Makin' Bacon!

I like smoked meats. I’ve got an excellent marinade that I use for Chicken, Beef and Salmon. If I catch a bunch of trout this summer I might even smoke some of that too! A few weeks ago, the topic of makin’ Bacon came up at work. James was the first to try it and his result was excellent. I had to try it.

The Meat

Traditionally bacon is made from Pork Belly. Yes it is more than just on the commodity exchange! I called our local specialty butcher and they didn’t have it, they suggested an Asian Market. James located the pork belly at a local Asian market. I have developed somewhat of a relationship with the butchers at my local grocery store and while they did not have pork belly, the butcher had made bacon himself. He suggested using the same pork that country style ribs are made from, pork butt. A week later and country style ribs were on sale for $1.99/lb and it was time to make bacon! The butcher cut it in two slabs, about 10x12 inches and 2 inches thick. Each slab was about 2 ½ lbs.

The Brine

Bacon is cold smoked meaning it is smoked at a relatively low temperature (80-100 degrees Fahrenheit). Bacteria love that temperature! To prevent bacterial growth the meat must be brined. In other words, the salt content is made high enough that bacterial cannot grow. To balance that salty taste, something sweet is added. James used maple syrup which was excellent. I used Alton Browns recipe.
 http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/scrap-iron-chefs-bacon-recipe/index.html I was tempted to change it but the first time, just do it. I actually halved the recipe and it was plenty for my 5lbs of meat.

Don’t even bother trying to float them in any kind of container, just put each slab of meat in a Ziploc bag. Then set those into a large container in case they leak (which they will). Refrigerate the pork for at least 3 days. I don’t know if there is an upper end of how long you could brine it, I don’t know what bad would happen?

Pull the meat out and lay on a platter. I ground more black pepper and pressed it into all sides of the meat. I use a mortar and pestle to just crack the pepper.

Pork Butt after brining, meat side up

Pellicle

I kind of skipped this step. James had tried it and had marginal luck. It was windy out and I left the meat out in the wind for 20 min or so. Nothing really happened.




In the smoker, fat side up


Smoking

Last summer I bought a double barrel smoker. I have been somewhat disappointed in it. It is difficult to get up to heat and then control it. For smoking meats I like my Brinkmann electric better but it smokes at heats much to hot. The double barrel should work fine for cold smoking. I placed the meat far away from the fire box, got a small bed of coals going and tossed on some soaked hickory chips on. I let it smoke for 20 min or so to make sure the temperature would be correct (if it wasn’t I don’t know what I was going to do…) The temperature held at 110 degrees. I smoked the meat for 2 hours holding at 110 degrees.

Slicing

While the meat is a bit more turgid then when you buy it, it is almost impossible to slice. Place it in the freezer for at least one hour. Don’t let it freeze, just let it firm up. Then with a large and very sharp knife, slice it as thin as you can.

Taste?

It is GOOD! As I was researching this, evidently the large packing houses inject nitrates into the meat to speed up the smoking process. These are not nice compounds. The taste was very mild and well balanced. It wasn’t as smoky as I would have thought and I might have liked a bit more smoky flavor. The pellicle step may help with that or smoking it for 3 or 4 hours. I also thought it might be a bit more lean using pork butt rather than the pork belly. That wasn’t the case either. It is very rich in flavor, the molasses and the apple juice giving it that nice rich flavor.

Next Time

I want to exchange a nice amber beer for the apple juice and smoke it a bit longer. It is a long process that requires planning several days in advance and took up the better part of the day smoking it. Hopefully though, I never buy bacon again!




Now that is good looking Butt!