# first buckboard bacon



## Unity (Feb 25, 2008)

My venture into cured meat started today. After reading the directions that came with the Hi Mountain Buckboard Bacon Cure, I searched "buckboard bacon" here on BBQ Central and ended up using a combination of techniques, including some similar to what wittdog posted from another forum about a year ago.




Boneless butt trimmed of excess fat and split in two horizontally. Because the bone cavity wasn't centered, the split wasn't equal; one "half" is thicker than the other, but that shouldn't matter.




All surfaces of meat coated with cure. I'm sure I used a lot more than I needed to, 'cause there wasn't much left in the bag. Maybe I'll rinse/soak it a little longer at the end of the curing step.




Each half bagged in its own 2.5-gal bag, the two being weighed on my close-enough-for-homemade scale, then put in the bottom of the backup refrigerator.

More to follow ...

--John


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## Tannehill Kid (Feb 25, 2008)

I will keep my eye on this tread.  This buckboard bacon is new to me.


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## Puff1 (Feb 25, 2008)

Lookin' good John.
Keep us posted.


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## ronbeaux50 (Feb 25, 2008)

I got some canadian bacon going now due to Wittgog and I'm sure it will come out perfect!! First for me too, well sort of.


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## Griff (Feb 25, 2008)

John, what did you use for the sweet part, honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup? I just checked the freezer and I am due for some more buckboard and Canuk bacon myself.


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## Unity (Feb 25, 2008)

Griff said:
			
		

> John, what did you use for the sweet part, honey, brown sugar, or maple syrup?


Hi Mountain's cure doesn't call for a sweet part. Its main ingredients are salt, brown sugar, sugar, and maple sugar (in that order) so I figured they have it covered. Think I should add some? I'd be inclined to make if maple syrup if I did. 

--John


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## Griff (Feb 26, 2008)

I've never used Hi Mtn. I use Tender Quick. I like molasses and maple syrup.


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## Bruce B (Feb 26, 2008)

I've used Hi-Mountain before and did not add any additional sugar or syrup to their cure.


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## john a (Feb 26, 2008)

That Hi Mountain is good stuff. Use it on a pork loin and you'll have Canadian bacon. Tip, do not let your 12 year old grandson and 7 year old granddaughter know it's there.


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## wittdog (Feb 26, 2008)

Go John Go


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## john pen (Feb 26, 2008)

Looks good !


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## Bill The Grill Guy (Feb 26, 2008)

MMMMMMMMMM, BB.  Keep them coming John.


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## wittdog (Feb 26, 2008)

What are you going to smoke that on and at what temp are you shooting for...pit temp?


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## Unity (Feb 26, 2008)

wittdog said:
			
		

> What are you going to smoke that on and at what temp are you shooting for...pit temp?


Good question. The Hi Mountain instructions say place meat on screen/grill and heat smoker to 150° for 45 min without smoke, increase temp to 200° and start smoke; smoke until internal temp of meat reaches 140°. They're evidently basing it on an electric smokehouse.

The only smoking device I've got is a WSM. I don't think I can keep it down to those kinds of temps even if I do a mini-Minion start with a tiny charcoal charge, so I was figuring keep it as low as I can and see what happens. Or maybe I should look for a hotplate and do an electric-WSM conversion? For that matter, I guess I could rig the Weber kettle for electric. I've got about 10 days to figure it out. Whaddya think? 

--John


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## Bobberqer (Feb 26, 2008)

lol  I'm doing the same thing  just posted on the curing section thingy... mine oughta be ready on the 11th or 12th of March.. That Wittdog oughta start his own radio show or sometin


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## wittdog (Feb 26, 2008)

I like the idea of the hotplate conversion of the WSM....I might order a second door just to try it out...I think you can keep the  temps low enough with a mimi minion method start...another little hint...the night before you plan on smoking the bacon...as long as it has been in the brine long enough...let it air dry in the fridge on a drying rack....


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## BchrisL (Feb 26, 2008)

John, 
You might get a _Calrod unit _and rig it up inside the smoker and run it with a thermostat. A tin of wood chips placed on top of it at the proper time would provide the smoke.

Chris


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## Unity (Feb 26, 2008)

Thanks, I've already ordered a Rival hotplate, which already has a thermostat, for about the same money as the Calrod unit less thermostat. I'm not sure I'll use it, but I'll introduce it to the WSM and see how they get along.

--John


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## Nick Prochilo (Feb 26, 2008)

John, I did mine a year or so ago on the WSM and it worked fine. You can keep a small fire burning if you babysit it. I split mine into 4 or 5 indivuald bacons after they were smoked and shrunk wrapped them and froze them. I just took another one out of the freezer a few weeks ago and had some on grilled pizza! Your gonna love it!


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## Captain Morgan (Feb 27, 2008)

here's a little reading...

http://www.charlotte.com/192/story/511592.html


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## Unity (Feb 27, 2008)

Cool, thanks.

--John
(Now why didn't I think to look in the Charlotte paper?   )


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## wittdog (Feb 27, 2008)

The temps you smoke at will determine the texture of your finished product and if you should use nitrates.


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## Unity (Mar 11, 2008)

Buckboard bacon wrapup

After the cure is applied, Hi Mountain says let the meat stand in the refrigerator at least 10 days, turning on the 5th day. I let it cure 14 days, turning it every few days, then rinsed it thoroughly and soaked it 3 hours (they say 1 to 2 hours) in several changes of water. Then, looking around for a drying rack, I put it on the bottom rack from the WSM to let it air dry in the refrigerator overnight. 

This morning I started 7 briquettes and added 2 smallish chunks of hickory, inverted the top rack to get the handles out of the way, and set the rack of meat on top of it. It wasn't hard to keep the temp at 150° for 45 minutes, and then I opened up the vents and added a few more briquettes to get it up to 200°. I also added some smallish pieces of cherry wood. There were some temp swings when the charcoal would exhaust itself and need replenishing, but no big deal. I probably used fewer than 30 briquettes altogether. 

The thin half of the butt reached 145° internal and came off after about 3 hours. The thick half took a little over an hour longer to reach 145°. This evening I got out Uncle Jimmy's knife -- which hasn't been used since he died more than 20 years ago -- and sliced our bacon. (It was a darned good substitute for a slicer. Jody said he'd be pleased to know it's being used.)

Out of the cure, rinsed and soaked, patted dry, and ready to air dry.




The thin half has reached 145° and is ready to come off the smoker.




Putting Uncle Jimmy's knife to good use.




Buckboard bacon.







In FoodSaver bags and ready for the freezer. The weight going into the curing step was 6 lb. The final weight was about 5 3/8 lb. 




The taste is -- how to describe it? -- smoky, not too salty, pleasing. Pending a full taste test (bacon, eggs, creamy grits, biscuits and gravy), I'm declaring this first try a success.   

--John


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## Nick Prochilo (Mar 12, 2008)

Great job John! I still have  a piece in the freezer from my first go round!


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## john a (Mar 12, 2008)

Nice job John, that's good stuff. About time for me to do it again.


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## wittdog (Mar 12, 2008)

Looks great Nice job.


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## Griff (Mar 13, 2008)

Looks like Uncle Jimmy left you a cool knife. Your uncle or Jody's?

The bacon is a real treat. I like it diced in spaghetti carbonara, chowder and the like. Well, sandwiches are good too.


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## Unity (Mar 13, 2008)

Griff said:
			
		

> Looks like Uncle Jimmy left you a cool knife. Your uncle or Jody's?


My mother's sister's 5th or 6th husband.   I never met him. 

--John
(When we cleaned out her safe deposit box we found divorce papers concerning a husband we didn't even know about.   )


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## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Mar 13, 2008)

BchrisL said:
			
		

> John,
> You might get a _Calrod unit _and rig it up inside the smoker and run it with a thermostat. A tin of wood chips placed on top of it at the proper time would provide the smoke.
> 
> Chris


Cool dual. Got a part number Chris? Is it a 6" or 8" ?


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## wittdog (Mar 13, 2008)

Did I miss the Breakfast pics?


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## BchrisL (Mar 13, 2008)

Pigs On The Wing BBQ said:
			
		

> Cool dual. Got a part number Chris? Is it a 6" or 8" ?








8" Surface Element
P/N: WB30X354
8" Tilt Lock Hinge Mounted Surface Unit used on many GE brand ranges. 3 Wire 2450 watts. Standard (low rise) with attached trim ring No. WB2X1351. Center medallion and Terminal Block included with all 3-wire units.
Appliance Repair.com
$ 39.95

Wire it the way you want it. It is a resistave load so you could run it with a dimmer if the dimmer had the wattage capacity, or you can use an on/off type thermostat


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## Pigs On The Wing BBQ (Mar 13, 2008)

Cool! Thanks for the info. I'll probably just put it on a infant switch. GE makes cool stuff indeed. Got a old induction cook top I'm restoring now.


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## Unity (Mar 13, 2008)

wittdog said:
			
		

> Did I miss the Breakfast pics?


No, breakfast today was the tail-end of a loaf of apple "bread" (more like cake -- made from an "Amish Friendship Bread" starter), then we did some last-minute errands, and then we started for Florida on the bikes. Because of our late start, we only made it as far as Danville VA.  

Across the road from our motel parking lot, I saw a little white and red sign ...




... that identifies a Q joint we bypassed on our 2007 bbq tour (because we had eaten too recently) -- Short Sugar's Bar-B-Q in Danville is a VA annex to the Reidsville NC original.








I ordered the chopped pork plate with hot tangy slaw, fries and hush puppies. Actually, the only choice was regular or tangy slaw. Jody ordered bbq salad with pulled pork. (It sounds kind of out-of-place for a Q joint to serve something called bbq salad, doesn't it?  :? )






The "Sugar" in the name struck us as appropriate, because sweetness was the common flavor thread. The unusual hush-donuts were the sweetest, a little more sweet than I like in hush puppies, but still worth eating. The slaw was really tasty, with the advertised heat (mild) and tang, plus a bit of sweetness. I appreciated how well the chopped cabbage stayed together on the fork. The sauce is a thin, dark, vinegar-base sauce with little taste of vinegar, no discernible pepper, and, you guessed it, a bit of sweetness. Against my standard of comparison, Scott's, it had virtually no flavor. I used Texas Pete to perk up the pork (and even Texas Pete has a touch of sweetness). The pork was a little dry on top, as if it had spent a minute or two under infra-red, but once it was mixed together it was pretty good. No sauce at all from the kitchen.

Not a top-tier experience but not bad. I'd go back. In fact, I'll plan to stop at the Reidsville restaurant sometime when I can get there around mealtime.

--John
(I'm not sure, have I hijacked my own thread?   )


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## Griff (Mar 13, 2008)

Dang. I remember when we bypassed Short Sugars last year. Yes, you did highjack your own thread. I'm not sure on the rules in that regard. But as a moderator if I don't caution you to stay on topic Rempe will dock my pay.


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## Captain Morgan (Mar 14, 2008)

wow, I thought those were onion rings!


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## john a (Mar 14, 2008)

Captain Morgan said:
			
		

> wow, I thought those were onion rings!



Me too, I was going to comment about how good they looked.


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