Dry cured Buckboard bacon

[septemberelk]

Thought i'd try Buckboard bacon,and i'm glad i did. Cured for 7 days in the refrigerator, then rinsed and dried. I smoked it with 2oz of Apple and 1 oz of Hickory for 1.5 hours at 145 then bumped to 200 for 2.5 hours for a IT temp of 150. Letting it rest for a day or two in the refrigerator. Tried a few sample slices and it was very good. I will be making more of this.

 

[Pork Belly]

Great color, looks fantastic Mike. Did you add any brown sugar or Maple Syrup?

 

[septemberelk]

Thanks brian, i did add one and a quarter cup brown sugar with the curing salt. I didnt add anything else so its a simple cure but it has good flavor and the apple and hickory sealed the deal with flavor. I'm very happy with the results.

 

[NDKoze]

Looks awesome!

I have made BBB several times, but have used a brine.

 

[septemberelk]

I think i will try a brine sometime soon. I think i'm going to get another refrigerator for the garage,it gets a little cramped in the one in the kitchen when you put 16 to 20 pounds of bacon on the shelves.

 

[NDKoze]

I have been contemplating adding an extra fridge too. It would be nice to have a fridge dedicated for mat and smoked cheese storage.

 

[septemberelk]

Its very plain. I used one half oz of Morton Tender Quick per pound of meat(per label instructions) and one and a quarter cups  brown sugar . This was 16 pounds of boneless butt, so 8oz of tender quick,then seven days in the refridge turning every 24 hours. A good rinse and dry and wait,then off to the smoker. 8 oz seems like alot but its not to salty.

 

[DivotMaker]

Nice job, Mike!  Really good-looking bacon! 8)

 

[septemberelk]

Thanks Tony. I'm really having alot of fun with this new smoker.

 

[DivotMaker]

Knew you would, Mike!

 

[mizzoufan]

Started my batch Sunday night by slicing 2 boneless butts in half (and due to the nature of boston butts, had a few small chunks come loose) and rolling in Tender Quick with a few spices/herbs thrown in.  Flipping the baggies nightly but it seems weird not draining the bags when I'm trying to dry the meat out some.

Planning on a mid-week smoke using the ramp up (2hrs @ 120, 2hrs @ 140 and then 160 to about 150 IT)

 

[DivotMaker]

...but it seems weird not draining the bags when I'm trying to dry the meat out some.

No drying, during the curing phase, Steven!  The idea is to get that cure all the way through the meat, before smoking.  Once the curing is done, you can let it dry a day in the fridge, uncovered, before smoking.  Disclaimer:  I'm not yet a belly or buckboard bacon guy, but doing Canadian bacon is kind of the same.  Cure, the dry in the fridge to form a good pelicle, then smoke.  I'm sure Brian or Gregg, our resident bacon "experts," will chime in!

 

[NDKoze]

Started my batch Sunday night by slicing 2 boneless butts in half (and due to the nature of boston butts, had a few small chunks come loose) and rolling in Tender Quick with a few spices/herbs thrown in.  Flipping the baggies nightly but it seems weird not draining the bags when I'm trying to dry the meat out some.

Planning on a mid-week smoke using the ramp up (2hrs @ 120, 2hrs @ 140 and then 160 to about 150 IT)

For a non-Buckboard Bacon guy Tony nailed it.

I actually wet-brine my Buckboard Bacon:
http://smokinitforums.com/index.php?topic=1640.0

 

[Pork Belly]

No drying, during the curing phase, Steven!

Actually the curing is drying and it is meant to happen. This video shows traditional curing and smoking of bacon and hams, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6UkXhHUTfM Around the 2 minute mark you see how the bellies and hams are laid on wood benches covered in salt with more salt being rubbed into them. The gentlemen in the video is using Morton's Sugar Cure and kosher salt. As you can see there is no attempt to bag or capture run off liquid. Any moisture extracted from the meat is allowed to drain away on the open wood bench. This would be the same affect of draining off accumulated moisture from the zip bag.

Our use of zip top bags is one of convenience not necessity. I often do large cuts of belly in a meat lug (tub), doing so leaves only a small portion of the bellies in direct contact with the run off liquid. There are no ill affects or one sided tasting food.

Modern bacon recipes make the point that when using zip bags, flip the bag everyday. I believe that is more to do with flavoring the meat than curing it. If you watch the entire video you learn that he used three steps, curing, flavoring (glazing) then cold smoking. By adding the syrup or brown sugar at the start of the cure we skip the flavoring step the old timers used.

We do rinse the cure then dry it in the fridge for at least 24 hours before smoking. I'm not sure if it is in this video or another of the same men I have watched but the old guy says, "After 7 or 8 days I wash it, (the meat) let it dry and smoke it".

 

[mizzoufan]

That's where I'm headed.  I could rinse and dry any time now, but I'm off Thur-Mon so I thought I'd wait until tomorrow or Wed (is a 48 hr time uncovered in the fridge a bad thing?) then smoke Wed and wrap until next Wed (assuming I can wait that long) then have a couple of friends over for BLTs as the test for my first buckboard attempt.

 

[septemberelk]

Here is the latest batch of BBB that just came out of the #4. It looks and smells good. I'm very pleased with the results.

 

[DivotMaker]

You're a bacon MACHINE, Mike!  Looks great!! ;D

 

[BedouinBob]

Steven, I predict happy friends in your future. I have used Brian's dry cure method several times. I have buckboard and back bacon in process (pics coming soon!) and assuming similar results with this method as in the past, it will be good! I doubt that a few extra days in the refrigerator will be a big issue as long as you protect from off flavors. Putting a little wax paper around it will help.