Pork Belly

[NickTheGreat]

Man all these bacon threads are making it hard to resist

[ButtBurner]

Originally Posted by NickTheGreat

Man all these bacon threads are making it hard to resist

whats there to resist?

you aint getting your teeth cleaned, you are makin bacon!!!

[chad]

Originally Posted by NickTheGreat

Man all these bacon threads are making it hard to resist

Resistance in FUTILE!

As with competition -- come over to the dark side!

[NickTheGreat]

You guys are right. I'm am keeping my eyes out for the pork belly

[souroull]

i really want to do bacon

having a hard time finding curing salt tho, bah

[chad]

You can order Mortons products like sugar cure or TenderQuick from www.Mortonsalt.com. Or, you can order cure #1 and #2 from www.butcher-packer.com. Or you can order from www.sausagemaker.com. These are just off the top of my head.

[chriscw81]

i wish i could get belly for $3 a pound. i pay 3.50-4.00 a pound and it's still worth every penny!!!! i love bacon so much i put bacon on my bacon

[ButtBurner]

Originally Posted by chad

You can order Mortons products like sugar cure or TenderQuick from www.Mortonsalt.com. Or, you can order cure #1 and #2 from www.butcher-packer.com. Or you can order from www.sausagemaker.com. These are just off the top of my head.

I love Butcher Packer.

I am lucky enough to work close enough to it I can go there on my lunch break.

Just bought some high temp jalapeno cheddar there

They sell Tender Quick in the grocery stores around here.

[viggysmalls]

Forgive my ignorance, which is better to use on bacon: pink or white curing salt?

[chad]

Originally Posted by viggysmalls

Forgive my ignorance, which is better to use on bacon: pink or white curing salt?

Pink salt (ie. Cure #1 or #2) have nitrite/nitrates. In the US, "white" would probably be straight salt (ie. pickling salt, kosher salt, etc). Pink salt in curing does not mean Hawaiian salt.

Use what the recipe calls for. Basically, if you will be slow smoking or dry curing you want Cure #1 (for smoked sausage, for example) or Cure #2 for a dry cured ham. The nitrate/nitrite keeps the chance of botulism down.

Many will say they successfully cure without it using this stuff, but botulism kills.

InstaCure, TenderQuick, etc are different blends of salts and cure...read the instructions.

Also, the cure is what keeps the meat pink or red. A salt cured ham without "cure" will not be pink. Bacon can be cured successfully without using cure #1 but the meat will tend to turn gray when cooked. So, the cure provides color and has quite a bit of impact on the flavor.

I suggest reading Michael Ruhlman's book "Charcuterie" to get a good basic overview. I just bought his new book "Salumi" and it is great, too, but deals more specifically with Italian cured meats.

As always, YMMV! The above comments are my views and the way I cure meat. Opinions will vary...choose wisely and do mix/match processes -- that's a good way to kill people.

[seattlepitboss]

Originally Posted by chriscw81

i wish i could get belly for $3 a pound. i pay 3.50-4.00 a pound ...

In Seattle Restaurant Depot and Cash&Carry carry frozen pork bellies for about $2.57/lb year in and year out. Try a restaurant supply house. There are hundreds of thousands of pigs butchered in this country every month.

seattlepitboss

[Stoke&Smoke]

Curing salt is easy to find online

(Edit - next time refresh before reply - doh! )

[chad]

Finished a nine day cure on the bellies. The pancetta is now in the fridge drying. One slab is coated with maple syrup and the other got new cracked pepper and cane syrup. In the MES40 with apple pellets (thanks Kapn Tim) in an AMAZNP pellets smoke generator. I cold smoking and started at 60 degrees. I've placed a couple bottles of ic in there to keep it cool.ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359218711.202217.jpg pancetta
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359218743.069275.jpgImageUploadedByTapatalk1359218760.790413.jpg top is savory
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359218794.082174.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359218822.948129.jpg

[chad]

Finally got enough ice in the cabinet to stay around 90 degrees. Shooting for 8 hours of cold smoke. The apple pellets I got from Tim (TheKapn) many years ago are working great with the AMAZNP smoke generator...smells great, too! Great weather, a good cigar, coffee, and bacon smoking...it's a great day here on the lanai on the Gulf Coast.
Here's a pic of my small plant nursery and herb garden.
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1359225041.535275.jpg

[davefan360]

umm bacon, I might have to try and make some myself.