Next up Bacon

[wittdog]

I picked up 15lbs of bellies that’s 2 whole bellies one of which is real nice looking and the other is so so I also picked up a deboned pork butt that I’m going to attempt to make scenic bacon out of…..I used the Canadian Bacon wet cure cuz the times that I’ve tried the dry bacon cure it was a pain and I wasn’t happy with the results….so the wet cure is the way for me…..This time I used Maple syrup , Granulated Maple Sugar and Molasses as the sweetener….I’ll let you know how it turns out in 6-7 days

 

[Bill The Grill Guy]

MMMMMMMMMM, I luvs me some bacon.

 

[cleglue]

Wittdog,

Please take pictures. I made some last year for the first time. I used Reyteks recipe. I smoked them in my sausage maker smoker. When I fried the bacon the strips got REAL BLACK real fast. They didn't fry like store bought bacon. Maybe I'll try again sometime this fall.

 

[wittdog]

Wittdog,

Please take pictures. I made some last year for the first time. I used Reyteks recipe. I smoked them in my sausage maker smoker. When I fried the bacon the strips got REAL BLACK real fast. They didn't fry like store bought bacon. Maybe I'll try again sometime this fall.

I will take pics but be advised that this time I used Molases as a sweetner so the bacon will be darker than what I typically make.....FYI I tried Ryteks dry cure for the bacon and didn't care for it....now when I make bacon I typically use the Canadian Bacon Brine and play with the sweetner...did you follow the temps in the Kutas recipe as well or did you smoke the bacon at a higher temp....and did you "dry" the bacon for an hour before smoking it? Just a couple of things to think about...Oh yeah one more thing what did you use as a sweetner...that might have something to do with the color as well

 

[Smokey_Joe]

I too made bacon in the past and it blackened extremely quickly when cooked unless I cooked it in cast iron... maybe just coincidence I have no idea.... I related it to the fact to: I can cook just as well with a lower heat in the cast iron and I had overheated the salts in the bacon trying to cook it in a regular stainless steel pan.

I never gave it a second thought after it cooked fine in cast iron.

Interested to hear responses on why it turns black.

 

[wittdog]

I too made bacon in the past and it blackened extremely quickly when cooked unless I cooked it in cast iron... maybe just coincidence I have no idea.... I related it to the fact to: I can cook just as well with a lower heat in the cast iron and I had overheated the salts in the bacon trying to cook it in a regular stainless steel pan.

I never gave it a second thought after it cooked fine in cast iron.

Interested to hear responses on why it turns black.

Just MHO but I don't think it's the salts that make it turn black...maybe the type of sugar used? Some sugars hold up better with higher heat.

 

[Smokey_Joe]

SEE!!!!!! that's why I come here..... much greater wisdom and common sense then mine!

Seriously I never even gave the sugar factor blame..... thinking now about it..I bet you are 100% on the money.

What types of sugars would I use that hold up better to heat when curing it next time?

 

[Cliff H.]

Everything I have read indicates that Turbinado doesn't burn like other sugars under high heat.

 

[wittdog]

SEE!!!!!! that's why I come here..... much greater wisdom and common sense then mine!

Seriously I never even gave the sugar factor blame..... thinking now about it..I bet you are 100% on the money.

What types of sugars would I use that hold up better to heat when curing it next time?

I typically use honey or Powdered Dextrose...turbinado is good as well as Brown Sugar....the more I thought about it sugar may have been an issue but a bigger factor may have been the intial temp u smoked the bacon at......fat begins to melt at 190*...it possible that while smoking the bacon at a higher temp you rendered much of the fat out? Or it could have been the sugar

 

[Griff]

I've found when cooking my homemade bacon there is a thin line between getting it crispy and turning it black. I use molasses and maple syrup in my brine. I also suspect it might the sugars that cause that.

Griff

 

[cleglue]

Wittdog,

I used Rytek recipe for Honey-Cured Bacon. 1 cup salt, 4 Tb. Instacure No. 1, and 2 cups of honey page 317 in the book I have. The bellies smoked fine. There was plenty of fat. The problem was when I fried the strips that it turned black pretty fast. I didn't wash it after being smoked but I did wash the cure, salt, and honey off before smoking it.

You have me wanted to try making bacon again. I maybe need to try a different recipe.

Thanks for the input.

Still looking forward to seeing your results.

 

[wittdog]

With you guys waiting for the results the pressure is on [smilie=a_doh.gif] ...I guess I should have done my usuall recipe and not tried the molases as the sugar ...I personally didn't care for the dry cure bacon...and have good results with modifiying the candian bacon brine in the book....BTW in the back of the book it says that Dark Frying Bacon could be a result of "Poor sugar quality or to much powered dextrose or Excessive heat during frying." Hope this helps and get some bellies and get smoking...

 

[cleglue]

Thanks Wittdog,

I see the Troubleshooting and tips section now.

 

[wittdog]

Well I have the bacon in the lectro now……..

The bacon has been on for about 6 hours and I’m on my second batch of sawdust…..I used hickory and sugar maple…I don’t know if you can tell but the bacon is starting to take on some nice color….

 

[allie]

Oh I can just imagine the smells that smoker is emitting! I'd be starving about now! Looking good!

 

[Puff1]

Looks great Dog

 

[Finney]

That does look good.

 

[Puff1]

That does look good.

When it's done I bet it would look even better in a box addressed to me

 

[Nick Prochilo]

dog, it looks great!

 

[Griff]

Dog

That looks super.

Griff