my first "Shoulder Bacon" attempt, anyone else do

Harry Nutczak

I had a few extra butts laying around, I am so sick of pulled pork right now I did not want to cook them (we cooked over 2,500 pounds of shoulder this season)

So I am trying a country-style shoulder bacon made with tender-quick, sugar, and a few spices. The Hi-mountain mix is too expensive IMO, and it would take too long to get it here for the shoulders to still be fresh enough to use

the plan is to dry-cure it for 10 days, & smoke it at a very low temp (145-180 degrees) until I get an internal temp of 140-150.

Slice it for serving, vacuum pack it in one pound bag's and pull it out when needed.

if it is successful, I will post the recipe.

I also have plans on making Venison bacon by mixing ground venison & pork shoulder 50/50, with my seasoned cure, shaping it into a suitable shape for slicing, and smoking that for something different to try.

Please post your favorite recipes for cured meats.
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kingconsulting · Posted: Nov 03 2007 Post subject:

Curious how your butt bacon turns out. I was thinking about making some for Christmas presents. Found an extra bag of TQ in my spice cabinet.

I was going to make this Buckboard recipe from here:

http://lpoli.50webs.com/Sausage%20recipes.htm#BRINED

Robert King
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Robert King
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jess · Posted: Nov 03 2007 Post subject:

I read something about buckboard bacon a couple wks. ago & tried my hand on 2 butts.. It is a lot hotter & humid here so I went with a real simple brine-water, kosher salt, unrefined cane sugar, lots of cracked pepper..Brined for 5 days@ 34degrees, then low (180) smoked about 5hrs. to 145..Quick chilled to 35-40 then sliced.. When cooked it tasted more like what my grandpa called side meat than bacon,great taste but but 60/40 bacon ham.. The thinner you slice it the more it taste like bacon.. I will try again but next time use more spices & hickory instead of oak..

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Nov 07 2007 Post subject:

jess · Posted: Nov 07 2007 Post subject:

Call it what you will but it is the 1st "bacon " that was worth making a sandwich of I've had in a long while.. Also what it does to a pot of country style green beans is almost magic..

JimH · Posted: Nov 08 2007 Post subject:

I've made it using the Hi Mountain kit, I thought it come out great. When I mentioned it here (back then) I caught a lot of static about it being ham and not bacon. It tasted like bacon to me!
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Harry Nutczak · Posted: Nov 10 2007 Post subject:

4 days of curing to go, then it hits the smoker! it is getting tough to wait.

I think this is becoming an addiction now, I have been putting together a wish list from the allied kenco site.

Well, when I do open my retaurant, I want to offer old country style smoked items to the customers for take home from a deli case

real bacon, real Jerkey, I would love to get into our own hams, and maybe some day this will turn into a web based ordering system for shipping. we are a huge tourist area so that might be good,

So I will be perfecting my cure at home so when i get in the retail end I will be ready with tried & true recipe.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Nov 14 2007 Post subject:

it is 4:02 A.M., My meat alarm for the cooker just went off telling me my buckboard bacon is ready to come out of the smoker,

It smells good, I'll let it cool uncovered in the fridge and slice some off later when I get up for the day.

I used oak for this one,
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Nov 15 2007 Post subject:

Harry your killing me with this shoulder bacon thing. How did it turn out? I'm pulling a butt out of the freezer today to get it started. In another post in this thread you mention "getting into our own hams". Does that mean your raising pigs? Fresh, homegrown, ham and bacon sure sounds good for thanksgiving or breakfast, wichever comes first. I would like to raise a few pigs, but the wife hates the smell. I'll keep working on her maybe she'll come around.

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Nov 16 2007 Post subject:

No raising pigs for me, They are the nastiest smelling animals to slaughter and raise.

I have plans to open a restaurant in the next few months. I am waiting for the building I want to become vacant again.

The shoulder bacon turned out excellent, All I had was bone-in butts, so I used those and had no problems with cure penetration like I expected.
Half of one is already gone we like it so much. I plan on boning them out now, and slicing it on a nice Hobart slicer that I have access to.

Ok, here is the recipe that I used, I kind of winged it, but it worked.

Per each pound of pork you are curing;
use
1 level tablespoon of Morton Tenderquick
3/4 Tablespoon of white or brown sugar it does not need to be exact on the sugar, but do not use less, you can use more though.
and I used a fair amount of freshly ground black pepper.
Mix these dry ingredients in a bowl, pack it on each shoulder evenly and place it in a large zip-lock bag, Place it in the coldest spot in the refrigerator for 10-12 days turning the meat daily.
After curing period is done, rinse the meat, let it air dry until you see a crust forming on the outside , you should have your smoker up to 160-180 degrees, use heavy smoke for the first hour, and let the meat smoke until an internal temperature of 14-145 is reached.
Let it cool un-covered in the refrigerator, slice thinly, fry to desired crispness and enjoy.
Next time I will make a peppered bacon by coating it with black pepper before the smoke.

Do not trim any fat before curing, you will find this is the best part after frying it.

I am thinking about getting some boneless butts now, curing several, and making this bacon for X-Mas presents to go along with the wild blueberry jam that we made this summer.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Nov 16 2007 Post subject:

I just remembered something, if you use bonelss shoulder you will want to tie them very tightly with butchers twine before curing to get a more suitable shape for slicing.

If you cure before tying them, you may have an excess of salt stuck in pockets inside the meat. that would be very bad.

I would also like to experiment with a boneless shoulder and press it during the cure to get a more uniform slice when it is done.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Nov 17 2007 Post subject:

Thanks for the tips. If you wouldent have made that last post I would probably have an extra salty lump-o-bacon, thanks for the extra effort. I am totaly new to preserving/cureing. I'v brined a thing or two, but know little about preserving or cureing. Do you, or any other ringers, know of any good links to info on curing meats? If you were going to press the meat, what would you use? I have some C-clamps and cowboys/oddballs and steel plate I could use, although I probably wouldent really want to put that kind of stuff in my fridge.

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Nov 18 2007 Post subject:

Most hardware for pressing meats is like a plastic cutting board'ish material these days. But wood does just fine if properly oiled with a non-toxic oil to seal the pores and is properly cleaned & sanitized before & after use.

Lining it with a few layers of plastic wrap or coated butcher paper would also be a good idea.

I am doing about 50 pounds of bonelss butts into bacon in a week or so, I will be curing it in a walk-in cooler I have access to.

I stole an idea from Big Orson, I am making bacon as gifts for people.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Nov 24 2007 Post subject:

Harry my bagg leaked, a few days ago, and half of the juice leaked out. Do you think I should put more of the cure in the bag and add a couple days to it? Also I used a bone-in-butt, like you did, should the bone be taken out of the butt before its smoked or after?

Harry Nutczak · Posted: Nov 24 2007 Post subject:

I wouldn't worry about the liquid that leaked out. If you had a liquid present, they must have been curing for at least 3-days already anyways, right?

Bone-in, remove before or after?
I smoked mine first, then cut out the bone becuase I was in a hurry that day and wanted to get it cured before I left the house for the day.

This next batch I am using boneless butts, Fully opening them up and curing them that way for reduced cure time and better penetration. then I will rinse, and tie tightly into a cylindrical shape with butchers twine and hang them for the smoking part.

Everybody that got a sample loves it, and so far I have orders placed from these people for about 40-45 pounds worth of finished product.
Since I doubt I'll be giving myself a Christmas bonus, I'll use these sales as my bonus money this year.
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Just remember that the toes you may step on during your climb to the top will also be attached to the a$$es you'll be forced to kiss on your way back down!

Hell Fire Grill · Posted: Nov 25 2007 Post subject:

The juice acctually started comeing out of the meat while I rubed the cure on. There was about 3/4 cup, or so,of juice before it leaked out. I think it may have been a enhanced piece when I got it. We get alot of that john morrel pork, in cryo bags, around here and it probably aint the best quality.

I figured the bone wood be best to remove after smoke, to help hold the whole thing together.It should come right out after its smoked. If I tryed removeing the bone while it is raw I wood end up with more than one piece of bacon, with my butchering skills, and probably a finger sausage as well. Just kidding.