Affiliate Disclosure: I am grateful to be of service and bring you content free of charge. However, being the middle-of-the-road guy that I am, I discovered this solution: Love me tender, love me truuueee… Tender Quick does contain some nitrates but not as high a concentration that you would otherwise get in conventional bacon or by using pink salt in its purest form. In order to do this, please note that when you click links and purchase items, in most (not all) cases I will receive a referral commission. However, because the risks of food poisoning are so severe, you shouldn’t rely on salt curing alone to preserve meat. Making bacon at home... but why? The seasonings can be anything, in this recipe I use chili and garlic. terry hollembaek says. This is an ingredient you cannot leave out. Rather, it balances out the intense flavor of the salt. I have been making home made bacon for a while (cure with pink salt plus smoking). I had to poach my bacon for a minute of two before use to remove the saltiness. Use pickling salt and white sugar if your going to store the dry cure. Great recipe,and seems to be the normal ratio used the world over. Once incorporated, you can then evenly coat all sides of the pork belly with the dry mixture. I make a no pink salt bacon from an Alton Brown Scrap Iron Chef recipe. While it is still hot use  a large knife to remove the skin. Make a mixture of (by weight) of 2.5 parts salt (kosher adheres very nicely), 1 part sugar, then add a generous grind of black pepper. At it’s most basic a cure will be made up of sugar, salt, and Pink Salt. My next bacon project is going to be a honey cure and a hickory smoke. You can add almost any herbs, spices, or other flavoring ingredient to your bacon cure. This redistributes the liquid which aids in the … 1 pink salt is used to cure all meats that require cooking, brining, smoking, or canning. Very cool! I don’t know how well the vacuum seal would allow for the liquid to bathe the meat. Use Prague Powder #1 for short cures (a week or less), such as bacon or sausage, and Prague Powder #2 for longer cures, like ham or hard salami. Weighing the ingredients out insures a good cure as different “grinds” of salt and sugar will have different volumes. The really important ingredients here are the Pink Curing Salt #1 and, of course, the bacon. Firmly press the Pork Belly into the cure on all sides. ,and the cost of the salts and sugar was pretty miniscule. I know its been done that way forever, but if I can avoid the chemicals, then I would like to try it. You have to wonder why if Pink salt is OK why do they have a big warning on the side say “keep away from children”. Any bacon that doesn't easily slice may be cut into chunks, for starting a pot of beans or soup. Method: Mix the salts and sugar together, bash the bay leaves and peppercorns to release the flavour, and combine with the salt mix. The hot smoking process holds the meat near the so-called “danger zone” for several hours and the nitrites prevent botulism from growing (it thrives in warm anaerobic environments like a smoker). Also known as Insta Cure, DQ Pink Curing Salt, and Sel Rose, Prague Powder is a key ingredient in most cured meats. Rinse the bacon well and pat dry with paper towels. As far as I can make out, the problem comes with the addition of nitrate salt in the curing process. If your local market doesn’t carry it Spanish or Asian markets are a great place to look for it as well. Ahhh, bacon! I add some “flavors” during the process, my favorite being maple syrup,and brown sugar,adding the sugar at the midway point of curing, using 1/2 cup per lb. I have tried adding the maple syrup to it at different times during the cure,even brushing the slabs as I smoke them,all giving great results,using apple and hickory wood. // ]]> Smoke at 200-225° F until bacon reaches an internal temperature of 150° F. This should take 2-3 hours depending on your smoker’s temperature and the thickness of the pork belly. This instructable also outlines the process I have used to make bacon for a few years now and it has always come out great! Allow the bacon to air-dry uncovered in the refrigerator for 48 hours. The salt is the real move and shaker when it comes to curing. To get started making bacon, you need four ingredients: pork belly, cure #1 (AKA pink salt, curing salt, Prague Powder, Instacure), kosher salt, and sugar. Spread some cure out on a baking sheet. This type of salt will not protect your meat from botulism. Add the salt (and pink salt if using) and the cure additions. Prepping (Day #1): So I started by De-boning the Butts. Pink salt isn’t Himalayan salt. I can’t wait to try this. So why not make yummy home made bacon? However, many people hesitate to use curing salt because it contains … It's also a great opportunity to make some delicious pork cracklings too! All the additional spices can be swapped out to your liking. Thanks for the clarification! The salt and sugar are common ingredients but Pink Salt is the 800 lb gorilla in the room. It is actual work to come up with a food that bacon doesn’t go well with. But I'd bet most of us here on instructables like to tweak things. Smokehowze’s Pork Butt Bacon (Buckboard Bacon) Recipe Using an Immersion Cure This bacon is made with a boneless pork butt and is moderately lean bacon. Add Tip Ask Question Comment Download. That's why! Salt cure for speck (belly bacon) If you want to make traditional Bavarian speck, take equal amounts of juniper berries, peppercorns, and bay leaves and crush them in a mortar and pestle. Close the bag, squeezing out all the air and refrigerate for seven days. Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated) is my go to book for meat curing projects. It is a digital cookbook and cooking guide alike, available on all platforms, that helps home cooks of every level discover, save and organize the world’s best recipes, while also helping them become better, more competent cooks. 1. You are shooting for a nice uniform coating. Question, I want to use this bacon on camping and backpacking trips. Saltpeter used for curing today is typically called pink salt. Salt, sugar, Pink Salt,and pork belly come together to make something that blows away the store bought stuff. I find Pops6927’s recipe from the Smoking Meat forums to be a great place to start.. This cure goes for at least 7 days, up to 14, so you’ll want a reminder of when it’s time to take it out! Pink salt is a special curing salt that includes sodium nitrite. Firmly press the Pork Belly into the cure on all sides. It is absolutely possible to cure bacon without nitrates; but be aware that the end product will be more the color of cooked pork and that the flavor will be akin to that of a pork roast. A small amount of pink salt in your cure provides that familiar pink color and bacon-y flavor, or what we have come to know as bacon-y. It keeps cured products safe from botulism, and makes your Canadian Bacon pink and juicy instead of pork-chop colored. Adapted from “Charcuterie,” by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, and “Well-Preserved,” by Eugenia Bone, About 45 minutes, plus 30 minutes resting time, Tejal Rao, Francisco Migoya, Nathan Myhrvold, 1 hour 30 minutes, plus about 20 hours' rising, 90 minutes, plus macerating and processing time, 50 minutes, plus 30 minutes steeping and 12 hours resting after processing, 2 hours, plus 2 hours’ maceration and 12 hours’ resting after processing. The pink salt or powdered celery juice is important for the nitrite content. I have made bacon with the pure pink salt and without. Order it online. The purpose of the salt is to extend shelf life, to give the meat a rosy-pink hue and to prevent bacterial growth. Step 1: The Bellies and the Cure. Homemade Smoked Maple Cured Bacon Recipe is easy to prepare and you get the reward of enhanced flavor, avoiding chemicals that can be present on commercial bacon. I usually make 20lbs at a time. I usually make 20lbs at a time. Cure #2 should not be used to make bacon, and these calculators are not intended for Morton’s Tender Quick or any other blended cure product. Step 5: Set up your smoker following the manufacturer’s instructions and preheat it to 175 degrees F. Add hickory, apple, or cherry chips or chunks to the coals. […] View the full article at The Backyard Pioneer […]. It is 93.75 percent table salt and 6.25 percent sodium nitrite. You can make your own cure and custom tailor the flavor you want. Smoke the pork belly until bronzed with wood smoke and … Before you mix up and apply your cure, make sure that your pork belly will fit into a large ziplock baggie. This redistributes the liquid which aids in the curing process. Lay the pork belly directly on the grill grate. With or without the pink salt, homemade bacon is worth the effort. It's a really simple process that just requires patience and a bit of space in the fridge. How to Cook a Steak In A Cast Iron Frying Pan, https://survivalsherpa.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/makin-bacon-how-to-dry-cure-pork-belly/, Benchmade 940 Review : Gentleman’s Tactical. https://cookpad.com/us/recipes/367786-applewood-smoked-buckboard-bacon The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. The reason the salt is pink is because manufacturers add dye to it so you won’t confuse it with regular salt. After seven days, wash the cure off the meat, rinsing thoroughly. I make sure to keep the bacon under or above botulism temps for any lengthy period. Ingredients: 2 oz. You have to wonder why if Pink salt is OK why do they have a big warning on the side say “keep away from children”. I strive to bring you the best EDC Knife and Gear Reviews, Small Scale Homesteading, Common Sense Preparedness, and Dutch Oven Recipes. Wet Cure Method. chunks, leave the skin on and remove after smoking, vacuum pack food saver and freeze. Dry Equilibrium Curing = % of Sea Salt + 0.25% Pink Curing Salt to the Total Weight of the Meat. Allow the bacon to air-dry in the refrigerator for 6 to 24 hours. A regular old butcher may carry it but expect to have to buy a whole belly, which might be a little daunting for a first try. Plug in 10 or 20 pounds as weight then calculate the ingredients. Check out this dry cure method of makin’ bacon, I think it is what you are looking for https://survivalsherpa.wordpress.com/2015/06/26/makin-bacon-how-to-dry-cure-pork-belly/ . The hot smoking process holds the meat near the so-called “danger zone” for several hours and the nitrites prevent botulism from growing (it thrives in warm anaerobic environments like a smoker). A food group unto itself!!! Maybe substitute the brown sugar with maple syrup. Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking, and Curing (Revised and Updated). Bacon is made from pork belly, salt, sugar and seasonings. Two Forms of Pink Salt . You can scale this recipe up and down by adding 100g of salt and 30g of sugar for every litre of water. The really important ingredients here are the Pink Curing Salt #1 and, of course, the bacon. Seems like a shame to make homemade bacon and add chemicals. Mix brown sugar, pink salt, kosher salt and 1 cup of the coarse ground pepper in a bowl together. chunks, leave the skin on and remove after smoking, vacuum pack food saver and freeze. The salt, sugar and seasonings make up the bacon cure. NYT Cooking is a subscription service of The New York Times. https://dizzypigbbq.com/recipe/dizzy-pig-cow-lick-canadian- On the 7th day feel the bacon, it should have a new found firmness to it. You’ll need to use Prague powder for making bacon – it’s also called “pink curing salt #1.” Most butchers will have it because they use it to make their sausages and bacon and many of them sell it to customers. This includes poultry, fish, ham, bacon, luncheon meats, corned beef, pates, and other products. Plug in 10 or 20 pounds as weight then calculate the ingredients. Opt out or, pounds pork belly, squared off, rind removed, cup maple syrup, or honey, brown sugar, white sugar or molasses, tablespoons cold strong black coffee, bourbon or apple cider. Basic Dry Cure Bacon. The pink dye doesn’t actually add color to the cured meat (it’s the curing process with nitrates that does that). This is what I use. The grain size is about the same so it will stay mixed well in storage. This ratio seems to hold true across many publications. The salt, … Making bacon at home is insanely easy, requires minimal ingredients, and little time commitment. 2. Use pickling salt and white sugar if your going to store the dry cure. Cut a pork belly into manageable chunks of around 3-5 lb, trimmed of loose bits, and squared it off. google_ad_client = "ca-pub-3092004093602558"; /* Home Bottom */ google_ad_slot = "9498157713"; google_ad_width = 728; google_ad_height = 15; Not yet but my I’m just starting my bacon journey! Cured Pork Loin - Curing Your Own Bacon - Preserve & Pickle Homemade Bacon: This instructable is to teach you how to make homemade bacon - completely from scratch. Mix brown sugar, pink salt, kosher salt and 1 … Some liquid will begin to gather in the bag. Preheat the oven to 225 degrees. I'm posting this in Step by Step form in case anyone would like to follow it. The Acid Test. Home Made Bacon. I am wondering if anyone has ever done any bacon without nitrates / nitrites in it. You can get additional flavor if you have a smoker and some hickory chips. Cured meat can last for months or even years, provided that it is hung up to dry somewhere with low-humidity. Want to add chili flakes? Hi Gary, The salt draws out the water in the meat and performs the actual curing and the sugar cuts the salty flavour so that the finished bacon is edible. It is sold in the US under the names Cure #1, Instacure #1, and Prague Powder, and is often referred to as “pink salt,” but should not be confused with Himalayan pink salt. Place the coated pork belly into Ziploc baggie(s) and be sure to write the date on the bag. Featured in: [CDATA[ Although this substance is natural, it may cause problems for some people. Your support in purchasing through these links enables me to keep the content train rolling. Rub the cure into the pork belly, turning the bag over and over and pressing the cure into the flesh. I’m not sure how it would work out. Local farmers will also be a great place to start looking for heritage breed pork if that is a route you would like to pursue. Bacon is cured in the refrigerator, then slow roasted, and finally cooked again before serving. Curing salt (which is not the same as pink Himalayan salt) keeps fat from going rancid and protects against bacteria like botulism. Roast the pork belly in the oven to an internal temperature of 150 degrees for about 90 minutes. Doing some research- why do you have to put sugar in the cure? I started making our bacon 2 years ago. just curious. Pink in this case refers to curing salt, which is regular table salt with 6.25% sodium nitrite added, and dyed pink for safety. After many requests, here is a calculator to work out salt and pink curing salt (for both pink curing salt 1 or 2). Curing your own bacon, at least once, is a great experience for any meat enthusiast. This is great but I was wondering if instead of using a Ziploc bag could you put it in a vacuum seal bag. It is not being consumed as a raw, cured meat, so the use of a nitrate is a personal decision. Buckboard Bacon (Step by Step) NOTE: The following is how I do this particular Smoke. Each day, flip the bag over. Wrapped in parchment paper, then wrapped in plastic wrap or foil and placed in a Ziploc bag, the bacon will keep for three weeks in the refrigerator and three months in the freezer. Now bacon, as we all know, is proof that (a) there is a God, and (b) He laughs in the face of vegetarians. If you just want plain salted pork belly, skip this step. Dick, sort of like making bacon, you can dry rub or wet rub as long as the ratio of pink salt is correct. This brine makes enough for one leg of ham and the sides (short bacon) from one whole pig (if you recall from my last post, we used the meatier half of the sides of two pigs for roasts, and the other half for bacon). Pat the bacon dry with a clean towel and set it on a rack over a baking sheet. Subscribe now for full access. In a large food-safe container, combine 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of plain (non-iodized) table salt, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 … //