Well, this is my first post, so I figured I would write about something that most everyone likes. Bacon. What would the world be like without bacon? Chowders would always be missing something. How would you order breakfast? I would like some "and eggs" please. What about those times when you just want a big old pile of bacon for a snack on Saturday night? They would be all gone if it wasn't for this small wonder.
I digress and turn my attention to the task at hand. Explaining the photo above. Although I am fortunate to live in a part of Minnesota that allows me to buy some of the best bacon around, I really like to make my own. This batch was cured with maple syrup and smoked with corn cobs. Corn cob smoked bacon is almost impossible to find around here, but knowing the right people who happen to have corn fields in their back yard is pretty handy. A friend of mine was nice enough to slog around the corn field behind his house and pick up a couple grocery bags of cobs after the farmer finished with harvest. I filled the smoker box twice during the first two hours of smoking and as you can see, the color is a nice burnt orange. The aroma of corn cobs is a bit hard to describe, other than it smells like corn cobs. A bit pungent, not not too bossy, and a little bit sweet. Not like apple, which is actually my favorite wood to smoke bacon with.
These were done after a few hours and they are sitting on my counter to cool down a bit. After that, they were parked in the fridge over night and then portioned and vacuum sealed. I prefer to freeze them in slabs, because I think it maintains the integrity of the bacon better than when sliced. These will keep for several months in the freezer.
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