BACON in the Smokin-It Model 3!

[Thesneakyzebra]

Hey guys. I picked up my hog sides after work. The pig was slaughtered 2 days ago, I got about 23 pounds total that I will break down into 5 pound pieces for better curing and ease of smoking. I have only done bacon on my WSM (a few hundred pounds worth) So I am bit nervous straying from my tried and true method, but I am willing to put the SI to the test.  Please follow along this SI Bacon adventure with me, and do your best to not get a lardon  ;D

Recipe adapted from Ruhlman
-5 pound belly
-50 grams Kosher salt
-12 grams pink salt
-50 grams Brown Sugar
-60 milliliters maple syrup (optional)

Rub them bellies good. Put in a ziplock bag and in the fridge. Flip the bag every other day for 7-10 days to overhaul. Rinse off cure well, and pat dry and set on a rack and let it dry in the fridge for about 24 hours to form a good pellicle. Cold or hot smoke to your liking. At this point remove the skin if it is still on. Let it come to room temperature, wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight. You now have slab bacon and can cut however you like it. Know the risks and proceed knowledgeable.

Sorry, but I was not able to get pictures as I was elbow deep in pig bellies. I did add some pictures below of one of my previous batches. Sorry there is no perspective in them, but the slabs you see are a tad over 5 pounds after I trimmed them up all nice, that ziploc bag is a monster of a bag, 2.5 gallons.

I will post more details as I go along. Feel free to ask me any questions if you have any. Thanks guys!

 

[LM600]

Superb!!!!

 

[DivotMaker]

At this point remove the skin if it is still on. Let it come to room temperature, wrap and let it sit in the fridge overnight. You now have slab bacon and can cut however you like it. Know the risks and proceed knowledgeable.

Hey Mikey, I have a couple of questions.  Your brine looks good, btw.  I think I'll try to adapt the measurements to an equilibrium brine.

First, you say "cold or hot smoke to your liking," and then the quote above.  I assume you mean remove the skin before smoking, right?  Just want to be clear...never done belly bacon.

Secondly, what is your smoking routine?  Cold?  Hot?  Combination??  Walk us through your steps, times, temps, woods, etc.  You will probably find most people reading this are looking for guidance, because we've never attempted this.  Any info you can provide, from your experience, on this would be great!

The bacon you've posted looks fantastic, so we want to know what works for you!

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

No prob. I just did it yesterday and I am going to update as I go along. My first post is just a quick little summary.

It is actually a rub, that will create sort of a brine once it starts extracting some juices. For this smoke I am going to smoke at 180 until I hit a IT of about 140. Since it is my first go at bacon on the SI I am going to test it out the simplest way which is hot smoking it and go from there. I suggest leaving the skin on and removing after you smoke it, this will ensure that you do not ruin any meat trying to take it off yourself, until you are comfortable doing so. With the skin on some lit it cure for a extra day or so, I just go the seven days since the cure is pretty salty already, I have found that the skin actually acts as a good barrier.

Since I have a lot of bacon experience I now do a mix of cold smoke and hot smoke, depending on my mood. I do not recommend cold smoking until you have done a few and are completely comfortable with the simplest form of bacon. And to be honest, smoking at 180 has produced some very stellar bacon. 

For wood I use a mixture of hickory and apple, that combo really makes for a memorable bacon. I have played around with all sorts of wood, and while they were not bad I always go back to the hickory and apple.

Stay tuned as I will update this as I go. For now, I am just flipping it every other day, yesterday it was skin side down, tomorrow I will flip it so it is skin side up. This will help distribute everything nice and evenly.

**I suggest waiting before yall go out and buy belly, let me test this out so everyone can learn from any mistakes our awesomeness that may happen**

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks for the info, Mikey!  Can't wait to follow you on your awesome bacon journey!  If you have the PID now, this should be a snap! 

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

I just unboxed the Auber.  8) I am pretty stoked. I do not know if I am ready to bypass just yet, so I am hoping it will be just fine just as a plug and play for something as low as 180.

I will test the auber as just a plug and play on Friday or Saturday with a rack of wings.

 

[DivotMaker]

The PID will be perfect for 180.  I use it at 145 for jerky, and it holds temp perfectly. 

 

[littledabwilldoya]

I have now done my second batch of bacon.

I used equal parts of brown sugar and kosher salt, mixed together with some maple syrup and a touch of pink salt.  Left in the frig for out ten days.  And smoked over hickory and peach at about 175 to an internal temp of in the high 140s.  Much better
this time.  Much more smokey bacon flavor.

I rinsed the pork bellies after removing from the frig but did not soak then.  The bacon is a bit on the salty side.  Not sure if I should change my cure (more sugar/less last) or soak the port bellys a bit after
they are removed from the frig.

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

Just be sure that your ratios are correct for the weight of belly that you are using. It is crucial that it is cured correctly according to your ratios.

Assuming you are using a correct ratio for your dry cure and you are overhauling I would suggest curing for 8 days, if that is too salty then you can cut it to 7 days. Of course, this is only assuming that you are using the correct amount of salt and nitrites.

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

Quick update..

A few days in and a few more days to go. At this point the bellies should be more firm to the touch, as are mine currently. The overhauling really helps to distribute what is now a brine. This time next week me and my family will be dining on some great bacon  8)

 

[DivotMaker]

Looking forward to the results, Mikey!

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

I took one of the bellies out last night, rinsed it off patted it dry and I am let it sit overnight in the fridge to help form the pellicle. I will smoke it tonight. I left the other one in because it was thicker and will require 1-2 more days of curing. I will post results on the one tonight or tomorrow. With pics

 

[NDKoze]

I have been reading a lot about bacon here lately. So am interested to see and hear how yours goes.

I think I may try some Buckboard bacon before I try the belly bacon.

Bring on the BLTs!

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

I am about a hour into it and finding that the unit is a little too insulated I am going to have to add a pan of cold water/ice to it. Smells great though.

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

Hey guys. So, I did 1 half yesterday and I will do the other half today. I will probably need to get the cold smoking plate as the temps would not stay as low as I would like, the thing is so well insulated, which is a good thing. For hot smoking I like to stay around 170, I have found that to be a decent temp for hot smoking bacon. Since the element is on less there was not as even as a smoke as I would like so I would have to turn it up so the wood would ignite again. I did add more wood about 2 hours into it and that helped with the temp. Trays of ice help keep it a tad lower. I used about 5 ounces of wood total and smoked the 5 pound belly for about 4 hours which is when the IT hit 138. Took the skin off and refrigerated it. It made very good bacon, better than the good store bought stuff, but not as good as my other ones.  Still very tasty. Please enjoy the pics below, sorry for the quality.. I will post more after I do the other belly. Thanks. Before rushing off and doing this method please wait for my recap and tips, I want to make sure I pass on proper information

 

[DivotMaker]

Looks great, Mikey!  I highly recommend the cold smoke plate for applications like this; it works great. 

 

[NDKoze]

Looks great Mikey!

Did you use chunks or chips?

For lower temp smokes, chips will stay lit better.

Just a thought.

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

Thanks!  8)  I used chunks, it was ok since it all worked out in the end. I may try chips on the second half that I do tomorrow, depends on what I have on hand.

 

[Thesneakyzebra]

All the bacon is done and tested. Packaged all 130 slices this weekend. Things turned out well! I have a little tweak to the recipe for success, when I get home from work I will post the recipe and instructions. Thinking about it, I should have originally posted this in anything goes and did a final bacon post.. Maybe I will do a separate post with the need to know information. Thanks.

 

[DivotMaker]

That looks great!  You thought right, originally; this is the best place for this post, and will be for a separate one with the recipe.