Making Bacon

[Gateholio]

Rendered lard and pork rinds for dog treats

[albravo2]

Bacon is, by far, the best thing I make on my smoker. I have a couple bellies from the Bellingham Costco in my cooler, not sure if I'll get them curing before my weekend hunt but I'm already drooling at the prospect.

Great thread! Would have been cool to see the pork belly being butchered off the hanging carcass but I'm a ways away from owning my own pigs so mine will be pre-butchered for the foreseeable future.

[guest]

Wow Gate that looks fantastic !

Theres a post ya dont see every day.

[Gateholio]

Removing the belly is dead easy. If you look at that hanging,headless pig, you make 2 horizontal cuts on it- Behind the shoulders and in front of the hams. The Middlesection has 4 things I want- Tenderloins, ribs, loins and "belly"

Cut out the loins for chops or roasts (Imake small roasts but mostly chops) Remove tenderloin from inside. Then trim the belly off the ribs. Saw the ribs into back and side ribs. Easiest part of thepig to deal with is the middle.

[lip_ripper00]

I guess we will take you off the Muslim watch list.

[BigSkogButt]

I hate you, Gate.

X2 this is just uncalled for! Deliciously uncalled for....

[coach]

Wow! That's a pretty tasty looking thread there, Gate.

[HarryToolips]

Mmmmmmmmmmmm yum....good job Gate..

[Gateholio]

Is that a normal length of time to brine... One week? Also what kind of temp/time
in the smoker ?

Yeah, 7-10 days. You need the basic cure (Stuffers in Langley sells it) then add whatever you want. Lots of recipes on the google. As you can see, I like coarse pepper. Bit of brown sugar, some cure, and you are good. Important to follow a recipe and balance salt/cure. Some people make it without cure (nitrates) and just salt and spices, too, but it won't stay pink colour then. Nitrates aren't super good for you ,but in moderation...whatever.

[bighornbob]

What do you use for a brine? How long to smoke?

bhb