AMGBOW303 Posted November 18, 2021 Report Posted November 18, 2021 I experimented with curing bacon the other day and it turned out amazing. I can never go back to store bought. Recipe and photos below for those who want to try. Dry Curing Rub Pork Belly (2.5kg) 40g salt 40g brown sugar 5g curing salt 5g ground white pepper 5g coriander seed 5g ground mace (nutmeg as a substitute) 5g onion powder 5g garlic powder 5g ground ginger 5g ground fennel seed DAY 1: Remove skin from pork belly. Mix the curing powder and rub pork belly thoroughly. Place in a Ziplock or vacuum sealed bag. Place in refrigerator. DAYS 2-6: Turn the bag over every morning. Day 7: Remove from bag and rinse pork belly thoroughly with cold water. Pat dry and place on drying rack in refrigerator for two days to rest/dry. Day 9: Smoke on KK at 200-225f to an internal temp of 150f. Hickory is great, but other woods are too. Let the pork belly cool for an hour and them place it back on the cooling rack in the refrigerator overnight. Day 10: Slice/portion/eat 15
Poochie Posted November 18, 2021 Report Posted November 18, 2021 You sure found a perfect pork belly to use. Lots of lean meat and the final product looks perfect! Good job.
Dono Posted November 19, 2021 Report Posted November 19, 2021 16 hours ago, Poochie said: You sure found a perfect pork belly to use. Lots of lean meat and the final product looks perfect! Good job. Agreed @Poochie! I’ve bought several and never got one that nice. The cooked photo looks delicious @AMGBOW303Awesome job.
RokDok Posted November 20, 2021 Report Posted November 20, 2021 Thats looks brilliant, whenever I've tried it's been salty and only suitable for adding to stews etc. Well done
tony b Posted November 20, 2021 Report Posted November 20, 2021 43 minutes ago, RokDok said: Thats looks brilliant, whenever I've tried it's been salty and only suitable for adding to stews etc. Well done How long did you brine it for? Cut back a day and see if that helps? Did you rinse and pat dry the belly before smoking? Those are my best suggestions to reduce the saltiness. 1
MacKenzie Posted November 20, 2021 Report Posted November 20, 2021 2 hours ago, RokDok said: Thats looks brilliant, whenever I've tried it's been salty and only suitable for adding to stews etc. I dry brine mine for 7 days and then do 3 soak outs, each for 2 hours and that takes care of the saltiness. 1 1
woody Posted November 21, 2021 Report Posted November 21, 2021 Would you share your dry brine recipe?
RokDok Posted November 21, 2021 Report Posted November 21, 2021 @tony b, @MacKenzie It's been a while, I remember packing with salt in a cool box & draining off the fluid daily. The has given me motivation to re-try and do the soak outs. Didn't have the KK then and didn't try to smoke . but now keen to try this Thanks
tekobo Posted November 22, 2021 Report Posted November 22, 2021 15 hours ago, RokDok said: @tony b, @MacKenzie It's been a while, I remember packing with salt in a cool box & draining off the fluid daily. The has given me motivation to re-try and do the soak outs. Didn't have the KK then and didn't try to smoke . but now keen to try this Thanks Hi @RokDok, I usually dry cure my bacon. Works well every time. I buy the cure from Surfy's in the UK. 1
RokDok Posted November 23, 2021 Report Posted November 23, 2021 On 11/22/2021 at 9:32 AM, tekobo said: Hi @RokDok, I usually dry cure my bacon. Works well every time. I buy the cure from Surfy's in the UK. And very tasty it is too !! 1
Cheesehead_Griller Posted October 31, 2022 Report Posted October 31, 2022 On 11/20/2021 at 1:39 PM, MacKenzie said: I dry brine mine for 7 days and then do 3 soak outs, each for 2 hours and that takes care of the saltiness. Can you please describe your "soak out" process?
MacKenzie Posted October 31, 2022 Report Posted October 31, 2022 (edited) I have a big Igloo water cooler and just put the pork belly in that, fill with water and let it sit for 2 hours, dump it and fill with fresh water, the batch I just sliced this morning was only in the soakout for 4 hours, filled the cooler let it sit 2 hours, dumped the water out and refilled and let it sit for 2 hours. Dried the pork belly off and put it in the fridge for about 16 hours un wrapped. Stay tuned for pixs tomorrow. This time I was in a rush and only dry cured for 5 days and it worked just fine. Taste test tomorrow at breakfast. Edited October 31, 2022 by MacKenzie
MacKenzie Posted October 31, 2022 Report Posted October 31, 2022 I cut the belly into two pieces to make it more manageable for me. I have 20 of these stacks of 7 slices per stack. Yummy. 6 1
MacKenzie Posted November 1, 2022 Report Posted November 1, 2022 My bacon story is continued in Everyday Misc Cooking Photos w/ details.
