Stampede Homemade bacon

[Traveler]

Just smoked some pork belly for homemade bacon. Easy to do but just agonizing having to wait days to cure first. Aside from the app, the 590 is an awesome grill/smoker.

 

[sdynak]

Just smoked some pork belly for homemade bacon. Easy to do but just agonizing having to wait days to cure first. Aside from the app, the 590 is an awesome grill/smoker.

Came out great it looks like.. one day I will get ambitious enough to attempt this!

 

[PRC]

Just smoked some pork belly for homemade bacon. Easy to do but just agonizing having to wait days to cure first. Aside from the app, the 590 is an awesome grill/smoker.

Can you explain the whole process you took to get that great looking bacon? I have never tried that and have no idea how it is done. Can you explain the curing process? Thanks

Paul

 

[Traveler]

This is basically the recipe I used. You can mix up the recipe a little by using maple syrup, honey, paprika, etc. When you buy the pork belly try to get a 1:1 fat to meat ratio.

https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/8-steps-making-bacon-home/

 

[PRC]

This is basically the recipe I used. You can mix up the recipe a little by using maple syrup, honey, paprika, etc. When you buy the pork belly try to get a 1:1 fat to meat ratio.

https://barbecuebible.com/recipe/8-steps-making-bacon-home/

Thanks!

 

[Traveler]

Came out great it looks like.. one day I will get ambitious enough to attempt this!

It’s really easy. Just all the waiting during the curing process can get frustrating.

 

[FastEddie]

Your bacon looks amazing!

Bacon tip:
We cook our bacon flat on a cookie sheet in a cold oven, then set to 425*
No more mess on the stove top.
I heard of some here cooking it in the smoker. Curious about that one.

 

[Gonefishin]

Your bacon looks amazing!

Bacon tip:
We cook our bacon flat on a cookie sheet in a cold oven, then set to 425*
No more mess on the stove top.
I heard of some here cooking it in the smoker. Curious about that one.

We started doing this earlier this year with the addition of a sheet of parchment under the bacon for easier cleanup. I don't see why the same wouldn't work on the smoker.

 

[SmokingHokie]

We bake it in the oven, too with parchment. Set it and forget it...until the fire alarm goes off

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

Your bacon looks amazing!

Bacon tip:
We cook our bacon flat on a cookie sheet in a cold oven, then set to 425*
No more mess on the stove top.
I heard of some here cooking it in the smoker. Curious about that one.

I cook bacon on the grill all the time. I prefer it to the oven, because unfortunately the bacon splatters in my oven, and I think it turns out better in the grill.

I line a half sheet pan with heavy duty foil, dull side up, for easy cleanup. I preheat the grill to 400-425 degrees (my preferred brand of bacon works best at 415 degrees), and check it after 18-20 minutes. Mine usually takes about 25 minutes. You can put it in the cold grill instead of preheating, and it’ll just take a bit longer.

Different brands and thicknesses of bacon will vary the cook time and temp that works best, so just keep a close eye on it the first few times, until you get a good idea of what works.

 

[smitts]

Agree on the foil, makes cleanup even easier.

@IPlayWithMeat why the dull side up? I have never paid enough attention to foil to figure this one out

As for homemade bacon, it is indeed super easy once you forget that it’s curing. Traveler is right the waiting is worse than for kids around Christmas.

I have done both wet and dry cure. Wet cure is FAR easier to get right. My dry cure came out too salty which was admittedly probably user error with miscalculation on the weight.

This is the wet cure recipe I used: https://amazingribs.com/tested-recipes/pork-recipes/how-make-smoked-bacon-home/

The nice thing is being able to cut the slices as thick as you like.

Costco sells whole pork bellies for reasonable prices. They aren’t heritage quality, but you also I have $20-25 invested.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

Agree on the foil, makes cleanup even easier.

@IPlayWithMeat why the dull side up? I have never paid enough attention to foil to figure this one out

Great question. Maybe I’m imagining it, but it seems that when I’ve put the shiny side up, the edges of the bacon have cooked faster than the center, and I seem to get more even cooking with the dull side up. I think I’m going to do a side-to-side comparison next time .

 

[Waterboy]

@IPlayWithMeat for the sake of science you should absolutely try the side by side. Once you have your data more of us will have to try the same thing….just to be sure! Any experiment where bacon is cooked is a good experiment.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

@IPlayWithMeat for the sake of science you should absolutely try the side by side. Once you have your data more of us will have to try the same thing….just to be sure! Any experiment where bacon is cooked is a good experiment.

I think I’ll be repeating this experiment a lot.
You know, making huge sacrifices in the name of science and all .

 

[Traveler]

The funny thing is that I’ve been smoking for many years on various smokers. In all those years I never thought about making bacon until recently. Now that I’ve done it, it’s hard to go back to ready made bacon at the store. It’s only my second time but the flavor and taste is just incredible. Most importantly everyone that’s tried it raves about it as well.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

Okay, here is the side by side experiment!
But first, a few details, in case anyone wants to question my scientific method …

1. The pictures are a bit misleading. No matter how hard I tried, the lighting makes the bacon in the pictures look darker than it is. The “Shiny Side” pan of bacon wasn’t burnt, and in real life, it looked more like the bacon in the “Dull Side” pic. The “Dull Side” pan of bacon, in real life, looked more like the brown color you want in fully cooked bacon. But you can get a good sense of how evenly each pan cooked.

2. Each pan was cooked separately, in identical half sheet pans, with the grill settled in at 416 degrees F for each pan. This temp was verified with a ThermoWorks Signals ambient temperature probe.

3. Ambient outdoor temperature was 39 degrees for both pans.

4. Each pan was rotated at the 9 minute mark.

The pan of bacon with the shiny side of the foil up after 19 minutes:

The pan of bacon with the dull side of the aluminum foil face up, after 20 minutes:

Even though the pictures aren’t good, you can see that putting the dull side of the aluminum foil up cooks it more evenly .

I’ll be repeating this experiment again in a few days, purely for the sake of science, of course .

 

[Buckeye1]

Came out great it looks like.. one day I will get ambitious enough to attempt this!

SDY it is so easy its not funny. I did my first batch last weekend using a wet brine cure. They end result is amazing and the bacon is not as salty as store bought.

Gonna have to do the foil testing this morning HAHA!

 

[Maule Guy]

Have a look here:

I keep wanting to do this but keep putting it off. I think y'all have nudged me into getting it going. This recipe doesn't use curing salt so I am guessing it needs to be frozen.

Thoughts on spices?

 

[IOWAMEATMAN]

Your bacon looks amazing!

Bacon tip:
We cook our bacon flat on a cookie sheet in a cold oven, then set to 425*
No more mess on the stove top.
I heard of some here cooking it in the smoker. Curious about that one.

We cook pre-sliced bacon in the RT590 all the time, keeps the smell out of the house. 400 degress, 23 minutes. we use a little thicker cut of bacon

 

[PRC]

We cook pre-sliced bacon in the RT590 all the time, keeps the smell out of the house. 400 degress, 23 minutes. we use a little thicker cut of bacon

I really like the smell of bacon cooking in the house! Never tried it on the smoker, do you just lay it on the grate, does it get crispy?