Another use for the keezer - making bacon

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
The Homebrew Forum

Help Support The Homebrew Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Love it!

I've simplified my own bacon making process by using:
After curing I cut the joint in two and cold smoke half of it before leaving it to mature in the fridge for a few days. After maturing, I slice the lot up into bacon slices and store them in the freezer after wrapping in clingfilm.

As I am currently trying to lose weight it may be a long time before I get to cure any more bacon!

PS
Eating a small amount means that I can't justify the price of a bacon slicer; but I did treat myself to an electric knife to slice up the cured bacon and it works a treat.
 
Just before I washed off the final lot of salt mix
IMG_20200604_211215.jpg


I then rinsed it all with cold water - and patted it dry and then wiped it down with malt vinegar.

IMG_20200604_212044.jpg


I then cleaned and dried the box out and returned it to the keezer (covered with area towel again) - should be ready to eat on Wednesday! Cannot wait.
 
Very much inspired by this thread I've got a couple of bits of bacon curing but have gone with the equilibrium curing method.

A peice of back bacon to start
20200608_161952.jpg

And then the next day (after my new vac sealer arrived early) I started off some streaky with the addition of a bit of paprika
20200608_161936.jpg

I quite fancy having a go at cold smoking the streaky and would be really interested to hear how you go about it @Dutto

acheers.
 
I use a smoker made from an old coffee maker, an aquarium pump, a length of copper tubing (to cool the smoke before it enters the smoke-box), a clear-plastic smoke box and an old fridge tray to keep the meat, cheese, fish etc off the floor of the smoker.

Here's how to make the smoker off YouTube ...



There are many other versions available but I tried a few and found that this on suits me best.

A number of tips are that I use:
  1. A blowtorch to get the wood-chips to light. (It usually takes two cupfuls to smoke a full box.)
  2. A pair of pliers to put the smoking chips in place.
  3. A 22 > 15mm reducer and 600mm of copper pipe to route the smoke out of the smoker.
  4. Water to seal off the smoke as it exits the cafeteria. (This cools the smoke.)
  5. A 10mm copper tube leading to the Smoke Box.
  6. So little smoke escapes the system that I smoke inside the Brew Shed. I use this hot smoker for meals for two ... My Mum bought it for me when I had a boat and I now use it on a paella burner rather than the meths system that's provided.

I hope the above, along with the video, is sufficient to get you going and I apologise for not taking a photograph of everything in place, but I'm still not allowed to put any weight on my fractured femur!

With a lot of luck, I should be fully mobile after 25th June and I have 2kg of pork loin coming this Saturday so I'm hoping that I will have some cured pork to smoke by then!

If you have any problems then please let me know.
 
AMAZING Dutto! Love that - a cold smoker is on my list of things to do, but my list is long and no idea if it will happen this year. But you've made it look very achievable, nom
 
My bacon came out of the cure today but didn't look quite the same as yours @crowcrow
Planning to get the streaky smoked on Saturday night with a simple cold smoke generator and cardboard box method, if the weather allows 🤞
20200611_170422.jpg
 
Amazing! I wanted to have some today, maybe tomorrow. I used PDV salt, not sure if they makes a difference - £12 for 25kg delivered from ebay. Feels extra soft and dry.
 
Last edited:
Nice

I do the equilibrium method, got some easy cure then add my own dried herbs and spices etc. I leave it unsmoked.

Pork shoulder is good too, for collar bacon which you don't get much anymore.
 
Hanglow said:
Nice

I do the equilibrium method, got some easy cure then add my own dried herbs and spices etc. I leave it unsmoked.

Pork shoulder is good too, for collar bacon which you don't get much anymore.
Click to expand...
How have you found it? I bought some cure #1 and mixed up my own.
Interesting about the pork shoulder - I'm going shopping tomorrow and was thinking of getting a leg joint to try some ham
Hoping to try the back bacon, unsmoked on Sunday morning.
 
I love it - very bacony flavour, and no excess water like you get in a lot of shop bought bacons.. It is a bit rustic as I just put it in the freezer for half an hour then sliced it with my knife, so some bits are a bit thick cut, but I like my bacon like that.

I need to get some belly, I've not actually tried that yet

Here's some from february that had just been rinsed post cure, pre cut

IMG-20200308-075256532-01.jpg
 
So, finally ate the bacon, best (unsmoked) bacon I've ever had - delicious!
IMG_20200612_132630.jpg


Chilled for 20 mins in chest freezer and then placed between two chopping boards and used my sharpest knife. The chopping boards allowed me to let a small amount 'Hang over' and then chop that bit off using the boards as guides.
IMG_20200612_133337.jpg

Delicious - not too porky (I don't really like pork) - smoker def is on my list. Is it too late to smoke the slab now?
 
crowcrow said:
So, finally ate the bacon, best (unsmoked) bacon I've ever had - delicious! View attachment 27498

Chilled for 20 mins in chest freezer and then placed between two chopping boards and used my sharpest knife. The chopping boards allowed me to let a small amount 'Hang over' and then chop that bit off using the boards as guides.
View attachment 27499
Delicious - not too porky (I don't really like pork) - smoker def is on my list. Is it too late to smoke the slab now?
Click to expand...
Looks amazing and very professional thin slices athumb..
Not sure how long you can leave it before smoking but I'm hoping to smoke my streaky tonight so we can have a bacon fest on sunday morning
 
crowcrow said:
........

Delicious - not too porky (I don't really like pork) - smoker def is on my list. Is it too late to smoke the slab now?
Click to expand...

I've never smoked bacon slices, but if there's a slab left that hasn't been frozen then I can't see any reason why it can't be smoked.

With regard to the slices, 'cos I've not done it doesn't mean that it can't be done!

However, 'cos the smoky flavour has to penetrate into the slab I tend to do it for quite a time as the only smoky flavour (apart from the end pieces which I reserve for myself :laugh8:) are on the surface; but if I ever smoked slices then it will be a very light smoke because a very "smoky" flavour is an acquired taste and can stink the kitchen out.

Enjoy!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top