Homemade bacon

[Fire Me Boy!]

Anyone ever made it?

My brother got me America's Test Kitchen's DIY cookbook (they're the peeps that do Cook's Illustrated), and it includes a good lookin' recipe for homemade bacon that they swear beats the pants off most anything you can buy... plus, since you have it in slab form (which seems to be pretty hard to find unless you order it), you can do nice things like lardons.

Anyhoo, after wandering all over the butcher shops and grocery stores in Montgomery (only one could get it, and it was $8/pound), I asked the meat manager at Publix if he could get any, and he said yes. And it was only going to be $3.19/pound. I went to pick it up this morning and the guy had made a mistake - my 5-pound order was 11.44 pounds, but it was marked at $2.69/pound. The manager said he knew that was more than I wanted, but if I'd take the whole thing, he'd take another 40 cents off per pound.

So I have 11 pounds of pork belly in my fridge, some pink salt on the way for the cure, and a box full of apple wood in my shed. And bacon will be made.

They also have a recipe for pancetta, which I'll attempt at some point, too.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Literature

Never heard of that. Thanks. I'll have to try that next weekend.

Cool. I usually have a thick-cut bacon and have to let it go closer to 24. If I buy really cheap, thin bacon, 20 is enough. I'm about to go make some at halftime.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Buck

Cool. I usually have a thick-cut bacon and have to let it go closer to 24. If I buy really cheap, thin bacon, 20 is enough. I'm about to go make some at halftime.

Best way to make bacon. I learned that trick on Good Eats (Alton Brown).

[JASONSAUTO]

Originally Posted by EagleRob

If I have 10 pieces of bacon and my friend wants two pieces of bacon, how many pieces do I have left? Correct, I still have 10 because you're not getting any.

Lol. Great post
Posted via Mobile Device

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by EagleRob

If I have 10 pieces of bacon and my friend wants two pieces of bacon, how many pieces do I have left? Correct, I still have 10 because you're not getting any.

Well, what do you have if your friend steals two pieces of bacon?

Ten pieces of bacon and a dead body.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Fire Me Boy!

Best way to make bacon. I learned that trick on Good Eats (Alton Brown).

I learned it from someone on r/keto. That must be where they got it from.

I accidentally bought some baby bitch bacon (thin sliced) so I was able to get like 15 pieces on the tray compared to the 9 I usually get. I don't know wtf I was thinking. I think it was on sale for $1.50.

[lewdog]

Originally Posted by Buck

Cool. I usually have a thick-cut bacon and have to let it go closer to 24. If I buy really cheap, thin bacon, 20 is enough. I'm about to go make some at halftime.

What are you wearing?

[Fire Me Boy!]

The bacon trials have begun.

Spice rub made up of maple sugar, Kosher salt, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf and pink salt.



I learned very early on you must have a fine tip and a very sharp knife for skinning the pork belly. This is not hard, but patience is a virtue.



Leftovers (skin).



I don't have a big enough pan to fit the whole pork belly, so I split it between two. Now, we wait. It'll sit in the fridge for the next 7-10 days and cure; I'll flip them every other day.



Mmmmm, bacon.

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by Buck

When you cook it, put it in the oven cold on a foiled tray, turn the oven on to 300 degrees and let it cook for 20-24 min until perfectly golden brown.

It literally melts in your mouth.

Does it make a mess in the oven?

[mnchiefsguy]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Does it make a mess in the oven?

I tried this method this week, and it was not messy at all. Once the bacon was removed, I carefully took out the foil, and there was no grease at all on the pan. Let the pan cool, gave it a quick rinse, and that was it. Oven looked good on the inside. I imagine some grease will wind up sizzling its way into the oven, but if you clean your oven semi-regularly, I imagine you would be fine.

[crispystl420]

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

I tried this method this week, and it was not messy at all. Once the bacon was removed, I carefully took out the foil, and there was no grease at all on the pan. Let the pan cool, gave it a quick rinse, and that was it. Oven looked good on the inside. I imagine some grease will wind up sizzling its way into the oven, but if you clean your oven semi-regularly, I imagine you would be fine.

I worked at the main dining hall of the college down here and they cooked ALL of their bacon that way, and I'm talking about a metric ****ing shit ton and there was never any problem. That's the way I always cook bacon. if you don't want to wait 24 minutes you can just put that shit on the bottom rack and turn the oven on broil too.

[Buck]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

Does it make a mess in the oven?

No, thats why you put foil on the cookie sheet, to collect the fat. Once you're done, there should be a considerable amount of bacon grease, which you can pour into a glass jar.

Originally Posted by mnchiefsguy

I tried this method this week, and it was not messy at all. Once the bacon was removed, I carefully took out the foil, and there was no grease at all on the pan. Let the pan cool, gave it a quick rinse, and that was it. Oven looked good on the inside. I imagine some grease will wind up sizzling its way into the oven, but if you clean your oven semi-regularly, I imagine you would be fine.

Hmm...sounds sorta messy unless you poured the bacon grease out first...I usually have a lot of grease and couldn't even think of taking the foil off unless I poured it into a jar.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by Buck

No, thats why you put foil on the cookie sheet, to collect the fat. Once you're done, there should be a considerable amount of bacon grease, which you can pour into a glass jar.

Hmm...sounds sorta messy unless you poured the bacon grease out first...I usually have a lot of grease and couldn't even think of taking the foil off unless I poured it into a jar.

Me too. Fat goes in a jar and then in the fridge for use later.

[mnchiefsguy]

Originally Posted by Buck

No, thats why you put foil on the cookie sheet, to collect the fat. Once you're done, there should be a considerable amount of bacon grease, which you can pour into a glass jar.

Hmm...sounds sorta messy unless you poured the bacon grease out first...I usually have a lot of grease and couldn't even think of taking the foil off unless I poured it into a jar.

It certainly could have been messy, but the trash can was close by, so I basically took off the foil and slid it straight into the trash can.

[houstonwhodat]

Originally Posted by Bump

I have a friend who smokes his own bacon. He doesn't have a meat slicer though and cutting it is a pain in the butt though.

Partially freeze it to cut it. Lots easier.

[Fire Me Boy!]

Originally Posted by houstonwhodat

Partially freeze it to cut it. Lots easier.

Or use a good meat slicer. I like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-12-...I1YWPTMB58APFT