That pork belly was too big to work on my little kitchen counter so I had to bring it over to the dining room table on towels.
Top pic shows me scattering black pepper over the last piece of the belly, the one designated for Alton Brown’s molasses & cider recipe.
It also shows a little pile of raggedy scraps trimmed off the edges of the belly, some of which ended up being my breakfast. It’s really almost not necessary to cure bacon first, except to make it last longer. If you just end up somehow with a piece of fresh pork belly and don’t want to baconize it, you can cut it up into lardons or strips and fry it as-is, unseasoned, even. The browning of the fat is all the seasoning it needs.
I have never had plain fresh pork belly before, and I highly recommend it. I got the stuff frying hard in the skillet then set the heat to low, covered the pan, and let it slowly render and turn to candy, only turning occasionally. They were large chunks so I let them go for about a half hour or more. The smell of them browning was unbearable.
When done, I ended up loitering around the cooling pan, picking little golden pieces out one at a time ‘to test it out.’ Fresh belly is so delicious, chewy and crunchy and bacony in its own fresh way. I almost tested them all!
But I controlled myself and the rest of those big toasty lardons got packed into little bags for the freezer and will be used to enrich Winter stews.
Nice thing about lard: if the pig got sunshine in it’s daily life, the lard is high in vitamin D. So I saved that, too.
Interesting point about the raw belly. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it makes sense. All the belly would need is salt to taste just like plain bacon. The rest of the seasoning is just preference.
I know!! Sometimes I can’t even really believe the sharing that happens on the internet. People are so very generous and kind. They take the time to do these things, and just because they want to.
What’s so crazy? You rub it, you age it in the fridge, you smoke it.
It makes sense for us to do this because we got a big slab of it cheaply, we’re doing all of it at once, and the store bacon here is both expensive and shitty.
Alton Brown’s recipe came out of brine and was smoked today:
No. Close, but no cigar.
I would try it again, with a thinner slab (though the recipe called for the thick end of the belly), and brined for longer. I don’t think three days (the recipe called for only three days) is really long enough. The bacon doesn’t have that hard cured firmness to it.
I have no proof that it is deli made. I suspect the difference is that it isn’t vacuum sealed up in plastic, and made to soak in salt water for months.
It’s out in the open, with room to breathe. I think Hormel makes it, and they put it on a pan.
If I am lucky I can find it here for $4 in a butcher shop it is $8 in the grocery stores. I am following this closely. I know I can make it for less than $8/#
Yep, Sam’s currently has them for $1.99 a pound. I was going to make some Canadian Bacon when I got the cold smoke procedure down.
Comment by Judge_Roy_Bean on February 8, 2013 12:34 PM
Hi Mrs Laura and Husband of Laura. My associate Tom M directed me to this site for bacon erudition..
I am known as Judge Roy Bean on Ace’s site, so we may have run across each other from time to time.
The pig wandered into my ranchette. I think it was a pet and got too big and who ever owned it let it go. It would not leave.so we fattened it up and I had to go to China to work.
In my absence my wife shot the pig in the head with a 9mm when it got too large and mean (swift and relatively painless). Miss Piggy (that’s what we called her) was a free range pig, and lived the life of pigdom . Like the road warrior she only exists in our memories. Unlike the Road warrior she is now residing in our freezer.
Anyway, I am checking out the bacon stuff on here .
Hi Judge Roy Bean! Welcome. You lucky duck, you must have more pork than you know what to do with!
For sheer economy, especially if you have saved the bones and strange parts, you should check out this book:
For fantastic bacons, I would recommend this recipe above all others: Either my black pepper and onion bacon on this blog, or Ruhlman’s original Savory bacon recipe.
My Rosemary bacon recipe is a close second. Or a first, if you prefer the flavor of rosemary and pork.
The Connecticut Brisket Research Center 
That pork belly was too big to work on my little kitchen counter so I had to bring it over to the dining room table on towels.
Top pic shows me scattering black pepper over the last piece of the belly, the one designated for Alton Brown’s molasses & cider recipe.
It also shows a little pile of raggedy scraps trimmed off the edges of the belly, some of which ended up being my breakfast. It’s really almost not necessary to cure bacon first, except to make it last longer. If you just end up somehow with a piece of fresh pork belly and don’t want to baconize it, you can cut it up into lardons or strips and fry it as-is, unseasoned, even. The browning of the fat is all the seasoning it needs.
I have never had plain fresh pork belly before, and I highly recommend it. I got the stuff frying hard in the skillet then set the heat to low, covered the pan, and let it slowly render and turn to candy, only turning occasionally. They were large chunks so I let them go for about a half hour or more. The smell of them browning was unbearable.
When done, I ended up loitering around the cooling pan, picking little golden pieces out one at a time ‘to test it out.’ Fresh belly is so delicious, chewy and crunchy and bacony in its own fresh way. I almost tested them all!
But I controlled myself and the rest of those big toasty lardons got packed into little bags for the freezer and will be used to enrich Winter stews.
Nice thing about lard: if the pig got sunshine in it’s daily life, the lard is high in vitamin D. So I saved that, too.
This looks like a good recipe: http://playingwithfireandsmoke.blogspot.com/2002/10/lynnes-breakfast-bacon.html
Next time…
Interesting point about the raw belly. I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it makes sense. All the belly would need is salt to taste just like plain bacon. The rest of the seasoning is just preference.
Man, there are some GREAT recipes and tips on that site.
I know!! Sometimes I can’t even really believe the sharing that happens on the internet. People are so very generous and kind. They take the time to do these things, and just because they want to.
We live in a wonderful age.
I got ahold of a piece of pork belly, finally. It was $4.99, so it would be easier to just buy the bacon for $2.99 a pound. But what fun is that?
*reads LW’s recipe linked above*
You people are crazy. I didn’t go through that much trouble when I bought my first house.
J’Ames, that awesome deli-made Iowa bacon is only 2.99/ lb?
What’s so crazy? You rub it, you age it in the fridge, you smoke it.
It makes sense for us to do this because we got a big slab of it cheaply, we’re doing all of it at once, and the store bacon here is both expensive and shitty.
Alton Brown’s recipe came out of brine and was smoked today:
No. Close, but no cigar.
I would try it again, with a thinner slab (though the recipe called for the thick end of the belly), and brined for longer. I don’t think three days (the recipe called for only three days) is really long enough. The bacon doesn’t have that hard cured firmness to it.
Tastes like a real nice ham.
I have no proof that it is deli made. I suspect the difference is that it isn’t vacuum sealed up in plastic, and made to soak in salt water for months.
It’s out in the open, with room to breathe. I think Hormel makes it, and they put it on a pan.
But that makes all the difference.
And yes, it’s $2.99 a pound right now. Normally it’s over $3, up to $4.
If I am lucky I can find it here for $4 in a butcher shop it is $8 in the grocery stores. I am following this closely. I know I can make it for less than $8/#
Well then! Hope to have good news for you on Sunday.
Related: we bought boneless pork loin for .99 /lb a while back and froze a lot of it. Loin is often on sale after big holidays around here.
http://www.culinaryhalloffame.com/component/content/article/1614
http://johndlee.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-Make-Canadian-Bacon-An-Easy-Recipe-for-Homemade-Loin-Bacon
Yep, Sam’s currently has them for $1.99 a pound. I was going to make some Canadian Bacon when I got the cold smoke procedure down.
Hi Mrs Laura and Husband of Laura. My associate Tom M directed me to this site for bacon erudition..
I am known as Judge Roy Bean on Ace’s site, so we may have run across each other from time to time.
The pig wandered into my ranchette. I think it was a pet and got too big and who ever owned it let it go. It would not leave.so we fattened it up and I had to go to China to work.
In my absence my wife shot the pig in the head with a 9mm when it got too large and mean (swift and relatively painless). Miss Piggy (that’s what we called her) was a free range pig, and lived the life of pigdom . Like the road warrior she only exists in our memories. Unlike the Road warrior she is now residing in our freezer.
Anyway, I am checking out the bacon stuff on here .
Truly you should have a PhD in baconology!
Wonderful stuff!
Hi Judge Roy Bean! Welcome. You lucky duck, you must have more pork than you know what to do with!
For sheer economy, especially if you have saved the bones and strange parts, you should check out this book:
For fantastic bacons, I would recommend this recipe above all others: Either my black pepper and onion bacon on this blog, or Ruhlman’s original Savory bacon recipe.
My Rosemary bacon recipe is a close second. Or a first, if you prefer the flavor of rosemary and pork.
I’m thinking of pulling a pork loin out of the freezer now and making a canadian bacon for the first time.
I better wait until the weather is better for smoking, I guess.