Original Post @ bbqsearch

Posted by Jackitup on December 10, 2002 at 21:33:24:

A month or so ago I was surfing some on the Egger forum and some how got on the subject of bacon and I promised a couple guys I would send them my bacon rub recipe, so I couldn't hardly do so without also sharing with my friends on the BBQFORUM. Play with it and drop me a line and let me know how you all like it if you try it. I'll just paste the email I sent them below. ENJOY
Jon

Hey guys,
Bet you thought I forgot, no just slow, here's the recipe, you'll have to play with it a bit cause I use my chili rub mix and I'm not willing to give that recipe, but you should be able to substitute what ever you favorite rub is with good results. I'd recommend starting with a small batch of meat to start so you can get the feel and taste of it before doing a whole bunch.
Cut butts/shoulders or meat of choice into slabs about the size of a chunk of bacon (shoulders I just split in half, boneless ones are easiest and most uniform when cutting "horizontally") and rub with as much of the mix that the meat will hold on both sides, shaking off excess (I've used venison too with good results) After meat is rubbed up good drizzle with maple syrup or honey and lay on sheet pans and cover with plastic for 5-7 days. After 3-4 days drain excess liquid off and re-cover and flip meat. When your ready to smoke rinse meat and dry off and re-drizzle with some more honey or maple and smoke for 8-12 hrs. using "cold smoking" method, you don't want to cook it when you smoke it, having the cure on it you will be ok. then wrap it up and freeze. When ready to eat slice and fry, deep fry or do on the grill (my favorite), you'll never look at store bought the same again

shoulder/butt bacon cure
2# of br. sugar
3oz.blk. pepper
2.6# of cure
6.3oz of your favorite rub

Any ?? drop me a line, I think I covered it all, good luck and let me know how you like it
Jon

---------------
Followups:
That looks tasty and not too hard to make. Thanks for posting. Aint never had no real bacon that I can recall. I try to make it soon. Might remind the rooks that 5-7 day original marinate time is under refrigeration of course. Then I got a little confused on the # measurement. Guessing it might be pounds for the sugar and ounces for the cure? Speaking of cure..that be something like Prague 2 or TQ I would suspect since it got the long lasting version of the nitrates and trites..which is needed for cold smoking?

Posted by Jackitup on December 11, 2002 at 00:29:39:

In Reply to: Dang.. posted by bigwheel on December 10, 2002 at 23:08:05:

The # is for lbs. not oz. and cure is tender quick, I use a cure mix from Mandeville Co. in Mpls but it is equiv. to tender quick, and yes definately use refrigeration
Jon

HaTom
Can you use tender quick for the cure?
Whats so secret about that chili mix you going to bottle it. Ha that was my idea .

I'd guess the 2.6# cure is TenderQuick or equivalent - 2.6# pink curing salt would be the appropriate quantity for more than a half-ton of meat!

The followups questioned the lb. figure for curing salts to mean ounces and that Tenderquick was acceptable.

Jackitup says he meant 2.6 lbs TQ

Updated the post above with the followups, thanks for the info Tom.

...but 2.6 lbs of TQ? That much cure, you wouldn't need any refrigerations and it just SOUNDS like way too much. But guess it works.

Well, Tom you've been smoked.Keep em coming!

I know absolutely nothing about making butt bacon,but it looks like he is talking about splittin' shoulders and usin'what they can handle.

Now these sausage hogs ya'll are seein' , may have 19-20 lb. shoulders,jus' like them 5+lb.slabs a ribs.

Sounds like he might be doin' a bunch a rinsin'.

Now if ya'll be talkin' a 120lb. competition hog,that's another beast.

Just a thought.

Curing my 10 lb pork butt with High Mountain bacon cure but with a twist - after 3 days cure added about a 1/4 cup of maple syrup - will report back with photos on the outcome. Without the syrup I know it comes out fantastic! I like to experiment with new ideas.

A whole pork loin is awesome too.

Dave

I just completed my buckboard bacon using Hi-Mountain bacon cure. Let it cure for 10 days in the frige after adding about a 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Smoked with hickory for 2 hours at 275 - drizzled it with a mixtute of honey and maple syrup and raised temperature to 225(without smoke) and removed when the internal of the butt reached 140 - talk about good! Gave packets away for Xmas - everyone raved and wanted more. Thought I would share the photos with the forum.

Thanks Smokin for getting those photos straightened out for me. Yes, that buckboard bacon is as good as it looks.

We just ate our first buck baconLT sammiches tonight and they went over real big. The kids all want another one for lunch tomorrow to bring to school. For our first time we just did the high mountain cure for 13 days and followed their directions but the next one will be getting the maple syrup added. The one suggestion I have is to slice it thin as possible for a quick cook. We took it out of the smoker and sliced it warm because we couldn't wait. I am sure slicing cold will be a bit easier, but it was another excellent use for a butt.

Yes. That looks just like the bacon in my fridge right now. I fry it up in a black skillet about 2 minutes a side on a medium-low heat. It makes the best BLT's! I am drooling again!

tom, sounds like a great recipie. question on the cold smoke.....how long, and what temp do we want to keep the meat under, as not to cook it?

Hey cajunqr, you said:

quote:

[qb]... Smoked with hickory for 2 hours at 275 - drizzled it with a mixtute of honey and maple syrup and raised temperature to 225(without smoke) and removed when the internal of the butt reached 140 ...[/qb]

Was this in a Smokette? If so, did you mean 175F to start? And did you dump the woodbox for "without smoke"?

The bacon is not smoked until done. Just until 140*. Then let cool in fridge to firm and slice. Then you can freeze it if not using right away but it is not necessary. Fry it just like any bacon to cook.

GLH
i have read they can cold smoke this bacon im curing about 7 lb. and would like to know if the Hi Mountains bacon cure can be cold smoked? any info on cold smoking it would help. thanks jeff

Go to the Hi-Mountain forum and ask Liz. My efforts at convincing everyone to just follow the directions have failed!

http://www.mortonsalt.com/recipes/RecipeDetail.aspx?RID=117

copy and paste the url.. its fom the morton salt sight. simlpy enough, it calls for alot less TQ than preciously mentioned. however, this is for a presliced tenderloin. might make a difference. i am going to try the "smother it in TQ and rub and brown sugar method" this week. i will post results.
mike

The URL posted is for Canadian Bacon. I wouldn't adjust the TQ for Buckboard bacon. Similar, but not the same method.

Two different cuts of meat and the butt needs more to penetrate.

Good luck on the Bacon. If you have photos, post a new thread and let us know how it goes.

There are some threads for CB out there if you haven't found them. let me know.

well i did it. i used more tq because the butt is so think. i rubbed her down with tq and brown sugar. let is set for 7 days. smoked at 225(drizzled in syrup) for 4 hrs, then bumped up a mite. i couldnt get internal to 145, i only got to 130. ran out of wood.lol
so i didnt figure it would hurt. i let her rest, then sliced some off. i fried it up. now the looks, when i ws cutting, was like it was ham. i kept thinking, this is ham. but after cooking... it sure was bacon. problem was, it was too thick, as i didnt do a good job of slicing. too thick, means too tough, when we are talking bacon. it was leathery and on the tough side, but was good flavor.
the end of experiment number 21304971049851230

lol

What you might want to try next time is to butterfly the butt in the beginning. Gives you better coverage with the TQ and makes for a better slicer in the end.

Mike, I make this all the time. Butterfly the butt for sure.

I use 1# TQ mixed with 1.5# Sugar(white or brown or mix). I add 1-tsp ground clove, 1-tbsp black pepper, and about 3 small bay leaves.

Rub mix on the butterflied butt throughly, then let sit in either a covered container or a large ziploc bag for about 7 days(up to 10). I don't drain mine at all, just rotate it every couple of days to make sure it stays covered. This will be enough for two whole butts(~20-22# pre boning), or 4 pieces of meat. Adjust as needed for amount you need.

Remove from cure and rinse well. Pat dry and allow pelicle to form(fan helps), then coarse black pepper if desired. Smoke with wood of choice, I use apple or hickory. I start smoker at 225 to get smoke going, then turn it down to 150* when I put the meat in. I smoke to ~125*, then freeze, then slice.

I know that many will say to cook to a higher temp, but the higher the temp, the less like bacon your final product will be. Freezing also helps in this regard, go figure.

You can add maple syrup to cure if you like. I usually wait until the 4th day and add about 1-cup to the liquid that the meat is now sitting in.