Excellent, EXCELLENT video!! Thank you so much for this detailed and concise video. This Texas girl just discovered this type of bacon existed, can’t wait to smoke it on my Traeger. Thank you so much!!
Sorry to be off topic but does someone know a tool to log back into an instagram account?? I stupidly forgot my login password. I love any tricks you can give me
@Arlo Nathan I really appreciate your reply. I found the site thru google and Im in the hacking process atm. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will reply here later with my results.
I can't tell you how many times I have reviewed this video. Thanks for your time. BTW, I have 2 pieces (about 1200g each) smoking now. Wood - Peach, mesquite, and white oak. I like it smokey.
Made this bacon and my wife and I loved it. I didn't realize at the time lots of other things were in the works as follows. 1. The skin was removed as well as extra fat on the pork. I cooked it down and I ended up with a cup of delicious clear LARD. Wonderful for browning chicken and all sorts of things . 2. Made the bacon and smoked with a 12 inch "tube" filled with Apple pellets. My wife and I loved the bacon which was NOT too salty if you follow instructions and amounts in this video. 3. After rendering the lard, I was left with Cracklin's. They are the crunchy little bits of pork fat solids left over. Tomorrow, they will replace oil or shortening in Southern Style Cracklin' Cornbread. 4. I prepared the removed pork skin with eventual plans to make Chicharrones or Mexican Style Crispy Pork Skins. Traditional settlers always made them also as nothing was wasted with a pig. They are crunchy deliciousness! 5. The initial step in preparation of the pork skins is to boil it in salty water. After boiling, drying, and freezing, I realized I had a cold pot of white viscous gelatin that had already "semi-setup" - the pork skin broth. I tasted it and found it delicious. After a little internet research, I found this white gelatin broth is treasured by those who know about it. Tomorrow, I will be using it instead of water or chicken broth in my bean soup. And to boot, I will be using my pork bone & little sharp crispy pieces from the extremes of my sliced bacon pieces to add some "ham" to my bean soup. I'm sure the soup and cracklin' corn bread will be delicious. 6. After making soup. the big round bones from the pork leg and shank will go outside for my resident racoon to chew on. I don't have a dog and I am a Californian so please forgive #6. 7. My wife already told the "little old neighbor lady" about my bacon so I'll be slicing up some for her tomorrow. So, that same 99 cents a pound pork leg will also be feeding the neighbors. And yes, I figure the more neighbors find out, the faster it will disappear. The smart thing I did was to smoke all the bacon in a rain storm during a "Mandatory Evacuation" resulting from flooding potential from recent Calif wild fires. No one smelled the smoke as most followed the "rules" and left the neighborhood. Anyway, thanks again David.
You did so many things rights, from using the bone to gelatin to showing a bit of love to your neighborhood old woman and raccoon to smoking meat when no one else is around. Great job overall.......
@@gregzeigler3850 You can definitely make bacon in an oven. Some European bacons are not smoked at all. However, they do have a considerably different taste but I have done it and liked it. I wouldn't go with liquid smoke. I don't like the flavour. An alternative is to buy a smoke generator and cold smoke the bacon with that in a barbecue or other closed container and then finish in the oven. Contact me if you would like more details.
@@OldfatguyCa I had a manual one many years ago but because of a move to the USA left behind. May get manual one some day. Electric is better but takes a lot of space in the kitchen. Thank you for the great tip to rotate meat when slicing!
Excellent video tutorial. I've done several batches of belly bacon and this is next. I like the idea of less fat too. Thanks for taking the time, it's very appreciated.
Shoulder is one of my favorite cuts. We just used to boil it with some chicken stock until it's very tender, add some potatoes, carrots, and other veggies. I never knew this could be turned to bacon.
I've made bacon with pork belly. I never heard of Buckboard bacon until this popped up in suggested RU-vid videos. I tried this recipe and I think this may be the only way I make bacon from now on. Bone in pork shoulder is a lot cheaper than pork belly and easier to find, plus you get the skin for crackling and a bone for soup and it's leaner. Tastes just like the meaty part of bacon. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thank you so much. I don't make a lot of belly bacon mainly because of the cost. However, I agree with you that buckboard and back (Canadian) bacon is just as tasty!
I just finished making another batch of buckboard bacon and see that I posted this comment a year ago after I made my first batch. I just wanted to add that I use Morton Tender Quick as the curing agent. It contains salt, sugar, both sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. The results are excellent, the cured meat has that pink bacon color. The instructions state to use 1 tablespoon per pound of meat to be cured. It comes in a 2lb bag and goes a long way. Please follow the instructions on the bag for best results. I still add salt and brown sugar to the cure rub.
I am so trying this. Picnics are so inexpensive, you get alot of bacon with one, so it just makes sense. Just got a traeger and I am totally doing this. Thanks for the video
Thanks so much! Just a word of warning, sometimes what they call picnics here are pre-cured. Make sure you get raw pork! Another warning, once you start making bacon there is a significant risk of getting addicted to making your own bacon. There are no cures or 10 step programs. You will be doomed to eating great bacon.
I work in a meat department where boneless skinless picnics are everywhere lol. Though we do carry the bone in, skin on picnics on sale right now for $1.29/lb, so I think I will be buying one to try this. Only thing I don't like is having to wait lmao!
While I have your attention I just wanted to let you know I've enjoyed your videos for many many years. I remember my first hamburger soup was your recipe. Keep up the videos always a joy.
The skins are good for 'Cracklin Bread'. My Granny did her curing and smokin at home and did the cracklins but you needed really strong teeth to eat them.
Great video!!! Just wondering about the chew since shoulder has all of the connective stuff that isn't in the belly. I do like that it's more meat and less fat.
on on my 2nd batch of belly bacon, and pancetta and 1st attempt buckboard. Between bacon making, dry aging, bbq, and getting into making salami, I could go broke with these hobbies, but it scratches the food science itch of mine
Thanks, I have to try this! Where I am the pork belly's are too fatty and the loins are too lean.....the shoulders are sold already cut up, so finding some decent pieces may be a challenge!
Don’t know if anyone else caught the written recipe and credits at the end. Says it was filmed at “Passing Wind Estates”. I’m frickin’ dying over here.😂😂😂
I use mine up quickly so I soak even over night before I smoke it to get out the salt. Then I rinse it, then I then let it sit in the fridge until it develops the pellicle, about 12 hours. It will be sticky to the touch. Then smoke it to your taste.
can you inject maple syrup into the standard pork belly? I plan to try making your buckboard bacon, but also have pork belly that I need to use first. I LOVE maple anything.
Yes, you can inject maple syrup in a pork belly. You will have to go slowly and put the needle in at an angle. Also, maple syrup gives a great taste but it doesn't taste like maple bacon you buy. They use maple extract flavourings.
Thanks. You can make bacon out of any cut of pork. CSR's come from one of two areas, the blade end or the shoulder. The shoulder style ribs are fattier and make bucboard bacon. The blade end is leaner and would have less fat than buckboard but would be very tasty too.
About to try with some butts I got on sale.. 0.99lb! My question is the cure and salt ratio to meat weight never changes correct? Even if you inject maple into it?
Thanks I have been looking for something like this because I believe that the cost of bacon is too high when you consider how much fat there is. I like this alternative.
Can the shoulder be done with the same process as pea meal bacon = in a wet brine? If you break down the should like you did, it's not any thicker than loin. The reason why I am asking - I'm not comfortable dry curing.
@@OldfatguyCa Thank you! I don't find that it adds much or anything to add maple syrup to the brine - just easier to give it a brushing of syrup once fried in the pan. Done a few loins now and they have turned out okay. Shoulder has more fat in it... not sure how it would work. I will give it a go.
@@OldfatguyCa Just to add that by "okay" I mean that there is room for improvement with the herbs. Some whole cloves are okay but I find Junper berries tastier but it's more difficult to get the amount right. I don't smoke loin as it loses a lot of mousture... Shoulder I would definitely smoke as per your suggestion.
There are 3 ways I smoke bacon. Cold smoking is one of them. You introduce smoke at non cooking temperatures. The advantage is that gives you total control of the amount of smoke. Some people smoke their bacon for days. I don't like to go over 6 hours. The disadvantage is that the bacon remains quite soft and is hard to slice evenly on a cheap home slicer. The second way is to smoke at a low cooking temperature (I like 230 F). This gives a good smoke flavour and you have the choice of cooking just until easy to slice (130 F) or totally cooked (150 F). This gives it some firmness and makes it easier to slice. If you cook to 150 F it also lets you eat the bacon cold without cooking. The disadvantage is you have less control of the amount of smoke exposure and gives a lighter smoke flavour. The third way is to double smoke. You cold smoke one day (I like 4 to 6 hours) and let it rest overnight. Then you hot smoke the next day. This gives an easy slicing texture and control over the exposure to smoke. The disadvantage is it is more work. She Who Must Be Obeyed likes a light smoke so I usually do only a hot smoke. When I want to treat my smoke craving I do a double smoke. Get back to me if you have any questions.
@@OldfatguyCa Thank you for replying. I made my first bacon using pork belly and smoked 8 hrs. using cold smoke, with a pellet tube and Apple wood. My next bacon will be backboard because of cost.
Thanks. I have started using many of my videos on my local community TV program. The don't allow on screen consumption of alcohol. Don't worry, I do have a sip!
It would be great if you would use the same units of measure for all dry ingredients! As grain size and composition (like in brown sugar more or less molasses changes its density) also trying to use a liquid volume for things that are not liquid is guaranteed to give varying amounts! Do you have your cure recipe posted somewhere?
Thanks for your input. What I have learned in years of posting is that most of my audience is North American and they do not own a small scale to measure small amounts of dry ingredients. They want ml and teaspoons. As to these amounts being different depending on the product, you are right. However, for most ingredients such as herbs, sugars and spices in these recipes, the dry measure in ml or teaspoons is fine as the amounts are not critical. The only item it is critical for is the curing salt and I do recommend it is weighed. That being said, it is the most consistent in production due to health requirements. People have been using ml and teaspoons for dry measures for decades as noted by classic cook books like the Joy of Cooking, Betty Crocker, Sunset, Best of Bridge etc. So, while you make good points, they do not meet the needs of most of my audience many who have been making my recipes for years with success. All my recipes are included in my blog, oldfatguy.ca but the recipes go back to my first attempts so the earlier ones are slightly different in the cure ingredients. My basic cure recipe is 30 ml brown sugar, 15 ml kosher salt and 3 grams Prague Powder #1 (2 ml) for each KG of meat. In US measures that is 2 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 0.048 oz (1/5 teaspoon) per pound of meat.
Great video. For those not familiar with curing salts, there are two types. Both are pink. See descriptions here: www.smokingmeatforums.com/ams/prague-powder-1-vs-prague-powder-2.9693/
Three things. First Great Video. Second you don't need curing salt. I never use curing salt with exceptional results. Last the salt firms up the bacon not the curing salt. Thank you for the video.
Thanks! As for not needing curing salt, while I have tried bacon made without curing salt, I have some concerns with it. First, the taste and texture is not right. I just don't like it. Second, while high salt concentrations do inhibit bacterial growth, it is not as effective as the curing salt. Bacon spends hours in the temperature danger zone in which bacteria thrives. Personally, I don't trust the high salt content alone to protect against toxin forming bacteria. As for the salt drawing the liquid out, you are correct it is the salt that draws the liquid out. However, I do point out the the curing salt is over 93% salt and plays a part in that process. Thanks for your input.
Thanks for you response. Again Great video. Everything you stated is correct as far as some risk. Here is a little more detail of how I cure. It takes me several days with salt only drawing out the belly liquid. At no time am I exposing the bacon to dangerous temperatures. Once the water is all remove to some realistic point the risk of bacteria growth is slim. I am most likely brain washed to be concerned that nitrates are harmful so I avoid them. Last Frying the bacon is my final safety to kill anything that may have developed. I also dry age meat 4 to 6 months with no negative effects. However, I build a special cooler that maintains humidity and temperature much better than an average cooler. I also keep my bacon in there. I do really enjoy your videos.
I also agree with what you say. There is not doubt that nitrates and nitrites have some health risk. Also, people have salt brined pork for a long time. I do note that you do not mention smoking your bacon. If you smoke you are likely doing so for hours and at a dangerous temperature. So, it is a balance, a risk of bacterial growth versus nitrates. However, I do note that clostridium produces botulism toxins and some staph bacteria produce staphylococcal toxins that are not removed by cooking. It sounds like you take care to avoid the reproduction of these bacteria but if they reproduce in numbers, cooking will not protect you. Thanks for the compliment on the videos.
Not to get on too much of a tangent, but I do Sous Vide and follow pasteurization tables when I have concerns. Everything you stated is well noted. This is good read for your followers. God Bless OFGC.
Yes, cure #1 contains nitrites not nitrate. Both Canadian regulations and USDA levels allow up to 200 ppm of nitrites for surface curing of meat. As cure #1 is 6.25% nitrites, that works out to just over 3 grams per kilogram of meat as noted in my recipe.
Hello, will you please write your recipe for your dry rub, for those of us that wish to try your recipe. Thank you, your bacon looks better then store bought bacon.
Most of my readers don't even own a small scale and were raised measuring dry ingredients in tsp/ml, cup/l as in the recipes in cookbooks (eg-Joy of Cooking, Betty Crocker), magazines (eg-Bon Appetit, Good Housekeeping), and TV programs. Mostly it isn't important to be right on except in the pink salt #1 and I do recommend weighing it.
It is actually on my Community TV Show, You Can Make It. You can see the video on my blog at oldfatguy.ca/?p=5875. You can also see a post of the recipe at oldfatguy.ca/?p=4093.
Thanks so much for links, the recipe, and the speedy reply! I'm making both back bacon and buckboard bacon (4lbs of each) as we speak! I'll be sure to share the videos, too!
No. This is a different cut. Canadian bacon starts with pork loin, not shoulder. Loin is leaner, more tender, and had larger muscle and straighter grain meat. Shoulder has more different muscles with grain running in different directions.
Yeahh ok it’s one way to smoke it , but your cooking it twice. And if one used 2-to 2.5% of salt to the meat weight , no need to soak it , it’s only waging out excess salt and maple flavor , 🤔🤔🤔
Very disappointed that nothing in the video is in the description. Where is the injection recipe? Where are any of the directions? The verbal instructions are ok but not the clearest to follow.
Hi, Milliliters is a liquid measurement. You get that, right? Dry weight is measured in grams, you are correct, but then you mention 2 milliliters. That's a liquid measure. So here I am, wondering how many liters my car weighs now. Dry weight is measured in grams, and kilos or ounces and pounds for Americans. Liquid is measured in milliliters, and liters or again for the Americans, fluid ounces, pints, quarts, and gallons. I guess I am triggered, but it's better to call things by their names and make sure you're using the right terms for the subject matter. Further, pick a measure and stick to it. The world will use the Internet to figure out any conversions. After all, it's 384,400 km from the Earth to the moon, but how many grams of 1x1 pine would that be? Back to relevant, I am just finishing a cure of some peameal bacon and have but a couple of days to go before I can cook it and make a Torontonian traditional Peameal Bacon Sandwich. Delicious, from one fat guy to another.
First, ml, teaspoons, cups and litres have been used for measuring dry ingredients for decades. I refer you to resources like the Joy of Cooking, The Chef's Comprendium, Betty Crocker Cookbooks, Southern Living, Canadian Living, Julia Child and more cook books and magazines than I can mention. They all refer to a teaspoon of salt or 5 ml of baking powder. Bking sites like King Arthur Flour and Robin Hood refer to ml and cups of flour. But of course, the rest of the world is wrong and you are right. There is only your way of doing things. I'll make sure to tell the thousands who have made my bacon successfully that they are wrong.
