- Joined
- Nov 27, 2014
- Messages
- 1,761
Bacon comes up in conversations and discussions related to camping and spending time outdoors, quite a bit. I enjoy meat and cooking meat. And outdoor cooking. And bacon goes with a lot of other things very well.
The potatoes shown are loaded with bacon and cheese. They are a crowd favorite.
I also like my bacon thick. THICK! And it's not always available in the store when we want it for cooking outdoors, or inside. So when I saw a post by someone, in which they were camping, and had a side of bacon, and could slice off a chunk as thick as they pleased, I was very intrigued. Our grandparents and great grandparents had smokehouses, and when they needed bacon, they would go to the smokehouse, and cut off a slab of meat or bacon. I wanted to be able to do that. And now that we have, it is fun. The children love it, and visitors are amazed when I say how much bacon do you want, and how thick do you want it. A bacon "steak" is fun to fry.
We butcher our own deer, waterfowl, and lamb, but I had never helped with hogs. We now are raising 2 hogs for fall butchering. In the mean time, I found a local meat market that would sell me the whole pork belly. That is the part of the hog, that bacon comes from. It does not become "bacon" until it is smoked or seasoned.
I am working on my recipe, and the first pork belly we did turned out very delicious. And the best part? Being able to slice off slabs of bacon that are 3/8" and 1/2" thick. And getting to use great custom made knives to do that. If you desire traditional thin bacon, then this process is probably not as attractive for you, unless you have a power slicer.
Pork bellies can be purchased at about 12 to 14 lbs each. And the cost is about 2.00 per lb, give or take some based on availability and location. Cheaper purchased directly from a butcher shop.
The first pic is 2 pork belly's ready to immerse into the brine recipe for curing.
The next 2 are 1/2" thick bacon frying n a large pan.
The recipe I am using uses 3 to 4 gallons of water, Morton Quick Cure Salt, Applewood liquid smoke, light brown sugar, Garlic salt, Onion powder, and some other seasoning. The pork bellies are immersed in a tub for a week, and turned every other day.
Once cured, they are taken out, patted dry, rubbed with more seasoning, and then frozen in packages. Size is based on preference.
Does anyone else cure their own bacon? Do you smoke it? Is anyone willing to share some recipe tips for wet curing bacon? I would love to get some more tips from experienced people.
If uncle E ever wants to get a mid west gathering together, I would provide a slab or 2 and see how people like to carve off their own hunk...
Thanks...
The potatoes shown are loaded with bacon and cheese. They are a crowd favorite.
I also like my bacon thick. THICK! And it's not always available in the store when we want it for cooking outdoors, or inside. So when I saw a post by someone, in which they were camping, and had a side of bacon, and could slice off a chunk as thick as they pleased, I was very intrigued. Our grandparents and great grandparents had smokehouses, and when they needed bacon, they would go to the smokehouse, and cut off a slab of meat or bacon. I wanted to be able to do that. And now that we have, it is fun. The children love it, and visitors are amazed when I say how much bacon do you want, and how thick do you want it. A bacon "steak" is fun to fry.
We butcher our own deer, waterfowl, and lamb, but I had never helped with hogs. We now are raising 2 hogs for fall butchering. In the mean time, I found a local meat market that would sell me the whole pork belly. That is the part of the hog, that bacon comes from. It does not become "bacon" until it is smoked or seasoned.
I am working on my recipe, and the first pork belly we did turned out very delicious. And the best part? Being able to slice off slabs of bacon that are 3/8" and 1/2" thick. And getting to use great custom made knives to do that. If you desire traditional thin bacon, then this process is probably not as attractive for you, unless you have a power slicer.
Pork bellies can be purchased at about 12 to 14 lbs each. And the cost is about 2.00 per lb, give or take some based on availability and location. Cheaper purchased directly from a butcher shop.
The first pic is 2 pork belly's ready to immerse into the brine recipe for curing.
The next 2 are 1/2" thick bacon frying n a large pan.
The recipe I am using uses 3 to 4 gallons of water, Morton Quick Cure Salt, Applewood liquid smoke, light brown sugar, Garlic salt, Onion powder, and some other seasoning. The pork bellies are immersed in a tub for a week, and turned every other day.
Once cured, they are taken out, patted dry, rubbed with more seasoning, and then frozen in packages. Size is based on preference.
Does anyone else cure their own bacon? Do you smoke it? Is anyone willing to share some recipe tips for wet curing bacon? I would love to get some more tips from experienced people.
If uncle E ever wants to get a mid west gathering together, I would provide a slab or 2 and see how people like to carve off their own hunk...
Thanks...
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