Bacon galore
My dry-cured bacon is finished. Actually, I had finished curing it several days ago but I’ve only now gotten round to taking some photos and putting them up. It looks great, if I say so myself! The rind has gone a lovely dark colour, which pleases me. It has a good flavour too, which will only improve after a few weeks hanging. I now have ALOT of bacon to use up – many a spaghetti carbonara will be enjoyed in the next couple of months I suspect, with lots of lovely crispy bacon lardons in.
Dry-cured Bacon
To make the dry-cure mix, take about 2kg of salt (ordinary table salt will do), put into a large bowl or container. Add 1 tablespoon of crushed black peppercorns, 2-3 chopped springs of rosemary, about 4 teaspoons of salt-petre, if desired (this helps the bacon retain its pink colour when cooked) and about 200g of soft light brown sugar. This should be about enough for a 5kg piece of belly pork. Cut your (approx 5kg) piece of pork into 3 square pieces. Rub handfuls of your cure mixture into the meat, including the skin, making sure to cover every bit of it. Stack the pieces in a plastic tray (do not use metal) or cool-box and leave. After 24 hours, drain away the liquid that has leached out of the meat, and apply more cure mixture. Repeat this for 5 days.
Now, to remove some of the salt from the saturated outer layers, soak the pieces in water for 4-6 hours, replacing the water every 2 hours. Finally, hang the bacon in a cool (around 10C) dry place (such as a cellar, or utility room) to dry and mature. It should be fine for several weeks, and the flavour will become richer.
wow that bacon looks amazing. can't wait to see what future posts it crops up in