i switched from HM cure to #1 and using dan McG's ratios i will see how i like the salt/sugar amounts.........besides, i can play with the flavors that i like.

brown sugar cure....
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1253.jpg

maple cure.........
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1254.jpg

and a southwestern chipotle cure..........
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1258.jpg


be back in a week or so.............

looks like a great start.....:thumb:

Bacon! Bacon!! I love BACON!!! I'm glad I have opposable thumbs!

Dat's gonna be great!! :thumb: :thumb:

cant wait to here your report on the finally Rob!!! looking good so far:thumb:

MMmmm, this is gonna be good. Will eagerly await the outcome on this one :thumb:

Look'n good:thumb:

Looks great! How long is it supposed to cure?

Can't wait to hear about the savory one. I have bacon in the cure right now, including two jowls. One of them I did using charcuterie recipe for guancial. Not really a sweet recipe, more savory with garlic, cbp, & thyme.

Can't wait to watch your progress!!

Wow! That southwestern chipotle cure sounds awesome!

Like the idea of making own flavor profile....Got me few pounds chipotles from garden last year.....Looking forward to observations big rob...:thumb:

keith, i plan n 7-10 days....depending on my schedule.
becky......that is n of the reasons i wanted to make my own cures.
alx.........i just made these chipotles (dried) about 2 wks ago, serranos and japs.

Right then...Gotta get after this...Nice! :thumb: Just got the look...I know Daytona is coming...timing....:noidea:

chop chop! spin da wrench and letter down..................

i switched from HM cure to #1 and using dan McG's ratios i will see how i like the salt/sugar amounts.........besides, i can play with the flavors that i like.

Will wait for the final report on this one...I was thinking of dropping by cabelas to pick up some HM cure / season to judge it against TQ and my my own spice flavor profile...Now through the power of trusted professionals, I won't have to! :banana_smiley:

Great timing Chef! :thumb:

Nice work on the Chipotle!!!poi-nts

bbqE, i do like the HM but i wanted to do my own......besides #1 is cheaper and more versatile.

thx bob!

Great looking start Rob

stop by in a week or so for some bbblt's gary.......you bring some avo's!

I want to hear how the Mple syrup works out with the cure .I always use it as a mop as it smoking and it seems to work well but it will nice to see it work in the cure stage

I would love to do that. Lets see how the month plays out - It is spring training and maybe I can talk Mark into another day at the Ostrich races :whistle:

I use maple syrup in making beef jerky - works real well (similiar type of thing).

Very interested in knowing how much chipotle you used and how hot it turns out. Haven't done chilli bacon yet, but there'd definitely be a market for it :thumb:

gary...i forgot about spring training with me not being in the hotel industry this year. if ya make the trip let me know.

CA...the recipe is on the bag, i used 2 Tbs of dried chipotles that i made from my very humble (and dead from frost) garden about 2 weeks ago.

all cured and cool smoked for 8 hrs using 2 loads of hickory and maple in 2 diferent AMNS. i brought the internal temps up to 125ish and that seems to be where i like to bring my BBB, just before the fat starts to melt.

here is the maple.....
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1374.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1375.jpg

and the brown sugar cured........
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1373.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1376.jpg

and the southwest chipotle...........
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1372.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/robertiqbal/smoked%20food/IMGP1378.jpg

all in all, i am quite pleased with the 3 products....here is what i think of them:

my least favorite is the maple....i'm just not a fan of sweet meats but this was not too sweet at all. don't get me wrong, i ate 4 slices this morning and thought it was pretty damn good. i am one of those who needs a separate plate for my sausage with my pancakes. some of you might want to double the amount of syrup listed on the bag.

the brown sugar cure was as close too bacon as bacon gets.......if you look at that particular but it has so much fat there are some slices in there that look exactly like belly! this bacon was not very sweet at all and i really liked smoke flavor that got through and i would not change the ratios at all. i will be making this one again for a more traditional profile.

the sw-chipotle was by far my favorite one. this is just plain snackin' stuff or on a blt or to ue the slightly spiced oil for morning potatoes. the spices were slight so you knew were still eating "bacon" and not some other smoked pork product treat. there was a nice blend of spices with not one single one standingout but a balanced blend defining a certain flavor profile with a little lingering heat on the finish. i personally would up the heat to move the sensation to the middle and through to the end.

all in all all 3 were a success and 2 i will do again. to those of you who have thought about moving to cure #1 for your bacon processing.....i highly recomend it. it was easy to measure, you can control your salt/sugar (i did not soak, just rinsed), play with flavor profiles and it is cheap!

thx for stoppin' by............

Man that is some good lookin bacon :drooling: Nice job poi-nts

poi-nts for some beautiful looking bacon , I like that you split the butts it gives a more bacon slice lookin end product 'NICE.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

Very nice.
Those are just butts right?

Very nice.
Those are just butts right?

mo, yes, after i remove the bone i just butterfly it and then trim to square it up a little.

Rob, I gotta say, that is some of the best, if not the very best, BBB I have seen to date. Very professional on cutting, trimming etc. Any city slicker would swear they were lookin at traditional style belly bacon. :lol:

Well done my friend, well done.
poi-nts worthy :hail:

mo, yes, after i remove the bone i just butterfly it and then trim to square it up a little.

Ooohhhhh!
Thanks! I was wondering why your butt looked so pretty!:whistle:

thx MH!


:hug:
Ooohhhhh!
Thanks! I was wondering why your butt looked so pretty!:whistle:

They all look pretty damn good, nice job poi-nts

Perfect! Butterflied the butts to the shape of a belly. Brilliant!poi-nts

wow that is some beautiful BBB mine about ready to come off the pitt, I dont know if I want to put pics on here after seeing that stuff:drooling:

wow that is some beautiful BBB mine about ready to come off the pitt, I dont know if I want to put pics on here after seeing that stuff:drooling:

everybody's is different........besides it ain't the looks that count!

Absolutely Beautiful...I was thinking about getting some High Mountain to compare to my home made...based on your review, I'll stick with my home made. poi-nts for a great post and some of the most delectable looking BBB to date.

On Edit: Points on reload...been to generous in the last 24.

Holy crap that looks fantastic. The slices look great. I have been itching to do another belly bacon but this post makes me want to do a homemade buckboard blend. poi-nts

Dang...i missed the finale....That looks just perfect to me Rob....poi-nts

I will definetly be doing the chipotle with some of my dehydrated garden peppers....Awesome work man..........poi-nts

Fantastic!!! :drooling: :clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2: :banana_smiley:

thx guys....all 3 came out PDG (pretty damn good) but i liked the chipotle the best.

Your a chef I expected good and great....

But was the chipotle a chef experiment that went on to Extraordinary??

...But was the chipotle a chef experiment that went on to Extraordinary??

at the risk of sounding bold........yes, i would have to say so with the balance of flavors/heat being present while never questioning if you were eating BACON and not just another spicey cured pork product.

at the risk of sounding bold........yes, i would have to say so with the balance of flavors/heat being present while never questioning if you were eating BACON and not just another spicey cured pork product.

Congrats on that.... fookin awesome!

poi-nts

Very nice BBB....I am going to make some more soon. I think I am going to follow your lead on this one....Isn't it so much better then store bought

if you were eating BACON and not just another spicey cured pork product.

So how do you define the difference ? For me it's simply that I make bacon saltier than I make ham.
Other than that and the differences in cuts of meat (but a far as I can see the only cut people never call bacon is pig leg) what would you say was the difference ?

Genuinely interested to see how people define bacon.

....Isn't it so much better then store bought

better AND cheaper!

So how do you define the difference ? For me it's simply that I make bacon saltier than I make ham.
Other than that and the differences in cuts of meat (but a far as I can see the only cut people never call bacon is pig leg) what would you say was the difference ?

Genuinely interested to see how people define bacon.

a couple of years ago i would have said bacon is bacon or bacon is belly. after doing a lot of buckboard i have found that i can produce a bacon from butt that at times most could not tell what part of the pig it came from by butterflying and trimming. if i left it whole i get that "hammieness" that i am not looking for. i don't think you can use a cured and smoked hind quarter, slice it thin and fry it up and think it resembles bacon in any way. with out the fat streaking through it, it can't cook up crisp and give you the same flavor, texture, and mouth feel. i have not done a ham yet but i would venture to say that it can't take on the same amount of smoke as say a belly or butterflied butt due to the surface area vs. non surface area. with this in mind i think bacon tends to take on more characteristics and nuances of the different smokes from different woods as well and is just a plain smokier product. by the same token i feel that this is also what gives ham it's flavor definition by being having more cured meat than surface smoked meat. i think final preparation plays a roll as well as the specific cut involved, but i don't think you can take one of my BBB and stud it with cloves and pineapple rings (i never do this BTW) and pass that off as ham.

Awesome BBB :hail:

Rob in da house.... You get Pink :lol: :hail: :hail: :hail: :drooling:

fish........when are we gonna see yours!

fish........when are we gonna see yours!

:lurk::lurk::deadhorse:

Hard to sneak em past me grinder...... :whistle:

Rob, some how I missed this thread... Wow! That bacon looks off the hook! :drooling::drooling:

The term "Chef" fits bro! :thumb: poi-nts

:lurk::lurk::deadhorse:

Hard to sneak em past me grinder...... :whistle:

LOL! i know what ya mean......after i butterfly them i square 'em up so i make sure the grinder gets fed.


thx wingman! :thumb:

stop by in a week or so for some bbblt's gary.......you bring some avo's!



You gonna pin him in behind the table again???:lol:


Bear

every chance i get!

Thanks to BBQ Engineer for pointing this thread out. Amazing looking bacon. I was wondering if you had already posted your method of preparing the bacon? Did you buy a boneless shoulder or bone in? I would like to try this soon so I will start a thread but yours is simply scrumptious!poi-nts

Thanks to BBQ Engineer for pointing this thread out. Amazing looking bacon. I was wondering if you had already posted your method of preparing the bacon? Did you buy a boneless shoulder or bone in? I would like to try this soon so I will start a thread but yours is simply scrumptious!poi-nts

i got a bone-in, deboned it and then butterflied it so it cures faster and looks more like belly.

a couple of years ago i would have said bacon is bacon or bacon is belly. after doing a lot of buckboard i have found that i can produce a bacon from butt that at times most could not tell what part of the pig it came from by butterflying and trimming. if i left it whole i get that "hammieness" that i am not looking for. i don't think you can use a cured and smoked hind quarter, slice it thin and fry it up and think it resembles bacon in any way. with out the fat streaking through it, it can't cook up crisp and give you the same flavor, texture, and mouth feel. i have not done a ham yet but i would venture to say that it can't take on the same amount of smoke as say a belly or butterflied butt due to the surface area vs. non surface area. with this in mind i think bacon tends to take on more characteristics and nuances of the different smokes from different woods as well and is just a plain smokier product. by the same token i feel that this is also what gives ham it's flavor definition by being having more cured meat than surface smoked meat. i think final preparation plays a roll as well as the specific cut involved, but i don't think you can take one of my BBB and stud it with cloves and pineapple rings (i never do this BTW) and pass that off as ham.

outstanding, rob - this answered a question that i had as well.

i'm thinking of giving this a try ~ i've got a 4-ish-pound boned and butterflied shoulder roast, and this looks to be an excellent use for it. if i do, i'll be using tender quick, and i'm thinking some sort of brown sugar/maple for a touch of sweetness.... or maybe apple cider molasses...

outstanding, rob - this answered a question that i had as well.

i'm thinking of giving this a try ~ i've got a 4-ish-pound boned and butterflied shoulder roast, and this looks to be an excellent use for it. if i do, i'll be using tender quick, and i'm thinking some sort of brown sugar/maple for a touch of sweetness.... or maybe apple cider molasses...

sounds good.....funny i mentioned ham in that last line, i have a tied boneless leg that has been in a brine for 3 weeks, i think it's time for ham.

"CHEF" Rob

This is the first time I have seen this post, "OUTSTANDING"!poi-nts

Hope I am asking this correctly. Did you butterfly these like a book, or make thinner by cutting like a roll? Or, would that just depend on the thickness of the butt, and desired slice width? I just really like the way the fat is evenly distributed through the slice. Seasoning aside, I think that would be the difference between excellent product, and something that was just ok.

Very nice, this moves to the top of my to do list

kevin, after removing the bone with that side up, i simply run my knife down the middle so it opens up like a book stopping with about an inch or so depending on the butt.....i then "square" up the sides and save the trimmings for sausage.

kevin, after removing the bone with that side up, i simply run my knife down the middle so it opens up like a book stopping with about an inch or so depending on the butt.....i then "square" up the sides and save the trimmings for sausage.

Thank you sir!

Kind of what I thought, just wanted to make sure.

Kevin

This site is great, but it needs a tutorial on wet veris dry! And so on

Makin Bacon, use protection.