It’s crispy, chewy, savory, salty, and irresistible: is there anything better than bacon? Well, we’d argue that Wagyu beef, with its beautiful marbling and mouth-watering flavor, is better than bacon. What if you could have both Wagyu and bacon? The fact is, you can. The beef version of bacon uses brisket, and Wagyu brisket is the very best choice, because the fat that makes Wagyu so scrumptious makes Wagyu brisket bacon a next-level experience. Here’s how to make it.
- Start with the right ingredients. You’ll need a four to five pound Wagyu trimmed brisket flat, three tablespoons of kosher salt, a third cup white sugar, three tablespoons pepper, one tablespoon paprika, and one teaspoon of Prague Powder #1.
- Prepare the meat. Mix the salt, sugar, pepper, paprika, and Prague powder in a bowl, being cautious so that you do not exceed one teaspoon of Prague powder for every four to five pounds of meat. Prague powder is pink curing salt, and the wrong amount can negatively impact your health, not to mention the taste and quality of your bacon. Coat the trimmed brisket flat with this curing mixture, taking care to apply it to all sides and all areas. Put the well-coated brisket into a sealing bag so that it can cure, dumping leftover curing mixture before you seal the bag.
- Cure it. This is both the easiest and the hardest step. All you have to do is put your bagged brisket into the refrigerator, but then you have to wait four to five days for it to cure! While you’re waiting, give it a good massage once a day with the liquid in the bag, then turn it. Once the four to five days have passed, remove it from the refrigerator, rinse it with cold water, and pat it dry with paper towels. Then put it back into the refrigerator, this time uncovered, and leave it overnight so that the cold air circulating around it can dry it a little further.
- Smoke your brisket. Get your smoker ready, preparing it at about 215 to 220 degrees Fahrenheit. Smoke your brisket, allowing it to smoke to an internal temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit, which will probably take around two hours.
- Slice your bacon! Once the former brisket, now bacon, has cooled, slice it more thinly than standard pork bacon, about one-quarter inch thick. It may help to put it into the refrigerator to get cool and firm before you do this. The thinner the bacon, the easier it will be to fry. Once it’s sliced, you can store it in the refrigerator for two weeks, or freeze it so that you can use it later.
- Fry it! You can cook your Wagyu bacon just as you would normal bacon. Since it’s Wagyu, you’ll want to save that delicious fat for frying other things, like vegetables It will keep for several months in the refrigerator, as long as it’s in a stored container.
If you’d like more recipes or you have questions about American Wagyu Beef, the customer care team at Triple T Ranch would love to help! Located in south Alabama, our small, family-owned-and-operated ranch is a place where practicing proven husbandry techniques ensures the health and prosperity of the herd. Our cattle are healthy, happy, well cared-for, and registered through the American Wagyu Association. Browse our website to shop Wagyu beef and order online, or contact us for more information, or call (251)333-2800 to talk to our friendly, helpful customer care team.