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

[Event Horizon]

The added benefit is the skin comes off so easy when the belly is hot.

Brian, does the skin pull off or do you still need a knife when trying to remove it while hot?

 

[Pork Belly]

You will still need to use the tip of your knife to separate the skin on hot bacon.

 

[SconnieQ]

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.

Wow. That sounds like a lot of steps. Why would you just not render down slowly in oil on the stovetop, and call it a day? Like you would with cracklins? Or just skip the whole additional smoke steps and drop in a fryer?

 

[Pork Belly]

Why would you just not render down slowly in oil on the stovetop, and call it a day? Like you would with cracklins?

Short answer is because your trying to make pork rinds not cracklins.

The drying step is critical to having the rind puff up and bubble. You end up with a light airy product not hard and dense.

 

[SconnieQ]

The drying step is critical to having the rind puff up and bubble.

Ah ha! Right. The puffed ones. I get it now.

 

[DivotMaker]

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

Ask Walt...he knows!