Makin' Bacon (Get you mind out of the gutter)

This entry was originally posted 10/13/13. It was one of the entries that got accidentally deleted during the colossal brain fart of 2013.


So what does a bored BBQ fanatic do when he's not competing? Why, he makes bacon of course!! Let's all say it together,'Mmmmmm Bacon....'

One goal that I've had for a while now was to make the ultimate BLT sandwich totally from scratch. That's right, the very finest of BLT goodness that can be made. I know, one of my more goofy ideas. I don't even remember how it got started.

Here's where I'm at with it so far: Growing the lettuce and tomatoes in the garden, check. Mel said she would show me how to make bread, check. Now for what I thought would be the hard part, the bacon. Seems it's not as hard as I thought. Find and buy a pork belly (yes it really is the pig's belly, now don't go getting squeamish on me now). I only bought a cut-off piece of about a pound for this test run. A full belly runs about 5 pounds.

Trim off the skin, rub it down with a mixture of cure, sugar, pepper, and a little maple syrup.

Put it in a zip-lock bag and into the fridge for 7 days, flipping each day.

Then rinse it really well, pat dry, and put it back into the fridge for a day to form the pellicle.

Put in the smoker at 225 for a few hours. That's a bottom round underneath the bacon. Mel wanted some sliced BBQ beef.

Smoke with apple wood until it reaches an internal of about 140-145. Don't render that fat!

Take it out and put it in a zip-lock and into an ice bath to stop the cooking.

Slice it up as thick or thin as you like!

Of course a little test drive is obligatory!

Freeze the rest

This was a really fun first time out and VERY tasty too! Doesn't taste anything like whats in the store. I'll do this again in a couple of weeks with a full belly. This first test was a really simple flavor profile, so the next time I want to try a maple glazed and a spicy peppered version.

So anyway, back to the BLT. Once the lettuce and tomatoes get there, I'll be doing a blog on the finest BLT in the world! You're all welcome to come over and try one! I'll even let you try my homemade garlic tomato soup. I've got that one down to a fine science.