Saturday, June 16, 2012

Bacon Makin'

So the bacon came out of their curing bags today, it was soaked, and was put in the smoker. Yes, I know I should wait at least over night for it to form a pellicle but I just don't have time for it. So it went in the smoker today. It may not end up looking as pretty but I think it will still taste like bacon which is all I need. I fried up a piece after it soaked to taste test it and it tasted like bacon so really smoking it is just extra.
This picture shows you the amount of bacon from just the one pig. There is one jowl and one piece of loin for Canadian bacon in this picture.
 So this went in the smoker and cooked until it had an internal temperature of 160 degrees and I actually left it about an hour after that because I just didn't feel the jowl was done.
Meanwhile I did not do a thing that was constructive. No spoons today. I watched the birds. I have not had a bird feeder for years because I read an article then on how feeding the birds caused them to not migrate when they should and it was also like "fast food" for birds since the seeds in most bird feed were not what they normally would eat but what they like instead.  Anyway, this year I got over it (since all the birds haven't died as the article seemed to suggest they would) and I put up two little cheap feeders.
Sorry but my camera does not take pictures very well from about 15 feet apparently. 
I am rather amazed that the same variety of birds come to my feeders here as did when I was 1000 miles away in New England. I get chickadees, tufted titmouse, blue jays and cardinals. The only difference is that the blue jays and cardinals are more cautious here but that may just be because of the cats. 
I also chipped up more plum wood. Plum chips is what we used to smoke this bacon. The smell is just wonderful! This is when I peeked in when the thermometer told me the meat was at 160 degrees F. I let it smoke an hour more.
Here is what it looked like when it came out. Not as nice a color but the smell... you just can't describe how good it smells!
We, of course, had breakfast for supper. I won't tell you that the bacon tastes just like store bought because it doesn't. It might have been closer if we had smoked it with hickory but I am glad we didn't. While the taste is not exactly like store bought bacon it is much better in my opinion. I love the taste of the plum smoke on it. It is different but so much more...savory.
 


15 comments:

  1. em quite yummy wish it was breakfast time that bacon looks so tasty

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  2. You got my mouth to water....excellent!

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  3. you had me at bacon, you had me at bacon....

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  4. That is wonderful looking bacon! I think the color is great.

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  5. Deeply satisfying I imagine. No doubt you had home-raised eggs with it. And probably home-grown tomatoes too?

    Our shop-bought bacon is usually watery. When you cook it, white gunk oozes out - probably chemicals that have been added.

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    1. Yup, there were home-raised eggs with it. No one had tomatoes with it but they could have had home grown tomatoes if they had wanted to. I picked three more Taxi tomatoes the other day.

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  6. The pig is a fatty beast isn't it. I would love to try that bacon - looks divine.

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  7. Plum wood! Sounds wonderful and you are right, it's NOTHING like store bacon! Great job!

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  8. Once it's been smoked, how do you store it? (I mean, the part that isn't consumed in a bacon eating frenzy...)

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    1. It had to go in the freezer too. So we spent some more time last night reorganizing so we could get it in.

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  9. Hi Becky,

    Lovely to hear about your birds-I too wish I could take some decent photos of mine that come to the feeders but they are just so quick!!

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    1. I had several pictures with no birds at all especially the ones that had cardinals in them ...or were supposed to have cardinals in them.

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  10. All that from one pig?! Show us the pork chops next!

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  11. Yummo, I can smell it from here and it looks divine!

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