Macon Bacon...rd 2.....

Following the thread that Dardeau setup for me....more bacon...but with spices this time....


Star anise, cumin, coriander, kashmiri chile powder, black peppercorns



Toasted and ground



added to the salt, brown sugar, and pink salt...



Then topped with white sugar...a little less than last time, trying to go a little more savory...



Mix until uniform in color...



A brand new 10# slab of bacon from the best bacon produce in my knowledge: Petit Jean Meat Company. This piece is both better and cheaper than the slab I got from Central Market in DFW.




There is just something about pork and sepia...



or even pork and red...



Cut into approx 3.5# slabs for vacuum packing...



Add a thick layer to each side of each slab....



Ready to cure for 10 days or so in the fridge...

Don't vacuum seal, only cure 4 days. just put them in a pan and plenty of weight on top.

I was curious about where the vacuum seal came from. Can't find it my reading on curing but know you have some good advisors.

panda said:

Don't vacuum seal, only cure 4 days. just put them in a pan and plenty of weight on top.

Click to expand...

daveb said:

I was curious about where the vacuum seal came from. Can't find it my reading on curing but know you have some good advisors.

Click to expand...

why not vacuum seal? I don't pull a very strong vacuum on these...just ensuring the cure is in constant contact with the meat....

I'll check them daily and turn every other day (ish)...and pull them when they are firm and pink, last time that was about 7 days....

The vac helps it penetrate so you don't have mushy in the middle, over cured on the outside.

Four day bacon doesn't have a lot of balls in my experience. 7-10 days is kind of a sweet spot depending on volume/how the meat is cut.

i would think waste of a bag and doesn't it turn into a brine instead of a dry cure cause of the liquid seeped to the outside?
guess i prefer a lighter flavor for house made bacon, but do hot smoke never tried cold method.

panda said:

i would think waste of a bag and doesn't it turn into a brine instead of a dry cure cause of the liquid seeped to the outside?
guess i prefer a lighter flavor for house made bacon, but do hot smoke never tried cold method.

Click to expand...

now I'm curious to do a side-by-side...which is what I call an excuse for making another batch!

love that idea!

Hmmmm...I think I'm going to pull 1 of the 4 tonight to be my 4-day cure representative. However, since the others will remain sealed with the cure, I think the best way to do a 1:1 comparison would be to re-bag the 4-day after cleaning thoroughly...then let them all air-dry the same amount of time before smoking. Good idea?

I pulled one of the bellies last night so I can do a side-by-side comparison with the bellies that are cured 7-10 days (vs 4)...was very pleased to see that despite a very thorough washing to remove the cure, quite a lot of the spice mix was embedded into the fat.



Will do a side-by-side double-blind test once all of these are smoked.

OK, next phase completed.


After air-drying for a couple of days...



It goes into the smoker. I was really quite surprised at the effect that air-drying had on the rate of smoke absorbption. The browing you see in this photo happened in under 5 minutes.



And the finished product. will serve with breakfast on saturday.




I'm quite pleased with my result--though I haven't tasted it yet. This has definitely stoked my fire to move on to my next charcuterie project: tasso.

oh...very nice. Love the color. How long did you air dry? how long in the Smoker?

36-hour air-dry. In the smoker at about 275/300 for around 90-120 minutes. Max internal temp of 151.3. Then directly into the fridge on "power cool" mode to limit carry over.

Here is a link to a pretty cool bacon calculator, just scroll down a little.: http://forum.cookshack.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/7712945737/m/2642970927

Interesting link, thanks!

blind taste test results?

Can we see pics of the sliced product

Can I order a package? looks dam good to me.

panda said:

blind taste test results?

Click to expand...

Both of the tasters felt that the differences were quite subtle, but correctly identified all 4 pieces. So, that means I'm going to put a lot less effort into this the next time


Sliced product shots:

panda said:

i would think waste of a bag and doesn't it turn into a brine instead of a dry cure cause of the liquid seeped to the outside?
guess i prefer a lighter flavor for house made bacon, but do hot smoke never tried cold method.

Click to expand...

The natural brine is all part of the curing process. The drying is after the curing process. They're mutually exclusive. I vac sealed all of my long cure cuts, and short cure items as well, at my last gig. It ensures even saturation of the cure and aromatics, in my experience.

Well played sir. Very well played. That belly looks fecking excellent!

brainsausage said:

Well played sir. Very well played. That belly looks fecking excellent!

Click to expand...

Thank you! Now I need to make time for that Tasso project.