Cooking Bacon

[Sig]

I want to taste the grass when I eat beef. So....not controversial at all. Not a fan of finishing with grain and I can thoroughly enjoy, when I can find it, beef from an older steer. I'm a fan of A-1 but, only on the side to dip an occasional bite into. Everyone to their own taste. A standing rib roast requires a bit of au jus on the side for me. If it's rated as Prime....so much the better. "Prime rib" in stores is rarely "Prime", only mislabeled as such. And, apparently doing such is not a fraud any longer. Consumers can be sooooo gullible.

We have Irish Dexter cattle.
Their meat is extraordinarily good.
They are also very docile, much smaller than Angus or other breeds, and at 5% milk fat, their milk makes great cheese, ice cream and tastes great. Its unusual for one breed to have it all.
Ive had guests ask if we have any Montreal Steak seasoning, or A1.
I un-politely ask them to leave.
Only salt.....and black pepper if you must.
Ours get no "production" grain. They free range and forage. And get our own blend that we grow in winter, and finishing. It contains corn, oats, rye.....and other things when available.....apples, pears, watermelon....

 

[warren]

Ours get no "production" grain. They free range and forage.

Good on you! The key to beef which needs no added sauces and such! Well done!

In my opinion, Irish beef is the finest in the world. Small farms, carefully managed, and the beef available a short distance down the road. I had a favorite wee shop where the proprietor only sold his father's beef. The farm was only a mile or so down the road.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

I'm going to try the pellet smoker when I get a rack for my cookie sheet so the grease can drip off. I read 225 deg for 15-20 minutes.

I use a pellet smoker. It generally takes 1 to 2 hours at 225.

I find the smokiness improves after it sits a day, but is very tasty hot out of the pit.

A cookie sheet makes removal easy, but I use foil on the deflector for easy cleaning and don't use a cookie sheet.

 

[MisterBadger]

We have Irish Dexter cattle.
Their meat is extraordinarily good.
They are also very docile, much smaller than Angus or other breeds, and at 5% milk fat, their milk makes great cheese, ice cream and tastes great. Its unusual for one breed to have it all.

Next to Welsh Blacks, Dexters are my favourite. Both lovely, dual-purpose breeds. I wonder if they are related, via the Kerry breed, perhaps in prehistoric times. Nobody kept a herd book before the 17thC. DNA comparisons would be interesting. It's all the former up here - haven't seen any Dexters at shows since moving from down South. I do miss them.

 

[InWithBothFeet]

I use a pellet smoker. It generally takes 1 to 2 hours at 225.

Thanks, I'll up the temp then. I'm guessing I'll try doing a pound at a time like this and refrigerating what I don't use immediately.

 

[Sig]

Next to Welsh Blacks, Dexters are my favourite. Both lovely, dual-purpose breeds. I wonder if they are related, via the Kerry breed, perhaps in prehistoric times. Nobody kept a herd book before the 17thC. DNA comparisons would be interesting. It's all the former up here - haven't seen any Dexters at shows since moving from down South. I do miss them.

Dexter's are also pretty great cold weather cattle apparently. Our heard of 25 or so often chose to stay outside. The barn is heated, but they just stand out in 20 degree blizzards.
Not sure about the relation to WB, but im pretty sure they are all related at some point in history.

 

[bullet08]

It's bacon. I'll eat it as long as it's not raw.

 

[Mortar0341]

Being a southerner, I’m quite partial to the tried and true method of frying in an open well-seasoned Lodge cast iron skillet over a medium-low flame, preferably accompanied with an iron bacon press. I love my bacon in the ”slightly leathery but not burnt” department, and don’t toss the grease, at least not until after you’ve fried your eggs in it!

Man I use the grease for everything! I use it to make my Roux for Gumbo and Stews, I fry my potatoes in it or cook my green beans. Makes everything better!

 

[Mortar0341]

View attachment 433656
Smoked bacon thats drizzled with honey and tossed in jerk seasoning is the way i do it. Another method i do is big pot on the stove with some cheap bourbon and mesquite seasoning. Both are equally delicious

Oh your way sounds like a good way!! that sounds delicious.

 

[tartanphantom]

Man I use the grease for everything! I use it to make my Roux for Gumbo and Stews, I fry my potatoes in it or cook my green beans. Makes everything better!

Don’t forget that in the south, bacon grease is the original WD-40!

 

[MCJ]

 

[InWithBothFeet]

Well the bacon on the smoker went... crispy. It doesn't burn as such but just gets cracker crispy if left too long. I gotta play with the temp and time....

 

[Mortar0341]

I love some crispy Bacon. I love how my kids instantly gather round like puppies when the bacon smell drifts through the house. By the time I'm done frying the Bacon, there is hardly any bacon left, from my kids snatching a piece here and there. But nothing can beat frying up some bacon while drinking some good coffee and afterwards enjoying a nice pipe or cigar. That's a perfect day right there.

 

[InWithBothFeet]

The second batch tells me 350 for 1 hr is a good place to start for normal thin sliced bacon in a pellet smoker.

 

[That Guy]

Well the bacon on the smoker went... crispy. It doesn't burn as such but just gets cracker crispy if left too long. I gotta play with the temp and time....

I set on the lowest temp setting and just let it go till it crisp up just alittle. Normally around 2.5 -3.5 hours of smoking for thick cut bacon

 

[InWithBothFeet]

I can't invest that much time into bacon when the air fryer can have it done in 8 minutes. Haha

 

[khiddy]

I can't invest that much time into bacon when the air fryer can have it done in 8 minutes. Haha

Bacon from the smoker has a transcendent flavor (smoky, obviously) that no air fryer on earth can match. It’s like comparing a steak cooked in cast iron to one steamed in a microwave.

 

[The Amish Tyrant]

I can't invest that much time into bacon when the air fryer can have it done in 8 minutes. Haha

When I smoke bacon, I have other things working since I hate wasting "real estate" when rolling smoke (especially since I only do it on weekends).

While I can make bacon, ribs, and pork faster using other cooking methods (like the oven), I enjoy cooking outside and the smokey flavor that gets infused into the final product. So absent weather or time constraints, I'm rolling smoke to achieve what can't be done using other methods.

Bacon from the smoker has a transcendent flavor (smoky, obviously) that no air fryer on earth can match. It’s like comparing a steak cooked in cast iron to one steamed in a microwave.

Agreed.

 

[InWithBothFeet]

Hey, don't be dissin my microwaved prime rib...