It was finally time to smoke the pork that has been hanging under the stairs, and only hours away from munching down on my very own home made bacon.
Read Part 1.5
Read Part 1
Smoking the bacon is really easy, get the smoker smoking and up to temperature. The smoking temperature should ideally be between 75°C-85°C. Any hotter than 85°C the meat will shrink, loose too much moisture and will be cooking.
When the smoker is ready put in the pork and leave it for about 90 minutes, the internal temperature of the pork when it's done should be 65°C.
Straight from the smoker, looking delicious.
While it's still warm, remove the skin. The skin can be used to make stocks and is excellent to cook beans with.
A few "test" slices taken off the freshly smoked bacon.
Fried quickly in a smoking hot pan.
Had to use so much willpower not to devour the entire lot.
I found making bacon surprisingly easy, and has definitely put me off store bought bacon. So I'll soon be starting the process again so I have a ready supply of bacon. And I am giving serious though to making my own ham, pastrami, pancetta etc.
All sliced up, portioned and vacuum sealed, it should last about 3 weeks in the fridge or 4 months in the freezer.
I also put a tray of kosher salt in the smoker at the same time as the pork.
