Homemade Bacon recommendations?

[jp9724]

Well since my first terrible attempt I've since found this website with recipe. I've stuck pretty much to it for the brine, again a bit salty so i tone the salt down a bit but still fantastic turnout.

Hardcore Carnivore Bacon

 

[Roastlamb]

Is your grill single or double walled? Double Walled grills (like the Timberline Series) hold the heat pretty well and don't need an insulated cover for cold weather cooks. I see you are from Canada and if you use your grill all year long you may want to invest in a thermal blanket if your cooker is single walled.

The next thing you should do is determine your actual grill temp vs the grill temp shown on your controller. By checking actual ambient temperature of the grill with a FireBoard II Ambient Probe, I discovered my Timberline actually runs 9 degrees hotter than what is posted on my controller. So its quite possible your grill could be cooking at a lower temp than what is shown on your controller and that could be another reason why your cook is taking so long.

Thanks for the responses chaps, yes in Canada and it was about -10c yesterday so quite cold. However I haven’t noticed issues yet with the Pro 575 holding the temperature. The fire board you mentioned, is there a separate place to plug it in or do you plug it into the traeger?

Will be frying it up tomorrow and let you know how it is...

cheers and have a good Christmas!

 

[John S.]

Fireboard is Battery operated. The unit has a USB-C port.

 

[RoadRunner18]

Thanks for the responses chaps, yes in Canada and it was about -10c yesterday so quite cold. However I haven’t noticed issues yet with the Pro 575 holding the temperature. The fire board you mentioned, is there a separate place to plug it in or do you plug it into the traeger?

Will be frying it up tomorrow and let you know how it is...

cheers and have a good Christmas!

No, the FireBoard does not plug into the Traeger. It is a separate electronic device that enables you to monitor the internal meat temperature of 6 different meats at the same time (or 5 meats and one probe for the ambient temperature you grill is running at. My best advice is to google FireBoard II and the website does a good job of explaining its capabilities

 

[Roastlamb]

Here’s the bacon... let’s hope it tastes good!

 

[RustyJake]

Mmmm bacon
Looks great!

 

[Walleye Hunter]

Bacon's all looking pretty good. I missed most of the action above but I've settled in on a wet brine for mine that's not too salty. It never takes long to get to 140* (F) and when it's fresh off the smoker I have to work hard to stop myself from eating half of it right then and there. So far, all I've used is hickory pellets. I would like to try a dry cure and will probably do that with a half side in my next batch.

 

[Roastlamb]

Is your grill single or double walled? Double Walled grills (like the Timberline Series) hold the heat pretty well and don't need an insulated cover for cold weather cooks. I see you are from Canada and if you use your grill all year long you may want to invest in a thermal blanket if your cooker is single walled.

The next thing you should do is determine your actual grill temp vs the grill temp shown on your controller. By checking actual ambient temperature of the grill with a FireBoard II Ambient Probe, I discovered my Timberline actually runs 9 degrees hotter than what is posted on my controller. So its quite possible your grill could be cooking at a lower temp than what is shown on your controller and that could be another reason why your cook is taking so long.

Quick question on the fireboard, I have a Weber iGrill 2 with an ambient temperature probe... is this just as good?

 

[RoadRunner18]

I can't comment on the ambient temperature probe on a Weber IGrill 2 because I have never cooked on one. What I can tell you is that most grills that have a controller have an ambient temperature probe. I have had a Traeger Timberline 850 and a Timberline 1300, and both had ambient temperature probes, and when checked against the FireBoard, neither was actually at the temperature posted on the controller (Like I said in another thread, my 1300 runs 8-9 degrees cooler than the actual temperature posted on the controller). I am sure there are other devices on the market as accurate as the FireBoard and you can probably read about them on this forum, but I can only comment on what I have personally used.

 

[RemE]

Quick question on the fireboard, I have a Weber iGrill 2 with an ambient temperature probe... is this just as good?

The iGrill is probably better than the stock Traeger at monitoring temps.

 

[Roastlamb]

The iGrill is probably better than the stock Traeger at monitoring temps.

Thanks RemE - will give it a go.

 

[AlbinRVA]

my method
Depending on thickness of belly, cure for 7-10 days in fridge. rinse/soak the belly after the brine. I do a soak and a rinse. pat dry and place on rack in the fridge (uncovered) for 2 days. smoke at 225 to internal temp of 150.

 

[jp9724]

my method
Depending on thickness of belly, cure for 7-10 days in fridge. rinse/soak the belly after the brine. I do a soak and a rinse. pat dry and place on rack in the fridge (uncovered) for 2 days. smoke at 225 to internal temp of 150.

do you get a thicker pellicle drying for the extra day?

 

[Roastlamb]

do you get a thicker pellicle drying for the extra day?

Interested to know too, I only dried in the fridge for 4 hours and there was plenty of smoke flavour. I smoke a lot of salmon and usually leave them overnight... may try that next time.

 

[AlbinRVA]

do you get a thicker pellicle drying for the extra day?

I can't answer that question because I don't know how to quantify the difference. It's just what I do.