Chop & Brew – Episode 02: Makin’ Bacon

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In this episode of Chop & Brew, our buddy Drew shows us the basic steps of how to make your own bacon. These include curing/brining, rinsing, dry-rubbing, smoking, slicing and cooking. Oh, and of course – eating! [Original postdate: March 1, 2013]

Related Links:
Downloadable episode version at Vimeo
Drew’s Bacon-Three-Ways
Bacon 101
Epic Meal Time (dudes love some bacon!)

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25 Comments

  1. Keith Freeouf

    OMG!
    I just shorted out my keyboard from salivating into it.
    Keep those videos rolling Chip…Great Work, as always!
    Cheers,
    Keith

  2. flytyer

    I second the salivating part. I felt like I was back in a college math lecture waking up as the hall was emptying in a puddle of my own drool. Nice correlation to hop additions.

  4. Gkhodge

    Gotta try me some homebacon…and apply the same concepts to, say, smoked pheasants!

  5. harpdog7

    You inspired me to some sophisticated cuisine and s high brow food pairing. Bacon wrapped hot dogs with a pretty Irish Red. Food inspired by my first Lucha Libre! .
    [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v220/ElGuitana/sophisticatedcuisine3_zps069962b4.jpg[/IMG]

  6. harpdog7

    you inspired me to cook with bacon today – wrapped around hot dogs, done on a George Forman grill – just like at the local Lucha Libre!

  8. Morten

    Very nice!
    Quite interesting to see how you make bacon. It is very different from how we do in Denmark. The method you show is (to me anyway) more like BBQ to me.
    When making bacon over here we never exceed 77ºF=cold smoking. And we would normally smoke for 2×12 hours.

    But I’d still enjoy it 🙂

  9. Big J

    Chip, Where does Drew source his pork bellies? I’ve had some inconsistencies where I get mine. I like the idea of brining, I’ll give it a shot.

    Nice job on the Summit Unchained series as well.
    Jon

    • chopandbrew

      I’ll have to ask him. I don’t know off the top of my head. May just be wherever Northbound gets their’s and he threw an extra one on the order?

  12. TJ the Big Chicken

    Chip,
    I love you’re making videos again. I couldn’t figure out how you were going to pull off brewing and cooking videos in the same place. After I watched this video, I was in awe! You did a great job of pulling home brewers into the idea of making bacon. Much like beer brewing, it takes some planning, ingenuity, and patience. I applaud your work on your latest videos and look forward to your next!
    I should also point out that my wife would like to thank you for the wasted hours of me talking about how I want to make bacon now! As if beer talk wasn’t bad enough!

    • chopandbrew

      Thanks for the daps. Tell your wife – I’m not sorry. And I have to ask… what’s up with Big Turbo Chicken?!?!

      • TJ the Big Chicken

        Well, we had a pet cockatiel that ran around like a chicken, but at super-fast speed. There’s the turbo. My wife sorta came up with me being the bigger chicken. I just put them all together one day and it stuck.

  13. Chris Bushman

    Chip, you’re on a roll. I’m hoping a roll to fame and success. I love your casual, down-home, style of videography. Just like friends chatting with friends. The dogs are a real hit addition, in my book.

    A few questions about this episode…

    At what temp did those bacon pioneers smoke and for how long?

    You mentioned that, in the old days, they would make bacon for storage all winter long. Since they didn’t have walk-ins, how did they store the bacon?

    What wood did you use for smoking?

    Do you want to maximize smoke? With BBQ, if you use too much it ends up tasting like an ashtray.

    Does the saltpeter in all that bacon take the edge off your reputation for being a sexual Tyrannosaurus?

  14. filmlabrat

    Chip, you’re on a roll. I’m hoping a roll to fame and success. I love your casual, down-home, style of videography. Just like friends chatting with friends. The dogs are a real hit addition, in my book.

    A few questions about this episode…

    At what temp did those bacon pioneers smoke and for how long?

    You mentioned that, in the old days, they would make bacon for storage all winter long. Since they didn’t have walk-ins, how did they store the bacon?

    What wood did you use for smoking?

    Do you want to maximize smoke? With BBQ, if you use too much it ends up tasting like an ashtray.

    Does the saltpeter in all that bacon take the edge off your reputation for being a sexual Tyrannosaurus?

    • chopandbrew

      I’ll have to ask Drew about the details on some of this since he was in charge of the process.
      I’ll let you know what I find out.
      Sexual T-Rex? That’s me! Not.

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  16. absentmindedbrewer

    Chip, awesome episode! Definitely going to try this on my smoker. A couple questions:

    I’ve had issues in the past with cured meats that contain sodium nitrate and sodium nitrate (which, from what I understand, is in salt peter, which is crucial to the curing process) giving me migraines. However, when I’ve gotten bacon when I’ve been out at quality restaraunts, it doesn’t seem to bother me. It looks like there really isn’t much salt peter in the bacon recipes that you guys did – do you think that it’s just a matter of the cheaper super market and mass market brands just use a higher amount of it and that’s what would cause the issue? Or do think I would be better off smoking the bacon uncured with an over-night dry rub or marinade?

    Also, should I smoke bacon dry or moist? My smoker has a water pan in it meant for keeping meat moist during the smoke, and I’m leaning toward keeping it filled while making bacon, but I know for jerky you’re better off not using the water pan because you want to dry it out.

    Thanks Chip!

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    • chopandbrew

      AWESOME! What a great idea adding the hot peppers! Would love to try that goodness. I reposted your link to the Chop & Brew Facebook page. Cheers!

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