Bear Bacon Recipe

Mountain Mann's Bear Bacon Recipe.

Ingredients:

3 lbs bear bacon (from the saddle—you want a good ratio of backstrap to back fat, similar to pork bacon)

Brine:

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups salt

1 tblsp pink salt

1 cup maple syrup

Directions:

1. Mix brown sugar, salt and pink salt in a bowl. Then add maple syrup and combine.

2. Pack the brine onto the meat. You want a good, solid coating.

3. Vacuum seal the meat in the brine if you have a vacuum sealer, or wrap in 6-7 layers of plastic wrap or a Ziploc bag and brine for about five days, flipping every day to let the liquid go through the meat. This will draw out a lot of water as well.

4. Remove the meat from the plastic wrap or vacuum seal bag and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry. It should feel a little sticky to the touch.

5. Place the meat in a smoker at 200 – 250 degrees Fahrenheit until it reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees F.

6. Slice to desired thickness on a meat slicer.