When it comes to culinary comfort food, few items surpass the guttural reaction bacon brings. Jim Gaffigan jokes aside, there is a huge focus nationally on pork products and artisanal uses for it as a main course or a condiment (I was served a bloody Mary with a stick of bacon rather than celery recently. Delicious).
Curing and smoking are techniques that go back in history hundreds of years as a way of preserving meat over long periods of time prior to refrigeration. The process is not difficult, inexpensive, and with the only compromise that you will need to devote some refrigerator real estate while the cure or drying occurs.
We ordered a side of pork belly from WiffleTree Farm in Warrenton, Virginia. These hogs are humanely pasture-raised, medication-free, and are a heritage bred pigs.
This was a 16 pound belly, more than I wanted for my first try at this but worth the expense of time and money.
I divided the pork belly into three even slabs of 5ish pounds a piece. This recipe is for a 5 pound slab, adapted from Michael Rhulman and Brian Polcyn's book, Charcuterie.
Like most cures, this starts with kosher salt and sugar. In this case for a 5-pound slab we used equal measures of 1/2 cup salt and brown sugar. Adjuncts can then be added. In this case we included whole peppercorns and fresh sage. THE MOST IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN THIS CURE IS THE CURE #1, THE PINK SALT ALSO KNOW AS PRAGUE POWDER. This powder, with the main ingredient of sodium nitrate, used to act as a preservative for meat curing prior to refrigeration as it prevents the growth of botulism. It has other positive flavor characteristics for meat, and it now acts as a color enhancer and provides the porky flavor we associate with some cured meats. The density of this chemical is so small, and also found in natural elements such as celery, that health concerns should be allayed.
Here is the recipe for the cure:
- 1/2 cup kosher salt
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Prague Powder (pink salt)
I took this mix for a spin in the Cuisinart, and then coated/rubbed this mixture on the 5 pound slab. Then into a 2 gallon ziplock bag (air released) and into the refrigerator. Flip and redistribute the juices daily for 7 days.
At the end of the week, rinse the slab and let dry in the fridge for a day uncovered so it can form a dry pellicle which helps hold the smoke.
At this point you have pancetta, which is cured belly that is not smoked. But smoking brings so much flavor to the party that if you can do it, you should.
We cold smoked this slab in a gas grill with a device called the A-Maze-N Smoker. This little device is great for smoking anything, and the pellets for it come in may different woods for different flavors. This device creates lots of smoke and generates it for 2 hours. We used hickory as our smoking wood.
After the smoke we transferred the slab to a 200 degree oven until its internal temperature reached 150 degrees. You now have bacon, but you should refrigerate so that the slab firms up for easier slicing.
We loved this bacon. It is very different from store bought. This slab was much smokier and less salty. You can extend the cure time if you want more salt and reduce the smoking time or eliminate it all together (but make sure you roast in the oven until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees).
Slice thin with a very sharp knife to make breakfast strips, or dice to add to pasta, soups, or pizza as a condiment.
Here is the video for the process:
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