Hickory-Smoked Maple Bacon

Bubba · Post by **Bubba** » Sun Jun 10, 2012 02:50

Kevin's work always looks very neat!

I love those bacon hangers, saw them on Sausagemaker today and have ordered some as well.

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 05:35

Thank you for the kind words, everyone.

Okay, Sunday eve has rolled around and so now on to the smoker....

Temps were high today (90°F) so I'm glad I waited for a cooler overnight smoke.
After dinner, ambient temp in the smoker was still warmer than I wanted (less than 70°F), so I waited a while.

By 8:00 pm, the temp had cooled down to 68° so off we go...
A nice dry, firm skin (pellicle) had formed on the bellies, so I was in good shape as far as the condition of the pork.

I loaded up the A-Maze-N smoker with a combination of pellets:

I positioned the lit amazen over the floor opening in my MB ExtraWide & test to be sure I was getting good airflow into the smoker:

Once I was ensured of good smoke movement, I was ready to hang the bellies.
To do this, I need to insert my 'custom' () sausage-hanging rack.
These will hold up to 25lbs of sausage so I know they'll do okay with the pork belly load:

Finally got the bellies hanging and the smoke rolling. My 'heat deflector' is an old foil-lined cookie sheet. There's not a 'lot' of heat being generated, but indirect is still best.
The smoke isnt as 'intense' as it appears here in this photo (due to the door being wide open)-just a steady stream of light blue smoke:

I'll check on it a bit later. We revisit this tomorrow morning after a good 10-12 hours of smoke. I may backfill a few more pellets before calling it a night.

More to come...

Kevin

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 18:14

Early next morning, time to check on the bellies. They've been smoking now almost 12 hours, with the temps in the low 60s outside & in the smoker.
It's supposed to be warm today, so I'll pull the bellies before the smoker temp hits the upper 70s.
After 12 hours of cold smoke:

The bellies have taken on a nice yellowish-brown color (as expected with cold smoking); much more subdued than the brilliant RED when hot smoking. They smell VERY smokey!....

These will rest in the fridge for the next 2-3 days before I chill them well and slice. I read where, like cold-smoked cheese, resting is essential to 'mellow out' some of the harshness of the smoke.

Slicing & sampling still to come...

Kevin

IdaKraut · Post by **IdaKraut** » Mon Jun 11, 2012 19:09

Kevin, amazing photos. I have never made bacon (except for cottage bacon) since pork bellies around here cost more than store bought bacon. Let us know if it was worth the effort and I may bite the bullet and buy bellies and do the same.

Baconologist · Post by **Baconologist** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 00:23

Bacon looks great!

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 15:13

After a few days rest, I applied several 'coats' of maple-honey glaze to the hangin' bacon.
Hanging in the fridge the past two days has really firmed them up nicely & they still have a strong smokey aroma.

coated & ready to be hung up again....

After a good overnight chill, it'll then be off to the slicer...

Kevin

NorCal Kid · Post by **NorCal Kid** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 19:51

This weekend it was time to wrap up the big bacon project.

Got the big slicer out & prepped, ready to go.
Time to remove the skin from all the bacon bellies. Some of the bellies were more difficult to skin, others no problem.
Almost there...

Quite a stack of skins. I considered deep-frying them, but that'll have to wait. i gave a few large slices to my wife as she's making a large pot of baked beans...

Well my slicer was acting squirrelly so I opted to slice a good portion of the bacon with a sharp knife.
Works great just not as fast as the big slicer...

I took a number of odds & ends, scraps & uneven pieces and fried them up.
I discovered its best to cook at a much lower temp than store-bought, and to keep an eye on the bacon as it burns quickly. High sugar & low moisture content.

Slowly cooking in cast iron under the Pig Squisher...

Smell bacon-y! Boys thought the bacon was great-thicker cut with a real nice smokeiness; a nice sweetness, too. NOT too salty-a concern I had going in.

Wrapped for later. This should keep us in 'bacon Heaven' for a while!

Kevin

DLFL · Post by **DLFL** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 20:17

Great looking bacon!!!! I can almost smell it cooking.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Tue Jun 19, 2012 10:26

Nice job pal!

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Mon Jun 25, 2012 09:57

Idakraut wrote:

Kevin, amazing photos. I have never made bacon (except for cottage bacon) since pork bellies around here cost more than store bought bacon. Let us know if it was worth the effort and I may bite the bullet and buy bellies and do the same.

Rudy, you may have to do what I do and split an order with someone. Most of the time, whole bellies come in huge, elongated heavy cardboard boxes, packed four to a box. I usually split a box with a friend, cut them into slabs, freeze half, and make half into bacon. Once you eat your own honey-rubbed, hickory smoked bacon, you'll never go back to the store bought stuff again and you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner. It is incredibly easy to make and you can cut it thick as you like. And... people eatin' "Rudy's Red Hot Sandpoint Sow" bacon will probably ask you to make a batch for them. I just fed an army of Boy Scouts with a batch of my bacon and after a week, they still refuse to come home from camp unless they get more. Shucks, they are up there in the pines, layin' on their backs, rubbin' their tummies, screamin' "more bacon... more bacon".

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

Hickory-Smoked Maple Bacon

Finally Finished!