Sausage and bacon time!

It's been a good start to the year. Been cranking out several different kinds of sausage here the last few weeks. And started a new batch of buckboard bacon. The bacon should be ready to go into the smoker this weekend.
Kielbasa going in the smoker

About 30# of kielbasa

21# of deer, garlic, and black pepper snack sticks

The snack sticks got smoked too!

Homemade Salameats

Fresh salameats hot off the grill

I'm even making buckboard bacon. I prefer pork shoulders as they are leaner and cheaper than bellies.

23# of bacon curing. Will be ready for the smoker this weekend.

That sure looks good. I'd be interested in learning more about your bacon. Thanks!

Gimme GPS coordinates to all this goodness!

Dang that looks good! Iv tried off and on to make decent sausages but they never turn out like yours. Id love to make bacon like that. Does that bacon need to be refrigerated after smoking it?

Buckboard bacon is made with pork shoulders instead of bellies. I was able to secure some shoulders for .79/lb on sale (bellies are ~$3/lb), so this batch of bacon came out to $1.45/lb to make. You can use the same cure you would for regular bacon. I have used both commercial buckboard bacon cure (Hi-Mountain cure) as well as my homemade bacon cure. I like thick cut, lean, peppered bacon, and you just cannot buy that in the stores. In the picture of the bacon, there is a combo of commercial cure (because I had some given to me as a gift) and my home cure. I add a tablespoon of brown sugar per each side of bacon, then cover in a layer of black pepper. I'll let sit in the cure for 7-10 days, slice off a piece and test fry. If too salty, I'll soak in cold water for 3-4hrs and try again. Once its to my liking, I dry off and add another coating of black pepper. I'll let set and come to room temp and place in the smoker. Once its smoked to my liking, I'll bring inside to cool. Once its cooled down, I'll put into the fridge overnight. The next day, I'll slice think and vac-seal and toss into the freezer. I make a couple hundred pounds of buckboard a year. Once you start making it yourself, you wont go back to store bought.

X1000 I just started making our own bacon with buck board bacon cure and I gotta tell you i will never buy bacon again. There is just so much more flavour, gonna start playing around with different smoke flavors now.

I have made 100's of lbs of buck board bacon over the years. I also make loose breakfast sausage out of pork butts. Here a lb of breakfast sausage is $3.99. I stock up on butts when they are on sale and make a 40 lb batch at a time. I buy my spices to add by the pound and it is leaner and you can make it to fit your taste.
What is the buck board cure you mention above. I have been using Heller's bacon cure. They sell it in town.

I have only used the Hi-Mountain buckboard bacon commercial cure. I have also used my own cure (Salt, sugar, cure#1).
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/hi-mountain-buckboard-bacon-cure

I didn't remember a buckboard bacon cure. I can't say I have ever used any Hi-Mountain. I get that Heller's for $5 and can do two butts with a pack. I have thought about trying some from the Sausage Maker. I have his book and use the recipe for the breakfast sausage. I add a lot more pepper then he lists. He has a couple different bacon cures. But it is had to beat the price of what I am getting.

Wow!! Everything looks great!!!

Pintail, When you bone out the pork do you just make 3 pieces out of it and cure each piece? I've got several pork butts in the freezer to do and this will be my first try at buck board bacon. Can this be done as a wet brine type cure?

I was making sausage at the same time. So I kept the small piece off the should by bone for grinding, The other 2 larger pieces I cured. I've never done a wet bring for bacon, so I don't know. I can't see why it wouldn't work though.

I always do a wet brine now. I bone out in two pieces. They are not equal in thickness due to where the bone located. I took a boneless butt out of the freezer to thaw and its 4" thick more or less. I would guess the one piece ends up being about 1 1/2" thick and the second 2 1/2". I put them each in a Tupper ware tub that is shaped like a cake pan. Add brine and inject the with a 50 cc syringe and meat injection needle. I flip them every day and inject again for a week to 10 days. They have to be refrigerated. The lids seal good and you can stack them. You can brine up to 13 days from what I read. I take them out of the brine and rinse in cold water and dry as well as I can with paper towels. I put a rack in the tubs and place the meat on the rack to dry for 24 hours. The off to the smoker. I smoke then raise to 140 degrees internal temp. Which is 10-12 degrees higher than the book says I need.

Pintail,
I would like to know when I can expect my sample pack to be delivered? Man alive! It sure looks great!

I'm not sure I can wait much longer. I was planning on taking them out Monday and smoking them. I may have to pull them out today and get them ready for smoke. My wife makes fresh biscuits 3x a week from scratch, so there isn't a better meal than homemade biscuits and gravy, homemade bacon, and farm fresh eggs.

Cottage Bacon is coming off. First slab is off the grill, others need a few more degrees. My pellet grill runs about 30 degrees hotter on the stack end. So they always finish first.

All the CB is on the porch cooling. It is 10 above so it can cool there. The dog wants out for some reason.

Pintail, I just picked up some Hi Mountain cure to try. You are adding brown sugar in addition to what is in the cure? Also, the instructions say to only flip the meat once at five days. I was told to flip every day when curing. Any insight? When it is time to smoke it, I think I'm going to split the shoulder to have two 1 1/2" pieces instead of one 3" piece to smoke.

That looks real good pintail

Dang that looks Great!!!

Looks good MJM.

I let the dog out twice and told him to stay out of my bacon both times. He never even gave it a second look. I am not sure if that says something about the bacon or the dog. I used to leave food on the dash of the PU with him in there and just tell him to leave it. He never touched it. But I always shared with him once I got back.

Awesome looking food.

I just tried it out and gave a little to the dog. He acted like he approved of it. He even wanted my piece.

Do you need me to sample that stuff for ya cause I will

looks great going to have to try this