I made 5lbs of the maple and 5lbs of the basic cure with a little black pepper. Both were very tasty but I cannot help but think that leaving the skin on is a mistake.

There is zero penetration of the cure/flavoring through the skin side of the belly. It was very obvious in the maple bacon. There was a huge difference in the taste of lean part of the bacon from the inside v.s. the skin side. Virtually no maple flavor on the skin side.

Has anyone tried curing and smoking with the skin removed?

I wouldn't disagree. Most bacon I do are savory rather than sweet. In both cases, though, I usually apply a rub after curing but before smoking which mitigates the flavor loss (or variation). I think if one is going with a straight cure--i.e., not applying rub post curing--removing the skin ahead of time is a better way to go.

Welcome to the board!

My wife just showed up last night with 40 pounds of pork bellies. Apparently, this was the minimum amount that she could get at the local co-op. They are huge! There are 2 of them and they are the entire side of the pig. I am going to be running around tonight, trying to get all the ingredients together. What was the final decision for the proper amounts of each ingredient to use?

I sure hope this turns out good. I guess the plan is to hand out home made bacon to folks as Christmas presents? I would certainly feel better if I had at least attempted to make this with a smaller portion once before getting that much pork belly.

First off, I plan to cut them up so that the pieces will fit in one gallon bags.

Thanks again..

You can use the recipe as written but note thst it is for a 5-lb piece. Scale accordingly. Remove the skin prior to curing if you prefer.

quote:

Originally posted by Tom Hewitt:
My wife just showed up last night with 40 pounds of pork bellies. Apparently, this was the minimum amount that she could get at the local co-op. They are huge! There are 2 of them and they are the entire side of the pig.

I would certainly feel better if I had at least attempted to make this with a smaller portion once before getting that much pork belly.

First off, I plan to cut them up so that the pieces will fit in one gallon bags.

Thanks again..

Tom, ribs still on the sides?
You can square them up, remove the skin and freeze some of them.
I'd get and use the Ziploc 2 Gallon bags, not the 1 gal bags. They are usually right beside the 1 Gallon bags, you have too look close at the box to tell them apart. Super Wal Mart has them if that helps. ALl grocery stores here carry them as well. YMMV. Good luck.

The ribs were not on the sides. But I did get both sides of the pig. It was in two packages, each side had been folded in half. When I opened them, they looked great. I cut each side into 3 pieces so I am curing 6 pieces altogether. It was 32 pounds instead of the 40 that I had mentioned previously. I used the 2 gallon ziplock bags but I had to go to the local co-op to find them. This Saturday, I will be smoking them. I will post pictures of everything then.

I ended up using this recipe instead:
1 1/2 Cup Brown sugar
1 1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1 1/2 cup kosher salt

I had to make 2 batches for the 6 slabs

I made the maple-cured bacon from the book. It turned out fantastic. Definitely better than store-bought. Also, and I think I have seen this mentioned elsewhere, the bacon actually improves with time in the freezer after having been cured and smoked. For some reason the flavouring seems more pronounced on the portions I froze than the one I ate right after the fact.

This is my first attempt at this, bought pork belly for the first time today. A 5 pound slab. I am leaving the skin on, and not sure if I should rub post cure. Will decide on Xmas day when this will be ready, along with my buckboard bacon which is at 5 days curing. It's a bacon smoke on my birthday!

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:
Phil, I went to bed lastnight racking my brain of where to get the Maple Sugar local, since I had the belly and wanted to do it up fresh verses freezing the belly till the sugar came.
So I gave them a call and sure enough they had it in 1lb bags @ $7.49 per lb, which was cheap compared to online. Also it's made right here in PA and does smell fantastic.posted. Thanks

Bryan-
Where did you get the maple sugar and what was the name of the brand? I've been dying to make some of this. Thanks

In case the location of Bryan's purchase is to far from you, (hope this helps) I had my other half hunt down the best price/deal etc. and she came up w/ a brand called "Shady Maple Farms" organic little containers of it. I wish I could tell you from where but shes in Vegas right now. Somewhere online. It seems to work well and I've used it on actually a lot of stuff. She said it was the best price she could find but I don't know, she does all this technical internet stuff, I can barely find my way to the bulliten board here. if you like that good maple taste use the dark amber grade B syrup, but im sure you know that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dan H.,

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry D.:

quote:

Originally posted by Bryan S:
Phil, I went to bed lastnight racking my brain of where to get the Maple Sugar local, since I had the belly and wanted to do it up fresh verses freezing the belly till the sugar came.
So I gave them a call and sure enough they had it in 1lb bags @ $7.49 per lb, which was cheap compared to online. Also it's made right here in PA and does smell fantastic.posted. Thanks

Bryan-
Where did you get the maple sugar and what was the name of the brand? I've been dying to make some of this. Thanks

Gerry, heres where I got mine.

I actually was trying to avoid shipping costs and buy a product that was made here in PA. I've actually found other sources online for local maple sugar but the shipping is twice as much as the sugar itself!

Dan:

Grade B maple syrup is what's called cooking maple syrup. It's thicker and darker than light amber Grade A. I find mine at Trader Joe's and it's very reasonable.

I bought Shady Maple Farms here locally at Whole Foods. It was $14.99 for a cylinder, can't remember how many ounces, maybe less than 8, and figured it was cheaper than paying shipping at any cost.

...gees sorry Gerry, meant to type grade B, don't even listen to me! i'll edit post up top.

Received 12 lbs of rindless belly yesterday, started the process today on 1/2, making home cured bacon on the other half.

For those looking for dark syrup, look now, it is now syrup season, you should be able to find some now from a producer.

HElp! I am curing two 5 lb pork bellies seperately, one is the bacon the other pancetta. Both are almost 3 inches thick! (they are beautiful). The problem I am having is telling if they are fully cured in the middle. They have been in the fridge for 10 days and Ive turned them every 2-3 days. Neither is giving off much liquid, though...... Thanks!

Welcome to the board!

What is the temp of your fridge in the area they are curing?

quote:

Originally posted by Ford:
Neither is giving off much liquid, though...... Thanks!

Welcome, I never saw alot of liquid from mine when curing.

Kevin, I just read this whole thread and I have a question. On Sept. 24/08 you said one could substitute "6 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon Tender Quick for the salt and pink salt". Can you tell me if this is referencing the bacon recipe in Rhulman's book? That is, the amount of TQ would be equal to 2 ounces kosher salt and 12 grams (2 tsp.) of pink salt? I have some TQ and am wondering about using it to make the bacon. Right now I have some belly curing in the fridge (smoking tomorrow) that I cured using kosher salt and Prague powder which I understand is the same as pink salt, but untinted. Hope this makes sense and thanks for your help.

Yes, it is clear, and yes to your question. (It's more like 6 T plus 1.25 or 1.5 t -- I just rounded.)