Soldato
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So it'll be a few weeks before you cook it?
Cooking with Jonny69: Home cured bacon
- Thread starter Jonny69
- Start date
Man of Honour
Soldato
That looks very tempting. Any idea how you'd go about doing smoked bacon, is it hot smoked or cold smoked?
One week with a bit of luck
You need to make a smoking cabinet which is on my list of "to do" things at some point. I've seen some home made ones and they are basically a smouldering wood fire at the bottom with a long channel for the smoke to cool in and go into the main cabinet where the meat/cheese/fish/etc is hanging. At the top is a chimney to let the smoke out. This is cold smoking.
Soldato
I know that you can quite easily to smoked fish at home in the kitchen (using a metal box like a chocolate tin, some chicken wire and hay) in the oven, not sure if that would be enough for bacon though.
Soldato
That's what I was expecting, shame I know someone with a hot smoker. He does a lovely smoked duck.
Soldato
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I followed a River Cottage recipe for belly bacon earlier in the year which was 5 days of curing in a 90% salt 10% sugar cure with a few spices. It is quite a traditional recipe and was very salty, I enjoyed it but next time I make some I'll go for a sweet cure like Jonny69.
I also made an air dried ham which was 21 days in salt then 6 months hanging in a breezy location. Once agin very salty, but great on pizza's or used to replace lardons in cooking.
Chorizo and black pudding are my targets for 2009 and maybe improving my sausage recipe.
I also made an air dried ham which was 21 days in salt then 6 months hanging in a breezy location. Once agin very salty, but great on pizza's or used to replace lardons in cooking.
Chorizo and black pudding are my targets for 2009 and maybe improving my sausage recipe.
Did you see the one Gordon Ramsay made for smoking his own salmon? Old Reliant Robin wheeled into his garden
Did you see the one Gordon Ramsay made for smoking his own salmon? Old Reliant Robin wheeled into his garden
I saw that, although I reckon a '50s Ford Popular would also suffice.
Man of Honour
Looks good, think il be giving this a go to get some nice bacon without all the lovely nitrates
Soldato
Man...I could kill for some bacon right now....
- Pea0n
- Pea0n
Soldato
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Nitrates help preserve the colour. When I did it the outer flesh discoloured greyish but the inner flesh was still the lovely pink but as it cooked went a more porky grey than bacony pink.
Soldato
You could use it to generate the smoke as well.
Soldato
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5 days dry curing is quite long, I've found that it gives bacon that is too salty. Try 2 or 3 days if you're planning to eat the bacon immediately, it only needs loner curing if you're planning to store it.
Day 2 is here and time for the second rub! As you can see there's a lot of liquid come out the meat and that gets tipped away:
I've taken the meat out to have a look at it. First thing I noticed was it's firmed up quite a lot and it's a darker colour, less pink than it was:
On with the second rub then... some of you hardened meat curers have got me worried about the saltyness so I've added some more sugar to the rub mix and I'm going to cure it for 4 days. This is how long my friend did his for and it came out really well. So, rub and return to the refrigerator:
I've taken the meat out to have a look at it. First thing I noticed was it's firmed up quite a lot and it's a darker colour, less pink than it was:
On with the second rub then... some of you hardened meat curers have got me worried about the saltyness so I've added some more sugar to the rub mix and I'm going to cure it for 4 days. This is how long my friend did his for and it came out really well. So, rub and return to the refrigerator:
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