Bacon

indianwells

indianwells

Senior Member
Joined
14 Apr 2020
Local time
10:29 AM
Messages
288
Location
pembrokeshire
Ok, bacon cured for 6 days, now in the fridge drying out for another 5 days. Home cured bacon is so simple I really don’t understand why we all don’t do it.
41854
 
TastyReuben said:
We always smoked bacon at home when I was a kid, we had a smokehouse just for that and hams.
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I don't smoke it, main reason is I don't have a smoker, that is next on the list. meanwhile this is the best bacon I've ever had. none of that white watery crap that comes out of the store bought stuff when you cook it.
 
indianwells said:
I don't smoke it, main reason is I don't have a smoker, that is next on the list. meanwhile this is the best bacon I've ever had. none of that white watery crap that comes out of the store bought stuff when you cook it.
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Well, there are smokers, and then there are
smokers:


Smokehouse

Smokehouse


I took that when I was in high school, the root cellar is down, buried in the earth to help hold a steady, cool temperature, and the smokehouse up. A lot of meat came out of that.

Dad and us boys built it in 1973, cut the logs ourselves, everything. I was seven or eight at the time, and my job was to cut all the wood shingles.

Still stands today, although the stove in there hasn't been fired up 15 years or more. Reminds me of an old song lyric, "...and the old pot-bellied stove ain't smoked a log in ten Decembers..."
 
Morning Glory said:
Can you remind me how you went about curing the bacon indianwells? Also, how do you slice it? Is it difficult to cut thin slices?
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I used the River Cottage method.

  • 500g high grade, free flowing salt
  • 500g demerara sugar
  • A few bay leaves, shredded
  • 20 or so juniper berries, lightly bruised
  • 25g freshly ground black pepper
Mix the cure together and rub it in a fifth at a time over 5 days pouring off the liquid every day before adding the next bit of cure. I do it in the salad drawer of my fridge. After five days wash all the cure off and pat dry with kitchen towel and then back in the fridge for 5 more days on a rack. This is for a 2kg piece of belly pork that has been deboned and skin off by my butcher. I cut it in half as then it is easier to slice, your knife must be very sharp but it's a hell of a lot easier if the skin is off. Don't worry if you can't fit the 2 pieces side by side, you can stack them on top of each other. I don't think i'll buy bacon again, this stuff is amazing, i freeze it in clingfilm and pull out a pack the day before i need it and defrost in the fridge.
 
indianwells said:
Ok, bacon cured for 6 days, now in the fridge drying out for another 5 days. Home cured bacon is so simple I really don’t understand why we all don’t do it.View attachment 41854
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Probably because the usual method is to use Prague powder, which is pretty dangerous stuff, so best left to the professionals. I experimented with it a couple of years ago, but I couldn't better the results of my local butcher so I haven't bothered since. Your method is much safer and the finished bacon looks amazing.
 
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