# Making homemade bacon



## sw2geeks (Nov 5, 2012)

Made some homemade bacon last weekend that turned out great! I also cold smoked some cheese while the bacon was smoking, not wanting to waste any smoke.:biggrin:

Here are some pics.































I use a tube smoker made by A-MAZE-N products. It runs around $30 and can turn any grill into both a cold and hot smoker. It burns the same wood pellets that my pellet grill uses.































More pics and recipe here.

I have to say I am pretty happy with the results. If there is a coming bacon apocalypse I am all set to make my own.


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## steeley (Nov 5, 2012)

Finally the word is getting out about the bacon apocalypse .
and the meetings have changed to Thursday and it's pot-luck.

nice bacon by the way.


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## wenus2 (Nov 5, 2012)

Looks great, need me one of those tubes now!

Cure details?


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## sw2geeks (Nov 5, 2012)

wenus2 said:


> Looks great, need me one of those tubes now!
> 
> Cure details?



I am using tender quick, the recipe is in the story link below the pictures. That tube works great, a dollars worth of pellets gives me 7+ hours of cold smoke.


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Nov 5, 2012)

That is awesome. I just wish I could find some reasonably priced pork belly, I would do that too.


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## ajhuff (Nov 5, 2012)

Awesome. I will have to look into that tube smoker.I've done Bacon before but not at home. 

-AJ


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## apicius9 (Nov 5, 2012)

Looks great! I had looked at the bacon recipe in the 'Charcuterie' book, but never got around to it, don't have the perfect equipment dor it either. Jason, I haven't looked for pork belly prices, but I sometimes don't buy pork in supermarkets because I find it is so cheap that it just cannot have been produced in any way that is healthy for the pig or for me... I'd rather pay a bit more and know where it comes from.

Stefan


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## heirkb (Nov 5, 2012)

Nice work! Once I'm out of this tiny apartment, I'll have to try my hand at making bacon



apicius9 said:


> ...it just cannot have been produced in any way that is healthy for the pig or for me...



The pig, the consumer, and all the people involved in the processing of that animal...but that's another discussion.


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## Carl (Nov 5, 2012)

I just found some Morton's Sugar Cure, was looking for Tender Quick. This appears to be much the same, only with added sugar, which I like on bacon. I'm going to make some in the coming month. It also uses smoked spices of some kind, and even in the bag smells like BBQ already.


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## wenus2 (Nov 5, 2012)

sw2geeks said:


> I am using tender quick, the recipe is in the story link below the pictures. That tube works great, a dollars worth of pellets gives me 7+ hours of cold smoke.



Shoot, dunno how I missed the link. 
I got a tube and some pellets on the way, can't wait to try my hand at this. 
Thanks!

For those of us looking to avoid the high cost of pork belly.... Check this out
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/129790/my-version-of-bbb

I tossed most of that section from the shoulder I made posole with last weekend, damnit!


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (Nov 5, 2012)

wenus2 said:


> Shoot, dunno how I missed the link.
> I got a tube and some pellets on the way, can't wait to try my hand at this.
> Thanks!
> 
> ...



Thanks, I believe I might try this. Isn't it amazing what used to be cheap cuts of meat are now almost as expensive as good cuts of meat? Go figure.


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## wenus2 (Nov 5, 2012)

It is amazing!
I see pancetta (unsmoked bacon) selling for no less than $12 per pound at the market, and the pre-sliced stuff is $20+.
I will also be making some of that for the freezer when I do this.


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## Carl (Nov 5, 2012)

Very cool. I'm a member of that forum too! HA!


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## piratechefny (Nov 5, 2012)

amazing what they get away with charging for some of that stuff in the grocery stores. 

love the transformation a simple piece of pork can go through with the help of a little salt, sugar and smoke.


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## The Edge (Nov 5, 2012)

wenus2 said:


> It is amazing!
> I see pancetta (unsmoked bacon) selling for no less than $12 per pound at the market, and the pre-sliced stuff is $20+.
> I will also be making some of that for the freezer when I do this.



I hope you're sharing too!!


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## mano (Nov 5, 2012)

Great thread. I'm assuming you can use a Weber smoker to smoke bacon?


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## sw2geeks (Nov 5, 2012)

mano said:


> Great thread. I'm assuming you can use a Weber smoker to smoke bacon?



Yes, you just can't smoke it as long when you are hot smoking. There is a link under the photos that has directions for both cold and hot smoking the bacon.


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## Andrew H (Nov 5, 2012)

AFKitchenknivesguy said:


> That is awesome. I just wish I could find some reasonably priced pork belly, I would do that too.



Usually ethnic grocery stores have reasonably priced pork belly. I think at my place it's $2.50 or $3.00 a pound.


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## Carl (Nov 6, 2012)

I go straight to the butcher and get belly for $3. I haven't invested in a whole pig yet to see if the total price was less. If I felt more confident about my full on butchery skill I know it would pay.


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## makanouchi (Nov 19, 2012)

Smoked bacon in a Weber Smokey Mountain, never bought bacon from the store again!


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## 9mmbhp (Nov 20, 2012)

apicius9 said:


> Looks great! I had looked at the bacon recipe in the 'Charcuterie' book, but never got around to it, don't have the perfect equipment dor it either. Jason, I haven't looked for pork belly prices, but I sometimes don't buy pork in supermarkets because I find it is so cheap that it just cannot have been produced in any way that is healthy for the pig or for me... I'd rather pay a bit more and know where it comes from.



I steer clear of industrially produced meats too. I got the hankering to make bacon after reading Ruhlman (Paul Bertolli too) and took the plunge with mail-ordered heritage pork bellies. I've purchased kurabuta from Snake River Farms and other breeds -- duroc, berkshire, tamworth, red wattle -- from Heritage Foods. They go for around $9/lb + shipping which is not too bad for me in CO but probably out of the question for you in HI. Heritage Foods also has jowls ($5/lb) if you are interested in making guanciale.

These pictures are of a kurabuta belly, half done with a brown sugar cure (Ruhlman), the other half as pancetta tesa (from Bertolli). No smoke, just baked for a couple of hours @ 250 as described by Ruhlman. The tesa made outstanding pasta carbonara and frissee aux lardon.


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## sw2geeks (Nov 20, 2012)

Wow, that looks great!


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## wenus2 (Nov 20, 2012)

Damn that looks awesome!


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## Lucretia (Nov 20, 2012)

Just looking at that is making me break out in fat.

:drool:


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## quantumcloud509 (Nov 21, 2012)

Great looking bacon man. The tube idea looks smart. For me lately its been pellets in a frying pan, heated on stove til it catches on fire and burns some (window open, battery out of smoke alarm), and then flame extinguished, and pellet frying pan shoved into stove under the pork belly slab. Ahh, the things one does to get some decent bacon around here.

ps, the house smells great.


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