The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Food & crafts => Food processing => Topic started by: Lemming on January 16, 2009, 12:35:56 am
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We've tried all sorts of recipes but our bacon just tastes like very salty salt pork.
Any suggestions very gratefully received...
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Hmmmm,I've only made bacon once,did the salt cure thing for a few weeks,rinsed it off,then oak smoked it for a few hours in a homemade smoker. Next time I won't smoke for as long as five hours,maybe just one. It's now hung in the larder wrapped in pillowcase. Once it's sliced,it does need soaking in tepid water for about 20 minutes or so (this takes enough salt out of the meat for me),then patting dry before frying........ Ree
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Ask Andrew - the bacon I had from him and Janis is superb! I think he said it was a sweet cure but don't know how it's done.
Annie
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We've tried all sorts of recipes but our bacon just tastes like very salty salt pork.
Any suggestions very gratefully received...
How did you make it?
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I made bacon for the first time last year from my own pigs. I purchased a pack of ready mixed cure from www.designasausage.co.uk I followed the instructions to the letter and the bacon was fantastic. A local butcher was kind enough to slice it for me. The instructions on this website are very similar. I used cool boxes and kept them in the garage. I only used the ready made mixture as I had so much to do with two pigs so with sausage making it was very time consuming. Next time I will take a weeks holiday to deal with it all!!
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Annie making bacon can be dark science full of mystery and weird ingredients. Alternatively you can do what I do and buy a prepared mix, massage it into the meat, leave to mature, slice and enjoy. I still have an amount of sweetcure mix from our last batch and if anyone would like some drop me a line and I will forward it to them.
Glad you are enjoying the bacon.
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We used Prontocure and mixed in lightly crushed peppercorns and juniper berries, cardamons and corriander seed. It was a bit of an experiment but the results were very tasty. We also did a ham in the same way but finished it off with a coating of molasses for about six weeks - yum!
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I love bacon but its one of the foods I am not advised to eat anymore, something to do with the nitrites. Even the smell of it cooking is wonderful. I do so miss it. :(
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cant imagine life without bacon - have you tried the quorn subsitutesmaybe or the bacon salad bits in a sandwich -not the samebut maybe a helpful compromise ...
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Is quorn not a soya product, something eles I must not have. I am told to drink a small glass of red wine a day so its not all bad. :)
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had a look in our kitchen and the bottle has gone - when im next in the big m store i will have a loook at whats inside the packet
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Sabrina,
Can I be really nosey and ask why you've not to eat bacon & soya - is it linked to gout?
I only ask cause my hubby suffers from gout and has to avoid bacon & soya (and MILLIONS of other things) and the most recent thing we're trying (after conventional medicine, internet cures and a very expensive course of homeopathy which have failed!) is he's drinking a weak solution of baking soda and water in an attempt to lower the acidity of his blood, so far it seems to be working - just thought I'd share the info in case it's relevant.
Karen ;D
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Karen, I am not allowed bacon or soya due to having had breast cancer. No processed food etc.
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We've tried all sorts of recipes but our bacon just tastes like very salty salt pork.
Any suggestions very gratefully received...
I've been making bacon for a couple of years now and I've had a few "very salty pork" experiences!
The first few I tried I cured for far too long. If you want to make bacon you can eat for breakfast it really only takes 2 or 3 days in the cure. If you want it preserved then cure it longer, but don't expect to be able to eat it on it's own! :-P
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How long you need to leave it in the salt depends on how big the piece of meat is. For a whole side of bacon we usually leave it in the salt for a week - turning every day of the first three days. Then rinse and hang to dry for a week before either slicing and freezing or smoking.
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My method is for wet cure 360 grammes salt, 160 grammes sugar, (brown or white to taste) 15 or so peppercorns, about same juniper berries to 6 litres of water. Boil it all up until salt and sugar are dissolved. Allow to cool. When really cold, put chilled pork loin into water. 1 day per 1/2 inch thickness of meat. No more than 7 days. Take out rinse, leave in fridge for 2 days. Then chill down to almost frozen before slicing. I always slice a couple of slices then try it. If its too salty then soak for 24 hours changing water every few hours.
Dry cure - much preferred. Roughly the same ratio of salt to sugar leave out the juniper berries and bash the peppercorns about a bit so they are broken. I add any extras (whatever happens to be flavour of the month on that day) at this time, rub mixture well in, especially into the crevices and around the sides. Its difficult to give quantities as I do large amounts at a time. Make sure you have enough cure to rub in to all sides top and bottom. Put bacon in a polythene bag, seal if possible. Or tie the end. I put this in a shallow bowl to stop the cure from leaching out all over the fridge. This gets left in fridge at 4 deg. C for 3-5 days depending on thickness. i.e. 3 days for a belly, 5 for a loin. Even 6 or 7 for a really deep loin.
Take it out wash it off, chill etc. This works for me.
Or alternatively use a pre-mix as suggested by everyone else. If you are doing it just for yourselves although its a tiny bit dearer its well worth the extra expense.
For a great ham Kate posted a great recipe for a party ham. So easy even I can do it.
HM
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You can make a really natural bacon with good flavour and low salt taste using the Brines and Cures from
www.designasausage.com (http://www.designasausage.com) - You have to try this!!