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.

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.