95°F sounds like a pretty optimal temperature to grow bugs harmful to humans. Maybe they should try 98.7°F for 19.5 hours next time, just to really get the bacteria count up.

"simple surgical cure"

Yes, trichinosis is quite rare, but get your facts straight before you tell people that they are being ridiculous for following CDC recommendations. In heavy infestations it can cause encephalitis, myocarditis and even death. Surgery does not cure inflammation of the heart or brain. Trichinosis is not just a gastrointestinal illness, it is a serious disorder.

I would become a vegetarian if undercooked pork was my only choice in meat.

See http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/trichinellosis/health_professionals/index.html and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3578653

70F is room temperature.
Bacterial, mold, worms, pretty much everything grows well at this temperature.

Man, all this bacon talk has me fantasizing about busting out some of that Costco pre-cooked, 3 days into a Sierra trip. Would a mini-riot ensue? Does this now mean I *do* need that Rambo knife in my kit?

Then, there's the thick cut bacon jerky idea. OMG, as they say. Hmmm.

One thing though with the Trichinosis and CDC references: "Successful trichinae control programs by the U.S. pork industry have nearly eliminated the disease in domestic swine raised in confinement" (CDC) and all the reported cases in the last 5 years have been from meats outside the commercial pork industry, ie wild pigs, fish and such. In the USA, big corporate has taken care of the trichina worm. Ergo, you might go to New York City and order "Bacon Tartare" from Bobby Flay. Things do change.

I have eaten rare pork a number of times at fine dining establishments. I am not saying trichinosis is a laughing matter, I know I am putting myself at risk eating it. I am also putting myself at risk eating taco bell, fresh mayo, cookie dough, lettuce and scores of other food products. It is just not high on my radar due to the quality of pork I am eating.

Can't have a bacon thread without a link to Jim Gaffigan's bacon routine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drqUfOAenwQ

Edited by rlnunix on 08/24/2012 20:16:31 MDT.

When I did mine, I did it at "meat" temp on my Excalibur, which is listed as 155. As I recall, it took somewhere around 12 hours. I could be misremembering. I remember that it took way longer than I wanted it to & I had to smell delicious bacon the whole time. I also remember that the rendered fat made a huge mess in the bottom of the dehydrator. I recommend putting some kind of drip tray in the bottom.

Well! We are back from our trip. I'll post a trip report later, no time now. On the bacon. I ended up using what I had already, the fresh bacon. Dredged each strip in salt, packed meal portions (3 people at the beginning of the trip, a planned 5 people for the latter part) along with bags of dried eggs, for some of the breakfasts. Heavy because the bacon wasn't dehydrated. In camp, a hassle because I had to rinse the extra salt off the bacon before cooking, and then there was bacon-fatty-salty rinse water to dispose of in bear country. Not ideal. But the bacon, after cooking, was perfectly fresh tasting, if a little saltier than usual, delicious, and a welcome treat after a few days on the trail. By the time we ate the last batch, it had been out of refrigeration for about 3 weeks.

Mina

The United States of Bacon is a new TV show highlighting ..... bacon!

http://foodbeast.com/content/2012/12/06/united-states-of-bacon-tv-show-because-this-is-america/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+foodbeast+%28FOODBEAST%29

I microwave turkey bacon (Oscar Meyer) and pat grease off it with a paper towel.

Then I put it in a freezer bag to keep critters from getting a stron whiff of it at night. Bacon like this keeps for a week W/O a 'fridge and is great mixed with freeze dried omlettes.