Makin Bacon

[BobM]

One of my favorite things to do on my little guy is make my own bacon.  Ever since our local Costco started selling trimmed pork belly I've been making my own simple semi healthy bacon.  All I put on the belly is salt and real maple syrup and use pecan for the smoke.  And just enough salt for flavor since I'm on a low sodium diet.  No nitrates or other preservatives.  I'll leave the smoked pork belly in the refer over night to settle down.  Then I'll slice it and roll each slice in freezer wrap so I can easily separate what I need while frozen with a dull knife.  Frozen bacon cooks as easily as thawed.

Since I freeze it I don't need nitrates or any curing salts.  The cooked product tastes better than the premium pecan smoked bacon I use to get at the butcher.  It's not as pretty (reddish) as cured bacon but who care, it tastes awesome:>)

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[NDKoze]

I'm hoping you get the meat to 140 within 4 hours to stay out of the danger zone.

It looks like you are relatively new to the Smokin-It forums, so welcome to you from ND my new friend.

Keep Smokin!

[BobM]

Call it salt pork or bacon, it taste like bacon, that's all that matters. I've been on this forum almost a year.  I just don't visit that often.  Here's another photo it sliced.  This time I'm using butcher paper because plastic wrap and wax paper don't do well in the freezer.

[NDKoze]

I totally agree with you. It looks really good. Nice job and thanks for sharing.

[BedouinBob]

Looks mighty fine Bob!

[BobM]

"I'm hoping you get the meat to 140 within 4 hours to stay out of the danger zone."

I got it to 160 in less than 2 hours:>)

[SconnieQ]

Salt pork is "cured" with salt, but has NO smoke. So, in my book, what BobM is making is essentially "uncured" bacon, which is sold in many shi-shi markets including Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, etc. Preferred by those who want to avoid nitrites/nitrates, for whatever reason, either because of health concerns, or possibly sensitivities. There have been several cancer scares concerning the use of nitrates/nitrites, but whether they have been substantiated in the quantities that normal humans eat, I don't know. I have purchased "uncured" products a couple times (bacon, pepperoni), and it does fairly significantly affect the flavor. It is different. I am not a fan, and sometimes, the meat tastes "spoiled" to me. But it is possible to make a version of "bacon" without the nitrates/nitrites.

[BedouinBob]

Hey Bob, I have had incurred bacon an all I can say is anything with pork fat is a beautiful thing.  I wonder if leaving the salt and syrup a day or two longer wouldn't give a little more flavor and allow the salt to draw moisture out of the pork belly.

[Pork Belly]

He is curing it with salt and sugar the sugar is in the syrup. Same as if someone "cured" salmon for a hot smoke with salt and sugar.

To me it is bacon because it is cured and smoked. Since he takes to rapidly to 140 it is all good. Congrats on adapting to your medical situation.

[SconnieQ]

He is curing it with salt and sugar the sugar is in the syrup. Same as if someone "cured" salmon for a hot smoke with salt and sugar.

To me it is bacon because it is cured and smoked. Since he takes to rapidly to 140 it is all good. Congrats on adapting to your medical situation.

Well that finally settles a disagreement between me and DM Tony. Tony felt that you must have nitrate/nitrate in order to call it "cured" (without the nitrate/nitrite you would have to call it brined or dry-brined, but not cured). I thought you could "cure" something, and call it "cured" without using nitrate/nitrite, and just using salt and sugar. My example was lox, which is referred to as "cured" even though it is just salt and sugar. Tony - guess you owe me a six pack! 

Also, just because something is called "uncured", that doesn't mean it doesn't contain nitrates/nitrites. Take for example Trader Joes "uncured" bacon, where the label also states "no nitrites or nitrates added", when in fact they use celery powder and celery juice as their nitrate source (celery is loaded with nitrate) and are therefore are allowed to say no nitrites added. See the attached article from Michael Ruhlman.

http://ruhlman.com/2011/05/the-no-nitrites-added-hoax/

So I have learned that you can cure something without nitrates/nitrites (using just salt and sugar), and just because something is labeled "uncured" does not mean it doesn't contain nitrates/nitrites. And nitrates are naturally occurring in many of the foods we eat. Gotta read the fine print on those labels if you are concerned about it (I'm not too concerned myself). Sounds like there aren't really any clear labeling laws when it come to this stuff, which is why you should make your own bacon and charcuterie so you know what's in it!

[DivotMaker]

Great post, Kari, but I'm still going to dispute using the term "cured," whether you read it on the internet or not. Bonjour!  Go ahead and have a 6-pack on me, though!

You sure nailed it about stuff being labeled uncured actually being cured with nitrates!  I used to get Canadian bacon at Sam's, that was labeled uncured, but contained a ton of celery powder/juice.  Tasted like any actual cured CB I'd ever had!  I didn't know, until later, of all the natural sources of nitrates. 

So, we're saying the same thing, I guess; it's really just semantics. 

[BedouinBob]

I think a virtual hug is in order to seal the agreement..... 

[BobM]

I think I just have been reminded why I don't visit this forum that often:>) 

[DivotMaker]

I think a virtual hug is in order to seal the agreement..... 

LOL!

[DivotMaker]

I think I just have been reminded why I don't visit this forum that often:>)

    We're pretty close around here, Bob, and kid with each other a lot!  That's the reason why you should visit more often!!!