Home-Cured Bacon Question

[SmoovD]

I have been curing and smoking buckboard (butt) bacon at home. If you have never done so, I would highly encourage all to try. It is a simple process that yields a delicious result. My problem stems from my recent visit to the butcher only to find the cost of Boston Butts have sky-rocketed. They were asking +$3/lb. So I wandered over to the specials and found a few sirloin roasts for less than $2/lb.

My question is this: Has anyone tried to cure and smoke sirloin roast to produce bacon? I would think that it would become more like a Canadian bacon than a buckboard bacon. Good thing that I like Canadian bacon, too.

Thanks.

 

[August West]

I love bacon.

 

[Borderdog]

If butt has gone up that much I hate to think of how much my next belly is going to cost.

 

[SmoovD]

If butt has gone up that much I hate to think of how much my next belly is going to cost.

Exactly. Same place last month butt was $1.5 and a month before that $.98. Not liking this trend at all.

My plan is to cut the roasts in half with the grain before the applying the dry cure. My concern is that sirloin roast is a lean meat that does not favor being cooked at low temps. I smoke bacon between 180 and 200 so I fear that the sirloin might dry out even shooting for an IT of 135.

 

[SmoovD]

The more I rethink this, the more I am thinking that it isn't a great idea. I may cure one of the smaller roasts just to give it a go but the rest will likely be destined for roasting or smoking.

 

[Borderdog]

I'm with you. The prices are getting outrageous. You've been doing better than we have up here. I looked at my BBQ log and the buckboard bacon I made in January was $2.50 a pound for bone-in. They didn't have any boneless at the time. I bought two bellies about the same time and they were $4.69 a pound. The wife wasn't too pleased when I told her I spent $80 on meat to experiment with.

It can't hurt to give it a shot.

 

[SmoovD]

The final decision was to prep the meat for Canadian-style bacon. Two roasts with curing salt and dark brown sugar. Two with curing salt, dark brown sugar and bourbon. After the cure is set I will add more flavor to the mix.