Bringing Home the Bacon

Here at Fernwood, aside from all the plants that are grown, we also raise pigs, chickens, and lamb for the freezer. We do all of our own butchering, brining, smoking, and sausage making. We prefer this, afterall, if we’re going to raise meat for our own consumption, we’re going to see it through from start to finish. This week we were smoking bacon. After curing the pork belly for two weeks in a brine of maple syrup, brown sugar, salt, and citric acid, it was ready to be smoked and turned into bacon. It’s a pretty simple operation.
The smoker itself is a large homemade wooden box, with a small front door and removable top. Inside is a homemade woodstove the size of a large shoe box ( maybe a little bigger). At the top of the box there are metal shelves held into position with screws and secure enough to hold the weight of the bacon slabs. The box is not airtight and this allows some air to get in and for the smoke to get out. On one side there is also a small hole to stick a thermometer into, so we can keep an eye on the temperature. We want the box to reach a temperature of about 150-155 degrees, not so hot that it cooks the bacon.
Three hours later our bacon was ready…..smoked perfectly and flavored from the apple wood. The bacon is taken out of the smoker, cooled slowly, and sliced into strips. Another years worth of bacon into the freezer! Oh the goodness…… fresh eggs, homemade sourdough toast, and apple smoked bacon. Would you like to join us for breakfast?