Home Curing Bacon? Anyone? page

[The Tall Tree]

I was just reading the thread on bacon-fat mayo (awesome idea, by the way) and it reminded me that I really want to try home-curing my own bacon. I have cured and smoked fish before, but always wanted to try bacon and ham, mainly because I am horrified by the horrible things in store-bought bacon and smallgoods in general. There is a butcher/deli near my house that does a lot of its own stuff, and their stuff is delish (red-gum smoked bacon or raw French style ham off the bone mmmmmm) but they still use the sulfur (I think it's sulfur) to keep it pink and cherub-cheek rosy. I don't care if my bacon and ham is grey - as long as it tastes good.
Has anyone cured meat without all the additives for aesthetics? I mean salt rub or brine and possible smoking and nothing else?
I also tried home-cured pastrami (brined beef that was smoked) and it was goodo, but again, used a commercial cure 'kit', so wasn't quite what I was after.
I'm the sort of dude who likes to brain-tan hides and make jerky by my camp-fire (although I do admit to using my dehydrator a fair bit for jerky, 'cause I eat a LOT of it, but I often over-dry it that way...) so kits and commercial rubs just aren't cool, I reckon.
Cheers
LC

[badgergirl]

When I stopped being a veggie I realised I needed to learn how to cook meat - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's MEAT book is the best book on the topic. It covers everything from brawn to bacon to, well, EVERYTHING. It's outstanding.

[The Tall Tree]

Cheers mate. I loved hugh's show when I caught it, so I bet his book is good. Booktopia here I come...

[badgergirl]

prepare to have your mind blown! That book is the business. You might also enjoy the River Cottage Cookbook, but the River Cottage Year is a little weaker particularly when you are not in the UK as it focuses on seasonal eating/growing and it doesn't really map to Southern Hemisphere life!

[The Tall Tree]

Ordered HFW's meat book. Got it for $45 in hardcover. It was $80! Shiiiiiiite!
In the meantime, I got me a nice pork belly this morning. I am gonna bite the bullet and follow some vague directions I found online and in John Seymour's self-sufficiency book, and see how I go. If I don't post again, I have died from food-poisoning.
I also found pre-sliced, pasture-fed rare roast beef in the Safeway deli this morning. It's good, if not a bit bland. I stuffed an omelette with it for a late breakfast, and that made it better.

[badgergirl]

No!!! use this recipe: Iron Age Pork recipes - Roasted Pork Belly with Fennel Seeds
best. ever. and I don't even like fennel.

[The Tall Tree]

That looks pretty damn tasty, but alas, I have already started to brine it. I'm gonna knock a quick cold smoker up and see how that goes, too, once its brined up. I am gonna try smoking with willow, cause I have a heap of shavings all over the shed floor, and I watched a doco where some dudes used willow to smoke meat. I've used red gum and apple for wild trout and store-bought salmon in the past, but it needs to be really dry, IMO, or its too resinous. I'll post how I go when its ready to smoke. I'll do some pics, too.

[badgergirl]

I realised afterwards that you meant to make bacon - obvs given the thread and all - but hot damn, we'd have trouble 'sacrificing' a good belly to make bacon. Pork belly, crackling... heaven. Greasy, salty goodness indeed.

[The Tall Tree]

Yep, cut into little cubes and dipped in a nice sweet salty sauce. Heaven!

[gregpoole]

My latest batch of bacon I smoked with apple and it was just freaking fabulous. I never use the pink salt to cure just good old sea salt, maple syrup and red pepper chilli flakes.