Chipotle Bacon

This is the first year that I’ve been experimenting with curing my own meats to make bacon and jerky. I’ve found the processes to be much easier than I had expected, and the end results to be far, far better than I could’ve ever dreamed. It all started when I bought a small pork belly and made homemade applewood-smoked maple bacon. After that success, I contacted my local butcher at Moody’s Butcher Shop and ordered two pork sides. As I soon found out, a pork side (seen below) is like a pork belly but oh so much bigger and thicker and perfect. It screams bacon. It screams chipotle bacon.

Subtle, But Fantastic

This chipotle bacon had a mild chipotle flavor. The first time I made it I was way too shy with the chipotle, and although it was fantastic, it didn’t have much of that great smoky chipotle flavor. I recommend you be quite liberal with the chipotle peppers. We aren’t making cheesecake here. Use a lot of chipotle.

Blows Store-Bought Bacon Away

I am so hooked on homemade bacon I know I’ll never go back to store-bought. Not only is homemade tastier, I can make whatever flavor combination I want. I usually do a few big batches all at once, freezing any leftovers for later use.

Weber Pecan Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Apple Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Cherry Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Also try my Sriracha bacon and my black pepper bacon.

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5 from 1 vote

Chipotle Bacon

This chipotle bacon had a mild chipotle flavor. The first time I made it I was way too shy with the chipotle, and although it was fantastic, it didn’t have much of that great smoky chipotle flavor.

Course Side

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, homemade, spicy

Prep Time 7

Cook Time 2

Total Time 7 2

Servings pound

Calories 4780kcal

Author Based on a recipe from Amazing Ribs

Ingredients

2 pounds pork belly skin removed
3 teaspoons Kosher salt
½ teaspoon Pink Curing Salt
3 teaspoons ground black pepper
½ can chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce chopped (For a spicier bacon, add the entire can)
½ cup cold water

Instructions

Put the belly into a large resealable bag.
Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Add to the baggie.
Seal the bag, trying to remove as much air as possible. Place in to a deep flat pan (in case the bag leaks) in the fridge for 7 days, flipping over twice a day.
The day you are ready to smoke, fire up your smoker for 225 F cooking over a light wood such as apple.
Remove belly from the bag and rinse well with cold water.
Place belly onto smoker and smoke for 1 1/2-2 hours or until the meat reaches 150 F.
Remove belly from smoker and let cool slightly before placing in the fridge for an hour.
Slice bacon as desired. Bake, pan fry, or use however you wish!
Store smoked bacon in a plastic bag or container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Notes

Scale the recipe for your pork belly. The recipe below is for a 2 pound belly.

Nutrition

Nutritional values are approximate.

D.Q. Curing Salts – Pink Salt – 1 bag, 1 lb

Chef’sChoice 1520 Professional Electric Knife Sharpener for 20- and 15-Degree Straight-Edge and Serrated Knives, 3 Stage, White

Jolly Green Products Ekogrips Premium Heat-Resistant BBQ Gloves for Cooking and Meat Handling, Kitchen Oven Gloves, Fireplace Accessory, Campfire Gloves, BBQ Mitt, Dishwashing Gloves (Orange, L/XL)

Homemade Tasso Ham

I love all foods Creole and Cajun. I love making jambalaya, étouffée, gumbo, and dirty rice. To really make authentic, unbelievably tasty dishes I like to add homemade tasso ham. Sometimes it’s hard to find tasso ham here in Indianapolis, so I set out to make my own and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

A Huge Success

Not only tender, spicy and tasty, but incredibly easy to make too, the homemade tasso ham was a success. All you need is a pork butt or shoulder, a few spices, and a smoker.

The process…

Homemade tasso ham takes 3-4 days to age before smoking. I started out with an 8 pound bone-in pork shoulder. Ideally you’ll want a smaller, boneless pork butt, but that day in the market a shoulder was all I could find. Cutting the shoulder into “steaks”, each about 1″ thick, I kept the bone section and smoked it at the same time I smoked the homemade tasso ham. The bone-in section will be great in a pot of beans at a later time.

The meat is generously covered in a cure and placed on a rack in the fridge for 3 hours. It lost a LOT of moisture during this process.

Curing…

Next, I rinsed off the cure and patted the meat dry. Onto a rack and back into the fridge for 3-4 days. The meat will firm up during this time.

Onto the smoker…

The last day, I sprinkled the meat with rub and put it onto a 250 F smoker over hickory for about 3 hours until the internal temperature reached 170 F. I removed it, rested it, and then sliced it thick for later use in jambalaya, beans, etc.

Yummy results

The end result is a spicy, almost-hammy meat that is absolutely fantastic. Although you could eat it by itself, homemade tasso ham is primarily used for flavoring dishes.

Weber Pecan Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Apple Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

Weber Cherry Wood Chunks, for Grilling and Smoking, 4 lb.

This homemade tasso ham is fantastic in my crispy shrimp in tasso sauce and spicy corn and tasso casserole.

Also try my smoked shanks and homemade Canadian bacon.

Print Pin

5 from 1 vote

Homemade Tasso

Not only tender, spicy and tasty, but incredibly easy to make too, the homemade tasso ham was a success. All you need is a pork butt or shoulder, a few spices, and a smoker.

Course Main

Cuisine Creole

Keyword homemade, tasso

Prep Time 3 3

Cook Time 2 30

Total Time 3 5 30

Servings pounds

Calories 1617kcal

Author Mike