Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Scrap Iron Chef

Rated: 5 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (20)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(20)

Cook Time:
6 hr 0 min
Level:
Difficult
Yield:
approximately 4 pounds of baco

Times:

Prep: 10 min
Inactive Prep: 3 min
Cook: 6 hr 0 min
Total:: 6 hr 13 min

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Ingredients

1 cup sugar
1 cup salt
8 ounces molasses
1/2 gallon (2 quarts) water
1/2 gallon (2 quarts) apple cider
2 tablespoons course ground black pepper
1 (5 pound) piece raw pork belly from the loin-end

Directions

In a large non-reactive pot, bring half the water, 1 cup of sugar, salt, and 8 ounces molasses to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Pour into a large container with the remaining water, and the apple cider. Place in the refrigerator and cool to 40 degrees F.

Press the black pepper into the pork belly. Once the brine has cooled place the peppered pork belly into the mixture until completely submerged. Refrigerate for three days.

After three days have passed, remove the pork from the brine and pat dry with paper towels. Lay on a rack over a sheet pan and place in front of a fan for 1 hour to form a pellicle. Lay the pork in the protein box of a cold smoker and smoke for 4 to 6 hours. Chill the meat in the freezer for 1 hour to stiffen for easy slicing into strips of bacon. Slice what you need and keep the remainder in a freezer safe bag in the refrigerator or freezer.

Place the strips of bacon onto a sheet pan fitted with a rack and place into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 400 degrees F and cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, depending on how crispy you like your bacon. Remove from rack and drain on paper towels. Enjoy.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon
Joanna Lawrenceville, GA 07-18-2009
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Best Bacon Ever!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made bacon last month using this recipe, followed it to a "t" and it turned out excellent. I froze what I didn't use the... first time, cut some up tonight and made BLTs - awesome! I don't own a cold smoker so I used a cheapo homemade version using the instructions on this website: http://www.smoker-cooking.com/build-a-cold-smoker.html I used hickory chips this time, may try something different next time. I also did a blog about my experiences here: http://kitchenkungfu.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/makin-bacon-the-project/Read more
recipe Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon
Bennett Montgomery , AL 04-27-2009
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Oven Bacon=Good Eats
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I haven't tried making the bacon yet, but the tip about cooking it in this oven was great. I immediately tried the oven... process after seeing this episode it turned out great. Thanks for the tip AB. Also does anyone have any recomendations for what wood to use?Read more
recipe Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon
Fred San Francisco, CA 04-18-2009
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Why the recipe here doesn't agree with the show
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

The recipe on the show -- which I just watched -- is for two slabs of pork, while this one is for one slab of pork. Hence,... the printed recipe uses half as much salt and sugar, etc. Read more
recipe Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon
Paul Austin, TX 04-04-2009
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Why doesn't the recipe here agree with the one given in the show?
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

In the show, the ratio was 2 cup salt, 2 cup sugar ... followed by the same. Here it is given as 1 cup salt, 1 cup... sugar.... ???? I made the bacon in my Bradley Smoker simply laying the bacon on the racks. While the Bradley Smoker does cold smoke, it doesn't keep the temp down at 80 F unless it is really cold, and it isn't really cold now in Texas. However, this desire to keep such a tight control on the temp isn't reflected in other recipes for bacon: http://www.bradleysmoker.com/maple-cure-recipes.asp So anyway, I made the brine with the double portions of salt and sugar as per the show. The result was too salty, so perhaps the show is in error. I didn't know this until after the bacon was smoked, but suspected most of the salt was on the surface. A rinse of the bacon fixed that problem, but lost the pepper. I am about to go it again, but will add a rinse step after the brine but before drying in front of a fan. I will continue with the higher ratios given in the show, because I really, really, really loved the result. Besides, if it just makes the cure a harder cure, that's good given the higher temps I am using to smoke the bacon. Read more
recipe Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon
null null, null 01-18-2009
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i love this episode
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

i love this episode i think thay should run a 1 half day marathon of just good eats and i love the opening i time it when it... says good eats if anyone agree's with me about the marathon just emal me my email is farcry332@live.comRead more
recipe Scrap Iron Chef's Bacon
Robert Oregon City, OR 02-29-2008
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Great Eats
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This bacon is absolutely delicious and a nice bonus was collecting the liquid smoke from the ducting used to cool the smoke.