When you can just pick up a package of bacon that is ready to cook, it might seem like a lot of work.If you want, you can remove sodium nitrites from the meat, as well as tailor the flavor to your own preferences.
Step 1: You can buy a fresh pork belly.
If you want the best texture and taste, insist on meat that is free of artificial hormones.You should specify that you want a raw pork belly.Ask for meat from the hog's belly or chest.Ask for meat that covered the hog's spare ribs.If you are experimenting with cure recipes, ask for a smaller cut of pork bellies in case you don't like it.
Step 2: You should chill the meat.
Since the meat has already been chilled, skip this step if you purchased your pork belly from a commercial vendor other than a farm.You need to chill your meat within 24 hours of when the hog was slaughtered, so ask the farmer how long ago.If it takes you more than half an hour to get home, you should bring a cooler with ice on it.To keep your fridge clean and prevent cross-contamination, place the pork belly in a sealable container.If you want to chill quicker, put the container inside the fridge.Set it in the meat compartment, away from other products, to further reduce the chance of cross-contamination.The pork belly should be kept in the fridge at 40 degrees and the core temperature should drop to 42 degrees.Stack the meat directly on top of each other if you are chilling multiple bellies, so set each one in its own container.
Step 3: Remove the skin.
When you purchase the meat, ask your butcher to do it for you.Since the skin is tough, use a sharp knife.Start your cut at any part of the belly.You don't have to trim off any more meat than is necessary if you angle the blade toward the skin.The meat will absorb more of the cure once your skin is removed.The skin can be cooked on its own.If you want to do this, be sure to tell your butcher to slice the skin off for you.
Step 4: Decide on a cure.
If curing salts aren't available at your local butcher's, you can buy them online.Kosher salt and sodium nitrite are available online.There has been debate about the possible link to cancer and other diseases of the use of sodium nitrite, the main preservative in curing salt.If this is a concern, use ground celery seeds as an alternative.You should be aware that the alternatives do contain sodium nitrate.There is a debate about the health of sodium nitrate.The presence of certain vitamins and minerals is believed to prevent the conversion of nitrates into harmful nitrosamines.
Step 5: A basic cure can be mixed.
It depends on personal taste and ingenuity.To cure 5 pounds of meat, combine 1 cup of sugar with 2 cups of blackstrap molasses in a bowl.Stir thoroughly.Add some kosher salt, curing salt and ground black pepper.If you want, add more salt.The effects of different types of sugar, salt, and pepper can be explored by changing the basic recipe.
Step 6: Try a saltier cure.
For roughly 5 pounds of meat, combine 1 cup of kosher salt with 2 cups of sodium nitrite.Either dark or light is fine if you mix in a cup of brown sugar.Add 18 cups of ground black pepper, ground juniper berries, and crumbled sage.Finally, add a small amount of dried thyme.For an even mix, stir all ingredients thoroughly.If you want, the juniper berries can be omitted.
Step 7: Cure your bacon with honey.
Combine a cup of kosher salt with 2 cups of pink curing salt for every 5 pounds of meat.Add a cup of dark brown sugar.Next, add some spices, such as red pepper flakes, smoked sweet paprika, and cumin seeds.Pour a cup of honey into the dry ingredients and stir them together.chestnut honey works well here.
Step 8: The cure should be rubbed into the meat.
Take your pork belly out of the fridge.If you want to keep your kitchen clean, place it on a rimmed baking sheet.Use your cure recipe to coat the meat.If you can spread the cure evenly into the pork belly, it will give you a consistent flavor.
Step 9: The pork belly should be refrigerated.
Place the meat into a sealable container after it has been coated with cure.If you use a plastic bag, place it in a rimmed baking sheet or pan to keep it from leaking into your fridge.The pork belly should be refrigerated for at least 5 days.As juices begin to pool at the bottom of the container, be sure to flip the pork belly daily so each side is more or less evenly soaked in brine.If you want to have as much cured flavor as possible, leave the pork belly to cure for 7 days to ensure that the cure makes its way to the middle of the meat, thus extending its shelf life.
Step 10: You should wash your meat.
Remove the pork belly from the fridge.Put it in a container.Run cold water over both sides.To dry the meat, use paper towels or a clean towel.Your bacon is cured.
Step 11: The meat should be stored safely.
Wrap your bacon in plastic if you don't cook it or consume it right away.To keep out air, seal it tightly.You can keep it in your refrigerator or freezer.The bacon slabs can be kept in the refrigerator and freezer for up to 6 weeks.The bacon will last 6 months in the freezer.