The name of this recipe is a bit misleading. The bacon is not actually cured using the method described below. Before being smoked, sliced, packaged and sold, cured bacon is cured or seasoned, and then… cured. It has a fairly long shelf life due to chemicals added during processing (preservatives, nitrate/nitrite or high nitrate celery salt). Our bacon contains no spices, salt or additives. Technically, it’s just fresh pork.
We sell two types of ranch bacon, both unprocessed. We have regular bacon slices and pork belly slices for sale. The main difference is that pork belly can be cured and smoked the traditional way, whereas our bacon slices are just pork belly cuts. Because it’s pre-sliced, it can’t be cured or smoked properly, but can be flavored to mimic cured bacon. The best part is that it’s completely chemical free, just the seasoning you choose to use.
To taste the natural meaty flavor of uncured bacon, simply fry it and season with salt. You can also make it taste like bacon, which is what your brain thinks it should. Here’s how:
Add 1 or 2 cups of liquid smoke to the mixture. (This is optional, but it adds a smoky flavor.)
Place bacon in a deep glass container and add water mixture. Separate the bacon strips so that each is completely submerged in the liquid. If needed, add a little water to cover. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove the bacon strips from the water mixture and pat dry. Fry in a cast iron skillet to desired crispness for crispier bacon, colder and slower bacon is crispier. Alternatively, substitute bacon or salt pork in recipes that call for it.
**Reserve bacon fat for frying vegetables, eggs or crackers. It will give a delicious bacon flavor to anything you make with it!
How do you cure uncured bacon slices
To prepare ahead: Depending on how you choose to smoke your bacon, have 3 teaspoons of actual liquid pecan smoke or 5 cups of pecan sawdust on hand.
Rinse abdomen and pat dry thoroughly. Trim any thin edges to make this piece a long rectangle. (These extra belly can be used for sausage or lard.)
Combine sugar and syrup in a small bowl. Then add 2 teaspoons salt, pickling salt and pepper to the meat and rub evenly (like a relaxing pig spa treatment). Place the meat in a large resealable plastic bag and refrigerate for 7 days, massaging the juices that build up in the bag and turning daily.
Check your bacon after 7 days. It should feel hard all over, like a well-cooked steak, which is a sign that it has been cured. If the meat still feels spongy and mushy in places, massage it with another 2 teaspoons of salt and check again in 1 or 2 days.
Once fully cured, remove particles from bacon, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry.
Baking and liquid smoke are the fastest methods. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Place belly fat side up on a rack on a baking sheet and cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until meat reaches 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brush the liquid smoke over the bacon, making sure both sides are evenly covered.
Smoking on the grill is the slowest way. Smoke the beef fat side up with a packet of 5 cups pecan chips for 3 to 5 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
Smoking and Roasting: Best of both worlds Since I love the flavor of smoke but don’t always have the patience for a full grill, this is my go-to method. Start smoking your meat and keep it on for as long as possible – at least 2 hours is optimal. Smoke it until you get tired of looking at the grill and tending to the coals. Finish the meat in a 200F oven on a rack on a baking sheet until it reaches 150F at its thickest point on the inside.
Taste the bacon after frying. If more smoke flavor is desired, brush the sides of the slab with a small coat of liquid smoke.
When your bacon is ready, slice it as thin (or thick) as you like and cook over medium-high heat until browned on both sides, whichever method you use. Drain with paper towels before serving.
Bacon can be frozen in chunks, pre-cut chunks for seasoning beans or other foods, or slices sandwiched between layers of parchment paper and tightly wrapped in freezer storage bags. Refrigerate for ten days or freeze for three months.
What’s the best way to treat sliced pork belly
This smoked pork belly recipe uses a slightly different method of smoking pork belly for bacon.
I recommend buying a whole piece of pork belly and removing the skin for bacon.
Salt, pickling salt and spices are used to pickle the pork belly. Depending on the recipe you choose, this process can take up to 7 days. Rinse and pat dry.
Smoke the meat to 150°F with an electric or charcoal smoker. Slice for bacon.
Can bacon be made with sliced pork belly
Defrost pork belly slices. Heat a dry cast iron skillet (about four-tenths) over medium to low heat. Fry bacon to desired crispness, flipping at least once. Season with sea salt immediately after removing bacon from skillet. You need to do this before the bacon tarnishes so the salt will adhere better. enjoy. This concludes our discussion.
Is it possible to cure bacon that has not been cured
To preserve flavor and color, as well as prevent bacterial growth, cured bacon is treated with salt and nitrite. Uncured bacon can still be cured, but only using celery nitrite.
What is the process of dry cured bacon
So how did bacon go from juicy pork to delicious, well-preserved meat? Dry curing is the most traditional and widely used method of curing bacon. When fresh pork is cured with salt, seasonings, nitrates, and in some cases, sugar, it’s called dry curing. After that, let the meat marinate for a week or two. There is no need to add any liquid in the process as it only uses dry ingredients. Rinse and rinse the bacon after marinating. After seasoning, place most of the bacon in the smoker for extra flavor and preservation. If a smoker is not used, the meat is either roasted in a regular oven or air-dried in the cold for weeks, even months!
What makes uncured bacon different from cured bacon
The fundamental difference between cured and uncured bacon is the curing material. Despite what these labels indicate, both cured and uncured bacon are cured. They just utilize various therapeutic chemicals.
There are more cured meat products than you might think. Hot dogs, ham and smoked sausages such as Bratwurst and Polish Kielbasa are all popular cured meats.
Nitrates and nitrites are compounds and food preservatives used in the curing process, such as sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. These preservatives are added to cured bacon, but uncured bacon uses natural substances such as cultured celery powder.
If nitrites and nitrates are added, they can be harmful to your health. According to research, these chemical additives are difficult for your body to process and may be converted into nitrosamines before being digested. Nitrosamines are carcinogenic, which means they cause cancer to develop. They can also cause reproductive and birth abnormalities.
How long should bacon be soaked
The only thing really going wrong (other than not taking it long enough to cure it) is making it too salty. This could be due to using too much salt in the treatment, allowing it to cure too long, or both. If a taste test makes you want to grab a glass of water, you may want to address this before slicing and storing the leftover slab. The easiest way to do this is to soak the slab in water for 24 to 36 hours (in the refrigerator), depending on how salty you think it is. Soak it for 24 hours, then fry a few more slices to taste. If it’s still too salty, soak for another 12 hours and try again. Once fully diluted, place the slab in the refrigerator for an additional 12 hours, remove from the water and place on a rack (there is a plate below to catch the water), allow it to dry before slicing the rest.
storage
It is strongly recommended not to freeze whole slabs, but to slice and freeze them in sections. Otherwise, you’ll have to defrost every time you want bacon, and refreezing and defrosting a piece of pork is not good for it. Once all the bacon has been sliced, place it in a small freezer-safe Ziploc bag, or better yet, seal it with a vacuum sealer like a FoodSaver. I’ve owned a FoodSaver for years, and I believe if you buy a lot of perishables from warehouse stores, you should have one too. I usually put about 7-10 pieces in a bag, and when it’s time for a bacon breakfast (or snack), I just grab a bag and thaw it in warm water for 10 minutes.
I hope that after reading this article, you will be more motivated to start making your own bacon. It’s not simple, but it’s satisfying and cost-effective in the long run, especially once you get the hang of it. Depending on your local regulations, if you’re really good at it, you may even be allowed to sell it at your local farmers market for a profit. I originally intended to do this, but found the cost too high to implement. But I’m still happy to share my bacon with friends and family to see how much they like it.
Mike Lunney, a semi-freelance writer who lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and two sons, wants to be a semi-freelance writer. He enjoys playing the drums, writing (obviously), making meat and whiskey, working in the garden, doing home improvement projects, and when he’s not busy banging his head against the table, he usually entertains his kids with a dash of self-love. His day job is educational administration.
Is the bacon made with pork belly
Bacon has a long history of popularity, especially in the West. Pigs are initially raised seasonally, with piglets born in the spring and fattened as they mature until they are ready for slaughter at the end of the year. Pork can be cured into ham, bacon, and other delicacies, making it an affordable and enjoyable option for feeding your family in the winter. Despite modern refrigeration methods, people still prefer cured pigs, especially bacon.
Real bacon is made from pork, with the exception of specialties like turkey bacon, which try to replicate traditional pork bacon. Bacon is not made from a specific cut of meat, unlike several other types of pigs found in butchers or supermarkets. Bacon can be made from the belly, back, or sides of a pig, or from other high-fat areas. Back bacon is popular in the UK, while Americans prefer “striped” bacon, also known as side bacon, which is cut from pork belly.
Any of these cutlets can be sold fresh from the pig as pork belly, tenderloin, or sides to be cooked, or as uncured bacon, cured according to your own recipe and process. To make bacon, the pork has to go through a marinating process, which we’ll cover in detail later.
