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bacon question: Pork belly already cut into strips

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    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?

    #2
    Do not use cure on sliced bacon!!!

    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

    Comment


      #3
      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?

      Comment


        #4
        Meathead's quote is in the comments below in response to someone who ended up with the sliced stuff. It is not in the article.

        Comment


          #5
          i guess i can't see the comments at work


          seeing as how this is the science of BBQ - what is the reason why this would not work/do not use nitrate?

          Comment


            #6
            Not sure. And it is nitrITE not nitrATE. Nitrates are used in conjunction with nitrites for doing long cures.

            Meathead can shed some light.

            Comment


              #7
              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.

              Comment


                #8
                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

                Comment


                  #9
                  Tied the strips together. We'll see how well this works. I made the basic bacon and maple bacon
                  Attached Files

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                  • Danjohnston949
                    Danjohnston949 commented
                    Editing a comment
                    That's a Lot of Work! Hope it Works! From Fargo ND, Dan

                  #10
                  I have seen that described on another forum. They limited their stacks to 3" though. Hope it works out!

                  Comment


                    #11
                    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!

                    Click image for larger version

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                    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


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                    that is all!

                    Comment


                    • Thunder77
                      Thunder77 commented
                      Editing a comment
                      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!

                    #12
                    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.

                    Comment


                    • DeusDingo
                      DeusDingo commented
                      Editing a comment
                      i'm going to have gout by the weekend!

                    • martybartram
                      martybartram commented
                      Editing a comment
                      haha just eat a salad with it

                    #13
                    Costco here carries both sliced and unsliced, but given your success and my lack of slicer, I will be trying this soon...

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