Makin' Bacon

ViksB

We have made bacon for the past three years. There is definite pros and cons. For us without doubt it is cheaper as we have a smallholding and have three pigs each year, we sell 2 to friends and keep 1. We have a lot of chops, sausages, joints, pepperoni, salami and bacon!!

Making bacon is as easy as described but we found that Hughs method makes it just too salty. We make ours the same method and then at the end of the week-10 days we soak it in cold water overnight, changing the water 2 or 3 times, this gives us back which isn't just solid salt. We then slice it and then freeze it in packs of 6 or 8 rashers so that it is nice and easy for us.
It is much dried than standard bacon but does tast goregoeous. It is no good however for wrapping your sausages in on Xmas day, but is great in cheese and bacon pasta or anywhere you really want the flavour.

Our next wish is to try smoking some, but we haven't got our heads around making a smoker.

You may struggle to make really nice bacon from shop bought joints as the pigs tend to have loads of growth hormones which doesn't give the dense firm meat you get in traditional pigs. (but then we are bias). There are several nutters like us who do have smallholdings and sell 1/2 pigs, we sell ours for about £100 which is the going rate around us, if you have good success with the bacon making you might want to try to buy one near you. I think the bigger industrial pig farmers sell 1/2 pigs for as little as £60 per half.

Good luck it is worth doing it.
Viks
P.S. Hughs Parma style ham is also gorgeous as is his wet cured ham.
P.P.S Yes we are crazy on Hugh

Angelina-M

I would love to find someone like you who has raised the pigs thoughtfully and would much rather pay £100 than £60 for something that I dont know how it lived its life!

I cant raise pigs as I live on an estate but I do have three happy chickens and the eggs are incomparable to shop bought.

I would happily buy your half pig! Good on you for giving it a go!

ViksB

If you live near East Yorkshire and want one in September time you are welcome!!
I must point out I wasn't trying to sell our pigs on the forum!!

Angelina-M

Toxic_Lemon wrote:

Ooh I wouldn't mind having a half in September. WOuld I have to butcher it? :eek:

I'd have the other half im sure! I have family living in South Yorkshire so could make the trip without much trouble.

As TL said though, would I have to butcher it?? I am thinking i'd rather just get the bits and pop it all into my bags!

overlykeensaver

thanks for all the advice - we were going to ask our butcher for some pork or failing that, a supplier at a farmers' market. I much prefer to pay a little more for my meat to get the best flavour I would like to start with small quantities as £100 is a lot to pay when you are experimenting!

Penelope_Penguin

In anticipation of Mr P and I keeping pigs one day, I've just bought some belly pork, and have it in the pantry dry curing using Hugh's cure :j Photos along soon...........

Penny. x

thriftlady_2

Excellent Penny, I've been tempted to have a go at this too;) It looks so easy in the River Cottage Family Cookbook.

I like my bacon thin though, have you got a slicer or are you just going to hack it up?

Penelope_Penguin

thriftlady wrote: »

Excellent Penny, I've been tempted to have a go at this too;) It looks so easy in the River Cottage Family Cookbook.

I like my bacon thin though, have you got a slicer or are you just going to hack it up?

We're going for thick-cut pancetta-style first. If that works, DH has agreed that we can "invest" in a slicer :T

Photos as promised - first the salt rub:

Penelope_Penguin

Now the belly pork - it's a bit less fatty than Hugh suggests, but that was what the butcher had.

lindadykes

I have made bacon quite a few times now over the past 3 years - it is very simple and tasty and at home it can be made without any of the nitrates that go into commercial bacon and of course there is none of that "white water" that comes with the cheap commercial stuff.

I make up a mixture of brown sugar and salt in the ratio of 1 part sugar to 2 parts salt.

I have cured a number of cuts of pork - belly will give you streaky bacon and loin will give back bacon, but have also cured a piece of shoulder pork that was on special offer.

I just take the piece of pork and rub it all over very generously with the sugar/salt mixture, make sure all the exposed surface is generously covered. I then put it in a lidded plastic container in the fridge for 3 days.

I turn the pork each morning and evening, but other than that I just leave it till the three days are up. I then rinse the pork under a running cold tap and pat it dry.

At this point I usually slice off a sliver and fry it to taste. If it is too salty it can be soaked for a while in cold water, but I've only had to do this once.

I then leave the bacon unwrapped on a shelf in the fridge for 24 hours to dry slightly. After that I wrap in greaseproof paper and store in the fridge, cutting off slices as I need them.

Because I prefer not to use saltpeter, my bacon does not retain the characteristic red colour of bacon when it is cooked, but it does taste wonderful, and cured this way is supposed to be able to be kept for up to 7 weeks, though mine is always gone long before that.