What's on the Grill #231: Bacon & Beer!
Last Sunday, I spent some quality time with two good friends of mine: bacon and beer. Part of my love for brewing comes from my desire to better understand beer. Part of my love for bacon comes from my desire to eat an endless supply of bacon.
About a week prior, I turned to my well worn copy of Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie and 12 pounds of pork belly I picked up at the local butcher.
I keep meaning to do other things with the belly besides bacon, but I get too blindsided and excited about the process to deviate. Using my salt cure I've had sitting around in the pantry, I cut the pork belly in half and rubbed one half in a sweet cure with ample amounts of brown sugar and a savory cure with garlic, crushed black pepper and bay leaves.
From there, I bagged the bellies and stuck them in the fridge for a week to cure.
The process is that easy. Everyone should make bacon. Everyone.
On the beer front, I was in racking mode. I brewed this porter last month. Now, on its way to oaked bourbon status, I moved the beer from the primary fermentor to the secondary fermenter and added in 2 cups of bourbon and 2 ounces of oak chips.
I was only planning on fermenting for two weeks in the secondary, but the chips suggested I needed eight weeks. Not being one to turn down professional advice, i will try and push it out as long as possible.
Logically, it does make sense for the chips to have extended contact with the beer, as they are simply a substitue for making an "oaked" beer in plastic and glass fermenters. Now if I only had an oak cask...
Anyway, I'm excited about this batch. Warm and non-carbonated, it tasted spot on, but, as always, only time will tell. I've failed miserably before!
Back on the bacon front, my week of curing was over and the only thing was left was the hot smoke.
After removing the bacon from it's temporary plastic holding chambers (read: bags), it was rinsed off and dried. I prepped the grill for low and slow at about 225 F. Using my elevated grill grate, I placed both pieces on the Saffire and smoked them for about an hour, until they reached an internal temperature of 150 F.
True to form, I sliced off a little of both to enjoy right away. Wow...heaven, or at least my bacon-y version. The rest was sliced and stored. Breakfast just got better and in about 8 weeks when the beer is done, I bet dinner will be too!