I don't know what happened with that shipping, Zag
Let's just say I'm attached to my bacon, Whiskas
Let's see... going from memory (that was one long post!)...
This latest batch I smoked two bellies at 195-200 and one belly at 330, just as a test to see if the hotter temp would make it shrink. It did not.
The two bellies are good and smokey and the third is simply smokey. The first two took about 4 hours and the third a little over an hour. I smoke to an internal temp of 150.
There isn't as much drippings as storebought/packaged bacon. I've never purchased a store's "homemade", so don't know how it compares there.
I have a slicer. I slice it a hair thinner than typical thick cut bacon, which I have used to wrap things.
I leave the ends of the asparagus exposed on purpose.
Storebought bacon I can cut in half and do one stock, but the last couple times I used the whole piece. Just because.
But my bacon won't stick regardless, even wrapping it upon itself. Like I mentioned, I am wondering if it's because I dry brine/cure. Maybe storebought bacon companies wet brine/cure.
I assume smoking with apple wood gives you apple bacon, but if they use a wet cure maybe the liquid is apple? Beats me.
I like a mixture of apple and hickory. I use a lot, as if I was smoking a corned beef for pastrami. Two good sized foil pouches. It's not as smokey as Sugardale hickory bacon, which I like, but it's pretty smokey.
Still waiting on my buddy's feedback. I know he liked my first batch, which I thought a tad too sweet. I think this batch has just the right amount of salt/sweet.