Pictures of my first go at bacon! (dry cured with maple syrup and brown sugar)

[Event Horizon]

So we decided to buy a full belly and try some bacon.  There are so many methods it's hard to figure out what to do (being a beginner), but as so many posts indicate, there are many ways to go about it and a lot of it is personal choice.  I did basically follow Brian's recipe here. http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1797.0

This was a 12 LB belly.  I started by cutting it in 4 and removed the skin.  I put the skin in the freezer and will make some pork rinds some day.

For the cure I used what I can get locally which is a 6.4% sodium nitrite.

I made a simple calculator in excel.  I used the same calculations as with my back bacon.

Each piece got covered with the salt, sugar, and cure and into a freezer bag.

1/4 cup of maple syrup and a 1/4 cup of brown sugar were added to each bag.

They went into the fridge for 8 days receiving a daily rub and flip.  The day before the smoke they came out of the bags, got a good rinse and dry, then back into the fridge on open racks.

Into the 3-D with 3.2 oz of apple.  I chunked some if it to small sizes (pencil thick) and left the rest as a chunk.  I started at 140° for 2 hours and then to 200° until a IT of 150°.  I know it is a light smoke, but that is what I like.

I did panic as I was setting up the smoker because I never gave the water pan a thought.  I did a quick post asking but did not get any feedback in time so I put it in.  I don't think it did anything for or against the finished bacon.  Maybe next time I will leave it out and see if I notice a difference.

It rested in the fridge for a couple days and then got sliced up and packaged.

Almost ate it all before getting a picture of the cooked bacon!  Well as everyone has said I will say it as well.  I will NEVER buy bacon again!  This stuff was delicious.

 

[BedouinBob]

Great job John! Homemade bacon is one of my favorite foods! You are right about the water. There's no need for it on bacon. You just spent a week pulling the moisture out of the belly, no need to put any back.

 

[NDKoze]

Awesome looking bacon! I haven't made any in awhile and it is definitely time. Thanks for the post/reminder that I need to make some more.

 

[ibbones]

I have SOOOO got to try this.

 

[SmokedGouda]

That looks so good!! A little complicated for this rookie, but looking forward to working my way up to BACON!!!!!

 

[SconnieQ]

Looks like your first bacon was a great success! Thanks for all of the nice pictures and thorough description.

 

[Sodaking27]

John,
        Great looking bacon. I made it for the first time recently. I need to make another batch soon.

 

[DivotMaker]

Fantastic post, and great-looking bacon, John!!  Really nice job!  My local Sam's is now stocking fresh bellies, so I'm going to have to give this a shot soon! 

I know Brian (Pork Belly) says the skin is much easier to remove, after smoking.  Any other bacon experts have an opinion on that?

 

[drains]

I wish pork bellies were readily available here. Bacon and eggs, BLT's, just no end to the deliciousness. Store bought is ok but that is on another whole level.

 

[BedouinBob]

Tony, I've done it both ways and it is easier after smoke but not unmanageable before. It's preference.

 

[NDKoze]

My Costco has skinless bellies. So, that is what I usually get.

 

[va_rider]

Fantastic post, and great-looking bacon, John!!  Really nice job!  My local Sam's is now stocking fresh bellies, so I'm going to have to give this a shot soon! 

I know Brian (Pork Belly) says the skin is much easier to remove, after smoking.  Any other bacon experts have an opinion on that?

I'm no expert... I've only done 20lbs of pork bellies over a couple smokes... but each time, I've smoked with skin on, and removed after the smoke. The skin comes off amazingly easy after the smoke.

 

[DivotMaker]

Thanks for the skin help, guys!  I really was asking because I'm new to the bacon thing!  I need to look at the packaged bellies at Sam's closer - they may be skin-off, like the ones at Costco, which would make this question moot. ???

 

[SconnieQ]

Thanks for the skin help, guys!  I really was asking because I'm new to the bacon thing!  I need to look at the packaged bellies at Sam's closer - they may be skin-off, like the ones at Costco, which would make this question moot. ???

I feel like when you remove the skin after, you are removing a lot of smoke, plus that kind of more concentrated/pellicle edge, but Brian (Pork Belly) says it still has plenty of smoke and it is not a problem. I think if you can buy it with the skin already off, that would be preferable for bacon, if you feel you would end up discarding the skin anyway. If you remove the skin before smoking, you could make cracklins. Heck, you might be able to make cracklins after smoking (interesting idea). Even though skin-on is less expensive per pound, the skin adds a fairly significant amount to the weight, so price-wise you might come out ahead buying skinless. Now...when I make braised pork belly for David Chang's Momofuku pork belly buns, I prefer skin-on (even though he uses skinless). After braising for a few hours, the skin might be the best part. Soft, gelatinous and flavorful.

 

[BedouinBob]

Keri, if you figure out how to make smoked skin into cracklins, let us know. I haven't figured out that one yet.

 

[Event Horizon]

Thanks for all the nice comments everyone.  The bacon is fantastic, as everyone that has made it says “I will never buy store bought again”.

I had been out of town the week before on business and got my belly on the way home from an abattoir.  I had read both methods and had planned on making up my mind before picking up the belly as I could have had them remove the skin.  Being the newbie that I am to all of this and NOT doing my reading and waffling on the decision I just left it on.  At the end of the day I decided that I wanted to remove the skin before smoking. 

I am no butcher by any stretch, so if I could remove the skin anyone can.  I watched this video https://youtu.be/bqqdHi9WLAs and just took my time. To make it easier I started by cutting the belly into the 4 pieces that would fit into the freezer bags before removing the skin.  You can see in this picture you need to get a pretty good grip on the skin once you get going, after that it is a matter of getting a good angle upward without going too far upward to the point of cutting the skin. 

 

[Walt]

I make pork rhinds with the smoked skin after removing.  Count me as one who removes the skin after the smoke. I haven't found any lack of smoke to the bacon doing it this way.

 

[BedouinBob]

Walt, what's your process for rinds after smoke?

 

[Pork Belly]

Don't worry about the skin being on, it cures and smokes just fine. The added benefit is the skin comes off so easy when the belly is hot.

If you have a slicer you can also leave the sin on the bacon. You then have a county style rind on bacon that is pretty tasty to nibble on. Generally I skin the hot bellies chunk up the skin and put it back in the smoker on low heat to dry it for dog treats.

 

[Walt]

Walt, what's your process for rinds after smoke?

Check out the post in the Bacon section called......"Pork Rhinds".  After the skin is removed from the warm bacon I cut it up into 2" squares & set them on a seafood rack in the fridge overnight. The next day I dehydrate them in the smoker useing the Jerky fan & no wood. They come out way too smokey after a 6 hour cold smoke & a 2 hour hot smoke & additional smoke during the dehydration. Then drop them in the fryer for a couple of minutes to crisp up. Let them drain for awhile so they will get brittle.