Meathead Maple Bacon

[BriggsBBQ]

I bought a pork belly from Costco long time ago and finally got the guts to start the bacon process. More like finally had the wife out of the house so I could monopolize and mess up the kitchen.

The whole thing was 9lb. Split it into 3 parts. 2 for bacon about 8 lb each and the other I cubed to make cracklins that have meat on them. The cracklins I split into 4 parts because 1lb of cracklins is hard to finish unless you have some company.

Will let you know how the bacon goes. Just 4 more days of staring at it......

[JCBBQ]

Man, I'm right behind you. I saw those gigantic pork bellies at Costco and was just thinking about doing the same thing. Post some pics!!!

[jgreen]

That must have been one huge belly.

[DeusDingo]

he drank a lot of beer, so....

[Huskee]

It's really good, reeeeealllly sweet. If you like sweet you'll love it. Have you made his Simple (regular) bacon? It's actually much sweeter than what I thought it'd be as well.

[richinlbrg]

+1 to what Huskee said. My experience exactly!

[BriggsBBQ]

This is my first batch of bacon. I like sweet bacon so I went this route. Maybe too sweet now that you say that. I plan on a hickory smoke so maybe that bitterness will balance it out.

[Huskee]

BriggsBBQ hickory is a great choice IMO.

[BriggsBBQ]

Here are a couple of pics from the fridge...should be good.

[BriggsBBQ]

So just finished it. Cold smoked it. I know meathead would disagree, but I have a fridge with a heating element in the bottom and make sure the temp never gets above 60.

Came out great. Used Hickory wood. The slice on the end was very smoke strong but had a really good smoke flavor. Strongest smoke flavor I have ever had without getting an over smoked taste.

Sliced some and made a BLT for lunch today that was just the bomb. I am thinking a couple of chunks in some beans would be great too. Probably try some edges that have the really smokey taste. I think I am not convinced to be a regular bacon maker and perhaps smoked salmon too.

[jacmac422]

I recently got a Costco pork belly and then could not find the correct salt to use. I chose to smoke it and treat half of it like pulled pork. Best pulled pork I have ever made...

[BriggsBBQ]

My wife has an uncle that does that all the time and it looks amazing. One place to get the salt is Amazon. Pretty cheap and get it pretty fast.

[EdF]

I've made various kinds of bacon about a dozen times and never used Instacure. Since they're always refrigerated or frozen, the only difference it seems to make is in the color.

[NortheastAl]

The only pork belly our Costco sells is pre sliced.

[BriggsBBQ]

Mine sometimes does not have belly and sometimes just has the sliced one. After realizing it is not that hard to make bacon I will do it again.

[Airsick]

Here in Florida, our local Publix supermarket had it and cut two 3lb hunks for me. I've had them order special cuts of beef in times past. Just passing on...

[Ledhead]

This will be my third time making this awesome maple bacon. In the past, i just made 3 separate batches using a 9 lb belly to avoid the scaling calculations. I just bought 2 of these from Costco, so i will be making 18 lbs of bacon. I still plan to cut the two into 6 batches of 3 lb each for easy handling. In this case, i have 6 individual batches, not one 18 lb batch.

Do i use scaling to make a large batch of cure and divide, (would call for 6x everything, but about 4.5 tsp of P#1 instead of 3 tsp if i did 6 individual batches) or, do i multiply 6 on everything, combine thoroughly and divide? This is why i have been reluctant to scale, and have achieved perfect bacon every time.

[HorseDoctor]

You're making too much work out of this. If you have a recipe for 3# and have 18# of meat, 6X it and divide the total by however many pieces you cut it into. I would do 4-5# batches because that fits a 2 gal. Ziplock just right. It's making bacon, not brain surgery! Have fun!

[Ledhead]

Thanks HD... I can't help myself... I'm a CPA by trade and I do tend to overthink things.

[Brewmaster]

Try adding some Bourbon and jalapeno peppers to the cure, it cuts some of the sweet and the heat from the peppers is barely there if you take out the seeds

[Ledhead]

I did up the salt a little the second time around, and the bourbon idea is a great one ... how much do you add per 3 lb batch? I also like the pepper idea and we like jalapeno...we are fans of pepper jellies, so i think i will throw some in a couple of batches. Thanks!

[BriggsBBQ]

I am liking the jalapeno idea too. I like hot stuff so I might leave those evil little seeds in.