• Bacon Thread side note **RECIPE**

Mods, I posted this over in my Bacon Thread but I thought it might do good in a thread of its own so it could be found easier if needs be. Hope it's cool.

I figured "Why not share the love"... You know what they say... "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day... Teach a man how to make bacon and he's living the good farkin life!!!"

This is based out of Ruhlmans book I believe...
Here's you're basic bacon cure... I use pink salt over of TQ or other "bacon cures" out there. Not that anything's wrong with them, it's just what I have. **TQ is 1TB per pound of meat, use in place of pink salt AND Kosher salt.

This makes just over a pound and a half of cure. Enough cure to do about 14 lbs of meat using 50g for every 5 lbs of meat.

1lb/450g Kosher salt
8oz/225g Sugar
2oz/50g pinksalt

So that's the base and this is where it gets fun... Put your spin on it. For the sweet, if you want brown sugar use it. Maple syrup? Why not?? Honey... works well too. Whatever you want. You can add whatever spices you like as well. Want a black pepper bacon... just add black pepper. The options are so broad. Garlic, red pepper flakes, herbs, saw someone mention cinnamon recently... you get the idea. Thats the basic gist of how I make bacon... Everyone that says they want to make it, I encourage you to do so. That first bite will have you wondering what you've been eating all this time.

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Cheers.

WvSmoke said:

I read the other thread and saw that you left it in the fridge for a week. Is that the normal time, or is there something that tells you when to take it out?

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Usually a pork belly cures in about 7 days... A rule of thumb is with 1tsp of pink salt to 5 lbs of meat is 2lbs/day cure time... so if you're curing 10 lbs of meat that's 5 days... always better to go a day or so over to be safe if you've measured out your cure mix to meat weight properly.

Bigfoot21075 said:

Do you fiond it easier to use when you roll it or do you like the slices equally well. I have made bacon once, tried to cut it by hand. I am thinking a slicer is the way to go to get thin enough strips. Is that correct or is hand slicing ok?

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I've gotten pretty good results slicing by hand, but I'd think you need to have a pretty decent knife for this and a steady hand. A slicer is SOOO much easier, faster and overall better for slicing bacon.

I roll the savory bacon because i mainly use it in cooking as a ingredient and i cut them on the slicer about 1/4" - 1/2" thick so I can dice into small cubs easier. If you slice the rolled bacon thin and fry it up like reg. bacon it will more than likely unroll in the frying pan. Same great flavor and all just kinds pointles to roll if your gonna do that cuz it doesn't hold its shape. Just my 2¢. :thumb:

keale said:

Phrasty dude!! How you been? Its been kinda of hectic on my end, hit and miss on the board...

Do you have to use "Pink salt", my wife is allergic to sodium nitrite/nitrate (preservative)??

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Keale... wassup brother! Been wondering where you been man. Hope things are "profitably hectic" for you... and things are well! :thumb:

Bacon really isn't bacon without the nitrates... You need that "hammy" essence that they add to the meat. Does your wife avoid store bought bacon as well? If I recall correctly she has a problem with MSG too huh? That's no good man. Ill look around though, I'm thinking maybe a plain salt/sugar cure but I'm not sure how that will turn out... You definitely wont get that pink color. Maybe if you salt cured and cold smoked for a couple days. That might work but that too would be imparting the natural nitrates from the smoke.

Speaking of natural nitrates, out of curiosity, how is she with veggies like celery, spinach, beets and most leafy greens? I ask because these are all nitrate rich foods and it's said that people that eat a lot of these veggies consume much more nitrates than just eating hams or cured meats. My understanding is that the nitrate level in cured meats are actually fairly low. Just throwing that out there...

Good to hear from you man!
Cheers

WvSmoke said:

Awesome! Thanks for the info! I'll have to wait for spring to try bacon. The barn is the only place I have room for a meat curing fridge and the barn isn't heated. Refridgerators become very efficient freezers out there in the winter time.

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So THAT'S what the winter setting on my fridge is for... lol does me no use! :thumb: Glad to help.

Cheers