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Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Fri Mar 24, 2017 9:08 pm
by JLPicard
I'm gonna try my hand at making some Butt Bacon. I have a recipe I got from Len Poli's site:
2lb Butt
75ml Un-sulfured Molasses
48G Kosher Salt
45G Brown Sugar, dark
30mL Liquid Smoke
9G Garlic Powder
8G Onion Powder
6G Cure #2

Has anyone tried this recipe from LPoli's site? Why Molasses and can/should I substitute something else for that? I prolly won't use the liquid smoke since I plan on running it through my smokehouse (his recipe does not call for smoking it hence the liquid smoke).

Any suggestions on alternate recipes for Butt Bacon? I don't care for a ham type bacon, but would prefer an American type bacon.

Re: Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 12:08 am
by DanMcG
The salt and cure level seem way to high to me for a 2 pound coppa. seems like it should be more in line with a 2Kg cut.

Re: Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 12:59 pm
by JLPicard
Here's the link to the recipe.

http://lpoli.50webs.com/index_files/Bacon-buckboard.pdf

(EDIT: For some reason lpoli's site seems to be a bit wonky and won't load ATM)

When you refer to this as Coppa are you using it as a general term used for any type cured Butt as opposed to the Coppa type cured butt product from Italy? I am interested in a more American type belly bacon type product.

You are correct though, I found the Cure Calculators and plugging in the weight, 910G of Pork Shoulder I came up with 20g of salt and 2.91g of Cure. I think the calculator is designed with Cure #1 in mind but I will be using Cure #2 does that make a difference in Qty of cure?

Re: Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Sat Mar 25, 2017 9:45 pm
by DanMcG
Sorry, I called it a coppa because that's the group of muscles pictured in the link, If you want to use a butt and have it like belly bacon, find a butt with a nice fat cap then cut the flesh parallel to the cap about an inch or inch and a half in.
I don't see a reason to use #2 for this as it's only curing for a week or so.

My go to recipe is Wheels' "Mild Bacon" which you can find here;
http://localfoodheroes.co.uk/?p=cured-meat-calculators

Re: Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Mon Mar 27, 2017 5:48 pm
by JLPicard
Ok I am going to drop the idea of using that recipe for Buckboard Bacon listed in the OP and go with Wheel's Mild Bacon:
The ingredients for 1kg of meat are:

18.5gm Salt
10gm Sugar
2.5gm Cure #1
0.5gm Sodium ascorbate (optional)

Does the Sodium ascorbate give it a citrus 'tang'? Why is it optional I wonder, isn't it added for the safety factor it gives the final product? I'd think if that be the case it shouldn't be optional.

If I wanted to try variations of this basic recipe how could I proceed? Maybe substituting different types of sweetener like Maple Sugar, Brown sugar?

I also plan on running these through my smokehouse, I assume I do that after the curing and drying. Should I cold or hot smoke these or would either be safe do you think? I can do either in my smokehouse. I have electronic temp controls in the hanging chamber so I can dial in any temps.

This will be the first attempt at making any 'bacon' type product and myself and two of my friends will be doing this together with several pounds of Boston Butts we cut out of the pork butts we get from the grocery. We will be making the remains into some fresh sausages.

Thanks for the help.

Re: Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Wed Mar 29, 2017 4:55 pm
by wheels
It's optional because it's not a requirement in the UK. You are correct that it's added for safety, but in my experience telling the sausage-making/curing community that they must do something usually has the opposite effect! :lol:

Phil

Re: Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Sat Apr 01, 2017 2:40 pm
by vinner
Tell me about it, Phil! Sheesh. :-)

Re: Buckboard Bacon advice

PostPosted: Mon Apr 10, 2017 6:31 pm
by JLPicard
Got this in the fridge curing for 8 days now, then rinsing and hanging in a fridge for another two days before running it through my smokehouse. How should I proceed with the smoking? Heavy, light smudge and for how long would you suggest? Probably going to use maple dust for the smudge.

Would it be considered a good rule of thumb that any product that has to cure/smoke taking more than say 20 days before hitting the freezer or frying pan should be done using #2 instead of #1?