High Mountain Buckboard bacon cure

[in2que]

Ok, after reading about this I took the plunge. 2 - butts weighing in at 16 pounds from Sams for $21. Good deal! I never boned butts so with my new trusty Forschner boning knife it was a breeze. Wound up with 2 butts at 6 pounds apiece. Only setback was my wife getting pissey about how I was rubbing the cure into the meat. Guess I was enjoying it too much

Give it 10 days and they are going on the WSM with hickory and apple.

Anybody else done this? I would appreciate any pointers from the bacon vets.

 

[chargriller]

I am still waiting for some cure to show up here in town, but as soon as it does I am for surely heading to sams also for some butts.

Do you have to take the bones out? What would happen if you just let it in then pulled them out later?

 

[Kevin]

Deboning allows for more surface for the seasoning rub and makes the meat thinner. Too thick and it won't be able to permeate the butt. This allows for the 10 day cure. Country hams (hard cured) are cured for 7 days per inch of thickness. There are definately others here with more experience than me and if they see this they will elaborate.

 

[Kevin]

I am still waiting for some cure to show up here in town, but as soon as it does I am for surely heading to sams also for some butts.

Do you have to take the bones out? What would happen if you just let it in then pulled them out later?

Rob,
I ordered 2 boxes of cure and a slicing knife direct from hi mountain by mail with a personal check and it took about a week. About $23.
If you want, PM me your address and I'll send you a pack to try.

 

[in2que]

Yep on the de boning. They were about 4 to 5 inches thick before I took the bone out. Flattens them up to about 3 inches which is about right according to the directions from High Mountain.

 

[chargriller]

Here is my question:

I got my sample from Kevin, now I am ready to start the cure, I bought a 4 lbs. boneless butt, is 10 days going to be too long for this smaller cut of meat? I do not want it to be to salty.

Any thoughts?

 

[in2que]

chargriller, I think it will still be fine. I think the directions say a 4 - 6 pound butt. From what I read the trick is to rinse the crap out of it, soak in water for 2 hours and rinse some more then some even soak a little longer. It's already cured so all you want is get rid of as much salt as you can.

I'm smokin mine up this Saturday. They are looking real good now with that cure doing its thing. Fridge is set at 35 - 37 degrees. I'll let you know how it goes. Be sure to weigh the butt and get the right amount of rub based on weight.

 

[Ron_L]

I just placed an order at Hawgeyes for some rubs and sauces, and they have High Mountain Bacon Cure, so I order a box. I'm going to try it in a couple of weeks!

 

[midnight]

I will cut my large butts in half so they are only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick, they still weigh about 4 lbs. This makes a nicer size slice of bacon, more like the size of what you buy at the store.

Sounds like you guys are on the right track, don't forget to experiment with adding maple syrup, cracked black pepper, honey, etc.. and let us know how they turn out!

If anyone has trouble getting the Hi Mnt. cure let me know, there are 3 stores in my town that carry them on hand and I would be happy to pick some up for you.

 

[chargriller]

Hey Midnight,

I was up in the Sioux Falls area the other day and stoped at the Scheelds and they did not have any. Are you finding it in Sioux Falls or closer to where you live.

I also found a place that will sell me some apple wood, not sure what you use, but just wanted to pass that along to you since you make to Sioux Falls when you can.

 

[chargriller]

I also would like to try it with maple syrup, cracked black pepper, but not togeather.

At what point do you add the extra stuff?

I am going to try it like the instructions say first, so that I know I am doing it right then try different flavors.

 

[in2que]

Rob, thats exactly what I am doing the first time - just doing what the instructions say. Next time I will add the pepper or syrup or whatever else after I rub them up and store them. I have apple and hickory for the smoke wood.

Hey midnight, do you still cure for 10 days with them cut in half?

 

[VitaminQ]

I got my notice that my order from Hi Mountain shipped yesterday. Got some jerky cure and buckboard bacon cure coming. You farkers have talked me into it!

 

[chargriller]

Mark, how are you storing them in the fridge? will a big zip lock bag work or do you need to wrap it in plastic wrap first?

 

[midnight]

I still cure mine for the full 10 days after I cut them in half. Just make sure you wash the cure off realy good when done and they shouldn't be too salty.

Chargriller- Where did you find the apple wood? Did you get any prices on it?

My local grocery store carries the hi mtn. cure on hand and so does one of the local butcher shops. I have not checked their prices yet as I ordered all of mine from a sausage making supply catalog. In Sioux Falls I found it at the Outdoorsman store. its like a no frills version of a Cabelas with about the same stuff at the same prices but only half the people stumbling around. It is just north of Sam's Club about 1 block.


When do I add the extra stuff? Usually on the last day of curing so that it is on the meat for at least 24 hours. I havn't tried the black pepper yet, that will be my next one. You may also want to do a search for butt bacon to see some of the things others have done with it.

 

[in2que]

I just put 'em in their own individual 1 gallon ziplock freezer bags and set them on a shelf in the beer fridge in the garage. I adjusted the temp up to 35 - 37 degrees.

I am going to fully smoke mine to 152 - 155 like with homemade smoked sausage instead of going just to 140 so it will be safe to eat without further cooking. That way I can slice it all and Foodsaver small packages for freezing and just lightly heat in a skillet or in the microwave at work. Someone on another forum does this and said it turns out great. We will see. I'll post some pics.

 

[chargriller]

midnight - The apple wood comes from an apple orchard sort of by Yankton the sell small batches not sure how many in a bunch 5 or 6 pices, they say it goes for about $3 a bunch, I might go back this weekend and get 2 bunches to see how it is. http://www.garritys.com/index.html

I saw that Outdoorsmen store the day we went up to Sioux Falls to eat at Johnny Carino's, it was on the same road, might have to give it another try.

I will let you now how the apple wood is once I go and pick some up.

 

[chargriller]

One more for you Midnight, you say that you add your extra stuff the last day, but when you rinse it off before the cook don't you rinse off all the extra stuff you had put on it, Does the sweetness of the syrup get rinsed off, or are you just tring to get the maple flavor?

 

[in2que]

midnight, thanks for the info on curing times. There is a place locally here that has every kind of wood you can ever use for smoking, but they are just fist sized chunks or a little smaller. That's ok for me because I don't need much in the WSM. I'll be glad to send some up your way if need be.

 

[chargriller]

I am always looking for wood to try, I love using large chunks of wood. Do the guys get your wood from charge a lot to ship? Can you send me any price info, or website.