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I bought a whole slab of bacon at the locker and cut it into quarters.



Then with a "Sugar Bacon Cure" I rubbed it into the 4 quarters and 2 boneless butts



Then for about 14 days I would turn them over each night in the fridge.

Then I rinsed and hung the quarters in my smoker overnight. One butt I didn't like the looks of so I just tossed it. Chalked it up to my 1st time and better safe than sorry.

The ambient temp outside was about 43-45 degrees which is why I went ahead and hung in my smoker overnight to dry.




After allowing to sit in the smoker overnight I smoked at 145 in My FEC 100 for about 4 hours. Then I turned it up to about 200 degrees. I intended to take it to about 150 however I actually took it to about 163-165.

After smoking I placed the quarters and the butt in a large bag. Then I placed ice in the bottom of a cooler. Then the bag. Then filled the rest with Ice.

These are photos after completely cooled and ready to cut.



I pulled out my 12" Berkel slicer and sliced away until complete.

Here is the finished product....


Was it worth it? After tasting, I wish I had an area big enough that I could do it all the time. But I had to use a small part of the fridge and do some work arounds.

But in the end. It was worth it.

Thanks for all the support Mr. T and Vicki B.

Briggsy
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Briggsy,
Your bacon looks good. The main object is that you like it and believe the time and effort was worth it. Now maybe you can shop for a designated cooler/fridge.

As for the butts, they could have used a longer brine time as they are much thicker than the belly. Just consume or freeze shortly.

I take it you cooled the bacon quickly so you could slice and package it.

Good job,
Mr. T
quote:
Originally posted by Mr.T:
Briggsy,
Your bacon looks good. The main object is that you like it and believe the time and effort was worth it. Now maybe you can shop for a designated cooler/fridge.

As for the butts, they could have used a longer brine time as they are much thicker than the belly. Just consume or freeze shortly.

I take it you cooled the bacon quickly so you could slice and package it.

Good job,
Mr. T


I had Friday evening until this evening to get everything done. So, I rinsed and hung Friday night because I knew the temp would be between 40-45. I had the FEC 100 ready to go filled with pellets and everything because they were calling for rain.

Sat early am I started the smoking and finished about 1:00 pm. Thats when I used the cooler and ice. I was going to be gone Sat eve and I wanted to get the temp down.

Sun after my son's Christmas program I started on slicing at about 12:30pm and finished about 3pm including wrapping and cleaning-up.

The bacon hit 165 about 1-2 hour earliers than the butt. I decided to go ahead on take it to 165 everywhere I checked in the butt before cooling.

Everything is in the freezer after wrapping except some I'm taking to my meat locker for them to crisp-up and try. (We try each others recipes although I'm a little behind the curve).

Vicki B - Ummm Yea, I've had alot of comments about how good it looks. If I didn't have the Berkel slicer I wouldn't even try again.
I'd say the hardest thing was cleaning the bacon grease. And I'm OCD about keeping things clean.

I actually think I like the pork butts / Back Bacon better than the regular cured bellies made into bacon. But, Personally I like both and I'm happy with the way both turned out.

Briggsy
quote:
Originally posted by Vicki B:
You can eat it like it is because it is cooked now. I just never think of eating it that way because I prefer my bacon crispy and it really does take on a nicer flavor when it's cooked more afterwards.


I agree with Vicki B! And I'd say just by looking at it after its been chilled or frozen after even hitting 165, it still looks like it needs cooked. Most people (me included) probably wouldn't risk it and would fry, bake / cook it until crisp.

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