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Hickory Smoked Jalapeno Bacon, By: Jimmy
Hickory Smoked Jalapeno Bacon
Recipe By: Jimmy
NOTE: Adaptation from AmazingRibs.com Homemade Bacon.*
NOTE: You will need a smoker for this method.*
NOTE: This recipe takes a week or two for preparation.*
Ingredients:
* 1 lb Pork Belly
* 4 diced/minced jalapenos
* 1 1/2 teaspoons Morton’s Kosher Salt (Note: Morton’s Kosher for measurement purposes. Smaller salt would need to be adjusted.)
* 1/2 teaspoon Curing Powder #1 (Approximately 94% Salt, 6% Sodium Nitrite)
* 1 1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
* 2 Tablespoon Dark Brown Sugar
* 1/4 cup Distilled Water
Instructions:
* Scale up the proportions for larger cuts, or trim to multiply 1 lb. sections and cure separately. The main objective is to keep the proportions.
* Combine all but the Pork Belly in a bowl.
* Trim the Pork Belly if needed and rinse off.
* Put Pork Belly in a 1 gallon ziplock bag (larger if needed) and add the Cure. Get as much air out as possible, seal and massage the cure evenly on the Pork Belly.
* refrigerate for 7 days, massaging and flipping every day or two to evenly distribute the Cure on the Pork Belly.
* After 7 day (more won’t hurt), rinse off the Pork Belly and smoke for 2 hours at 225 degrees (or until internal temp is 150 degrees).
* Slice and cook as normal, or it can be saved in the refrigerator for a week or two.
International Bacon Day 2014
This year, Bacon Day landed on August 30th.
I was lucky enough to have a wonderful co-worker (Megan) switch Saturdays with me this year. This meant I was able to get up early, get ready and immediately start cooking bacon.
We had an awesome guest list: My pops (Gerald) and mom (Sandra), Ric’s mom (Carolyn) and her friend David, my brother Jimmy, sister in law Robin, nieces Cameron and Morgan, cousin Stephen, Charlie, Rebecca, Autumn, Rick, Brook, Evan, Aaron, Jill, Alex, and MacKenzie.
Everyone showed up with various bacon goodies, packages of bacon, booze, and other supplies. We were so overwhelmed with the generosity from all of our family and friends. This year really showed us how much Bacon Day can be so amazing! In fact, we were so overwhelmed with food that Ric and I were unable to do a couple recipes we had on hand. One of which was Chocolate Covered Ice Cream Bacon Tacos. But don’t worry all these recipes will make it to the blog!
Here is the menu from Bacon Day 2014:
(Breakfast)
* Bacon Maple Donuts, from Nicola’s Donuts – Brought by: Rebecca & Charlie
* Breakfast Shots, By: Elle – Enjoyed all day
* Elvis Sandwiches, By: Ric
(Snacks/Appetizers)
* Sweet & Spicy Bacon Twists, By: Robin
* Bacon Wrapped Sweet Pickled Watermelon Rinds, By: Rebecca
* Crab Dip with Bacon Cups, By: Autumn (pending recipe)
* Pringles: Bacon Flavored – Brought by Jimmy/Robin/Cameron/Morgan
(Lunch/Dinner)
* Bacon Burger Sliders, By: Jimmy (pending recipe)
* Bacon-Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, By: Stephen
* Bacon Jalapeño Corn Bread, By: Charlie
* Vanilla and Corn Infused Bacon Gravy and Brioche Biscuits, By: Jill (pending recipe)
* Curry Bacon Pasta, By: Elle
* Bacon Explosion, By: Ric & Elle
(Desserts)
* Bacon Rum Cake, By: Rick (pending recipe)
* Fireball Candied Bacon, By: Autumn (pending recipe)
* Bacon Chocolate Chip Bacon Bars, By: Robin
* Bacon Wrapped Twinkies, By: Ric and Elle
(Drinks)
– Bacon Bloody Marys, By: Autumn (pending recipe)
Bacon Explosion News from Bacon Day:
* We decided to try yet another type of meat mixture for the “meat blanket” portion of the Bacon Explosion: Pork Chorizo and Breakfast Sausage from Petty’s Meats in Longwood and also some ground pork from the supermarket.
* For the bacon lattice, it came together wonderfully.
*…… then, I had the bright idea of putting a little coconut oil on it between going from the oven to the grill…. and it actually EXPLODED. But, don’t worry, we had plenty of bacon. I removed the outside lattice and the inside was cooked enough that it held together. I made another bacon lattice, wrapped it back up, and started over with the cooking. Turned out great!
And CHRISTOPHER DANIELS????
Wait. You don’t know about this? There have been some words going back and forth with Bacon in the Oven, The Read Pile and Christopher Daniels leading up to Bacon Day. To sum it up, I challenged Daniels to a Bacon-Off to take place on Bacon Day. The results to all of this turned out wonderfully! If you unfortunately missed out on all the fun through my twitter and The Read Pile’s shows, don’t despair: Elle vs Daniels.
After thoughts of Elle:
I am so happy with how Bacon Day went! We had lots of food, great company, a comical event took place, and I discovered “coconut oil bad for grill”. But as with every Bacon Day that passes, I instantly think of more ways to celebrate and immediately start thinking of next year. 🙂
– Elle.