Another bacon cure recipe question

[Karon Adams]

So, yeah, I'm completely HOOKED on the bacon. every single morning since the first batch was made (excepting that little disaster when I ran out for three days. the withdrawal symptoms were INTENSE!) Anyway, this morning, I have fresh bread baked yesterday. I made largish buns with it. large about 5-6" diameter. they'd make some enormous burgers. but, I am planning to slice those buns using the basket weave slice that I showed you all before. then, fry up my bacon. take several of those slices and spread on some hot bacon grease and toast the slices in a skillet to brown the grease on the bread. a little, thin spread of Mayo, then add the bacon. thin toasted bread slices. those will be sweet! the only thing I need now 9will have to wait) is some home grown maters to top them off.

I'm thinking the reserved bacon grease will make some OH SO EXCELLENT mayo, too!

anyway, to the question. I am thinking about, in the next cook, replacing all or part of the maple syrup with honey just to see what the flavor profile change will do. possible doing one with Agave, too, which is one of my favorite sweets for BBQ sauce.

my question is, does anyone think this will be a problem with the cure from an antibacterial, preservation standpoint? I know honey has a far higher sugar content than most syrups and I think agave does as well so I'm thinking the preservation/cure aspect should be fine. I just want to check with the experts.

meanwhile, I'll let you all know about the mayo and the breakfast sammiches.

[Karon Adams]

breakfast! I was right. Needs tomato.

[Jerod Broussard]

I would think it would be fine. Sugar, Goood. More sugar, GREAT!!!

[Karon Adams]

I'll let you know what, if any, taste difference it makes.

[HorseDoctor]

I have done both honey & maple bacons. The maple adds a little maple flavor. The honey I have used was a light clover type honey that added only sweetness, no appreciable "honey" taste. It would take a very strong flavored honey to do otherwise. I suspect that agave will be similar and add only sweetness.

[Doc Hazard]

I have made bacon without maple syrup and without honey. I am not a fan of maple, except on pancakes, and in general I don't like sweet ham or bacon, so I just use brown & white sugar in moderation; I add a bit more water to make up for the reduced liquid. For flavor I've been using corned beef spice mix, like pickling spice. It's quick and easy and has a nice complex of flavors. To each his/her own! Also, I mostly make back bacon lately; 1/5 the fat, 1/3 the cost, but more like ham.

[Jerod Broussard]

From the bacon page

About the maple syrup. The syrup is the water that carries the dissolved salts, as well as its own sugars. I use real maple syrup in this recipe, but it is expensive. If you wish you can use Steens Cane Sugar, imitation maple syrup, sorghum, honey, Lyle's Golden Syrup, or molasses.

[The Burn]

On my first slab, I used imitation maple syrup (for less carbs) and I've used real in my last two slabs. Really couldn't taste the difference.

[johnsteen]

I made up 6 pounds of bacon last week with the maple recipe. Had a total of 12 people sample it. Three swear they are going to make some. Three people while eating it and raving about it said they didn't like maple bacon and would never eat it. Going to make a bigger batch next time.

[Karon Adams]

OK, my experiment batch was smoked today. I have been going nuts in the kitchen. anyway, the bacon definitely exhibits differences with different sugars.

We made three different kinds, as our bellies are usually cut into three pieces.

Slab 1, standard Maple

slab 2, honey. the honey, being far sweeter than most syrup, certainly makes itself known. the meat has a MUCH sweeter taste on the other side. almost enough sweet to overpower the smoke. it is an element in the flavor profile when you eat it but the sweet is the dominant taste.

the Agave I have not yet tried, that slab was the center cut of the belly so there wasn't a ragged side that justified a 'trim up' fresh off the smoker. so, we'll slice all three up after a day in the fridge and I'll make some bacon from that one, first and let you guys know.

[Lynn_B]

I've yet to do this so I'm curious as to the agave look forward to the results

[Meathead]

As long as the salts remain the same feel free to swap the rest of the ingredients at will!

[Alex Baton]

I live in Montreal, Qc, Canada and they invented the maple syrup here. But in cooking, I am not a big fan of it.
In all the recipes I could think of (salad dressings, baking, Sauces, meat marinades and so on, you could easily replace one by the other. The only difference is in the taste and sweetness because of different types of maple syrups and honey.

Every year Maple syrup takes over the city in the winter, they put it on crushed ice or snow and suck on it like a sugar candy, they cook, beans, pork, sausages, soups, potatoes. All drown in maple syrup.