Bacon
July 31, 2009 · 18 comments
Mmm, bacon. I need some bacon for the BLT From Scratch Challenge, and I’ve never cured meat before, so it’s time to do a test.
For this first bacon I used the recipe and method in Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
For this recipe you’ll need to get some curing salt, sometimes called “pink salt,” Prague powder, or Insta-Cure #1. Don’t confuse this pink salt with actual pink salt from Australia or the Himalayan Plateau. Curing salt includes salt, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, and other ingredients, and is commonly dyed pink to make it visually different from regular salt.
Bacon Cure
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
2 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon curing salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Rinse, trim, and dry one hunk of pork belly of about 2½-3 pounds so that it’s rectangular. Then mix the cure ingredients together and rub it into the pork belly on both sides and along the edges.
Put the belly into a plastic bag if you have one big enough, or into a glass dish that will hold it and cover with plastic wrap. Put into the refrigerator to cure.
Every day for the next week, massage the juices that have accumulated back into the meat and turn it over. If it still feels squishy anywhere after a week, continue to cure for another day or two. Then you’re ready to smoke or roast the bacon.
For this first batch I roasted the bacon in a 200°F oven for about 2 hours until the interior temperature reached 150°F. Then I brushed genuine liquid hickory smoke on both sides and let it cool.
This was my first home-cured bacon and I will never buy bacon again. It’s just plain silly to buy that which can be made so easily and so very much better than store-bought.
My name is Gareth Mark, and I live in Portland, Oregon. I've been a line cook a few times and worked several years as a pastry chef.
I love your site and all the tips you offer– thank you for sharing! I also have the book Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It but have not yet tried the bacon. I’ve had trouble finding curing salt in my area– will you share what brand you used and where you got it? Thanks so much!
I’m heading to Laurelhurst Market after work to get another slab of pork belly to cure. Home-cured bacon is so much better than even the best bacon I’ve purchased… and so handy to have around for making lardons or slicing extremely thinly just to eat roasted. Mmmmmm….
If I had access to a garden, I would totally take up the Ruhlman challenge. Alas, I have not.
Nothing is better than bacon! I love your website, it’s so full of information. Thanks for sharing this with us. Now I want to make bacon!
My pancetta/bacon just finished last Thursday, I used the basic recipe Ruhlman posted and I also used some spices and sugar alternative (not giving to much away) Woo Hoo, its the BOMB, of the Chain, (its great)…I feel the same as you, bacon from the store ever again? Doubt it.
I am envious, not sure if I could get wild boar belly…
…But I am really concerned with my tomatoes…not sure if I can pull it of by deadline?
SIGH
I got my salt cure (Morton’s) from the local meat market then added in spices and sugar. Los Gatos Meat Company in California.
OMG! I can not show this to my husband or we will be making bacon this weekend.
Great stuff! Never knew that making bacon was so easy. Thanks.
I live in Portland, and I was wondering where you get your prague powder/instacure#1 ?
Thanks!
I bought mine online. See my earlier comment with several options.
ooooh bacon! i’ve never seen a post on curing meats, interesting. I’ll have to try that sometime soon. You always have great posts!
-kyle
Thanks! I try to keep things interesting for everyone, myself included.
my goodness Gareth, that bacon is good. I slightly modified the ingredients to my taste, but this is good stuff. Thanks for the post
I’m glad to hear you modified it to your taste. That’s music to my ears!
Thanks! I found curing salt on eBay; shipping cost more than the salt. You can also get it at Amazon (Instacure #1) and a number of other places. I used Eldon’s Sausage & Jerky Supply Cure Salt #1. Their phone number is 1-800-352-9453. 4 ounces, $2.95. Don’t know whether they ship or not.
I got mine at New Seasons. For my next batch I’m heading to Nicky USA to see if I can get wild boar belly to use for the challenge.
Thank you for your kind comments. I really appreciate how supportive everyone is.
We’ve had a spell of really hot weather that may just have convinced the tomatoes to finish. I’m not sure I’ll have good ones until September, though, so I might not be able to participate in the Challenge. Oh well. At least I learned how easy it is to make bacon.
I agree!
Go ahead, live on the wild side. Besides, it only takes a few minutes. If you start it this weekend you can smoke it next weekend.