So all this Bacon talk made me think that I should post on here about my latest hobby, culinary endeavor... Makin Bacon!!
It is amazing how easy it is and how good the results are.
First make a dry cure rub:
1lb Salt
1Lb sugar
100g Pink Salt
(add in any spices you may want)
Then find a nice slab of pork belly. I did a whole slab last time which was 11 lbs.
First I cut the belly into pieces that are about the same size as a 1G ziplock bag.
Then in a rimmed baking sheet I lay out the pieces and put on a generous coating of the cure (both sides) and transfer to the zip-locks. I have some commercial "smoke" flavors and once in the bag I add 1tsp of it to each bag. you don't have to do this though.
Lay the bags flat in your fridge and turn them over every day or two for even coating/penetration.... Do this for about 7-10 days.
Remove the meat and rinse it off, then soak it in water (in a stock pot or whatever) for 2 days to remove some of the salt. Then I put a metal cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet and place the bacon on it (in the fridge) for a few days to dry the bacon out a bit.
At this point you can cook it as-is or, if you have a smoker, you can smoke your bacon on LOW heat (about 150-185 degrees) for a few hours to get that really smokey flavor in it.
When Im cutting the bacon into slices and I get to the end and the piece is too small to manage, I cube the rest and use it as "Lardon" in things like carbanara or in bean soups etc. Or just as a flavoring for things like collard greens etc.
Cooking your bacon:
The trick here is to cook your bacon in a pan using lower temps and longer cooking time than you would w/ store bought bacon. Store stuff has a lot of water in it to jack up the weight.
Let me tell you... home cured bacon is AMAZING. It can be crispy and chewy at the same time. The flavor is intense... Oh, and you don't even have to use pork!! I've used boneless country spare ribs as well. Shoot, I even made a BEEF bacon once using a slab of brisket.
It is amazing how easy it is and how good the results are.
First make a dry cure rub:
1lb Salt
1Lb sugar
100g Pink Salt
(add in any spices you may want)
Then find a nice slab of pork belly. I did a whole slab last time which was 11 lbs.
First I cut the belly into pieces that are about the same size as a 1G ziplock bag.
Then in a rimmed baking sheet I lay out the pieces and put on a generous coating of the cure (both sides) and transfer to the zip-locks. I have some commercial "smoke" flavors and once in the bag I add 1tsp of it to each bag. you don't have to do this though.
Lay the bags flat in your fridge and turn them over every day or two for even coating/penetration.... Do this for about 7-10 days.
Remove the meat and rinse it off, then soak it in water (in a stock pot or whatever) for 2 days to remove some of the salt. Then I put a metal cooling rack on top of a rimmed cookie sheet and place the bacon on it (in the fridge) for a few days to dry the bacon out a bit.
At this point you can cook it as-is or, if you have a smoker, you can smoke your bacon on LOW heat (about 150-185 degrees) for a few hours to get that really smokey flavor in it.
When Im cutting the bacon into slices and I get to the end and the piece is too small to manage, I cube the rest and use it as "Lardon" in things like carbanara or in bean soups etc. Or just as a flavoring for things like collard greens etc.
Cooking your bacon:
The trick here is to cook your bacon in a pan using lower temps and longer cooking time than you would w/ store bought bacon. Store stuff has a lot of water in it to jack up the weight.
Let me tell you... home cured bacon is AMAZING. It can be crispy and chewy at the same time. The flavor is intense... Oh, and you don't even have to use pork!! I've used boneless country spare ribs as well. Shoot, I even made a BEEF bacon once using a slab of brisket.
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