[Dundonald hens]

Well i cured bacon for 5 days followed the river cottage meat book and if u excuse my langauge fut me it was salty !
The chef at my work has told me to leave it running under a tap in a overflowwing pot for 24 hours and it should be fine

[shetlandpaul]

I tried to do some a couple of months ago and that was extremly salty. but it maybe that we are used to the shop bought stuff and what we make is how salty bacon used to be. i don't know maybe we are just not very good at it.

[oaklandspigs]

Well i cured bacon for 5 days followed the river cottage meat book and if u excuse my langauge fut me it was salty !

The River Cottage forum gets this comment about monthly!!  Apparently the recipe is just wrong, but the book went mega, so lots of people follow it and get a mouthful of salt in every bite!

Yes soak it and this will reduce - but next time don't repeat the recipe, it was nothing you did wrong and it will only happen again!

[Eve]

Dundonald, remember that bacon is a preserved meat meant to last through winter - preserved with salt! So it's normal to be salty, but we're not used to it anymore as mass-market modern bacon production uses not just salt but also chemicals and even liquid smoke to speed up the process and save money.

Blanching the lardons or rashers for 45 seconds will turn it into the most flavourful bacon you've ever had - put your own bacon in the pan together with the most expensive supermarket bacon you can buy, and you'll realise the lack of flavour caused by using modern methods (apart from a uselessly short shelf life).

Crunchy bits of salty fatty smoked bacon in mashed potatoes 

Enjoy!