[Mel]

Hi all,  yet another question,sorry about this! 

in Dan's basics about curing it says "After rinsing, the bacon needs to be dried to allow a Pellicle to form on the surface"

My back bacon has been hanging 3 days and still no Pellicle,however,will this form if there is no skin?

The butcher cut off all of the skin due to being very fat,on all of my hams and such,it has been left with a small layer of fat,pictures below.

I have hung out the Hams to dry last night.Please can you Professionals tell me if 1.it looks ok? 2.confirm regards the Pellicle and when would be best to smoke any of this?

Thank you all for bearing with me through this,I really am trying to get it right!

Mel x

[Mel]

Whilst I am at it,I though I would show you the smoker I have conjured up!

1.Take an old larder fridge!
2.take all the workings out~ fortunately for me,this was already without a motor etc.
3.cut a hole in the rear and one in the drip tray for the smoke to rise through.
4.place into position and your chimney-or this one,is made from mini guttering 

Your smoker is ready to use.I also have a butterfly vent to fit inside over the hole to adjust the airflow.

Please,your comments good or bad 

Oh,there are two more pictures of hams here as well!

[robert waddell]

all your dods of meat will need to be cut down to at least 4 bits before smoking  once dry they can get smoked
by the flue it will need to be cold smoked  what are you using to make smoke

[Mel]

all your dods of meat will need to be cut down to at least 4 bits before smoking  once dry they can get smoked
by the flue it will need to be cold smoked  what are you using to make smoke

Hi Robert,
I bought one of those ProQ things from Macs BBQ Ltd.I smoked the some streaky and it came out really wonderful,perhaps a little strong but very nice-you can certainly taste it!!

Re cutting down,does that include the back bacon,they are about 12 inches wide.
Mel

[robert waddell]

yes cut it down as well having just goggled pellicle that is maybe what Lillian is doing wrong it needs pellicle for the smoke to adhear to without drying it out

[Eve]

Our bellies for bacon don't seem to go tacky (the pellicule feel) either after drying, we just leave them uncovered for a day or so in the fridge and then smoke them. The bellies are never dry, but we once tried back bacon which was drier than the belly, don't know if that's because of the lack of fat or just something else, only did back bacon once (currently curing a loin for Lonzino )
Mel, if you'll be using a professional meat slicer, don't have your bellies any smaller than one quarter (so a half belly cut in half again), otherwise it won't work well, slicers do better with larger pieces (the small or irregular shaped bits once we use for lardons,  )

Ask away, it's fun to cure your own!

[Mel]

Our bellies for bacon don't seem to go tacky (the pellicule feel) either after drying, we just leave them uncovered for a day or so in the fridge and then smoke them. The bellies are never dry, but we once tried back bacon which was drier than the belly, don't know if that's because of the lack of fat or just something else, only did back bacon once (currently curing a loin for Lonzino )
Mel, if you'll be using a professional meat slicer, don't have your bellies any smaller than one quarter (so a half belly cut in half again), otherwise it won't work well, slicers do better with larger pieces (the small or irregular shaped bits once we use for lardons,  )

Ask away, it's fun to cure your own!

Hi Eve,
My bellies did not go sticky either,they were certainly dry and smoked very well,I have smoked some yesterday with Apple dust,can't wait to try it! Regards slicing.my buffalo only cuts down so far,there is always a two inch strip left over-I have been cutting them up for the same.

[lill]

Hi Leghorn,
I have a thicker bit left at the end too, I just have that as chops. If you try to cut it too near the end you would end up with wee bits of bacon that you can't do much with, so having chops from the off cuts is ideal

[Eve]

Fry those wee bits of bacon and mix them into mashed potato