On an impulse the other day, I picked up some skin-on pork belly from the store. I've been thinking about making bacon for a while now, and sometimes you just have to jump in and do it. My initial internet search for a recipe yielded many calling for pink salt, which I soon learned is sodium nitrate. I wanted to avoid using nitrates, having heard this is possible. What happened was, not finding any recipes without pink salt I called up those local meat rock stars, Fleisher's to see if they carried pink salt. I believe it was one of the owners that got on the phone to school me about the pink salt, and how I didn't need it. He went on to give me the full recipe, quickly and brusquely, just how a butcher should. I am indebted and next time will certainly purchase the pork belly from them. Embarrassingly, I admitted it wasn't their meat I was using, and he still helped me. Those people are awesome. You should be a fan on Facebook because they are very funny, to boot.
Anyway, after all that, I dug a little deeper and found this recipe from Saveur. It's great and simple. I messed with the spices a little, and next time I will definitely use brown sugar. You can use sea salt, but I think a coarse grind is what you want. I baked the bacon for four hours, as opposed to the recommended two. I would stick with that, but it's up to you. I will use the smoker one day, too. The bacon came out sublime, a wee bit salty, and with the herbs I used, very much like breakfast sausage. My slab was almost a pound and a half. We ate half for breakfast this morning. I am looking forward to using the rest as lardons with some greens. Heaven!
This is one of the things I'm looking forward to making someday. I can imagine how sublime home-cured bacon must be.
ReplyDeleteWow! You are really going for it!
ReplyDeleteLove, Mamou
Very Interesting J. And I've been cooking store bought, nitrate-laden CRAP (think ShopRite 2 for $5) for myself and more importantly...my young-in's! Tasty... I guess?....
ReplyDeleteI do a fair amount of home-cookin' these days so It's a definite try. Thanks
Dave Z.
Nice work. Smoking makes it better still, though you need to be diligent with the thermometer.
ReplyDeleteI have 10 lbs. of belly in the freezer, ready to cure when I have a minute. But first, there's a ham to deal with.
Christine- So sublime!
ReplyDeleteMamou- Yes, indeedy.
Dave- It's so good. You have to make it. Let me know how it comes out! Good to hear from you, hope all is well with your fams---Jules
Peter-Thank you, Sensei. I do want to smoke it, and a larger quantity of it. Ten pounds is an incredible feat. And a ham. Wow. Very cool!
That's it, we're coming over for breakfast!
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ReplyDeleteI have't tried home-cured bacon. Always wanted to make it at home. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletebeautiful! I have another friend who's cured his own bacon recently. If I were not on Weight Watchers and kind of avoiding bacon for the time being I might try it. Maybe after I've got a few goals under my belt. ;)
ReplyDeleteYou're my hero! One I haven't tried yet, and given my love of bacon, that's a shock. Maybe I'll have to give it a go...
ReplyDeleteKick me Julia! I have had jowels in the freezer waiting for me for about, oh, 4 months now. I can't wait to try this!!!
ReplyDeleteSo cool! I am intrigued by all these cured meat preparations, but still rather intimidated. Eugenia Bone's well-preserved has a recipe (if you have that, being a can-jammer you might!) and Ruhlman/Polcyns Charcuterie is fascinating on that topic. (I got it from the library but it's on my "to buy-to do" list one day, but I'm working up to it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the inspiration.
Is this the same Fleischers as in Cleaving?
Thanks, Shanna! Anytime!
ReplyDeleteEllie- Can't wait to see what you do. I know it will be top notch!
Melissa- Thanks! And, good for you. Stay the course and bacon will be yours again!
Kaela- Coming from you that means a lot! Do it!
Annette- Yeah, you're such a slacker! (Check her site out and you'll know how big of a joke this is!)
Sara- It's sort of new, but I've also been thinking about it a lot. Those are both great books (that I borrowed from the library--would love to own them) but they do both use pink salt. I haven't found a book on a more natural course--let me know if you find one.
And yes, that's the one. Did you read Cleaving? What'd you think?
oh my, i NEED to make this immediately. everything's better with bacon.
ReplyDeleteHey Spatula! You do! Now!
ReplyDeleteIs curing meat the new canvolution? I've got to try this.
ReplyDeleteDoris- It might be. What will we call it, though? The "curevolution"? or Brinedependence? Or, -- Oh, I'll stop. You must make this!
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