[USA] Makin' Bacon

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redzed
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Post by redzed » Wed Dec 12, 2012 16:15

Sublime! Well done, and panchetta prices in delis now are quickly nearing the price of gold.
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Bacon or Panchetta

Post by huckelberry » Thu Dec 13, 2012 08:08

If only I could sell it for what they whant in the store I could retire and just make lots of panchetta. Who needs gold? LOL
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Hanging bacon to dry

Post by ssorllih » Fri May 24, 2013 17:45

About the first of May I set two slabs of bacon to cure in my usual salt, cure#1, sugar and molassas dry cure and on the 19th I hung it to dry in anticipation of smoking it. Today I have finally the time to stay around and tend the smoker fire. The hickory is making smoke and I expect this to be drier and to keep better than some that is more naturally wetter. pictures follow tonight.
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Post by ssorllih » Sat May 25, 2013 15:30

The fire went out about 11 oclock last night so i left the bacon haqnging until this morning.Image
The outside looked pretty good so I cut a slab in half.Image And fried a couple of thick slices.Image Three weeks to allow a dry cure to penetrate and settle and four days hanging to dry and twelve hours of hickory smoke worked some very fine magic. The taste is superb.
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Post by el Ducko » Fri Sep 27, 2013 05:17

Well, I gotta get into the act, too.

I scored some pork bellies today for $1.48 a pound, too good to pass up. This will be my first try, so I didn't buy the whole cryovac package, just 3.5 lbs. (That way, I can pay way more, next time.) I loaded the "Sons of Bees" bacon brining instructions into my spreadsheet and scaled the thing down from 25 lbs. to 3.5 lbs. Here is the pork with some of the ingredients:
Image
That's piloncillo (crude sugar) on the left, instead of dark brown sugar. There's a local meat market's brand of cure #1 in the center, and some local wildflower honey on the right.

I put the pork belly into a freezer bag, measured in all the ingredients, and vacuum sealed it. I then discovered that you can't manipulate the thing while under vacuum, so I cut the seal and did some massaging to distribute the rub/brine/goo/whatchamacallit. Here it is, sealed again, ready for a nice rest in the refrigerator under a watchful eye. It will get turned and massaged daily.
Image
If you use the rule of thumb for how long to brine, such a small package should have been ready last week. No, actually, 3-1/2 days from now. I think it needs more than that, though, so I'll maybe go nine or ten days of the "up to 12" recommended.

Haven't decided what smoke to use yet. I have a supply of various pellets on hand for my Amazin' generator, so an overnight smoke with the recommended hickory, or maybe apple, will be in order.

This should be an interesting batch. Pork bellies, using this recipe, generate an extra volume of brine. Most of the brining calculations assume a 10% uptake, but if it gives off brine, what then?

The real answer is that more of the moisture than we normally count on is probably at play, here. It should be interesting.

...theories, anyone? The spreadsheet assumes a total volume of whatever you mix up, plus 10% to 12% added by the packer, and an ability to absorb 10% - 12% of the resulting liquid. It may be that 20% or so is a more realistic amount. After all, meat is made up of 75% or so water, but it's in different forms and behind different cell walls and such. ...or not. That 10% figure is probably between cells, rather than inside 'em.

"Inquiring minds want to know." Most interesting answer wins a prize. (2nd most interesting wins two prizes, so watch out!)
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Post by Chuckwagon » Fri Sep 27, 2013 11:20

Outstanding! Say, isn't that Sheriff Dan D. Duck watchin' over that bacon? :roll:
If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably needs more time on the grill! :D
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Post by ssorllih » Fri Sep 27, 2013 13:36

Russ, My experience has shown that the salt draws quite a bit of liquid from the meat for the first several days and then it reverses and is absorbed to a large degree. Enough so that I don't have a problem will spillage when I take to meat out to dry.
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Post by el Ducko » Fri Sep 27, 2013 15:58

...fascinating. ...so much still to learn, especially the dynamics part. Most people never venture there, just content themselves with buying the product. Thanks, Ross and those interested in brining, for opening up a fascinating new area to discover.

Now, back to my chorizo & egg breakfast. Life is good. What a great hobby!
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Post by sawhorseray » Fri Sep 27, 2013 18:52

Pork belly at a buck forty eight is a beautiful thing Ducko! I did some about a month back and after much discussion and investigation pulled the brining slab from the fridge after five and a half days. The nice thing about using Ziploc freezer bags is it's easy to add some water after a couple of days, I dumped a quart into each of the two bags. Slice it thick, you'll be way happy with what comes out of your smoker! RAY
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Post by ssorllih » Fri Sep 27, 2013 19:14

I found pork butts fresh and on sale at $1.49. They were rather small about 8 pounds each. I cut the bacon slabs from each and much to my surprise they each weighed 2¾ pounds. I didn't plan it that way I just lined up the cut and started. so I have about 5 pounds that in each bag that will make sausage and about 5½ pounds that will make bacon.
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Post by ssorllih » Sat Sep 28, 2013 15:02

While I was weighing the ingredients for the bacon cure I realized that my balance will resolve single grains of salt. I found it amusing that I was being so very careful in getting the weights exactly right when in a few minutes I would rub this mixture into the meat with my hand and naturally drag some of it away on my hand to be washed down the sink. No! I didn't compensate for that waste. (but I thought about it) :lol:
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Post by sawhorseray » Sat Sep 28, 2013 18:17

You two guys have some wonderful projects underway. I have been taking a little time to consume what's in my freezer before venturing on another project, but a few things are starting to get dangerously low. I see where one of my local grocery markets has chicken thighs on sale till next week for 99≠lb. On Monday or Tuesday I'll by 30 pounds worth to make a 22-23 pound batch of Chicken Italian sausage with dried tomatoes and black olives. Deer season should put enough of a dent in my wild hog Italian sausage that I might have to process the last 28 pounds of wild pig meat along with my last whole 20 pound domestic porkbutt. Last year I grabbed 120 pounds of porkbutt at Christmas time when it was on sale for 99≠lb, want to be ready when that sale hits this year. Time for bacon and eggs!
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Post by ssorllih » Sat Sep 28, 2013 18:34

Ray, Keep an eye open for turkey sales during the weekend after Thanksgiving. One year Safeway sold over twenty pound fresh turkeys for $5 each the day after Thanksgiving. I bought five.
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Post by sawhorseray » Sat Sep 28, 2013 19:32

You bet Ross, last year I scored about a half dozen during the Thanksgiving sales. I like to connect with the 10-11 pound birds because they fit on my Ronco 4000 rotisserie, and there's only three of us to feed. The Ronco is one of the best kitchen investments I've made. It cooks chickens, turkeys, and small roasts to perfection every time, something about a rotisserie makes meat come out juicy and flavorful. For years I used to do 14 pound birds in my deep fry set-up but the expense and oil slop all over got kind of old. I've had the Ronco for over five years now, I know the infomercials look kind of corny, but it really is a great product that delivers a lot of bang for the buck. RAY


http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ronco-4000-S ... kcfnBvn--s
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Post by ssorllih » Sat Sep 28, 2013 20:20

I like to cut the turkeys as I would a chicken and then just use the pieces.
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