Years ago, before the food channel was around, I watched a travel programme where the presenter was in Italy and was being shown the italian way of curing meats such as bacon, salami, prosciutto and pancetta. They even cured a whole leg of lamb. I was so intrigued with the programme that I knew I would experiment with the techniques one day.
First off the ranks is bacon. As per normal I did some research on what's the best cut of pork to use, different flavourings and whether to cold smoke the bacon or not.
I decided to go with a nice simple technique first and go from there. I apologise that the instructions aren't very precise, but I was doing this off the cuff and at the end of the day, that's what food is all about. Giving something a go with flavours you think you will like.
Ingredients
1 kg of pork belly - whole and without the bone.
Equal parts of sea salt and brown sugar
Method
In an airtight container, place the salt and sugar and mix well.
Get a large airtight container, big enough to lay the pork belly flat.
Sprinkle a handful of the salt mixture on the bottom of the container, then lay the pork belly on top. Sprinkle another handful of the salt mixture on the top of the pork belly. Place the lit on the container and store in the fridge for 24 hours. Repeat this process for 5 days.
Once you have completed the first 5 days, leave the bacon covered in the fridge for a further 5 days to cure.
On the 11th day, take the bacon out and wash it under running cold water completely. Pat dry. At this point you can slice thinly and start to enjoy your bacon which is what I did.
OR you can enter the realm of cold smoking the bacon. I haven't tried this method yet, but that's definitely on my radar.
Happy learning peeps!
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