bacon question: Pork belly already cut into strips
So my wife got me 5 lbs or pork belly for christmas and i never looked at it very closely. she just showed me the package in the freezer and told me what it was. i look at it now and each piece of belly is pre-stripped into 3/4" strips. i was planning on making bacon with it.
so my question is: how does this affect the cure? does it not make any difference? does it speed things up (i would think)?
i plan to tie it together when i smoke it. should i tie it together before i cure it and pretend like it isn't already all sliced up?
The following is a quote from Meathead on the main site concerning sliced bacon.
It will cook up beautifully just as it is now, or marinated in whatever you want , but do not use nitrite. To make cured bacon, be sure you ark for unsliced next time
i'm on the bacon page and i can't find that exact quote but found something similar. it doesn't say what will happen if i go head and do it. why is it bad?
It will cure VERY quickly in thin strips and likely be very salty. Not dangerous, but probably not really what you want bacon to taste like either. Try it if you wish and let us know how it works... but, I would do as suggested and fry it up as side pork with whatever rub or marinade you like and get some uncut belly for bacon.
DeusDingo, It's Called Fresh SidePork here in the Northland! Sear it in a Fying Pan with Plenty of Salt & Pepper then on Top of a Casserole of SourKraut cover and into the Oven @ Med for 45 - 60 Mins! You're in Hog Heaven Baby!
Eat Well and Prosper! From Fargo ND, Dan
Weber Summit Kamado with SnS and Vortex.. Broil King Baron, Primo Oval Junior. Primo XL. Love grilling steaks, ribs, and chicken. Need to master smoked salmon. Absolutely love anything to do with baking bread. Favorite cool weather beer: Sam Adams Octoberfest Favorite warm weather beer: Yuengling Traditional Lager. All-time favorite drink: Single Malt Scotch
i have returned with good news! the bacon making was a success! it cured well and tasted great! the bundles stayed together and did the trick. after the week long cure (flipping daily) i rinsed the slabs a little bit and put them right on the smoker. i used hickory and smoked it for about 2 hours. the smoking temps were a little jumpy, they started at around 212 and worked up to around 250 when the wood chunk finally caught fire and then back down to 235. it took 3 hours to get them to 165. i let them rest on the counter for a few minutes and put them in the fridge. at around 10pm we came home and were ready to go to bed but i wasn't going to let my day end without trying the bacon! so i fried up a strip (the pre-cut strip which shrunk considerably but still very thick for bacon) and it was awesome. i wrapped in saran wrap, put in a quart bag and put it back in the fridge. the maple bacon i put in the freezer, though i am sure i will be getting it out soon!
oh, and just because i didn't want to make a separate post but i still want to brag i had a prime grade ribeye from my big meat purchase a while back. it was heaven
Glad to know it works! I saw some already sliced pork belly at the grocer's and I thought, "I wonder how @DeusdDingo got on with his bacon??" Thanks for sharing. Beautiful steak, btw!
Awesome! my pork belly will be finished curing on Saturday night so this Sunday will be smoking day. Its encouraging to see you had such great results and a ribeye to boot. Next up, ribeye with a side of bacon.
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