Makin’ the Bacon–Part II Smokin’

Q.  You mentioned in your last blog about you having an idea to make bacon.  How exactly do you go about doing that?

In Part I we wet-cured the bacon using a brine and now we’re going to smoke the bacon…indoors.  I’m using Wright’s liquid smoke to get the smoky flavor, but you could also put hickory chips and water in the bottom of the  roasting pan to achieve the same effect.  Liquid smoke is an all natural product made from hickory, applewood or mesquite wood that is burned inside a chamber. As the smoke rises it is captured in a condenser and it cools. The cooled smoke forms water droplets (condensation). These droplets are then collected and filtered twice.  I use hickory in this recipe, mainly because I bought a gallon jug of it from Gordon Food Service (GFS).

Here is the step by step process to smoke the bacon.  

1. Put your oven rack on the lowest level and heat your oven to 170 degrees.
2. Take the pork out of the zip-lock bag and pat it dry. 
3. If you prefer, liberally sprinkle the pork belly with pepper.  As pictured below.
4. Mix 2 ounces of liquid smoke with 8 ounces of water and pour it into the bottom of the roasting pan.
5. Place the pork bellies on a rack, with the pork skin up in the roasting pan.
6. Cover with a tent made with aluminum foil; this will give you a smoke effect.
7. Bake at 170 degrees for 8 hours.
8. Remove from the heat and it should look beautiful!  The reasons it’s more brown than pink that what you would see normally in your grocery store are twofold – it’s been cooked AND there are no nitrates.
9. Let the meat cool for a few hours then remove the skin. You can then sell the pigskin to the National Football League!

10.  The result? You have cooked bacon and you can eat it the way that it is.  Or you can slice it and cook it further, either baking or fry it up in a pan.

Please be sure to watch this space for Part III – in which I’ll give you alternatives to this process – in terms of flavor and smoking.

I like to think of FoodProductLaunch.com as the culmination of all my life-long food experiences, starting with working with my grandmother and mother canning fruits and vegetables when I was a youngster.  I want you to experience the same things that I have to go from Your Kitchen to the Marketplace. 

TJ Gallivan

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