Learning how to make Beef Bacon Strips promises countless delights: crumbled into salads or on top of donuts, served in long strips alongside eggs, wrapped around a turkey breast, chicken or meatloaf. Because it’s slightly sweet and very wealthy, the key is to cook it over low heat initially to promote the fat to render out without burning the delicious pieces of meat.
Beef bacon is popularly appreciated in most parts of the world today since it’s an excellent substitute for pork bacon.
Beef Bacon Strips
While many people don’t enjoy the traditional taste of bacon, Others have cultural or societal impediments to cooking pork bacon. All such individuals readily seek beef bacon. Well-cooked beef bacon tastes far more delicious and turns out crispier than its pork counterpart. But the problem is beef bacon isn’t as readily available in the shops.
It is not mass-produced like ordinary bacon, So you are on your own if you wish to enjoy some beefy treaty. Not entirely! As I am here to be certain that all my readers would have to explore its fine taste and texture of it. What I usually do, is that I maintain both the beef and pork bacon prepared at home and just alternately use them for breakfast or lunches or other meals.
Moreover, there are several incredible recipes which you can make using beef bacon, and I going to share them all in only a while!
Why is bacon so different from other meat forms?
That is most likely because those thinly pieces are sliced off from a pork belly. In Canada and Australia sometimes, the pork loin is also used to cut off bacon. This belly meat comprises a reasonable quantity of fat.
That is why every time you sear bacon, it gives off bacon fat. There’s enough fat to cook beef bacon without adding any cooking oil. For beef bacon, the belly Is used to slice off the pieces. And when the bacon is cooked, these fats provide a nice golden stripe from the bacon slice.
Beef brisket bacon is also a thing these days. Not always do you need to use the belly meat to slice off the bacon; beef brisket may also serve the purpose. In actuality, it gives nice fatty meat, well suited to bacon.
Removing the bacon slice from the brisket can be a bit tricky. So, I always advise you not to be venturous and leave this taste in the hands of professionals. You can later trim off the fats or the meat as you desire right before curing the meat. Keep it wrapped in a plastic sheet till you’re ready to cure it.
Beef belly bacon became a popular choice in bacon not only due to its taste but it also gives a rest from that same old pork bacon. With beef, it is possible to create so many unique varieties of traditional recipes. Like add them scramble, mix in quiche or drizzle over lasagna, use them in the bacon cups or muffins, etc…
How to Make Beef Bacon Strips?
Let us prepare some beef bacon before your next meal. Surprise your folks with a beef delight. It takes four steps to eventually reach to delicious bacon. From raw meat to cured, smoked, and the cooked one, we’ll follow how each step is essential for the transformation of the beef.
Like I’ve said, belly or navel beef Is most suitable for this job, but you’re free to choose brisket if you can handle a little variety. Note down the time of each step very carefully as it can mess up with the entire recipe, talking from my personal experience here.
Reduce the amount of sugar if you follow a health-oriented diet or use some alternative instead, such as low carb sweeteners, etc.. Brown sugar can also be used rather than white sugar. If you are not a spice fan then don’t use paprika and use black pepper floor to season the bacon.
Dry spice rub makes the healing And drying of the beef easier, so avoid using ingredients like lemon juices, etc. .. It is bacon, not grilled beef! The four steps of bacon making involve the healing of the meat, then it is drying, later you smoke it, and in the end, the bacon is cooked. Let’s jump into further details of these measures.
Curing Beef Bacon
Curing is much like Marination in which you infuse some tastes into the meat while tenderizing it. Pick the portion of the meat gut you would like to use for your bacon. You need to slice off the belly in such a way that the fat could be seen extending longitudinally in the rectangular beef chunk.
After slicing the beef, gently rub it with all The dry spices and sugar. For an even flavor, I mix the spices together along with sugar and salt; and then rub the mixture on both sides of the bacon. Now put the belly in a Ziplock bag and zip it! Maintain this bag in your refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
The Meat will release its liquid to the bag due to salt and sugar content. Once a day, shake the bag nicely and flip it over. The more the curing period, the greater the results will be. Five times at most are sufficient to cure the meat completely. Remove the bag from the refrigerator afterward and move the meat inside to a colander.
Drying Beef Bacon
Before you begin drying it up, rinse the meat thoroughly under cold tap water. Make certain each component of the beef is totally washed and rinsed. After draining out all the water, put the meat on layers of paper towel to absorb excess water. Pat, it dries out of the top using a paper towel.
Ideally, it is suggested to refrigerate the meat overnight for better drying. But it is not completely necessary; you can skip this step if you are out of time or in a hurry. Or you can keep it for a couple of hours in the refrigerator until you are ready for the next step. That is what I do when I’m short of time. Do not cover the beef at this stage; else, it won’t dry up as desirable.
Smoked Beef Bacon
Once You’re finished with the drying part, the next major step is to prepare the smoker. Use any smoker available, gas or electric, etc., as long as the required temperature is maintained; there’s a problem in using any variety of smokers. Turn on the smoker first and adjust its temperature to 200 to 215 Fahrenheit.
Prepare the smoker grill or a baking sheet to smoke the dried-up beef. Remove the smoker lid, place the beef inside, then cover the lid. That can be checked using a kitchen thermometer.
How to Cook Beef Bacon Strips
Like normal pork bacon, this beef bacon can be cooked in so many ways; searing can be the smartest choice. But before you do that, slice the smoked beef bacon into nice and thin slices. The thickness may be 1/4th to 1/2 inch, depending on how you like it. But it is best to keep the beef slices thin, unlike pork bacon, that’s more liked in thick pieces.
Golden fat ribbons are what you need to follow, extending through the meat to slice off the bacon strips. Sear these pieces in a skillet over medium to low heat until crispy. This bacon can be preserved in the fridge for as many as 14 days, which means nearly half a month.
What is a Kosher Beef Bacon?
While I was learning more about beef bacon and its own making, I came across with the term’ Kosher Beef bacon,’ and I always thought it is store packed number of beef bacon that we could not make at home, but that was far from the truth. Kosher beef bacon differs from other beef bacon in just the use of spices when curing.
It doesn’t ask for kosher salt, or cherry powder, or celery powder, but the kosher beef bacon is cured with such spices.
