Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon, our new love is makin’ bacon. There is something special about making your own bacon. It’s very easy to do and better than any store-bought bacon we’ve ever had. That said there is no such thing as “Bad” bacon, just some is better than others.

We ordered some Awesome pork loins from Texas Steak Warehouse, tender and juicy. Love making bacon with them. We are doing a few loin roasts and boneless loin chops next…

It’s Bacon Candy…

We cured it for 15 days, and then we did 2 hours in the smoke with GMG’s Fruitwood Pellets. We’ve made the best BLT’s ever! Not to say anything about a double bacon cheeseburger…

Patti and I have set one night a week just for us. It’s our date night. We usually put something special on our Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill/Smoker but sometimes we cook inside. We always eat outside on our patio where it is very comfortable with a rainforest theme.  Wood Pellet Patio Heater, little lights, candles, lanterns and surround sound. We enjoy a little wine, or strawberry margaritas using frozen strawberries for ice, good food, music and sometimes a dance or two…

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Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe

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Prep Time: 17 days
Cook Time: 2 hours at 250* (121c)
Grill: Green Mountain Wood Pellet Grill
Pellets: Green Mountain Grill’s Fruitwood Pellet Blend

Ingredients: Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon

• Large pork loin
• Honey
• Corse ground black pepper

Ingredients: Peppered Bacon Cure (15 pounds of pork)

• ½ cup Morton’s Tender Quick
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup cracked black pepper
• ½ cup crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. hickory seasoning (optional)

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe

Cooking Directions: Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon

I made my bacon cure with Morton Tenderquick, and couldn’t find it in any stores around here so I ordered it at Amazon. I also ordered the “Hickory Seasoning”. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

I cut my pork loin into 3 pieces so I can fit them into my curing bags.

Do a nice heavy coating on all sides of your pork. I have used zip lock bags in the past and they always leak so put something under them. Leave some air in the bags so you can mix the pork around when I roll the bags over. There are covered plastic trays that work great for curing, but I don’t have one.

After you bag your pork it needs to cure about at least 7 to 10 days (longer would be better), I did a 15-day cure because these were so thick and wanted the cure through all the meat. Place your soon to be bacon into the refrigerator and roll them over everyday until the curing process is complete.

If you want you can check the cure after 8 or 10 days you can test the cure by cutting a slice off, the pork butt should be pink all the way through. If it’s not put it back to cure a day or so longer or until it’s pink. I don’t bother with this as I am not in a hurry and just do the standard time for the cure.

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe

On the 15^th day I rinsed my bacon cure off in cold water to cut some of the salt and pat it dry, placing them into the fridge to develop a sticky skin called a pellicle. I placed them on our Bull Racks System so the cold air can get to it for 12-24 hours. This will help the smoke really penetrate the meat because of the tacky exterior. After the “Air Cure” you are ready for that “Kiss of Smoke”. Coat your bacon with honey and a heavy layer on the course black pepper.

Light your Wedgie and you’re ready to smoke your bacon!

I loaded them up on my “Bull Racks” and smoked it for 2 hours at 250* (121c) until I reached an internal temperature of 145* (63c).

Let it cool before slicing. (I put it back in the fridge overnight). Meat slicers are expensive; I wanted to show you one I found “New in the Box” $10. We ran it through the slicer, doing both thin and thick sliced bacon. We vacuumed sealed most of it and put it in the freezer.

I use a Maverick ProTemp Instant Read Thermometer (Our Store) for checking meat temps.

Note: I get a lot of questions about the kind of pellets you can use with a recipe. Keep in mind that a recipe is just an outline. Some you need to follow closely like when you are making bread, but most you can do anything you can dream, our favorite way to cook. Feel free to mix and match the pellets until you find a combination you really like. Also, you are only smoking at temps less than 250 degrees (122c), anything higher is cooking and there will not be much if any smoke, so it does not matter what kind of pellet you are using.

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe

 

 

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe 

 

 

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe 

 

 

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe 

 

 

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe

 

 

Honey Pepper Back Strap Bacon
A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe

About our Recipes

We do our recipes on our patio where we have a lineup of grills, including Green Mountain, Uuni Wood Fired Pizza Oven, Sawtooth, Louisiana, Royall, Memphis, Traeger pellet grills, Char Griller side box smoker, Saber, Charmglow, Char-Broil, The Big Easy, Lodge Sportsman’s, Brinkman and Weber. I call it our “Wall of Grill”. Our grilling styles are healthy and low fat and will fit pelletheads, gas, natural wood and even charcoal purists. Almost any of our recipes can be done on any kind of good BBQ.

The important thing to keep in mind is TIME & TEMPERATURE. You can do our recipes on any grill, even some of them in the oven or crock pot, but, then you lose all the flavors you get from cooking outdoors. But sometimes it does rain.

Remember that a recipe is simply an outline; it is not written in stone. Don’t be afraid to make changes to suit your taste. Take it and run with it….

Live your Passion and Do What You Love,
Ken & Patti

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They are “How To BBQ Picture Books

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