Jalapeno Coffee Bacon

Just another crazy and unconventional Bacon recipe from yours truly. At the time of this writing the bacon is in the process of being cured. The bacon is in it's first few days of a 21 day cure. It's noteworthy to point out that I write these posts before the actual product is complete. I think it's plausible for me to be somewhat unbiased at least initially while I record what I do/did to actually create a new recipe. For all I know this new Bacon could end up tasting like crap. That's what so fun about writing these posts because I get to write about something that I have yet to taste. Good or bad I will post this recipe and give a honest review down below. So I was thinking since I love all the ingredients separately why not combine them all and see what happens. Lets be honest here a Jalapeno Coffee Bacon does not sound all that appealing. If it's a bust than it's a bust but if it tastes good........

Anyhow this is my standard Bacon recipe. My notes on curing and how to do the math calculations can be found HERE.  This is an optional ingredient called Bacon Taste Booster which increases the Bacon Flavor. Just add .38% to the Salt and Cure #1 and rub into your Belly. I now use this Bacon Booster all the time. For this new recipe which includes which includes Jalapeno and Coffee add the following. 1.5% of coarse coffee based on the weight of the Navel I.E if Navel weights 5000 grams add 75 grams. 5000 grams X 1.5% = 75 grams. Add one Jalapeno for every 2 lbs of Bacon. Add more or less it's up to you. 

Picture to the left shows Salt, Cure #1 and Bacon Booster. The other picture shows Brown Sugar, Maple Sugar, Dextrose and Coffee.

Take stems off Jalapeno and puree in food processor. 

Toss in the now processed Jalapeno in Maple Syrup.

Start out with Beef Navel one of my favorite cuts for Bacon. 

This is my baby all wrapped up in its plastic home.

Place Navel in large container. Combine Salt, Cure #1 and Bacon Booster and rub into meat. Get the cure into every nook and cranny.

Now take the other bowl that contains the Brown Sugar, Maple Sugar, Dextrose and Coffee and rub into every nook and cranny of the Navel. 

Place Navel inside a very large vacuum bag or what ever you have and toss in the Jalapeno Maple sauce. Make sure to distribute it all around the Navel. Vacuum seal and place in refrigerator. It will cure for a total of 21 days. Over the course of the 21 day cure you will turn bag over everyday. I sometimes do it every 12 hours making sure I massage the meat too. 

Well it's been 21 days exactly and the bacon is ready for the next step. Bacon removed from Vac Seal home and rinsed thoroughly under cold water and paper toweled dried.
"Before cured foods are smoked, they should be allowed to air-dry long enough to form a tacky skin, known as a pellicle. The pellicle plays a key role in producing excellent smoked items. It acts as a kind of protective barrier for the food, and also plays an important role in capturing the smoke’s flavor and color."

  

Bacon covered in Coarse Ground Coffee, Jalapeno Powder, Smoked Black Pepper, and Maple Sugar. I used smoked black pepper because I had it on hand. How much is up to you. I wanted to create a drier skin/pellicle before the smoke so I place a little fan off to the side for 90 minutes. 

Cold smoked for 9 hours exactly. I like to cold smoke anywhere from 9-12 hours. Since I used Smoked black pepper I went with only 9 hours.

Gratuitous Pictures and review at bottom.  

Review- It tasted yummy. Overall delicious!! Very very mild coffee and jalapeno taste. Only slight undertones of jalapeno. A little heat in the beginning and at the end. In a nutshell I got to third base but it was a far cry from a grand slam. 

Next time- I am going to inject the bacon with a a coffee and jalapeno mixture. The coffee will be brewed normally and I will puree jalapeno and simmer both for a while. I will than strain through cheese cloth and inject mixture into Navel. 

Revised version HERE

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