I've used the bacon thread for recipes and ideas and made my first run at making my own bacon last weekend. Still have questions not addressed in the bacon thread.
Costco was out of belly's that day so I went to a local mexican meat market in Leander and they broke 2 frozen whole bellies out of an IBP box for me. I paid what they asked. Said they had not had that request before. I laughed. Not unreasonable on $.
I skinned the bellies, cut up into workable sizes (4 total slabs) and then proceeded to brine for 7 days. Smoked them last weekend and have had them refrigerated since. I sliced up one of them the other day on my 8.5" slicer from Academy, which actually worked just fine. The bacon was amazing. Did one brown-sugar/bourbon, one black pepper and 2 regular. However...
I have a gripe in that the capacity of the meat tray on my slicer only accommodates 6"-7.5" slabs and my slabs are 9-11" when cutting across the grain. I have to hold it at a weird, and unsafe angle to get it through the slicer. Otherwise, the slicer worked flawlessly. Plenty of power and cutting ability. Nice, clean slices.
Are there any recommendations for a proper slicer for bacon? Yes, I know a sharp knife works fine, and I have plenty of them, but want consistency and a larger cutting capacity/throat on the slicer. Not looking to break the bank, would pay up to $350-$400 for the right slicer as I plan to do this again soon.
Suggestions?
Costco was out of belly's that day so I went to a local mexican meat market in Leander and they broke 2 frozen whole bellies out of an IBP box for me. I paid what they asked. Said they had not had that request before. I laughed. Not unreasonable on $.
I skinned the bellies, cut up into workable sizes (4 total slabs) and then proceeded to brine for 7 days. Smoked them last weekend and have had them refrigerated since. I sliced up one of them the other day on my 8.5" slicer from Academy, which actually worked just fine. The bacon was amazing. Did one brown-sugar/bourbon, one black pepper and 2 regular. However...
I have a gripe in that the capacity of the meat tray on my slicer only accommodates 6"-7.5" slabs and my slabs are 9-11" when cutting across the grain. I have to hold it at a weird, and unsafe angle to get it through the slicer. Otherwise, the slicer worked flawlessly. Plenty of power and cutting ability. Nice, clean slices.
Are there any recommendations for a proper slicer for bacon? Yes, I know a sharp knife works fine, and I have plenty of them, but want consistency and a larger cutting capacity/throat on the slicer. Not looking to break the bank, would pay up to $350-$400 for the right slicer as I plan to do this again soon.
Suggestions?
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day...DON'T teach a man to fish, and you feed yourself. He's a grown man...and fishing's not that hard" - Ron Swanson