Bacon Recipes

[ecowper]

I went looking for some bacon recipes to keep improving my bacon game. I am going to use @DocBlonder's cure calculator so that I don't have to worry about botulism ..... just wanted ideas (like discovering that German and Scandinavian bacon includes juniper berries and other aromatics) for different ways to flavor the bacon.

Let me tell you, I have discovered some scary damn advice on brining the bacon. I don't think I am ever going out on the internet again!

PS if you have a favorite bacon recipe that is safe, please share!

[Spinaker]

I love Meathead's Asian bacon. Its great. I add more ginger and another half bottle of Hoisin Sauce. This stuff is killer.

[ecowper]

yep, I'm going to make some of that with the pork belly I just bought.

[ecowper]

Has anybody dried the bacon post cure to form a pellicle, and then smoked it?

[Spinaker]

No, But it would be worth trying.

[Jerod Broussard]

Has anybody dried the bacon post cure to form a pellicle, and then smoked it?

Pellicle schmellicle.....following quote from a page on Doc Blonder's website- ""Usually less than a mm thick, this layer is called a "pellicle" (Latin for a thin skin or husk). It consists of meat proteins that dried out, broke apart chemically, and were then re-joined into a tough leathery film that remains chewy even in water.Once formed, it slows evaporation from within the meat, and penetration of flavor, from without.""

[ecowper]

Yep, I've read that.

[EdF]

Michael Ruhlman et al Charcuterie has a few good bacon related recipes - and lots of other good stuff too.

[ecowper]

Okay, I'll check out Ruhlman's stuff. Thanks!

[EdF]

Regular, Savory, Maple, Guanciale, Pancetta ... maybe a couple more in the bacon family. Worth having in your cooking arsenal.

[HorseDoctor]

Combine Rhulman's sweet & savory approaches. Maple syrup, brown sugar, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, juniper, black pepper etc... One of my favorites !! I use his cure recipe and control final "saltiness" with length of de-salinating rinse/soak. I prefer 20 30 minutes.

[ecowper]

Went and found 1 new recipe for bacon, which EdF might find interesting. It's from the New York Times and I find a lot of their recipes to be outstanding.

I'm doing 3 chunks of bacon, each weighs about 3.25 lbs. Started them today, with the help of my smoking and grilling sous chef, Karyn

Method
Use Doc Blonder's cure calculator ..... 3.25 lbs of pork belly requires 3.7g of Prague Powder #1 and I increase the Morton's Kosher Salt in Meathead's standard cure from 4.5 tsp to 5.0 tsp.

Add my taste ingredients to the cure, then the distilled water, then any thick liquids, like molasses or maple syrup.

Batch #1 - Meathead's Asian recipe

Batch #2 - A riff on Meathead's Maple Bacon recipe - I eliminate the brown sugar, increase pepper from 4.5 to 6 tbsp, add 10 whole sprigs of fresh thyme and 4-5 crushed garlic cloves.

Batch #3 - from the NYT ..... The cure is Doc Blonder's cure, not the NYT (I trust Doc!) .... so 1 cup distilled water, 3.7g Prague Powder #1, 5 tsp Kosher Salt

1/4 cup molasses
2 tbsp bourbon
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tsp fennel seed, toasted
1 tsp coriander seed, toasted

Everything is in the garage fridge now, gonna smoke it next Friday when I get home from business trip.




And the chickens came to visit .... guess they knew I was making bacon!

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[Spinaker]

If those chickens were in my backyard they would be by-bye. Too many wild critters around these parts.

[ecowper]

Spinaker, I have bobcats, raccoons and coyotes around. Plus hawks roosting nearby. Generally, the chickens stay in a coop and run I built that can stop a bobcat or coyote cold. During the day, they sometimes get out to roam free.

[Spinaker]

Ahhhhh, got ya. I was gonna say, those suckers wouldn't last long!! @ecopower Cool shots man! Cheers!

[EdF]

Those sound really interesting! Be waiting to hear the results. Yeah, NYT recipes tend to be good - my wifre brings them to me because she's the main subscriber here. Thanks ecowper !

[ecowper]

The challenge is going to be knowing which is which coming on and off the smoker. Gonna find something to mark each one so that I know.

[EdF]

Been there when I've gotten a little too ambitious!

[ecowper]

Dang, those 3 slabs of bacon are in the garage fridge tormenting me right now. CANNOT wait to smoke them Friday.

[EdF]

You are here. You are now. Soon, slabs will appear in the here and now to be smoked. Welcome them!

[ecowper]

Are you my BBQ Yoda?

[EdF]

It's a tough job, but we all have to play the role sometimes! "Bacon is coming".

[ecowper]

Heh ... EdF, the BBQ Yoda

[ecowper]

Saint Patty's is coming .... and my younger son is coming home from college that week .... gonna make a corned beef brisket! :-)

[ecowper]

All three slabs of bacon just went on the WSM .... I love how much meat that thing can handle .... 10.5 lbs of bacon on the top grate, no problem.

Here's my fancy solution to marking the bacon so I know what is what ... I also labeled my Fireboard probes, so that I know what is what there, too.




And on the WSM ....

[CaptainMike]

Oh man, great thread! I'm picking up my first belly tomorrow, so thanks for the great inspiration ecowper. I am especially interested to hear how the NYT turns out (I hope it's not a "Fake Recipe )

[ecowper]

As soon as these slabs come off the WSM I'm gonna slice a bit of each and try 'em out.

[ecowper]

Early on, as a control, I did one slab of bacon with just Prague Powder, distilled water and Kosher Salt. That way I knew the brine was actually doing something .... Just that basic brine is pretty awesome, actually.

[ecowper]

Just pulled all three slabs of bacon off. They are all outstanding ..... the NYT recipe is good ... the bourbon and molasses together is off the hook. The Asian recipe is very .... Asian. Definitely reminds me of chinese pork dishes.