Any bacon fans?

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robtattoo

robtattoo

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What’s your favorite flavor of the bunch?
So far, I'm 50/50 between the chili garlic & honey maple.
The honey maple is borderline just a hair too sweet. If I do it again (hah! If....) I'd definitely decrease the sugar percentage in the cure. Maybe cut it back to 1 or 1.2%
The jalapeño & garlic has a beautiful, but subtle fermenty kick. I wouldn't call it spicy, but you can definitely taste everything that's going on.
 
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So far, I'm 50/50 between the chili garlic & honey maple.
The honey maple is borderline just a hair too sweet. If I do it again (hah! If....) I'd definitely decrease the sugar percentage in the cure. Maybe cut it back to 1 or 1.2%
The jalapeño & garlic has a beautiful, but subtle fermenty kick. I wouldn't call it spicy, but you can definitely taste everything that's going on.
Awesome, definitely gonna give this a try. Thanks for the inspiration! We’ve been hoping to find a heartier (less fatty) bacon which is surprisingly hard to find.
 

6MT

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Mar 8, 2024
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Bacon won't give you any trouble, it's the other stuff we eat that causes issues like that. Lots of good info online about good diets. Hope you can eat some Bacon again soon.
Thanks, but it won’t be happening. My referee (Wife) wouldn’t allow bacon. Like cheese…I’ll just have to remember those.
 

Big_wals

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Wow, that looks amazing! I love homemade bacon, but we always use a brine from Michlich meat company. Never heard of buckboard bacon, we’re in town today so gonna pick up a pork shoulder and curing salt.
 

Big_wals

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IMG_1105.jpeg

Finished my bacon today! 18 days EQ cure, left has black pepper added, right is maple syrup. Smoked in my traeger on low over applewood for 4 hours. Turned out good for a first try, overdid the pepper a little bit lol. I think it would be better if I had a way to cold smoke it for a longer time, but I’m still happy with it.
 
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robtattoo

robtattoo

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That's all I use.
Throw one of those into your unlit Treager with a couple of bags of ice to keep the ambient temperature down (cover it with a couple of blankets if you need to) & you're good to go. Try & keep the temp inside the smoker below 70⁰ & you'll be fine, but the cooler the better. I like 18-24 hours of a mild wood smoke, personally, but that's up to your tastebuds.

If I ever find one for basically nothing, I really want to convert a working stand up refrigerator into a dedicated cold smoker. That way I can plug it in & actually regulate the temperature & humidity. Literally all it would take is a chimney & a couple of small commute cooling fans. Stupidly simple to make, I've just not found a fridge yet!
 

NRA4LIFE

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Rob, if you can get your hands on an old latchable fridge, that is a gem. I converted an old Hotpoint into a smoker and it has been solid for 25 years running. You may have to re-insulate it as many had cardboard insulation in them (found that out the hard way when it got too hot). I used ceramic batting. I smoke cheese at 75-80 degrees with only the A-Maze-N pellet smoker running without using the electric burner. This works great. Might work well for you.
 

Big_wals

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Those smoker tubes look like a good way to use the grill I have already and not have to spend money on a smoker, might have to pick one up for the next batch. The bags of ice is a great idea! In west TX right now my traeger is usually around 140 degrees already when I start it….
 

jasonhul

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Those smoker tubes look like a good way to use the grill I have already and not have to spend money on a smoker, might have to pick one up for the next batch. The bags of ice is a great idea! In west TX right now my traeger is usually around 140 degrees already when I start it….



And that's why I live up north


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I go to Costco and buy several pork bellies at a time. The wife and I then cure them, smoke them, slice and package. We usually have homemade bacon for the entire year. In fact, I haven’t bought grocery store bacon for several years now.
 
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