Buckboard Bacon - First Attempt

[NDKoze]

The key to enduring the wait is to smoke other things while you wait.

I'm thinking about smoking some yard birds this weekend.

[DivotMaker]

Definitely, Gregg!  Gotta take your mind off the long wait somehow!    Keeping the smoker full works perfectly!

[Spresso]

you are right of course!
the reason I have not done longer than 24 hours is because of lack of room in the fridge.  I have been trying to convince my wife we need a second fridge in the basement but she has so far adamantly refused.  I thought about sneaking one in but unlike some of my tools a fridge is easier to notice :-)

what i'm hoping for now is to replace the fridge we have in the kitchen with a slightly bigger unit and move the old one in the garage and use it on a need basis

my butcher is really good at aging beef though.  all his meats are min 21 days aged.  you can request 60 day or more aging too...
the meat is always superb,  he is a farmer too , his cows raised the natural way.   grazed, no hormones etc...
unfortunately the prices are also superb :-)  35 bucks a pound for tenderloin...also I just bought 2 pieces of rib steak for 100 bucks....
I wish I could use him more often.. sigh.

[NDKoze]

I had to lower one of my fridge shelves and get innovative to get the 4.5 gallon container into the fridge. After this BBB is done, I will move the shelf back up again.

I am hoping that this bacon is worth the wait. We'll see I guess. I am optimistic.

[DivotMaker]

I'm confident the bacon will be superb, Gregg!

[NDKoze]

I put the Buckboard Bacon in around 10:00pm tonight. I got it in late because it was raining and I was trying to wait it out.

I am leaving town for a couple of days and wanted to get this smoked before I leave. So it could be a long night watching the thermometers until this gets done.

I'll wrap in plastic wrap when they are done and they'll sit in the fridge until Sunday/Monday or so before I'll be back to slice/pack.

They rested uncovered in my fridge overnight after a rinse with some cracked black pepper on top.

I used 3 ounces of Oak Whiskey Barrel Chips and 2 left over chunks of hickory that did not burn up from my last smoke.

I started the smoker at 125 for 45 minutes and then bumped it up to 175 where it has been running now for about for about 90 minutes. The thinner piece is at 104 and the fatter piece is at 77.

Pics attached.

[NDKoze]

I finally got the Buckboard Bacon sliced and packaged tonight.

I smoked it on 4/23, then left for a business trip that I did not return until yesterday. So today was the first chance that I had to get it sliced/wrapped.

That being said, from what I have read, a healthy resting period (plastic wrapped) in the fridge prior to slicing is a good thing.

All in all, for my first attempt, I think it turned out really well. It is a bit sweeter than I typically like. So, I think I am going to cut the Sugar and the brown sugar at least in half for the next batch. We'll see how long this stuff lasts in my fridge

[DivotMaker]

That looks great, Gregg!  If you ship me a package, I'd be more than happy to provide you an unbiased analysis of the sweetness!    Might take a pretty large sample, though...lol!

[NDKoze]

Thanks Tony. I have multiple offers to ship it for testing.

I am evaluating the options right now. 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks Tony. I have multiple offers to ship it for testing.

I am evaluating the options right now. 

...and you'll "get back with us."  Hehe.

[DiggingDogFarm]

Looks real good. 

[Spresso]

it's beautiful !