Smyes Lightly Peppered Bacon Food

SMYE'S LIGHTLY PEPPERED BACON

Steps:

• Rinse pork belly and pat dry. Mix brown sugar, salt, paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, curing salt, and cumin seeds together. Add maple syrup. Spread the cure mixture evenly over pork belly.
• Vacuum-seal the pork belly or place it into a resealable plastic bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate for 7 to 10 days.
• Remove pork belly from bag and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry and refrigerate while preheating your smoker to 220 degrees F (105 degrees C) according to manufacturers' instructions.
• Place pork belly, fat-side down, onto the wire rack. Place the rack into the smoker. Add 1 fist-sized chunk of applewood and 1 chunk of hickory wood to the smoke pan according to manufacturer's directions. Smoke for 1 1/2 hours; add 2 more chunks of applewood. Continue smoking until pork belly reaches an internal temperature of about 150 degrees F (66 degrees C), about 1 1/2 hours more.
• Remove pork belly from smoker and slice as desired. Store in the refrigerator for roughly 30 days. You can also portion out the finished bacon and freeze whatever you don't plan to consume right away, as you would any other meat product. To use, simply thaw in the refrigerator and you're good to go with little loss of texture.

MAPLE-PEPPER BACON

Steps:

• Position wire racks on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Lay 1 pound bacon in a single layer on the racks and bake 7 minutes at 375 degrees F. Brush with maple syrup and continue baking until caramelized, about 25 minutes, flipping, brushing with syrup and seasoning with pepper every 5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes on the racks.

CREAMY POTATO AND PEPPERED BACON SOUP

Steps:

• In a large stockpot, combine two large chicken thighs and 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil over high heat and turn to medium high. Let cook for about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove chicken from water and save for another recipe. Wash potatoes and cut into 1 inch chunks. Add to boiling water. Roughly chop onion and add to the pot. If you are using canned broth, simply bring to a boil and add the potatoes and onion. Add garlic powder, salt, pepper and oregano. Cook, over medium high heat, for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon over medium high heat until nicely browned. Drain on paper towels. Cut into 1/2 inch pieces and add to the pot.
• In a medium sized saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat.
• Add flour and stir.
• Slowly add milk, whisking constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Pour into soup. Cook and stir over medium high heat for an additional 10 to 12 minutes.
• Sprinkle with fresh chives and serve with a green salad and soft French bread. Serves 8 to 10.

SMYE'S LIGHTLY PEPPERED BACON

Steps:

• Rinse pork belly and pat dry. Mix brown sugar, salt, paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, curing salt, and cumin seeds together. Add maple syrup. Spread the cure mixture evenly over pork belly.
• Vacuum-seal the pork belly or place it into a resealable plastic bag, squeezing out as much air as possible. Refrigerate for 7 to 10 days.
• Remove pork belly from bag and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry and refrigerate while preheating your smoker to 220 degrees F (105 degrees C) according to manufacturers' instructions.
• Place pork belly, fat-side down, onto the wire rack. Place the rack into the smoker. Add 1 fist-sized chunk of applewood and 1 chunk of hickory wood to the smoke pan according to manufacturer's directions. Smoke for 1 1/2 hours; add 2 more chunks of applewood. Continue smoking until pork belly reaches an internal temperature of about 150 degrees F (66 degrees C), about 1 1/2 hours more.
• Remove pork belly from smoker and slice as desired. Store in the refrigerator for roughly 30 days. You can also portion out the finished bacon and freeze whatever you don't plan to consume right away, as you would any other meat product. To use, simply thaw in the refrigerator and you're good to go with little loss of texture.

PEPPERED BACON AND CHEESE SCONES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. In a large bowl, whisk the first 5 ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cheese, bacon and shallot., In a small bowl, whisk egg and buttermilk until blended; reserve 1 tablespoon mixture for brushing scones. Stir remaining mixture into crumb mixture just until moistened., Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead gently 10 times. Pat dough into an 8-in. circle. Cut into 8 wedges. Place wedges on a greased baking sheet. Brush with reserved buttermilk mixture., Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

PEPPERED BREAKFAST BACON

Steps:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Put the bacon on a rack over a roasting pan.
• Lightly sprinkle the bacon with brown sugar& the black pepper.
• Bake apprx 15 minutes or until done.
• It should be golden& crispy.
• Serve really hot.

PEPPERED-BACON TWISTS

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375ºF.
• Mix sugar and pepper in shallow dish.
• Unroll dough; separate into 12 strips. Top each strip with bacon slice. Dip in sugar mixture, turning to evenly coat both sides of each. Twist strips slightly; place on baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray.
• Bake 11 to 13 min. or until lightly browned.