How to Make Buckboard Bacon at Home! Part 2 

Thank you for the compliment! It's really appreciated. I'm glad you learned something from it, that was the intent. If I was going to produce the video again the only thing I would do differently would be to mix my brine concentrate in a container outside the meat container with the full remainder of the gallon of water then add it into the container with the meat. If you're a fan of country ham (like me), the original recipe will be for you, but if you're a city ham kind of person, this correction might make a difference you'll be happy with. I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

I don't know if it could have come out any better, in my description, I failed to mention that there was a hint of maple flavor from the syrup I put into the brine which is what I was looking for. I hope you could see it really wasn't difficult at all, only time-consuming. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

Have you ever tried making Montreal style smoked meat brisket?

@@MarcAndre197 If you're asking if I've ever put Montreal seasoning on a brisket and smoked it, the answer is "no", I have tried Montreal seasoning in the past, on steaks and I'm not really a fan and I like most foods/spices. Montreal seasoning just never did it for me. I can't say I wouldn't eat something with it on it but I won't go out of my way to have it either. For the most part, I'm that way with peas too. I'd much rather have green beans if I had a choice.

Essentially the process is the same. However, I highly recommend injecting a ham. A true ham is made from the actual butt of the hog. If you go to buy one the butcher might call it a fresh ham or leg of pork. Except for the outer layer of fat, the ham is usually more lean than even the pork butt/Boston but/pork shoulder. If you go back in my videos, you will see where I have made a 3 video series, "The Making of a Christmas Ham". ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-hpPNlWaB7XQ.html I recommend injecting because of the thickness of the meat from the outside into the center and how long it would have to brine to naturally penetrate to the center. If the brine doesn't penetrate, essentially you'll have a pork roast and not a ham when finished. With the buckboard bacon, the thickness is not a problem because we cut it into three thinner pieces both because bacon is not a real big slab of meat and to make it easier for the brine to penetrate. It sounds like your buckboard bacon should be about ready to remove and smoke.

I'm sure you can smoke anything you like in an indoor smoker. I wouldn't see why there would be any restrictions of one meat over another provided it fits in the smoker. A whole packer brisket can be a challenge for some smaller outdoor smokers.

Yes, they are, however, they slow down considerably in the cold weather, they're using the energy to stay warm. That's part of the purpose of feeding them corn in the winter, it gives them the energy (calories) to burn to help them stay warm. As long as they have shelter, they're O.K., people in Canada raise chickens too.

I had chickens till about 3 years ago and last spring after school was out, i had 12 baby chicks in my chicken house. My granddaughter was in first grade and the hatched them. She got to bring them home. When they were old enough, half went with a classmate and she took the rest home and put with their flock. They were Leghorns. GRANDMA Sue in central Indiana and Izzi Too

@@marilynmcclintock2974 I bet you both were thrilled, something that might stick with her the rest of her life.

PS seasonings

I would follow the process used in my Christmas Ham series. I would inject the bring into it before submerging it in the brine. Injecting will drastically shorten the time.

I typically just remove the shoulder bone, rub cure in the pocket and the complete outside, place in a airtight container in the fridge and rotate once a day for 2-3 weeks depending on the size of the butt. 8 lbs. = 2.5 weeks. Rinse very well, pat dry and leave in the fridge uncovered for a few hours to form the pellicle which is what the smoke like to stick to. After that the smoking would happen until it reaches an internal temp of 150-160F. Take off of the smoker and place in the fridge in a airtight container to get a bit more solid and then slice. I like to use plastic wrap and stack the slices, wrap completely, then vacuum seal. I've had bacon from a year prior that way and it didn't change the flavor profile at all.

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tN9Ar1MeG2c.htmlsi=3-7TkEDHZV7qLmoP

If you've ever eaten country ham, I'd say it's comparable.

That's the way I die country ham I've bought in the past. It's just as cutting slice off an soaking the in frig all night.

Yes, smoke is made up of microscopic particles and they stick better to moist surfaces than dry. The moisture also helps the smoke penetrate the meat easier.

Have you never heard the term "Low-n-slow" as it refers to BBQ? 225*F is and accepted smoking temperature for all meats. It could be also be cold smoked, but I don't have the ability to do that except in very cold weather.

@@TheWinkingPigBarBQ low and slow at that temp doesn't need brine is the point I am trying to make. There is no risk of bacteria 🦠

@@elijones3994 You need to do a little more research on cured meats. Go to the grocery store and look at regular bacon and you will find it has been both smoked and brined which is where the nitrites come from. Also, investigate the making of "country ham". Many country ham makers don't "brine" their hams, but they will pack them in salt for extended periods which serves the same purposes. Smoking does not preserve the meat, salt and nitrites do, but it has to totally permeate the meat all the way through.

You left a lot here. First, it's an absolute fact that smoke particles stick to wet surfaces better than dry surfaces. Just as "dry rub" does not stick to dry meat. Smoke is made up of microscopic particles. I will agree with you in that the more water you put into a piece of meat the longer it's going to take to finish. It is my belief that the "stall" is actually caused by evaporative cooling from water evaporating out of the meat. This is why wrapping your brisket or pork butt helps to negate the stall. My adding maple to my brine has little to do with adding maple flavor to the meat. It's only there to round the edge of the salt a little bit. I'm not trying to make "Maple Bacon."

@@TheWinkingPigBarBQ No it is not a fact ask any food science professional or someone that smokes meats for a living and you will quickly learn that you are greatly mistaken! Any water on the surface of the meat is actually a barrier to the smoke actually coming in contact with the meat! That water has to evaporate before any smoking will effect the meat so you are wasting smoking fuel until the meat surface is dry and tacky!!!! This is not something new it is proven food science and is something that anyone that makes a living making smoked meat will tell you as doing things like this will cost them money as they do not want the meat in the smoke house any longer than necessary and do not want to unnecessarily burn smoking fuel drying out the meats surface! My Masters thesis was on Meat processing and producing smoked meats! We did over 1000 pounds of different meat testing a great number of parameters that effect production time and efficiency! The test results CLEARLY proved that allowing a Pellicle to form showed a quantitative improvement in smoke adhesion over wet meat surfaces! The meat needs to dry to allow the proteins to become tacky (to allow a Pellicle to form)! We tested pork bellies split in half lengthwise, one half was allowed to for a Pellicle, the other half was kept wet. Both were smoked for amounts of time in the same smoker side by side, and the results were NOT even close! The wet meat had SIGNIFICANTLY less smoke than the belly that was allowed to dry and form a Pellicle! We did multiple tests varying the length of time in the smoker from 30 minutes to 2 hours, and the results were the same every time! Wet meat DOES NOT TAKE SMOKE UNTIL IT DRYS OFF AND GETS STICKY!!!!!! We found that the water evaporating from the surface of the meat forms a Vapor barrier that prevents the smoke from coming in contact with the meat, it is similar the the leidenfrost effect but not exactly the same, that barrier persists until the meat surface drys substantially! We also found that allowing a Pellicle to form also significantly improved smoke adhesion over a dry non-tacky surface! This surface will not form on wet meat as it needs to dry for a period of time, but once that Pellicle forms you need to smoke before it drys further and becomes non-tacky to the touch!! This is not up for debate and there are any number of text books dealing with meat processing that will prove you absolutely wrong on this point! I am not sure why you commented on your reasoning for the Maple in your recipe as it is of no consequence to what I was saying about dry rub cure as opposed to wet brine cure! I only stated it because you used it in your recipe, if you want to use maple sugar, white sugar, Honey, or any other sweetener to take the edge off of the salt makes no difference! Dry Rub curing is far better, less work, produces a better product, takes less time to cook on the stove and less time if you are hot smoking in the smoker!

I say congratulations on your final result 👏. I agree on drying in the fridge to create pellicle