My First Buckboard Bacon

[Meat]

I decided to make some bacon -- the hard way.
I bought Buckboard Bacon Cure from Western Legends:


And a 4.5 lb butt from Whole Foods. Expensive, at $4 a pound, but they boned, rolled and tied it for me:



Rubbed it with the cure, put it in a ziplock and popped it in the fridge for 10 days:



Smoked it at about 220* for about 3 hours, with mesquite, to an internal temp of 140*:



In the fridge over night, then sliced it thin:



Fried it up nice:



Added some scrambled eggs:



A fine breakfast. To my surprise, it tasted just like bacon! Good balance of salt and smoke. Not too strong, not sweet. Because it was butt instead of belly, the texture of the meat was different -- a little like country ham. And there was a range of fatty to meaty in the bacon. Something for everyone.
I wish I had a scale to weigh the final product, I'd like to know how much weight it lost.

(Sorry about the big pics. I'll try to cut them down tonight.)

[DarrinG]

Thats similar to the Hillbilly Bacon recipe that Georgie posted. Looks real good. How does the mesquite taste in compairson to hickory? I've found mesquite to be too strong for most foods but I've never thought for bacon.

Your right in that its a bit of something for everyone. I really enjoyed it and I think I will be making it again. I usually buy shoulder roast for 99�/lb. then de-bone myself. But for a test I have been known to spend $4+ a pound for something.

DarrinG

[Meat]

I didn't put on much smoke wood, so the flavor wasn't too strong. I hope to find hickory for the next try.

[vinner]

Hey, Meat:

You can try any nut or fruit wood for your bacon. I have 2 buckboard bacons curing right now (one loin, one picnic) and will smoke with pecan, but hickory, walnut, apple, maple any will work. Let me how you do your bresaola. I have one curing now (Axis loin) using the cure from "Charcuterie", but have used Len Poli's recipe with good success. I use a small wine cooler, with a large bowl of wet salt at the bottom, for aging. I have a small computer fan in it for air circulation. I get 55 degrees, with 65% - 70 % humidity.

[dougal]

Pardon the Brit but ...

"What is the distinguishing characteristic of *buckboard* bacon, and what does the name mean?" (Hasn't it got something to do with cowboys and horse-drawn carts? ) And is it the use of shoulder rather than belly, the cure flavourings, or the style of hot smoking?

[Spuddy]

A buckboard is a twin axle carriage that can be steered by it's front wheels (i.e/ the front axle is pivoted) with one or more seats that are mounted on springs. Not sure of the connection with the bacon though.
Picture below:

[dougal]

A buckboard is a twin axle carriage ... with one or more seats that are mounted on springs. ...

Yep, that's what I remember being called a buckboard on Bonanza, and I couldn't see a connection with bacon either...

[vinner]

Dougal:

Not sure of the provenance of the name. Some purveyors of cure say it came from State of Wyoming pioneers. It is traditionally made with the butt portion of the shoulder, and is meatier, more like a ham. Home made cures can have both molasses and brown sugar, and it sweetens the bacon as Americans are often wont to have it..

The hot smoking is for flavor, and to cook it (has to get to 140 degrees F, so as to partially cook it, as it is to be fried later) even though it has Cure# 2 in it.

[dougal]

Thanks Vinner. Shoulder, aromatic hot smoke and with a dark sweetness. I'll watch for it!

[vinner]

Dang, Dougal, you make it sound better than it tatse!