Brican's Maple Bacon

[BriCan]

Brican, can you send us a sack of maple sugar? It costs the earth here

An old saying ....

If Mohammed will not go to the mountain, the mountain must come to Mohammed


See Ruralidle for your supply

[ped]

What % is used per meat weight?, it is a very light (physically) sugar!

[BriCan]

What % is used per meat weight?, it is a very light (physically) sugar!

This is an approximation please remember on this I am not precise

To a boneless belly with the rind on weighing about 4kg I will dust/add about 39g of maple sugar

[ped]

Are you sure it's not 41g Robert? , many thanks

[BriCan]

Are you sure it's not 41g Robert? , many thanks

[kil2k]

I've got some of this in the fridge, currently bathing in maple syrup. It'll be ready for smoking this Friday!

Was there a reason for doing 3 days x 4 hour smokes instead of 1 x 12 hours? I'm thinking of leaving mine overnight on a 12 hour smoke, then letting it dry in the fridge.

[BriCan]

I myself do 3 or 4 smokes of 10 to 12 hours each with a rest overnight in-between with also one complete day of rest in the middle of the smoking -- helps so that there is no bitter taste and you get a rich flavour profile of the maple mixed with the smoke.

There is also up to 7 days ageing/maturing at room temperature, and again it does make all the difference -- You are more than welcome to do which ever way you like

This is my end product .......

[kil2k]

That looks like beautiful bacon! You'd go with ageing / drying at room temperature rather than in the fridge? Would ~20°C be too high?

I've cured the belly for 14 days, and Friday will be the tenth day [after curing] vac packed in maple syrup. Would it be fine to leave hanging and age in the cold smoker after smoking it?

[wheels]

Try and age it below 15°C. Above that and Staphylococcus aureus can be an issue. Around 10 - 12°C and 70 - 75% RH would be great.

If not, lightly wrapped in greaseproof or parchment paper in the fridge will suffice.

Phil

[BriCan]

That looks like beautiful bacon! You'd go with ageing / drying at room temperature rather than in the fridge? Would ~20°C be too high?

Wheels has given the correct temperatures

When I was but a young lad just starting off in the trade many, many moons ago -- it seems like an eternity so far back in the annals of time

Maturing rooms used to be alongside the curing fridge (walk-in cooler) ours (the one I worked at) was in the basement of the shop. The temperature of this room was close to but not over 45F (7C)

At my present location I do not have the luxury nor the space (at the present time) for a room to be set up for the sole purpose of the maturing room I have an alcove within the Kitchen prep area which has a cool breeze passing through it so keeps the temperature down around 14C - 15C (summer only) Autumn, winter and spring temperatures are way down

20C is way too high and out of the safe zone

I've cured the belly for 14 days, and Friday will be the tenth day [after curing] vac packed in maple syrup. Would it be fine to leave hanging and age in the cold smoker after smoking it?

Again -- depends on your temperature's -- I was home (UK) a few weeks ago and it must have been unusually bad weather as for the two weeks I was over I saw nay a drop of rain -- just blazing sun -- which I must admit I had not seen days like that since my childhood -- besides that it always rains when I go on holidays

Hanging said bacon hanging in the smoker would be fine if it was like the one I use enclosed within a building as one needs to leave the doors ajar to let the humidity escape -- too much moisture within the air/chamber is bad for your products --- So no it is not feasible to leave the bacon in the smokehouse

HTH

[kil2k]

Many thanks for the advice. The current temperature is reading 12.5°C, and I could pop an ice pack in there if the sun comes out while I'm smoking it.

I'll have to get around to building a curing chamber soon, because the fridge is rather overpopulated at the moment. As well as the maple bacon, I've got some bacon curing in wholegrain mustard, and another batch curing with various herbs while waiting for an ale bath. There's also a large tray of sausages for a BBQ this weekend, and a 3Kg piece of brisket!

[BriCan]

Many thanks for the advice. The current temperature is reading 12.5°C, and I could pop an ice pack in there if the sun comes out while I'm smoking it.

You should not need ice unless you have a heat source in close proximity, I have safely cold smoked at 38C this last week (I have no heat source in close proximity

[kil2k]

Many thanks for the advice. The current temperature is reading 12.5°C, and I could pop an ice pack in there if the sun comes out while I'm smoking it.

You should not need ice unless you have a heat source in close proximity, I have safely cold smoked at 38C this last week (I have no heat source in close proximity

Apologies for several questions about the same thing, but are you saying that a higher temperature is fine when cold smoking for ~12 hours at a time, but not for dry ageing? After the CSG has finished, could I add an ice pack [if needed] and leave it hanging between smokes? After a month long process I'm really looking forward to this bacon, and would rather not risk destroying my guts

One more question: I'm assuming that after the maple bath, the maple should be washed off, and the bacon dried overnight to form a pellicle before smoking?

For reference, the cold smoke chamber I built is here - viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12416

[kil2k]

Luckily for me the weather took a turn for the worse, so the cold smoker is currently sitting at 13°C at 9:20pm. Bacon is hanging in there to dry, and I plan to start up the CSG tomorrow morning

[kil2k]

I'll be honest, the Maple bacon was far too sweet for my English palate. It really is the definition of meat candy! Perhaps more salt, and less time bathing in maple syrup next time.