making bacon!

[fishfish 17]

if you go to sainsburys in the week take a look at the bacon isle,everything from basics at 99p a pound to dutchy originals dry cure bacon at over £18.00 per Lb!!!!!!!!!!! most bacon these days isnt realy bacon as we think of it,pork is injected with brine and left for 24 hours then sliced and packed,thats what the white scum is when you cook it! also the brine adds weight!so you are paying for water!!!! :banghead: also mixed into the brine are artificial preservatives,the product needs this as isnt realy cured and there fore will go off when not in a vac pack! even dry cures contain preservatives in the salt rub.I for one am allergic to the preservatives and cant eat bacon baught from the shop!!! :angry4:

last year i worked at a farm shop cutting plant and there i was given the job of bacon curer,and it is realy easy! i cant see how the shops can get away with the price! i started to make my own bacon at home,minus the preservatives in the rub as i now make my own rub(i have previously posted the dry cure recipe)

Tonight gareth and i made 20lb of dry cured streaky bacon and it took only 30 minutes! it will take 4 days to cure then i shal smoke it.

below is the basics of bacon making.pork,rubs and knife

 

firstly the ribs need cutting off and put aside for the BBQ,your butcher will gladly do this for you.also trim the flare fat and trim any mis-shaped edges off the piece.

next turn the meat skin side up,and stab/ pierce the skin all over with a knife point,dont go too deep 1cm should do!(It helps to think of 'psyco'shower scene!)

next spinkle the rub mix libraly onto the skin side and rub in hard ,pushing the rub in with the heel of yer hand:

next turn the meat over and repeat the process,ensuring that you rub the mix into all the seams and folds.

not forgetting the sides of the meat,use plenty of rub,dont be shy!!!

and here you have the final product ! best hung in a fridge or outside in the winter,when hhanging outside i put it in a pillow case to keep the bugs off! in the summer i just pop mine in a bag and place in the bottom of the fridge for 4 days,at which time i pat it dry with a cloth and smoke it,its ready to try now and is fine if you like 'green' bacon.

[gary m 0]

what do you put in your dry cure mix fishfish

[Tis TM 8]

What sort of smoker to you use fishfish? We're in the process of choosing which sort to make, for home use....

[fishfish 17]

"what do you put in your dry cure mix fishfish?"

 

 

heres a link to my curing recipies:

http://jacksshed.myfreeforum.org/about19.html

or i will gladly supply the rub ready made,pm me if yer intrested.

as for smoker all i use is a 50 gallon oildrum with oak chips in the bottom,inderneath i use a calorgas stove to heat the chips and make them smoke,the bacon is just suspended from a broom handle sat across the top,cover the top of the drum with a board or a hessian sack.

Edited January 8, 2008 by fishfish

[Guest john5]

this is how to make beacon

[Guest bullterrier]

cant wait to see what its like when its ready keep us up to date with the progress fishfish good post always nice to learn something new. ..john

[fishfish 17]

ille take some pics of some finished and cooked! i make it on a weekly basis as i sell it to friends and its so nice it doesnt hang around long! it keeps so well too i have some hanging in the kitchen that is still fine and its 4weeks old.

[BlueCoyote 0]

i dont have anything as large as a 50 gal. drum... at least nothing i would want to put meat in.. they're all rusty and have been sitting for ages.. one is a trash burning barrel...

 

this is what i have for a smoker

 

we also have hickory wood instead of oak. would all of that work? i've never ever smoked anything before... not even a cigarette lol

[fishfish 17]

nice smoker mate,problem being its a hot smoker ,ie it will cook the meat whilst smoking.my 50 gal drum is also my trash burner! the drum is cleaned easily with hose and brush,the meat doesnt toutch it in any way,also the meat doesnt cook in it.

[BlueCoyote 0]

ok i got what you mean there.. cooking it as it smokes will probably make it into jerky, right?

i've never even used the smoker i have. it was given to me not long ago and havent had anything to smoke...

[bobandfin 0]

Hi Fish

very interested in doing my own bacon

wondered how hot you have the smoker and how long do you smoke it for as i can only seem to find out abut hot smoking

Cheers Bob

[jasper65 6]

Cracking post FishFish! I fancy a crack at that soometime ....

 

Jasper

[Tis TM 8]

Hi Fish

very interested in doing my own bacon

wondered how hot you have the smoker and how long do you smoke it for as i can only seem to find out abut hot smoking

Cheers Bob

 

Hi Bob, try buying this book, its fantastic - my other half has been a butcher all his life, and even he wont get his nose out of this. He says its really comprehensive but also easy to understand. Not sure if its a beginners book, but if you have a fair idea about meat, its worth a try!

 

Here's the link:

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0393058298

[bobandfin 0]

Hi

Well i dry cured my own bacon just a couple of pound of belly pork and never again will i buy bacon from a shop.

I cured it for 5 days then a couple to dry them fryed it up could not get enough of it

The cure i used was 175 g of salt and 70 g of brown sugar and dash of black pepper to the kg

Thanks for the idea and the help

Bob

[fishfish 17]

good to hear mate! its the real deal aint it! makes you wonder wy more folk dont do it and why the shops get away with charging what hey do for it!,by the way a tip on cutting made eisier,pop it in the freezer for half hour till it starts to firm up,itll cut soo much easier!