Help with Bacon

[gijsveltman]

Hello! I cured some bacon this week, about 2.5lbs of it, with Meathead's Maple Bacon recipe, using pure honey as a substitute. I made the mistake of not removing the skin (I completely forgot until before I was going to smoke it yesterday), so as you can see, the cure wouldn't stick to some parts of the slab, which I found weird:



The flavor was pretty good. I went with coarse black pepper, next time I'll go with a finer grind. I wanted to ask, however, how you guys slice and cook the bacon. I used a slicer to crank out some nice-looking strips, and put them into the oven at 400f for about 20-25 minutes. They were still a little tough and not as juicy. I don't normally like to use the frying pan as they tend to burn. I know they won't be as crispy as store bought bacon, but they were a little tough and not as moist. I'm guessing some of it has to do with the skin still being on. Any tips for making this bacon juicier?



Thanks!

[EdF]

I generally don't rub after the cure, and do leave the skin on for the smoke part. Then after pulling it out and letting it cool a little (to "handleable"), I take a boning/fileting knife and slice the skin off the top. It's really easy at that point. Cool a bit more and throw in the fridge, then take it out and slice and portion into vac bags.

[EdF]

It just comes off so easily while it's still warm that I'd never do it differently. Well, never say never, eh?

[gijsveltman]

EdF I didn't rub after the cure, but I didn't rinse. I like the extra condiment on top. I'll try to remove the skin from the rest tonight, and we'll see how it goes.

[EdF]

Good luck, Boss!

[Spinaker]

If you are going to fry them in a pan, make sure the heat is medium. All that sugar can burn easily in a hot pan.

[ecowper]

I buy my pork belly at Costco. It comes in a cryovac and the skin has been removed already. For $2.99/lb that is hard to beat!

[scottranda]

Same!

[6th Borough BBQ]

I've only seen Pork Belly already-cut into strips at our Costco

[HorseDoctor]

First choice is buy it skin off. Second is skin before cure. Third is skin while still hot after smoking. Not surprised that skin is still chewy after smoking bacon! Takes way higher temps for skin to get crunchy & bacon is well burnt by then.