Oooh, my friends are going to love me now!

[grumpyoldman]

i have found my new hobby ..making bacon
as most of you know i just made bacon for the 1st time and it turned out better than i was hoping for . 1st things 1st , many many thanks to pictonguy for all his much needed advice , as i have learned making bacon is both simple and tricky at the same time , it requires a lot of patience ( which i don't have ) and careful measurements but making bacon can be quite rewarding to oneself and to your friends . if you haven't tried it i encourage you to jump in and give it a try , you just might be glad you did

 

[Shining Wizard]

Pics?
Sounds like you are going to be very popular in your area. I would certainly be lining up!
@pictonguy is definitely our mad professor when it comes to the science of food and also a very talented chef.

 

[caseydog]

The only cured meat I make currently is Tasso, which is a cajun ham product that I can't get anywhere in North Texas. I use it mostly to season my gumbos. It is very salty, so not something I'd eat on its own.

CD

 

[grumpyoldman]

everyone that has tasted it agrees it was not to salty i followed the formula pictonguy gave me and it could not have turned out better , i did add 1 1/2 teaspoons of powdered smoke to the rub and gave it a slightly smoky flavor without having to actually smoke it on the smoker .
i have a feeling i am going to get a lot of requests to make a lot of bacon . i just hope i can keep up with them
bacon only takes about 10 minutes to be ready to go in the fridge , its the days of curing time thats the only bad thing about making it
buying the pork bellies at Sams club is a bit of a crap shoot at least from the couple that we bought , the 1st one was about 1 1/2 inches thick but the one i just put in the fridge was a good solid 2 1/2 inches thick .
we are going to start buying them by the case after this
( saves .20 per lb ) and i'm sure it will be a mixed lot. but like Dragon said bacon is bacon , i really think i am going to enjoy my new hobby and plus it gives me a chance to use my new slicer
all the one's that have tasted it say that they will buy the pork bellies if i will turn them into bacon for them so its a win win situation they get cheap bacon and i enjoy making it

 

[dragnlaw]

If I may make a suggestion? You be the one to purchase it and keep the bills to show them. You want to know what you are dealing with (the meat, I mean). just so they don't turn up with something weird and say they thought it was the same thing but cheaper.

Also work out a slight cut off the meat for your own consumption.
This way you get a bit of free meat for yourselves. It doesn't have to be alot. I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions though. (edit: on how much to carve off - you'd have to figure that out)

You are doing the work and using your equipment and condiments after all. You don't want to be out of pocket. That can get old real fast. Especially when it comes time to replace something, either equipment or supplies.

I used to make wine (from kits) for friends. They paid for the kits, brought the clean bottles. If they wanted labels and caps, paid for them too. They would get 24 and I would get what ever was over. It was usually about 4 bottles but sometimes 6 and sometimes only 2. It was great as I always had a huge variety of wines.
Very affordable and like you, I enjoyed doing it.

 

[grumpyoldman]

Dragnlaw@ in most cases i would say your spot on right, but then they are friends and then they are friends ,
the friends i am talking about are the friends that when i needed the siding replaced on my house , they showed up on a Saturday morning and went to work, they made kinda a gathering out of it if you will , all it cost me was for the siding and lunch
this spring i was planning on replacing the roof over our patio they have already went and picked up all the material
( i paid for that ) and have a weekend in April picked out to do it for me
again my only expense that day will be lunch ,
no my friend, i cherish my friends
if they could not afford it i would happily buy it , cure , slice and package it for them for free

 

[HeyItsSara]

we love you bacon or not!!!

 

[grumpyoldman]

thank you sara

 

[dragnlaw]

Understood grumpy. Yeah, friends are just that - friends!