info

Monday, March 30, 2020

Whiskey and Coffee BACON on the BGE






Hello people of the world. I realize it has been a few moons since last we spoke. Have you missed me?

In these days of isolation and self sufficiency the more important things in life come into focus. Family, the love of a good dog, whiskey and bacon are the ones that immediately come to my mind. As such, it is important for me to learn the art of making bacon. Let's see if we can do it.


help support the site - this is one I use to control my egg! - actually I use an older version of this one.





Research:

I used this great blog post to read about the process and used one of the suggested recipes

Ingredients:

Pork belly - I sourced mine at my local butcher but I hear Costco may carry them also
1 teaspoon - Pink curing salt  <- I bought this on Amazon. It goes a long way.
1 cup of coffee
1/2 cup of whiskey




Execution:

If you stop reading right here, take to heart this first and most important step. Pour yourself about 2-3 oz of Bourbon or in this case, rye. Drink it.






Combine the salt, coffee, whiskey, and bacon into a large ziplock bag and mix it up




Do yourself a favor and put that bag in a shallow pan because it will likely leak at some point.

Place said bag and pan in the fridge for one week. Now, your spouse may at some point during this week, question you on what this concoction is. Pay no never mind to such nonsense as we would say here in the South.

Flip that bag and coat the belly every 12 hours for the next week.





One week later, remove your glorious meat and rinse off the residual liquid. Then return to fridge on a rack to let a film form on the exterior of said meat. I let mine remain open to the fridge for about 4 hours.




Fire up the Big Green Egg. Get it steady and burning clean at about 220.



I used a remote thermometer to get it close but then tested with my instant read thermoworks for accuracy. Internal temp should be about 150 not much more because you will lose your fat to rendering. 

I would say it took about 1-2 hours. Not real sure because was drinking whiskey.





Pulled these beauties off and put them in the fridge to cool and firm up for slicing. 




I used my serrated sani-safe knife to slice these. I wanted thick cut but this may have been overboard. Honestly, I'm not sure I could have sliced it thinner without a meat slicer. Maybe I'll look into that.








You are welcome.





Verdict:

If you don't have a lot going on in your life and perhaps could use a little help finding someone to love you and treat you well, then look no further. A person who can make and cook their own bacon clearly demonstrates that they have it all figured out and that is an irresistible trait. I'm not suggesting that you MUST name your first child after me but I would understand if you do.






We would love it if you would drop us a note in the comment section and let us know how your cook went. We are always looking for suggestions and improvements! We have opened up the comments so that anyone can post now, so please do. I'll try not to delete anything unless it is spam or stabs me in the heart.



Please help support our site, buy something you like on Amazon. Simply click through the links below and though you can pick anything, I suggest the thermometer and knives below:

So apparently Thermoworks doesn't sell through Amazon anymore. You must buy direct. Still the thermometer to have. Go here and order direct. unfortunately, we don't get a dime for this but still, it is one you want.

Aaron Franklin's Favorite trimming knife:

Dexter-Russell (S131F-6PCP) - 6" Boning Knife - Sani-Safe Series

Decided to add a link to the replacement cap I use on my BGE - this is a great replacement because it sheds water if you get caught in the rain.

Aaron Franklin's Favorite Brisket cutting/serving knife:

Sani-Safe S140-12SC-PCP 12" Scalloped Roast Slicer





Search