Makin' Bacon

[BethV]

I have made bacon several times using the recipe from Amazing Ribs. It's a liquid brine. I like it a lot. But wanted to try a dry brine which seems easier and less "wet" .

I used Steven Raichlen's recipe from his book Project Smoke. I found the end result to be way too salty (and I do like salt).

Do any of you have a dry brine recipe for bacon that is the perfect salty/sweet?

Thanks!

 

[rgreenberg2000]

Since salt level preference varies wildly, you might have to play with this a bit until you are happy.....

I've been using a dry cure for bacon for years. I use a very simple formula based on the weight of the belly I'm curing

• 1.75% Kosher salt
• .25% Cure #1 (pink salt)
• 1.00% Sugar

Weigh belly, calculate and mix up cure ingredients, rub cure all over belly in zip lock back, then pop into the fridge for 7-10 days (flip the bag every day.....or as many times as you remember to do it.)

After curing, rinse the belly thoroughly to remove any excess cure. (The first time or two making it, cut a slice and fry up to check the salt level. If too high, soak the belly in cold water for 2-4 hours, then fry another test slice.) Dry the belly thoroughly, then place on a wire rack to dry and form a pellicle. I try to do this overnight in the fridge if I have time, but if I don't have time, I just do what I have time for.

I like to smoke my bacon at 180F or lower until it hits 155F internal. Cool, then slice and eat.

Bacon was the first thing I cooked on my Bull! Did that one at 200F, but will set it to "LOW" next time....

View attachment 8615

 

[Greg Jones]

What brand/type salt are you using? I don’t know what salt SR uses, but I follow his recipe using Diamond Crystal Kosher salt and even my wife loves it, and that’s saying a lot as she is NOT a fan of heavy salinity in her food. Perhaps just tweak the amount of salt in the recipe?

 

[BethV]

Since salt level preference varies wildly, you might have to play with this a bit until you are happy.....

I've been using a dry cure for bacon for years. I use a very simple formula based on the weight of the belly I'm curing

• 1.75% Kosher salt
• .25% Cure #1 (pink salt)
• 1.00% Sugar

Weigh belly, calculate and mix up cure ingredients, rub cure all over belly in zip lock back, then pop into the fridge for 7-10 days (flip the bag every day.....or as many times as you remember to do it.)

After curing, rinse the belly thoroughly to remove any excess cure. (The first time or two making it, cut a slice and fry up to check the salt level. If too high, soak the belly in cold water for 2-4 hours, then fry another test slice.) Dry the belly thoroughly, then place on a wire rack to dry and form a pellicle. I try to do this overnight in the fridge if I have time, but if I don't have time, I just do what I have time for.

I like to smoke my bacon at 180F or lower until it hits 155F internal. Cool, then slice and eat.

Bacon was the first thing I cooked on my Bull! Did that one at 200F, but will set it to "LOW" next time....

View attachment 8615

That looks great!!! I'll give it a go! Do you ever swap the sugar for maple sugar? Do you think it would matter?

 

[BethV]

What brand/type salt are you using? I don’t know what salt SR uses, but I follow his recipe using Diamond Crystal Kosher salt and even my wife loves it, and that’s saying a lot as she is NOT a fan of heavy salinity in her food. Perhaps just tweak the amount of salt in the recipe?

I always use Morton's Kosher Salt unless the recipe calls for sea salt to table salt.

 

[rgreenberg2000]

That looks great!!! I'll give it a go! Do you ever swap the sugar for maple sugar? Do you think it would matter?

I haven't, but you could, no problem. You can, of course, add other seasonings, too (black pepper, cayenne, maple syrup), though I would probably do that after the cure and before smoking.

I like doing my dry (and wet) cures using weight measures, as I think there is just too much variability in volume measures for this type of process (1/3 cup salt will have different amounts due to crystal size......but 100g of salt, is 100g of salt.)

R

 

[BethV]

I haven't, but you could, no problem. You can, of course, add other seasonings, too (black pepper, cayenne, maple syrup), though I would probably do that after the cure and before smoking.

I like doing my dry (and wet) cures using weight measures, as I think there is just too much variability in volume measures for this type of process (1/3 cup salt will have different amounts due to crystal size......but 100g of salt, is 100g of salt.)

R

@rgreenberg2000 I completely agree!

 

[opus]

I'm a fan of Jeff's recipes. I haven't tried this one but I may give it a shot soon.

https://www.smoking-meat.com/february-1-2018-smoked-pork-belly-slices

 

[cutplug]

Just for you Beth!
I use Morton's Tender Quick (yes they say not to use it for bacon but I have for years)
and brown sugar. I TBS each per pound of meat. Ziplock for 7-10 days flip daily. Just rinse, dry and smoke.
I hot smoke to @ 145 degrees IT at 180 degrees on my bull. Not too salty and not too sweet.
Give it a try....

 

[cutplug]

I'm a fan of Jeff's recipes. I haven't tried this one but I may give it a shot soon.

https://www.smoking-meat.com/february-1-2018-smoked-pork-belly-slices

Not a bacon recipe...

 

[BethV]

Just for you Beth!
I use Morton's Tender Quick (yes they say not to use it for bacon but I have for years)
and brown sugar. I TBS each per pound of meat. Ziplock for 7-10 days flip daily. Just rinse, dry and smoke.
I hot smoke to @ 145 degrees IT at 180 degrees on my bull. Not too salty and not too sweet.
Give it a try....

@cutplug nice to hear from you! Thank you. I've never heard of Morton's tender quick. I will definitely check out the recipe.

 

[kennethk]

Guga
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE BACON Brine Pork Belly for 5-7 days * Ingredients I used for my Brine * 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar 1/2 Cup Sea Salt 1/2 Cup Maple Syrup 1/2 Cup Punzo Sauce https://amzn.to/2B6Hrna 1/4 tsp Pink Salt https://amzn.to/2TmohAK * After, wash it well and remove brine and salt before smoking it. Smoke until you reach internal core temp of (155°F / 68°C)

 

[opus]

Not a bacon recipe...

It was more for the brining portion and he has a lot of other good recipes. But whatever bacon police.

 

[cutplug]

It was more for the brining portion and he has a lot of other good recipes. But whatever bacon police.

I am actually on pork belly patrol.

 

[rgreenberg2000]

@cutplug nice to hear from you! Thank you. I've never heard of Morton's tender quick. I will definitely check out the recipe.

@BethV, there's a whole (very long) thread on tvwbb.com in the "Charcuterie" forum called "Bacon Made Easy", started by a guy named Bob Correll. His go to cure (listed in that thread) used Tenderquick if you want to check that out. That thread is what got me started making my own bacon, and I have used Tenderquick in the past (works just fine.) Since I've always got Cure #1 on hand, I just use that instead. The amounts are different to weight of meat, but both work just fine.

R

 

[BethV]

@BethV, there's a whole (very long) thread on tvwbb.com in the "Charcuterie" forum called "Bacon Made Easy", started by a guy named Bob Correll. His go to cure (listed in that thread) used Tenderquick if you want to check that out. That thread is what got me started making my own bacon, and I have used Tenderquick in the past (works just fine.) Since I've always got Cure #1 on hand, I just use that instead. The amounts are different to weight of meat, but both work just fine.

R

Thank you! I will check out his website!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Beth, I experimented with various spices and sugars. You might start with basic salt/curing salt and smoke. Once you establish your cure baseline process, you can add all kinds of flavors to your preference.