Home cured bacon ;P

[SIR]

Anyone else do their own?

Mine is curing in the fridge right now; just salt, jam, and whiskey - no nitrites.

Watch this space for further updates!

[DaveBj]

My younger son does his own bacon.

[FredRydr]

Tell us about the pig.

[jbb]

Is it smoked?

[dfo]

Sir, do you have any suggestions on ingredients for the brine. I plan on cold smoking them afterwards.

I will be doing this in four months. For now, the pigs are happy eating a field of rye grass.

[Farmboy]

Tell us about the pig.

None of Farmboy’s pigs could cure bacon but they could make it from corn. Problem was they could only do the trick once; Not one of them ever repeated the feat...

[SIR]

Tell us about the pig.

English, free range but not organic as far as I know; will be getting more particular in the sourcing of the raw product as recipe, method, and my own confidence/experience becomes more refined.


Is it smoked?

Not yet, but somewhere in the future probably.


Sir, do you have any suggestions on ingredients for the brine. I plan on cold smoking them afterwards.

I will be doing this in four months. For now, the pigs are happy eating a field of rye grass.

So, this is my first attempt, but I read up on the theory and science and watched various youtube vids about how others have done theirs; hence for now, i'm keeping it simple.

From what I understand, salt is the only essential ingredient for dry curing; however, sugar (or other products that have high sugar content such as jam, honey, and molasses) helps temper the salty flavour, reduces the toughening effect of the salt on the meat, and is a catalyst to the curing process by providing food for the 'good' bacteria... sugar is also a preservative.

I chose to add whiskey on this occasion as the alcohol is both a preservative and curing agent, and the whiskey flavour will help balance the sweetness of the jam.

https://www.dartagnan.com/preserved-meat-methods.html

[SIR]

So, I had a kilo of pig's cheeks curing by the same method in a separate dish; this now being the third day, I put most of them into a casserole to braise for a few hours in a bath of stout.
A couple of cheeks that I had kept aside I sliced and fried, surprisingly they had the texture of back bacon and the flavour was a lot like lamb neck fillets, i'm guessing due to the high fat content; delicious with homemade ranch dressing in a sandwich, quite succulent ;P.

[SIR]

So, five days curing and a further five days drying, and... best bacon, lettuce, tomato sandwich i ever tasted, even if i do modestly say so myself - quite the better than expected pleasant surprise!

Pictures to follow, and the next one i do will be with honey, rum, and lime juice ;P

[SIR]

40361

[Sophos]

Great looking bacon! I've cured my own a few times with mixed results...perfect once or twice and way, way too salty a couple times.

I'm just getting into curing other cuts. Built a curing chamber with temperature/humidity control and hung a few different salumi.
Since this photo was taken I've added a couple coppa, a bresola, a lamb prosciutto, and a couple of ribeye roasts for dry curing.
Looking forward to testing some of them next week. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20180610/812838c801d92b0ffcbcea38b639cebb.jpg

I play with my food

[SIR]

Excellent!!

Yeah, i found my bacon too salty at first (actually, it was hardly noticable in meals...), surprising as I used the minimum I thought necessary... but it quickly settled down during drying - i have no idea why that was, but it made good eats so... forget about it?

I'm thinking the jam i used may have sealed the salt in, or maybe i should make sure the liquid drains away rather than than letting the meat sit in the 'brine'?

[FredRydr]

It's hard to find anything like back bacon in Pennsylvania, and the USA in general. We only have the streaky stuff. I don't know anything about raising or butchering livestock, but I've wondered about back bacon: is it the breed of pig that makes the difference, or is it just the butchering?

[SIR]

I prefer streaky ;)

[SIR]

Anyone have some tips on super easy home-smoking? My last batch of bacon was a bit 'fragrant' and would probably have benefitted from smoking.

[Sophos]

Anyone have some tips on super easy home-smoking? My last batch of bacon was a bit 'fragrant' and would probably have benefitted from smoking.Do you have a BBQ? My father in law does some mean smoking with just his BBQ.

I play with my food

[SIR]

No, I didn't yet find the inkling to buy/make a BBQ - but I would be tempted to.. tell me more - how do I smoke with a BBQ?

[Sophos]

I'm sure there are multiple methods. The way I've seen it done is to soak ceramic tile and wood chips and then place the tile on either your BBQs propane burner or charcoal coals (depending on type of BBQ) and the chips on the tile. Chips start smoking & Voilà!

I play with my food

[SIR]

Ok, thanks; i think that's given me some inspiration - especially the ceramic tile part...

[SIR]

Confit'd the remainder of the second batch, then pressed and cooled, then sliced and fried à la Gordon Ramsay - and then awarded myself a BF Goodrich star for the most amazing eating bacon ever!

Latest batch is black cherry conserve and brandy... have made rillettes with the rib-meat from the previous batches ;)

[SIR]

Latest batch after confiting, pressing, and chilling; ready to eat or fry then eat ;)

40995

[SIR]

Lamb bacon is a coming...

[SIR]

Lamb bacon is a coming...

So, lamb bacon... not really worth getting excited about, more just like lamb than bacon.

Anyways, maybe i'll try beef bacon sometime, but right now in my fridge i have traditional 'black' (https://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/our-range/our-classic-tin/product-black-treacle) bacon curing and the look is good! ;)

[SIR]

right now in my fridge i have traditional 'black' (https://www.lylesgoldensyrup.com/our-range/our-classic-tin/product-black-treacle) bacon curing and the look is good! ;)

And so...

41533

Soft, subtle, and only slightly sweet - the sugar in the treacle really does tenderise the meat, countering the salt in feel as well as flavour.

[SIR]

Anyone, please, have any idea why a pork belly cured in a mixture of Kentucky bourbon, treacle, brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup, would come out tasting of pineapple?!!!

[Wile E Coyote]

Anyone, please, have any idea why a pork belly cured in a mixture of Kentucky bourbon, treacle, brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup, would come out tasting of pineapple?!!!

A pineapple fell in the mix?

[Sophos]

Did you use Hawaiian pork?? [emoji23][emoji23]
Anyone, please, have any idea why a pork belly cured in a mixture of Kentucky bourbon, treacle, brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup, would come out tasting of pineapple?!!!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

[SIR]

Did you use Hawaiian pork?? [emoji23][emoji23]

That would actually be quite logical, but no it was British pork...



A pineapple fell in the mix?

Weirdly, the fat does have the texture of pineapple, but as far as i know, no actual pineapple made it into the marinade.

... I have used all the ingredients individually on previous occasions to cure bacon without a resultant pineapple flavour being evident, so I'm thinking the reason probably lies in the combination of sugars, and a possible chemical reaction somewhere.

[wildprose]

Now I'm craving for Bacon.

[SIR]

Just acquired myself a 'Pro Q Eco Smoker (https://www.proqsmokers.com/cold-smokers/proq-eco-smoker)'...

https://www.proqsmokers.com/Media/Default/Products/Eco%20Smoker/eco%20smoker%204_20121102091245.jpg

watch this space!

[notestalgia]

That looks so delightful. I want a piece.

[SIR]

Bresaola affumicata

49231

[SIR]

Special guest in the smoker this evening: dry cured pork shoulder, washed with gin and black treacle, smoked over alder.

Might be a long winter waiting for the meat to dry and mature...

[Sophos]

Special guest in the smoker this evening: dry cured pork shoulder, washed with gin and black treacle, smoked over alder.

Might be a long winter waiting for the meat to dry and mature...Sounds awesome....can't wait for pictures!

[SIR]

Special guest in the smoker this evening: dry cured pork shoulder, washed with gin and black treacle, smoked over alder.

Might be a long winter waiting for the meat to dry and mature...Sounds awesome....can't wait for pictures!

And now i have a piece of pork neck i dry cured relaxing in a bath of whiskey and honey which i intend to smoke over pecan ;)

[SIR]

Circumstances caused the pork shoulder to be slow-cooked and used as pulled-pork in salads and sandwiches, however, here is a snapshot of the 'coppa' today which has dried from 1.4kg to 1.1kg, so probably only another month and will have met the target weight loss of 33% and be ready to eat ;)

49687

[Herry]

Mankato Tree Service is not just a business; it is a community partner dedicated to the well-being of both the city and its residents. Through their expert tree care services and community engagement efforts, they stand as guardians of Mankato's green legacy, ensuring a sustainable and beautiful environment for generations to come. Mankato tree service (https://www.mankatotreeservice.com)