Thought I was all ready to go to make some bellies into bacon only to find I’ve only got 3 oz. of Bacon Taste Booster. I’m doing 30 lbs of bellies and have enough Maple Bacon Cure–estimating I’ll need 3 lbs (1 1/2 gallons) to make enough pump and dilute enough to cover in lug I’ve got. I’d normally use about 9 oz. of Bacon Taste booster. I really like using the taste booster per recipe. What is going to happen with only 3 oz.? Is there any other seasoning I could add to ‘supplement’ or should I just go with it? Assuming there is no requirement for any taste booster to get full cure.

Gary Papermaster – I’m not in the market for a new slicer but I have the same problems as you. I’d like to have my slices be longer, preferably the length the belly is wide so I can just throw it up there and slice it. My question how are guys getting 10-12" long slices of bacon? Hand slicing? I’m thinking about trying to make a replacement bed on my slicer that accommodates the wider belly–it would have to be attached and have a different slide but it would be a nice mod. In reality this is really a stupid effort on my part, and just for presentation, because we always cut the long ones in half before throwing in the skillet-- not the only impractical thing I do.

This question is relative to imitation bacon but could apply to anything that is cured. I’ve read about the dreaded DANGER ZONE of 40-140, and an associated 4 hour rule. When making imitation bacon where the recommended smoker temp is 170 after two one-hour periods of even lower temps, it would seem that there is little doubt that ground meat is going to spend more time in the danger zone than 4 hours to reach 140. Now, it finishes off at 160 at some point, so despite it being in the danger zone for quite awhile, does the 160 finish temp make it safe again? My imitation bacon contains pork and venison, no poultry. Does the curing process negate the risks of the danger zone timeframe? I’d like to know more. I’m not too concerned because we will fully cook the venison bacon again, well above 160, but would like to increase my knowledge. Thanks!