Cuts to Use for Beef Bacon
You desire a beef cut that has both intramuscular and intermuscular fat. Shortrib, brisket, or beef belly (navel) are cow cuts that can be used. However, grass-fed beef can be low in fat. Wagyu is prohibitively expensive and best eaten uncured.
Brisket or breast will work, but because the intramuscular fat is distributed unevenly, you will have bacon that is both very lean and very fatty. Short ribs are pricey, insufficient in size, and are best braised.
What is Beef Navel?
The same part of the pig from which traditional pork bacon is made is the beef belly, which is also known as navel brisket and beef plate. It can be used as a substitute for brisket to make beef navel pastrami and other salumi because they have a similar fat composition. If you enjoy things like that, you’ll enjoy the teres major steak as well because it’s an alternative cut.
The best cut of beef for making homemade beef bacon is the belly, which has a delicious ribbon of fat running through it. To special order one, I called my butcher, who charged me $40 for 5 pounds.
The procedure is the same whether I’m making lamb, goat, beef, or venison bacon. First I mix my secret spice blend, brown sugar, kosher salt, and pink curing salt no#1.
The volume of salts alone can vary significantly (up to 3 grams for table salt vs. kosher salt in a tablespoon), so it’s crucial to measure the curing salt using a gram scale. That said, I use volume measurements for seasoning with the cure instead of using a % of the weight of the meat
For the sweetener, I prefer brown sugar. I’ll use either light or dark brown sugar, but not white because it’s too dry. Brown sugar’s molasses flavor goes well with smoked meat, and the additional moisture it contains contributes to the creation of a brine in the vacuum bag. Maple syrup or molasses work great too.
For the smoking process, just grab your favorite wood. I like the mild taste of shagbark hickory bark. Smoking with fruit woods is always good too. After a storm, I occasionally gather thick chokecherry and wild plum branches. Dried grape vines also make excellent smoke for cooking if you can find any.
Do You Have to Use Curing Salt in Bacon?
My opinion is yes. Uncured bacon or “nitrate-free bacon” is promoted as a healthier alternative to regular bacon. However, if you read the label of nitrate-free bacon, it’s likely that celery powder or celery juice will appear on the list of ingredients. These foods contain naturally occurring versions of the compound found in pink salt (sodium nitrite/NaNO2), which is used to cure meat. Here are nine items from my neighborhood coop, including turkey bacon.
Cure-cured meats contain sodium nitrite to keep the meat pink and help prevent botulism. Pink salt is standardized through an industrial process, and the salt is (typically) dyed pink for safety, whereas additives derived from plants can have a variable amount of sodium nitrite. You should use whichever is consistent with your personal ethics because I’ve used both and had success with them.
How to Make Beef Bacon
The meat is first covered in the cure, which amounts to about a half cup or 100 grams per pound, before being vacuum sealed and chilled for 10 days for 5 lbs. Although thinner cuts like short rib can cure more quickly, there is some work involved, so I think it would be silly to produce less than 5 pounds.
Take the meat out of the refrigerator and give it a light massage a few times throughout the curing process, or whenever you remember. The meat will release water and create a natural brine after a few days. This is important for even curing. When you remove the meat from the oven, leaving it on the counter for 20 minutes will warm things up and speed up the process.
The meats were rubbed and soaked in warm water after 10 days to remove salt that might have made the outer edges too salty. The meat is then patted dry and allowed to chill overnight to dry. This aids in the formation of a pellicle to which the smoke clings and is the key to a delicious, smoky brown crust.
How to Cook Beef Bacon
The cooking process is the same for pork bacon. The meat is smoked at 200-225 F (107 C) for 3 hours for 5 lb, or until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 150 F (65 C). It doesn’t have to be perfect, but if you overcook it or slice it too thin, it may fall apart. However, if you take my advice and cut the bacon into lardons rather than slices, you won’t need to be concerned about that.
The beef belly is chilled to firm up the texture after being smoked. You can now choose how to cut and store it. Bacon can be frozen after cooking because it is cured, which is typically what I do. The bacon should be divided into serving-sized pieces that resemble bacon steaks, vacuum sealed, and frozen. To avoid sticking, you can layer several slices between sheets of parchment paper.
How’s Beef Bacon Taste?
Beef bacon has a flavor that is somewhat reminiscent of smoked beef brisket combined with bacon and a hint of seasoning. You’ll enjoy it if you enjoy smoked brisket, ribs, and all the good things in life.
To personalize the spice blend, you can change the seasonings and add background flavors using various smoking woods. This time, I simply used a Traeger to smoke my bacon, but any smoker or grill using wood chips soaked in water will work as well.
How to Use Beef Bacon
Of course, you can substitute beef bacon for pork bacon in almost any recipe. The most flexibility comes from how the bacon is cut. Diced, thinly sliced, thickly sliced, or lardons are four excellent options. Additionally, it can be consumed raw, like ham on sandwiches or with a salad that has been julienned.
I dont recommend thinly slicing beef bacon as you would pork bacon, even though thats how its sold in online butcher shops. Dont get me wrong-its ok like that. But, its nearly impossible to get thin slices without an electric slicer, and if it isnt thin, it wont get crisp.
When cut into lardons, or thick, French-style batons, the bacon truly shines. Simple dishes like a bowl of greens, when topped with a few lardons, become meals. Just so I would have some on hand for cooking with fresh spring greens like sochan was one of the reasons I made this. Id also suggest:
- Using beef belly burnt ends in chili
- BLTs
- Bacon steaks
I demonstrate three different, straightforward dishes in the video that you can make with lardons. If you’re making a batch, I suggest starting with the spaghetti Amatriciana and finishing with a straightforward potato hash.
Bacon Potato Hash
Render 4 ounces of beef bacon in a pan to serve four people, then remove and fry 8 ounces of par-cooked, peeled potatoes until golden. Add 2 ounces of thinly sliced scallions and 8 ounces of additional par-cooked vegetables or mushrooms before serving.
Spaghetti all Amatriciana
A classic from Amatrice. Render 4 ounces of fatty diced lardons for two servings in a pan with a crushed clove of garlic. Garlic is discarded after the fat has rendered and crisped, and 8 ounces of tomato sauce, a little milk, and a lot of crushed red pepper are added. Stir in 10 ounces of cooked spaghetti, cook for one minute, then stir in the pecorino before serving.
Nettle Gnocchi with Mushrooms, Bacon and Tomato
Cook 6 ounces of cooked gnocchi along with 2 ounces of mushrooms and 3 ounces of beef bacon to make two servings. Serve on a bed of tomato sauce (4oz). See the recipe for nettle gnocchi.
Bacon Steaks
From my first restaurant. On medium heat, cook a slice of bacon that is 12 inch thick, making sure to gradually render the fat side. It makes for a very fatty meal when served with coleslaw and braised greens.
- 1 latex gloves
- 1 Large food safe container
- 1 Vacuum sealer
- 5 lbs beef belly or brisket
- 16 oz dark brown sugar *see note
- 8 ounces kosher salt or fine salt
- 6 grams pink curing salt (~1 teaspoon) also known as instacure no#1.
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
- ¼ teaspoon allspice
- ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 2 teaspoons fresh ground black pepper
- Spices should be lightly toasted for a minute or two on medium heat to release their aroma. Mix the cure’s components together thoroughly while taking a moment to savor the aroma of the spices.
- Put the beef belly or brisket into a large container. Put on gloves and massage the meat for 5 minutes, getting the cure into every crevice. This may appear to be a lot of treatment, but it is washed off before smoking.
- Place the beef and the remaining cure in a big vacuum bag, and then vacuum seal it. Shaking the meat in the bag to help create a thick brine slurry while chilling for 10 days
Soak and Dry the Beef
- Take the meat out of the bag and soak it in lukewarm water for five minutes. Use your hands to rub off any salt or sugar on the meat’s surface.
- Pat the meat dry, then refrigerate overnight.
- The beef bacon should be smoked for three hours at 225°F (107°C), or until a thermometer registers 150°F (65°C). Take the food out of the smoker, let it cool, and then chill it completely before slicing.
- To store, slice beef bacon into thick, 12 inch slices, place them on parchment paper, vacuum seal them, and then freeze.
This depends on when and how the animal was harvested. Yes, if the meat was cured by you or someone else after being slaughtered in accordance with kosher or halal standards.
You can buy pink curing salt no#1 online from Amazon or ask your butcher. I purchase mine for $1 from a neighborhood Asian grocery store. 99 for a four-ounce bag. In Asian markets, look for curing salt in the salt aisle. However, it’s crucial to be aware that the salt may not be dyed pink and may instead be sold in its original yellowish hue. Because it should never be confused with table salt, keep in a container with a clear label.
Also known as pink salts. While both are salts for curing meat (1 teaspoon per 5 lbs), instacure # 1 is only for short-cures like ham and bacon that will be cooked after curing. The salt used to cure long-aged charcuterie and salami is called Instacure 2. The two are not interchangeable for curing purposes.
You can omit the curing salt in bacon recipes, but it wont stay pink, will have a weak flavor, and wont last as long. Celery powder and juice used in “uncured” meat products contain the same compound (NaNO2) as curing salt. Using 0.2% – 0.4% of the weight of meat in celery juice powder is a common ratio.
How to Make Beef Bacon | The Bearded Butchers
FAQ
What animal does beef bacon come from?
What Is Beef Bacon, Exactly? Beef bacon is bacon that is made from beef rather than pork. Pork bacon is simply cured, smoked, and sliced pork belly. In a similar manner, beef belly is thinly sliced, dried, smoked, and then produced into beef bacon.
Where did beef bacon originate?
Bacon’s history dates back thousands of years to 1500 B. C. despite the fact that pigs were domesticated in China in 4900 B.C., where the Chinese were using salt to cure pork bellies to make an early version of bacon. C. and were also being raised in Europe by 1500 B. C. Speculation exists that the Romans and Greeks learned bacon .
What is bacon made from beef called?
Schmacon is a beef product made from the entire muscle, just like pork bacon, she explains. Schmacon is typically leaner than pork bacon with fewer calories and less sodium because it has more protein and less fat.
Why do they not make bacon out of beef?
Beef fat can be chewy and won’t crisp up as well because it has a higher melting point than pork fat.