Dry cured lamb baaaaaa-con

[smokin'newb]

Well, I've continued my quest to make bacon out of more non-porcine, red meat animals. I present to you, lamb bacon:

Lamb belly ready for processing:


deboned belly slabs:


Lamb belly with Morton's Sugar Cure, herbs de provence, ground garlic, and fresh cracked pepper applied in vacuum bag:


After a week, I washed off the cure, and soaked the bellies for 6 hours in cool water to help leech out some of the salt. The bellies were left in the fridge on drying racks to dry for two days. They were then tossed into the smoker at 150 degrees, and smoked with hickory and apple wood chunks, until they reached a temp of 140:








I don't think I fully captured how great this tasted in these photos, but here's a lamb bacon, Greek-style BLT, composed of dry cured lamb bacon, romaine lettuce, roma tomatoes, walla walla sweet onions, feta cheese, and homemade tzatziki sauce, on pita bread (which was briefly pan fried in the bacon fat):

[wheels]

That's a great looking (and really meaty) lamb belly.

Phil

[NCPaul]

Are you saying it tasted better than these photos look? That would be amazing since the photos are stunning. How is the flavor effected by the curing; would you say it tasted more like lamb with bacon undertones or vice versa?

[grisell]

How do you make your tzatziki? Just interested.

[smokin'newb]

That's a great looking (and really meaty) lamb belly.
Phil

I had to special order lamb belly from a butcher (120-mile roundtrip). When I saw the bellies, it made the trip worth it. Never had lamb bellies of this quality before.

Are you saying it tasted better than these photos look? That would be amazing since the photos are stunning. How is the flavor effected by the curing; would you say it tasted more like lamb with bacon undertones or vice versa?

Thank you for the compliment. The pic doesn't do a good job of showing just how much lamb bacon was packed into that bad boy (about 24 slices) . It smells heavenly when cooking---like bacon infused with the aroma of grilled lamb chops. It tastes like bacon with lamb undertones.

How do you make your tzatziki? Just interested.

I don't measure anything - I just look for a certain, thick consistency using the following:

Greek yogurt
grated & drained cucumbers
olive oil
a dash of lemon juice
crushed garlic
dash of pepper

[NCPaul]

Thanks, now you have me thinking about LLT sandwiches.

[smokin'newb]

Thanks, now you have me thinking about LLT sandwiches.

Lol...well, go on now - you should give em' a try.

[Jaunty]

Yumm.

Does taking it to 140 in the smoker effectively mean it is cooked once already before you then grill or fry it to crisp it up?

[smokin'newb]

Yumm.

Does taking it to 140 in the smoker effectively mean it is cooked once already before you then grill or fry it to crisp it up?

I suppose it does, although, I'd never eat it without a second cook.

[kevster]

Where is the drooling emoticon....that must have smelt amazing when you were frying it.

[p33133]

This sounds interesting. We buy whole lambs and freeze them for eating. I have boned and rolled breast of lamb but it has a very unusual taste, not like the rest of the meat.

I assume that this is the cut of meat that you are using. Does making it into bacon remove that strange taste ?

If so, I have three in the freezer to try...

Rob

[smokin'newb]

Where is the drooling emoticon....that must have smelt amazing when you were frying it.

I couldn't find a drooling emoticon, lol. It smells like typical "bacon" with a deeply infused aroma of broiled lamb chops. It smells heavenly.

This sounds interesting. We buy whole lambs and freeze them for eating. I have boned and rolled breast of lamb but it has a very unusual taste, not like the rest of the meat.

I assume that this is the cut of meat that you are using. Does making it into bacon remove that strange taste ?

Yes, I am using lamb breast. I'm not clear on what you are referring to regarding an unusual taste. I've eaten quite a few lamb breasts in my day, and they always taste like "lamb". I ordered some lamb bacon from a farm in NY (which was downright aweful btw) and it was extremely gamey, not to mention overpriced, overcured, and poorly smoked--basically inedible. I assumed the gamey taste was due to the animals diet. Hence my latest efforts to make some myself. I can only guess that the breast is picking up off flavors during handling or from where it is being stored.

[Spuddy]

Where is the drooling emoticon.

How about this:

[Jogeephus]

Man that looks good.

[saucisson]

Another thing on the list to try...