Misfitmorgan's Journal - That Summer Dust

[misfitmorgan]

Yes Jowl bacon is delicious!!

When i was little we didnt have much at all either @CntryBoy777 often times we ate crackers with jelly,jam, or ketchup and had nothing else for dinner. My poor mom had the worst of it because we got to go to school and eat a good lunch. That was before mom met and married my step-dad, when we got older things got better and we got snacks but with 4 kids and their friends in one house snacks were often things like apples, pears or popcorn because we got the fruit for free and popcorn kernels were cheap. Luckily as a kid we never ate the same thing for longer periods of time and we liked crackers a lot.

So I did some Googling on "smoking bacon" and found that to be a "last and not required" step. I'm so ignorant! I figured it was smoked instead of being "cured", either/or. Seems one needs to plan ahead when they want bacon, has to sit in the curing "stuff" (maple syrup, the REAL stuff, brown sugar and non iodized salt) in the refrigerator for a week, turned daily or every other day. Then you have another day to smoke and then leave it in the refrigerator 1 more day. I gotta say the people in the videos I watched had some super good pork belly, much more lean than fat, unlike commercial bacon.

That's why i was like merm...i think he has something confused or misunderstood here It's ok if we all knew everything we would be bored out of our minds. You can only smoke or only cure pork belly or eat it as just meat as OFA showed(grandma used to make "raw" bacon but she coated it in maple syrup and put it under the broiler...it was good stuff) those things just are not bacon. They can still be mighty tasty but not bacon.

I agree with @Baymule and @babsbag pigs depending on breed and feed can take 6months to 18 months to grow to the size wanted....if they are general meat pigs or a meat pig cross your probably looking at 6 months to butcher.

The pork belly does not need to be fresh, it can be frozen and then thawed and made into bacon just fine. The fat/meat ratio can be adjusted based on how the pig is raised and at what age it is slaughtered. Under 250lbs and your going to bed less fatty but skinnier bacon, over 250lbs more fat and wider bacon slices.

@Latestarter I'm rather concerned about anyone else running my credit atm which is why i was not wanting to go the CU route if I wasnt getting the loan through them for sure. Quicken ran my credit twice and chemical bank has now run it 3 times....every inquiry has dropped my credit a few points minimum and i am now a little below 700 which means i get put into the higher interest category then i would have been in. I should hear back from the underwriter today sometime and depending on if she says good to go on the loan and approved or i need this and the other thing will decide if i go take to the CU after work.

 

[Bruce]

T-10

The bank shouldn't be screwing you on the interest rate since THEY ran your score 3 times!!! Why isn't once enough? I would fight that one big time. In person if necessary. And they should recognize that the Quicken inquiries shouldn't increase your rate, you aren't getting a loan from those snakes. I'm guessing these people aren't going to be on your pork Christmas present list.

Yeah it is confusing to the "uninitiated" when the package of bacon says "uncured" if what that means is just no "pink salt". I ASSUME that if you "only" smoke the belly it is done longer and at lower temp? Otherwise won't it be like the "fully cooked" stuff they sell in the store?

 

[misfitmorgan]

The bank i'm trying to get a loan with now isnt screwing me on the interest rate but if i went to my CU they would need to use the first score they ran which is now lower because of the 5 inquires.

No, bacon is bacon because it is cured and smoked. If it is not cured and not smoked it isnt bacon. Whether bacon is "raw" or fully cooked it is still cured and smoked. Smoking pork belly only would be much like any other smoked meat such as pulled pork or smoked brisket...delicious but the salt factor is lost. If you want bacon flavor you can do just about any cure you like as long as you have the salt factor which makes it a brine(dry or wet which after the first fews days is wet because of the moisture pulled from the meat) When we do ours we do brown sugar, salt and lots of black pepper usually and then smoke it with apple wood. If we do salmon we do a mix of white and brown sugar, salt, and a bit of black pepper. We love black pepper though, if you love maple bacon use maple syrup. If we want sweet bacon i usually just cook it in some maple syrup when i cook it for that meal.

Your correct, no cure according to labeling just means no pink salt. From the excerpt GB added you can see many things naturally contain nitrites/nitrates that can be used in place of pink salt. Nitrites and nitrates can be used in meat("allowed" meats vary per the goberment as Bay would say), nitrates are converted to nitrites in the body though.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Well fan freaking tastic....bank agent just let me know there is a problem with the appraisal.

They used comparables that did not resemble the property and they made large adjustments which apparently fanny mae wasnt happy with so they requested more comparables late friday afternoon/evening. Problem is i dont yet know whether they adjusted up or down. Meaning there is atm a possibility the house wont appraise for enough....which is insane. The appraisal came back at 56k the bank loan is for $52,725 so that means there is only $3275 room for error in the downward direction without them telling us hey we need more money! which we dont have. That's a whole new level of stress right there

 

[CntryBoy777]

It just makes ya want to SCREAM!!!.....well, it makes me want to scream for ya, but I think it is just them "Messing" with your head and emotions.....heck, if they keep demanding more $$....ya will be able to pay cash, out right and won't need their stinking loan. It sounds like they want ya to get to the point ya say "Screw It", cause they don't have any legitimate basis to deny the loan. It is obvious they aren't in need of conducting business....just "Toying" with people's emotions.....absolutely ridiculous!!....

 

[misfitmorgan]

It's not actually the bank this time. The appraisal is done by an independent company and sent directly to the underwriter who sends it to fannie mae...least thats what i gather. But yes makes me want to scream, cry and give up altogether.

 

[Baymule]

Don't give up. Come here and scream, cry and unload. But don't quit.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Well i would love to come there @Baymule but a trip to Southeast Texas isnt in the budget atm see what i did there?

 

[promiseacres]

was hoping for good news.

 

[misfitmorgan]

I think we all are


Also all the piglets are doing well except we lost one of the mini piglets to sunstroke. DH found him and he was fine in the house for a few hours and was eating and walking around and it was evening so DH put him back out and he didnt make. Next time they will just become the indoor pet piglet for a few days i guess.