bacon cure

[mofomatic]

Has anyone every tried morton sugar cure(smoke flavored), that is all i have been able to find so far. I found pink salt, and a buckboard bacon cure, hi mountain brand.

any idea wich of those 3 would be better?

[Pete Mazz]

We don't need no stinkin' smoke "flavor"!!!

If you read the sweet cure label it says you need to mix in a "seasoning packet" that comes with it, and to only mix what you'll use. For 7 1/2 lbs, that might be some subtle measuring.

My thought would be get the regular pink salt and add your own sugar.

[Blazer]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... 6UkXhHUTfM

Found this, think you might like it. Makes me want to build a smoke house. ;)

[mofomatic]

old school. i like it. interesting clip there.

there are a few more stores i can check for the good stuff. if i wind up going to the sporting goods store i'll get some pink salt and the hi mountain buckboard bacon cure. now is a good as time as any to try a few things on a small scale.

[SmokinFF]

viewtopic.php?f=37&t=2089&hilit=8th#p30916
We do it old school as well. It's great to have the knowledge of the old timers. The 9th Annual is scheduled for Jan. 11 and 12th. Another new thread to come!!

[mofomatic]

i went to sportsman's warehouse and got the hi mountain buck board bacon cure ans mix in some more brown sugar and jalapeno powder for this first batch.

also got some hi country game curing salt. these little 18g pouches you have to mix up into your own recipe. try that stuff out next time

anywho, 5 days in the plastic tote. flipped everything over, 5 more days. going to cold smoke it for a while. then light a fire and bring it up to temp.

[SoloQue]

Here is the base formula I use. I weigh everything in grams. Basically I divide every number by 50 and that gives me the amount to add per pound being cured. You add whatever you want on top of this but this ratio keeps you in the safe zone for curing. Hope this helps. I put my bellys in vac pac bags to keep the brine cure totally in contact with the meat and flip daily. I tried big zip locks but just made a huge mess when they leaked.
I try to smoke at 195 - 200F aiming towards an internal of 145 - 150F

Base Formula

Kosher Salt 16 oz 454 g

Sugar 8 oz 227 g

Pink Salt 2 oz 56.75 g

Total 26 oz 737.75 g



Dry Cure Salt Blend Usage

26 oz (737.75 g) = 50 lbs of meat

5.2 oz (147.55 g) = 10 lbs of meat

2.6 oz (73.775 g) = 5 lbs of meat

.52 oz (14.755 g) = 1 lb of meat

[mofomatic]

well there it is. bacon 1.0

about 12 hours cook time, thats a mix of cold smoke and a small fire. i let it get away a bit, internal temp 154. looks good anyways

vac sealing in brine sounds easier than what i did. big plastic tray...

so this is how they sell pork bellies around here. thats a 16.6 lb box.

[SoloQue]

Man, that's gonna slice up nice!

[mofomatic]

interesting first run. probably not the best, but maybe equal to the fancy store bought stuff.

it is just slightly too salty for my tastes.before smoking, i soaked in cold water 1 hr, changed water, soaked a 2nd hour. this recipe may need a 3rd hour fresh water soak.

texture and flavor way better if i slice thin.

the brown sugar sweetness comes through, not strong though. the sweet is not balanced with the saltiness.

need to use more jalapeno powder or use habanero powder. i took it easy on this first run so not to over power anything. no heat/flavor made it to final product.

also, the meet is not very smoky tasting. i started with cold smoking for maybe 6 hours. i would probably cold smoke it longer or maybe leave the extra smoke on when i bring it up to temp. this could be a saltiness balance issue as the grease left in the pan smells really smoky.

over all. not too much work, tastes good. need to hand out packs of bacon for late Christmas presents and start on the next batch. i dont think i need to change too many things.

[Puff]

I was under the impression that the bacon could be cured and then cold smoked. Is this a wrong idea? Does it need to be smoked in the cooker to get the temps up inside?

[mofomatic]

my self, idk.

the posts i have been looking at for inspiration, they bring them up to 150 degrees. so, i figured i would follow the directions as best as i could(things like what cure i could get local, couldn't help). when there are several bacon how to's around here with a good following, why not try that first.

the smoke pistol website has a brine and smoke procedure. they seem to think you don't need heat. i have their smoke generator, and read up on their site. down towards the bottom i pasted their process.

in the old timey pig butcher videos, they cold smoke theirs as well.

as with a most things, there are usually several ways to get were you want to be. figuring out a bacon recipe isn't much different than anything else i suppose. do some research, see if you can find a procedure or recipe that matches what you have on hand or can get easily, have a go at it, see what happens.

if you want to stay with cold smoking, have take a look at this. maybe it'll help

PREPARATION and HOW TO SMOKE BACON as per the smoke pistol people.

In a large non-reactive pot, bring half the water, 1 cup of sugar, salt, and 8 ounces molasses to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour into a large container with the remaining water, and the apple cider. Place in the refrigerator and cool to 40 degrees F.
Press the black pepper into the pork belly. Once the brine has cooled place the peppered pork belly into the mixture until completely submerged. Refrigerate for three days.
After three days have passed, remove the pork from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Lay on a rack over a sheet pan and place in front of a fan for 1 hour to form a pellicle. Lay the pork inside a cold smoker and start the SmokePistol™. Smoke for 4 to 6 hours.
Chill the meat in the freezer for 1 hour to stiffen for easy slicing into strips of bacon. Slice what you need and keep the remainder in a freezer safe bag in the refrigerator or freezer.
Remember this bacon is raw and must be cooked before eating. Cook as you would normal bacon and enjoy.

[Puff]

Thanks for those answers . I thought I'd read several posts on bacon. Maybe I was lucky I could not readily locate pork bellies without the full readiness to "hot" smoke them. The curing process seemed like it made it ready to just cold smoke. The cheese I did in early December came out so good that I thought I was ready to go. Clearly, gotta make a few more decisions

From what I've seen in ads, the smoke pistol really blows out a ton of smoke. I have the pellet tray for the whiskey barrel cold smoker. Works well but I think yours puts out a lot.

[mofomatic]

it does put out a lot of smoke if desired, it has a variable speed control fro the air pump or fan mechanism, i like that part about it. its a good idea, but needs a few tweaks.

maybe its a temp thing. if you have a cold smoker and it's in the middle of winter, i think it would work.

probably shouldn't try to cold smoke pork in the middle of summer.

[Pete Mazz]

Curing bacon, then cold smoking is all about adding flavor and making it safe to store. You want to keep the smoke temps low (140 to 150) so the fat doesn't start to render. Since this is about adding flavor, smoke as long as you want. Typically that would be 4 to 6 hours minimum. Now that it's smoked, it still has to be cooked before consuming. Like store bought bacon, it should be fine in the fridge for a week or so but in the freezer will last for months.

There are recipes out there for straight out hot smoking pork bellies like any other cut but to me seems kind of sacrilegious.

[SoloQue]

it is just slightly too salty for my tastes.before smoking, i soaked in cold water 1 hr, changed water, soaked a 2nd hour. this recipe may need a 3rd hour fresh water soak.

I keep changing water every 30 minutes until the water is clear after a 30 minute sit

also, the meet is not very smoky tasting.

When I have the bellys cured I let mine sit in the frig over night to form a pellicle (rubbery exterior) that seems to promote better smoke flavor for what's it's worth.

sounds like a positive first run to me, did you have the jalapeno rub as part of the 10 day cure? If you did then you really have a good idea of where you stand on seasoning. My neighbor actually slices up 2 fresh habaneros for every 5 lbs of belly he is curing and puts them in his vac bags for the 10 days. OMG is that bacon HOT but he loves it, I guess it pulls the oils in from the pepper flesh during the cure.

[mofomatic]

i put some jalapeno powder in with the cure. i wasn't sure how that would work out, so i went easy on this first batch. i also have some habanero powder. either way, it will get more heat next time.

i'll probably cold smoke it for 12 hours and then smoke it to temp(150). It looks better coming off the smoker if it has been hot smoked a little.

i can let it sit longer before i smoke it, that is easy enough.

[HARRY BARKER]

that jalapeno powder dont work very well,use whole jalapenos run through a food processer.

[Puff]

Just an observation but my cold smoking whiskey barrel with the pellet tray running on a 40 degree day will not hit 70 inside the barrel At the first rack. That is about 12 inches above the smoldering pellets. There is a nice flow of air in and exhaust out but I'd imagine strictly on the draft of the rising warmed air.