ChileFarmer - bacon Q's

C

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Heh ChileFarmer -

I need some edumacation.....

I've never (sorta') been satisfied / happy with the usual and customary commercial "bacon" offerings.

tripped over a local Amish "vendor of things dried&smoked" - who has "dry cured" bacon. in a short conversation, he indicated it is rubbed with salt&spices, then smoked, then hung for a thousand year. well, mebbe not a thousand of thems.... but he has super sausage products and also cheeses - which I suspect is not "his" but he's marketing / selling them.

anywho, he sells it sliced - out of an open (fridged) pan, bit thicker than the usual commercial 'hermetically sealed in the Funk&Wagnalls porch mayo jar" approach ala that well known (OM) joint....

the problem is, it does not keep well once sliced. after 10 days or so it gets a funky smell and taste. I've "solved" this issue with the freezer - I layer two slices between sheets of wax paper - thenceforth storing it frozen. the wax paper lets me "chip off" any (even) number of slices needed - and two thick, the slices 'defrost aka thaw' right quick.

now, me gotta say, "dry cured" bacon vs "wet cured" bacon - multiple light years apart in terms of taste and goodiness.

my question is, should a dry cure go funky so fast? it is possible the vendor is pushing the process a bit - smoke houses have their physical limits...

any other insights to the dry cure process appreciated! must a dry cure also use nitrates/tites/whatever? I'm not into some mindless conspiracy about the nitro-whatevers - but he didn't mention it - just salt&pepper dry rub.... does the absence "promote" the early funky smell?
 
CM, here is my recipe for bacon. The cure is needed to kill off bugs at low temps. Without it you are asking for trouble.
Sodium nitrite keeps it safe from bad bugs. Mine last 3-4 weeks in the frig.
Any thing that is smoked should have the cure added wether dry or wet cured.
CF

Bill’s Homemade Bacon​

Ingredients:

One 5# pork belly
¼ cup of salt
Flavor: ¾ cup of Honey, Real sugar Cane Syrup or brown sugar. (I use dark brown sugar)
1 teaspoon pink salt, (cure #1) “[FONT=&quot]the curing salt containing sodium nitrite, not pink-colored salt”[/FONT]


Mix all flavor ingredients together.

Rub pork belly with your cure. Be sure and cover completely and rub in good.
Place pork in a large zip lock bag and place in refrigerator. Turn over every day for 10 days. Some liquid will form in the bag, this is good, do not pour off liquid. (I cure for 10 days)
At the end of the 10 days, remove from bag, and rinse under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Place back in refrigerator in an open container so that it dries well. It should be tacky to touch. Coat with course ground black pepper.

Smoking Bacon:

Heat smoker to 150° Place bacon in smoker hang or place on grates. Add your smoking wood, your choice, I like pecan or hickory. Fruit woods are nice also. Smoke for color and flavor. When the color you like is reached, increase pit temp to 200°. When the internal temp of your bacon is 156° remove from smoker. We are not trying to cook the bacon, just trying to kill off any bugs.
Cool before slicing, I put mine back in the refrigerator over night and slice the next day. Package in vacuum bags and freeze.
 
thanks for the info - I'd bet he's using a nitrite cure but didn't mention it.

I really prefer the dry cure stuff - it does not wrinkle up so much - and it's usually sliced a tad thicker - and it tastes better !
 
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