Corn Mush 2 qt water 2 c. cornmeal 1/2 c. flour 2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 c. water 1/2 cup milk bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Combine dry ingredients with 1 1/2 c water and 1/2 c milk and mix. Pour batter slowly into boiling water and stir for several minutes. Boil slowly for 45 minutes , stirring occasionally. Pour into bread pan or glass pan, a smaller pan works better as you want the mixture to be 1-2 inches thick. When hardened, slice into pieces, roll in flour and fry in skillet. fry in about 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet. A few noted on this recipe It takes overnight in the fridge to cool and harden, when cutting the slices make them about as thick as your finger. If it falls apart after slicing the mixture didn't boil right the night before. This isn't a recipe you can double as it will not boil right and then fall apart. Some people eat with syrup but I like it with tomato gravy. Tomato Gravy 1 c. tomato juice 1/2 c water 3 T. flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. cream (can substitute cream cheese) 2 c. milk Put juice and water in saucepan and bring to a boil. Blend the flour, salt, and cream. Add milk to flour mix then add mixture to hot juice. Cook until thickened. If you like a sweet hint you can add 2 tbs of sugar, I prefer it salty and not sweet. This is excellent over the fried mush and on scrambled eggs.
Just bought some at small meat market 30 min from my house, I wont buy anywhere else anymore and the smokies are the bomb diggity!!
I will 3rd (or 4th??) the idea of requesting the method you are using. This is one of the fastest growing threads I have seen here! Leave it to bacon to generate interest/input!
Be sure to keep us abreast! Pics and plans and all. I have this on my short list of to-dos. What is the limit of a short list btw? Hopefully up to 15? That is about how many projects are ongoing right now.
I agree that the store stuff is crap now that I have tried a local smokehouse. Fox Country Smokehouse in Canterbury NH. Its steep in price so its a treat and not a staple but the black peppered bacon is incredible !!
Here's how I make mine. It is simple and easy and the results are great, but it is not "true" bacon because it technically isn't cured. I buy whole hogs from my BIL and have them butchered at a mom and pop processor. I get the bellies sliced to about 3/16". I make a brine out of 4 cups water, 1/4 dark brown sugar (light works fine too), 1/4 cup kosher salt. That's the base brine. I usually will buzz up a head of garlic (don't bother removing the paper) and a couple whole jalapenos in a food processor and add that to the brine. Refrigerate the brine overnight. The night before I lay all the pork belly strips (about 4 lbs worth) in vary large bowl in a weave pattern alternating directions to make sure I get plenty of exposed surface area. The next morning I"ll wake up and dump the brine into the bowl and refrigerate that for about 4 hours. About 1/2 hour before the pork is done brining I'll get the grill set up for cold smoking. Ideally it will be a cool day to help keep the temps down. I have a small stainless steel mixing bowl that I drilled some holes one the sides near the bottom...fill it with small chunks of your wood of choice (I usually use apple and hickory bark)...and cover tightly with foil. Poke a few small holes in the top to let the smoke out, but they should be small to keep it from flaming up. Layout out all your bacon as tight together as you can on the top rack of the grill. Sometimes I skewer it..sometimes I don't. Use a small propane plumbing torch, with the flame as small as you can get it without it going out, and shoot the flame in one of the little holes in the bowl. This will produce a very cold smoke for several hours. I usually rotate the bowl a couple times to keep good smoke flowing.
dont think there should be a limit, heck I cant remember half of mine. Im usually thinking wow I need to build a smoker, build a treehouse, fix this house, sell my truck, mow the lawn, get some work done, SQUIRREL, now what was I thinking again?
Breakfast yesterday was fried polenta with homemade marinara sauce & a few thin slices of really good rustic air-dried mild soppressata.....Tommorow I'll fix the rest of the polenta & have it with maple & hickory bark syrup,some local bacon.
I made a batch too but it didn't set up enough. My wife usually makes it and sometimes that happens. There is two recipes here and I guess I used the one with a lil more water then the one she usually does but this one calls for cooking longer. Must not have boiled out enough water. O well will make another batch and go for it later.
https://www.plathsmeats.com/index.p...&cust_status=&cat_id=59&sub_id=0&prod_id=1282 I would never pay that for bacon of any kind, but if you go to the store, you can buy a 15# box of no. 2 bacon for $40. It is the same stuff, just not perfect slices that they can sell for $8/lb. It is amazing. I don't buy bacon anywhere else, partly because it is that good, but mostly because I refuse to pay more than $3/lb for an inferior product. Their smoked loin is also amazing. Not a practical trip for most of you, but if you're ever in northern Michigan.... I've never been to the Petoskey store, only Rogers City.
The chinese are getting ready to buy Smithfield, the worlds largest supplier of pork. this is the largest chinese takeover to date at 4.7 Billion $. If you think prices suck now, just wait until all of that pork goes overseas. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/09/26/china-pigs-smithfield-buyout/2870505/
I live not to far from Smithfield and believe me the locals arent happy about this. They have been a local American company for many years and now they are sold out to China Needless to say there wont be any more Smith field hams in my house.
Plenty of scrapple "up here" even in the grocery stores...best stuff is from the local butchers or amish market but it's around for sure. Just across the river though, in NJ, they don't eat scrapple like around here...it's Taylor Ham...a.k.a. Pork roll
Jeesh, I feel so popular! Here ya all go....let me know if you have questions. I've been traveling a lot for work so please be patient, I'm not here as often as I'd like to be lately! I only used "pink salt" my first time terrified I was going to get botulism. Then, I realized that for generations, meat was cured with just good old salt, no nitrites, nitrates, etc. I don't use it but the recipe has it listed as optional. Basic Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds pork belly, squared off, rind removed 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt - NEEDS TO BE KOSHER DO NOT SUBSTITUTE OTHER SALTS 1/2 teaspoon pink salt, optional (not himalayan salt -insta cure #1 you can get it online) I tend to like the sweet stuff but always do a little of the savory too, two different bags of course For sweeter bacon add: (known as "pork candy" in my house) 1/4 cup maple syrup, or honey, brown sugar, white sugar or molasses 2 tablespoons cold strong black coffee, bourbon or apple cider -OR- For a more savory bacon add: 2 garlic cloves, smashed 1 tablespoon black peppercorns, crushed 2 teaspoons fresh thyme 1 teaspoon fennel seed, toasted 1 teaspoon coriander seed, toasted. 1. Place the pork belly in a large Ziploc bag - I use 2 gallon bags and DOUBLE bag, especially for the sticky sweet one. Add the salt (and pink salt if using) and the cure additions. Rub the cure into the pork belly, turning the bag over and over and pressing the cure into the flesh. Close the bag, squeezing out all the air and refrigerate for seven days. Each day, flip the bag over. Some liquid will begin to gather in the bag. NOTE: if your bellies have not reduced in size (thickness) and feel slightly firm to the touch (not soft like raw meat) you can continue to cure another 7-10 days flipping the bag every few days. 2. Once your happy with your cure, remove from bags and wash the cure off the meat, rinsing thoroughly. Pat the bacon dry with paper towels and set it on a rack over a baking sheet (I use the broil pan from my oven I never use otherwise). Allow the bacon to air-dry in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. Oven Finish (cured not smoked) Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. Roast the pork belly in the oven to an internal temperature of 150 degrees for about 90 minutes. Cool, cut/store as below Smoked Finish (cured and smoked) There are many ways to smoke, I'm not going to dictate how you do it. I use fruit woods in my charcoal smoker at about 200 degrees to infuse smoke flavor and finish cooking it until the bellies hit 150. You can smoke for short time and finish in the oven as above too. Cool, cut/store as below. Cutting/Storing Chill the bacon well, then slice thick or thin, to preference. Any bacon that doesn’t easily slice may be cut into chunks, for starting a pot of beans or soup (I actually label these "bits for beans" but my hubby ends up snacking on them) Wrapped in parchment paper, then wrapped in plastic wrap or foil and placed in a Ziploc bag, the bacon will keep for three weeks in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer.
