Makin' Bacon

[masraum]

Originally Posted by billybek

Finished dinner featuring Big Green Egg bacon.
Mmmm. Bacon.

Maui chicken on the BGE with some mild Italian sausage plus the bacon.
My son's favorite meal right now.

So you guys have gone vegetarian?

Chicken
sausage
bacon

Sounds tasty.

[craigster59]

This bacon is supposed to be one of the best. I've ordered their country ham before and it was great! https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=hscb

I've tried making my own, buying pork belly at Costco and dry brining for a week in the fridge. Rinse then smoke and it still comes out too salty, pretty much inedible. Do any Pelicans have some tips, maybe wet brine?

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

Bake it for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.

I bake it at 350 for a little while longer because at 400 it just take a second or two too long and it's sticks of carbon.

Keeps the kitchen much cleaner and cooks more evenly.

Has anyone noticed that thick sliced isn't as salty tasting as regular bacon?

[craigster59]

You can find this at some grocery stores in So Cal, Farmer John's Ends and Pieces. Great deal and there's some good size hunks of bacon in there...

[seafeye]

Oops. Different topic...

[Bill Douglas]

That's why we should eat them before they eat us.

[masraum]

[RWebb]

what y'all really want is ... tasso

[cabmandone]

Bacon wrapped bacon...The perfect food.

[Bill Douglas]

Thanks Steve. That was really interesting.

As a boy I had a school holiday job working at a bacon factory so I have a real appreciation for good bacon.

[TimT]

Bentons ... so... good... I usually order something from them once or twice a year..

I've been learning charcuterie for the last 5-6 years.. have made my own bacon, duck prosciutto, various dried/cured sausage with pork/beef/venison/duck/lamb...

A good reference for getting started is this book..

Charcuterie , by Ruhlman and Polcyn..




Also the Eater video is great, note that they don't use any pink salt at all... just rub it down and hang it.. first few times I made bacon, I packed it cure, and ignored it ... after a few days you come back to the belly floating in a briny soup.. NFG... I learned to put the belly on a wire rack.. and recoat with seasoning every few days...

Also when making dried sausage such as pepperoni/soprasetta etc... usually only 1 tsp pink salt is used per 5# of meat.. a tiny ratio....


A serving of spinach might contain as many nitrites...


Just finished stuffing some snausage...



Me in a very happy cool place on Arthur Ave in the Bronx..

[Shaun @ Tru6]

great video Steve, thanks for posting!

[biosurfer1]

grabbed some run of the mill bacon to try in the air fryer. Didn't want to test out with the good stuff. Came out pretty good, maybe a touch chewy, not quite as crispy as I like. I'll play with the timing and temp a bit, and think I'll get there.

[dan79brooklyn]

Originally Posted by craigster59

This bacon is supposed to be one of the best. I've ordered their country ham before and it was great! https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=hscb

I've tried making my own, buying pork belly at Costco and dry brining for a week in the fridge. Rinse then smoke and it still comes out too salty, pretty much inedible. Do any Pelicans have some tips, maybe wet brine?

These are my notes on making bacon. I’ve been using pork belly. A few times it’s come out too salty but the last couple batches have been good. I’m just using a Weber grill. I place the coals on one side and a aluminum tray of water under the meat to control the temperature. Then close the dampers 80%.


Wet brine: 1.5 cups water for two pieces of meat. Two tablespoon sugar and 2.5 tablespoons salt plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup, various powdered seasonings.

5 days in brine then rinsed off and left to dry in the fridge for a few hours.

Cooked 80 minutes in the Weber. Added Apple wood chips and some small pieces of oak (firewood) every 20 minutes. Good flavor plenty of smokiness.

[KFC911]

Oink! Had my order from Bentons ready to checkout....shipping options pissed me off .

I will return ....

....gotta pull up an old thread....I want some Tasso and Andouille sausage from LA...I think it wuz Baton Rouge...

Oink, oink..

[Bigtoe32067]

I’m crazy lazy and when I’m hungry I can’t wait so I buy bacon in a box and keep it in the pantry.
Just saw it a while back and tried it and it’s a little thin but not bad. I love to eat BLTs and this enables me to make one in about the three minutes it takes to toast my bread.
Tony

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Made a fantastic BAvocadoLT today with a brioche bun and Kewpie mayo inspired by this thread. Devoured.

[RWebb]

I'm now wondering if any of the mail order bacon you guys have posted is better than the stuffour local butcher shop gets...


How about Whole Foods (Amerzon groceries) - which of the mail order bacons are better than anything they have?

[masraum]

Originally Posted by KC911

Oink! Had my order from Bentons ready to checkout....shipping options pissed me off .

I will return ....

I have ordered from Bentons a few times, and I will concur that their shipping charges are crazy. If you order 4# of bacon @ $32, I think the shipping to me was $28. I ordered a ham and 4# of bacon, and I think the shipping was $32. So it's like they stick $20-25 for "handling" on the front end. My plan from now on is probably to buy 12-16# of bacon. That way the shipping should average down per pound quite a bit.

If I get bacon at the local whole foods, most of the bacon is actually pretty expensive, so the Bentons is actually not THAT expensive, especially if you buy a bunch and the shipping just goes up a little.

[cairns]

Crikey I'm making it again tonight, with sunny side up eggs and canned jalapeños.