cure. Did you smoke straight from the cure or did you let it rest in the fridge a day? I've done this lots of times. Never had one taste like ham.

    Wouldn't a hammy taste come from too much pink salt. Don't know.....just asking.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • stantrb
    stantrb Posts: 156
    Don't know; never had a batch taste hammy. I use something like 1TBS/lb and cure for 10-12 days. I also don't use pink salt though, I use tender quick.

    If it's too lean, you'll get a product that tastes like Canadian bacon.
    Minimax and a wood-fired oven.
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  • stantrb
    stantrb Posts: 156
    @Yankee: I hot smoke mine too, and I don't usually trim a lot of fat.
    Minimax and a wood-fired oven.
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  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
    edited February 2014
    Really best to pull that skin off before you cure and smoke it. That way you  cure all sides. The skin seals that one side. I take it off so the cure and the smoke gets all of it not just 3 sides 
    I always cold smoke mine
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
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  • QDude
    QDude Posts: 1,066
    My wife thinks it tastes like Canadian bacon.

    I did rest it for a day after the cure in the fridge before I cold smoked it.

    Northern Colorado Egghead since 2012.

    XL BGE and a KBQ.

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  • stantrb
    stantrb Posts: 156

    If it's salty enough and smoky enough and tastes like Canadian bacon, then I'm guessing you trimmed too much fat from the lean. Next time, pick a fatter belly, slice the skin before you cure, do everything else the same. Bacon really is all about that cured fat rendering and cooking the lean.  Cured fatback in Italy (lardo) tastes a lot like bacon without having any lean to it. 

    2 things to consider:  1, Cook some of yours with extra bacon fat and see if it tastes more like bacon.  2, at worst, you've made a GREAT pizza topping.

    Minimax and a wood-fired oven.
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