mjeff87 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 I finally scored a nice fresh pork belly from a butchershop up in PA over the holiday and made me some homemade bacon. Here's the rundown if y'all want to try it yourself. OK, here’s the whole process. Start with one fresh pork belly (this one is about 7 lbs). Set it on a rack over a pan and season liberally with your choice of seasonings plus curing salt. I used maple sugar, cracked black pepper and some pork butt seasoning: Image Not Found Image Not Found Wrap up the belly and refrigerate. The whole curing process takes about 6 days, so don’t be in too much of a hurry. Every other day, pull it out and flip it, pouring off any juices that accumulate in the drip pan: Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found After 6 days, pull the belly back out, rinse it off and pat it dry. Return it to the fridge to air dry (do not cover it) overnight. This process makes the smoke adhere and penetrate the skin/meat better than if you put it on the smoker wet. Image Not Found The next morning, pull it out and let it come up to room temp while you prepare the smoker. I used a combo of KBB and lump hardwood charcoal and applewood chunks that I soaked in water for about 2 hours. The KBB was used to get the smoke going, then I switched over to the hardwood lump…..it burns much hotter so be careful of temps if you use it. Image Not Found Image Not Found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjeff87 Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 Cooking time/temp--- you want a slow burning fire no more than 200 degrees, and you want to cook the belly to 150 degrees. I use a temp probe to be sure…..you don’t want to go much over 150, otherwise you will be roasting the meat in the belly and rendering the fat out. Not good. Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found Image Not Found I’ve got a hot spot in my smoker, and had to rotate the belly a couple of times to cook it evenly. Unfortunately, one end of it got a little over-smoked (but still tasty). I need to fab up a baffle plate to even out the heat. Image Not Found Let the belly rest for an hour or so, then refrigerate it. I let mine go overnight in the fridge before slicing. End result is porky/smoky/fatty bacon goodness J Image Not Found Image Not Found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kansashogan Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 That looks delicious Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
banshee Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 BACON, looks good nice post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue88Comanche Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 :drool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87Warrior Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 Easily the best post of 2015! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big66440 Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 :bowdown: :USAflag: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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