fish
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yraditional bacon curing.if you go to sainsburys in the week take a look at the bacon isle,everything from basics at 99p a pound to dutchy originals dry cure bacon at over £18.00 per Lb!!!!!!!!!!! most bacon these days isnt realy bacon as we think of it,pork is injected with brine and left for 24 hours then sliced and packed,thats what the white scum is when you cook it! also the brine adds weight!so you are paying for water!!!! :banghead: also mixed into the brine are artificial preservatives,the product needs this as isnt realy cured and there fore will go off when not in a vac pack! even dry cures contain preservatives in the salt rub.I for one am allergic to the preservatives and cant eat bacon baught from the shop!!! :angry4:
last year i worked at a farm shop cutting plant and there i was given the job of bacon curer,and it is realy easy! i cant see how the shops can get away with the price! i started to make my own bacon at home,minus the preservatives in the rub as i now make my own rub(see lets make bacon baby in this forum for the recipe).
Tonight gareth and i made 20lb of dry cured streaky bacon and it took only 30 minutes! it will take 4 days to cure then i shal smoke it.
below is the basics of bacon making.pork,rubs and knife
firstly the ribs need cutting off and put aside for the BBQ,your butcher will gladly do this for you.also trim the flare fat and trim any mis-shaped edges off the piece.
next turn the meat skin side up,and stab/ pierce the skin all over with a knife point,dont go too deep 1cm should do!(It helps to think of 'psyco'shower scene!)
next spinkle the rub mix libraly onto the skin side and rub in hard ,pushing the rub in with the heel of yer hand:
next turn the meat over and repeat the process,ensuring that you rub the mix into all the seams and folds.
not forgetting the sides of the meat,use plenty of rub,dont be shy!!!
and here you have the final product ! best hung in a fridge or outside in the winter,when hhanging outside i put it in a pillow case to keep the bugs off! this time of year i just pop mine in a bag and place in the bottom of the fridge for 4 days,at which time i pat it dry with a cloth and smoke it,its ready to try now and is fine if you like 'green' bacon.
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Big Phil
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Whats in the rub?
I tried some curing using a brine and was far to salty. I then soaked it again in clear water to rid it of the salt thus defeating the purpose of the cure. I could of just left it in the freezer.
Also is it hot or cold smoked and what fuel and for how long?
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fish
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wet cured bacon is no where as good as dry cured,the dry cure pulls a fair bit of moisture out of the meat so intensifying the flavour,this particular rub works a treat and won awards up and down the country.3-4 days is about right,the longer the saltier. once its hung for the alloted amount of time i just rinse lightly under the cold tap then pat dry,only wrap it in baking parchment/paper,in plastic it will sweat.this recipe keeps about 6 weeks in the fridge,it might keep longer but it gets eaten! as for the smoking i cold smoke mine for 2 hours with oak.
dry cure rub for bacon and gammons:
2lb salt,
6 cloves,*
12 bay leaves,*
8 table spoons juniper berries,*
8 table spoons thyme,*
1 table spoon black pepper corns,*
2 table spoons dark brown sugar,
* grind to a coarse look.
then mix all together,this cure can benifit from leaving for a couple of days for the salt to drawout the juniper ,but i have used it streight away.this amount of rub should do up to 6 loins,or more!
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Guest
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Just to start a whole loin of dry cured back bacon as well as some gammon from bone in leg joints. Was thinking of adding some loin to the wet cure too to see how it turns out. We are finding with the dry cured back we are losing a lot of the eye of the meat. Any ideas? Also have a whole belly to heavily dry cure will then hot smoke as a pancetta - will keep around three months in the fridge that way.
Our dy cure is a lot more basic that yours though Fish - will add some bay to the dry cure and a little juniper to see how it turns out.
What do you put in your wet cures?
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fish
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what do you mean you are 'losing' a lot of the eye of the meat?
wet brine recipe is in the recipe section.
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Guest
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with the dry cure the eye of the lin is shrinking.
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fish
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how long are you hanging? i ask as ive not encountered any considerable shrinkage,and i have done over a hundred!
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Guest
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I normally leave it about 5 or 6 days for back. Don't notice it with the steaky but definitely with the back. Its not as if there is any added water or additives to come out either!
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fish
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debbs thats the answer ,a loin only needs 3-4 days realy,when i made the stuff for the farm shop thats all we hung it for.
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Guest
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OK Fish
Have half a loin to bacon tnight so will let you know how I get on in three days!!
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steve
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will have a go at doing a bit of bacon looks very good am fed up with tasteless super market bacon. i have allways wonderd what the white stuff was when grilling bacon now i know thanks. have now started buying sausages off a bloke who has a small holding and doing his own meat, a bit dearer than super market prices but worth every penny.
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fish
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if you get the chance try some of debbies pork! now that is superb and made it as runnerup in the food heroes thingy!
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Tidal_wear
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My mother-in-law kills a pig whenever I go back(I think she is trying to tell me something)and the whole animal is consumed within 24 hours,absolutely zilch is wasted,she even makes a quaint dish with the blood and the half digested vegetables the pig is fed prior to its demise :shock:
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steve
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blood and half digested vegtables :shock: now that is what i call recycling :lol:
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fish
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yuk!
steve pm me yer address and ille send you some of my special bacon rub.
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dugaboy
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nice to see there others out there that cure and smoke there own meats was worried it was just me  last year brought some salts and cures from LEM in USA have worked really well still got a mortons sugar cure to try but havent found the right bit of meat for that yet  make a lot of proper jerky (not the crap you see in the shops ) my grandsons 8 & 6 help to make this then of course have to help EAT it  they also love granddads sourdough bread and biscuits and what about sourdough pancakes 
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fish
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do you want to sell a sample of the jerky?
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dugaboy
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mate if you want to sample some of the jerky let me have an address to send to will be more than happy to send you some will be doing some beef in a wee while do you like it hot or F"""K me hot or just mild have sauces from smack my ass call me sally - predator thats there names tell me whats your preference ? cheers
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dugaboy
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as a thought do you have any bowhunting videos if not then pm me as I have a load you might like copies off cant promise hey will all play cheers
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