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curing disaster

Hi All...help needed

I made 2.5 kilos of bacon this week from a nice pork loin.
Followed the instructions as I did the last time.

Left the bacon overnight in the fridge to dry out and sliced this morning.
The problem was that the bacon seemed, well certainly did, slice into bits rather than nice rashers as it did the last time.
I ended up cutting the "tail" bit off and cutting the large part of it with a sharp knife and cutting the thinner tail bit into bacon bits.

Is my problem any of the following:

1. Bacon not dried out for long enough, should it be left for 2 or 3 days instead of the 24 hours
2. Pork loin was too fatty, although it looked perfect when I bought it and therefore it sliced, or shredded, into its individual muscles as it was cut
3. Since the slicer seemed to cut the meat and then drag in onto the revolving blade...should I smeer it with oil for gliding purposes


I am really peed off now and feel that although I have something to eat at the end of this I really don't have what I wanted.

John

Personally I let my bacon made from pork belly dry for at LEAST 2 weeks, and preferably a month.

aris wrote:Personally I let my bacon made from pork belly dry for at LEAST 2 weeks, and preferably a month.

Aris
So after you have cured it do you leave it in the fridge covered/uncovered for that time???

Yes, after it is cured, I wash it down with running cold water, then dry it well with a towel. I then place it on a rack in the fridge uncovered - so it can breathe all over. Typically I leave it like this for a week or two or until the outside becomes touch dry and no longer tacky. After this I cover the bacon in greaseproof paper which semi permiable - to let it breathe, but more slowly. You could use a paper bag, or any kind of paper. I leave it like this until i'm ready to eat it. The longer it stays in the fridge, the drier it gets - after a month or two it is almost like parma ham. I use it in cooking quite a bit (particularly the fatty bits), and slice and use as bacon too.

Slicing tip: Pop it in the freezer until semi-frozen...

Thanks Guys...as ever.

Didn't think to semi-freeze it...good idea.

Thanks again
Ahh well...you live and learn

are you guys not smoking or part cooking your bacons???


this would be like salt pork then... ok yeah ya gotta let it dry out then...


This is one of thos culture things again, we would always smoke the bacons unless you were making peameal

Iamarealbigdog wrote:are you guys not smoking or part cooking your bacons???


this would be like salt pork then... ok yeah ya gotta let it dry out then...


This is one of thos culture things again, we would always smoke the bacons unless you were making peameal

We (English) make bacon the same Canadian bacon but we cut out the cooking stage after curing and only cook it when we want to eat it.
I've toying with the idea of making smoked bacon Canadian style, I'll let you know how it compares


LD

Same for us (Irish) too...




Although I can't even seem to get to the cured stage never mind cooking the damn thing...

ick

If its not smoked its not bacon in my books , just cured meat

that is except for peameal bacon

Hmmmm

Cured and smoked Hillbilly Bacon,,,

In a simple brine for a week and started smoking about 3:00pm today and still going

I have 6 pork botts here cooling , 3thee more in the smoker with 2 side ribs is a very nice rub

11:00pm and I think I have about an hour left, ran out of pops about 6:00 so into the tea tonight... ya think with the fuzzy pictures I was into the Jacks... Oh well

defintely a culture thing I guess...or a translation thing...


When the Irish make cabbage and bacon (or rashers for breakfast) we use the cured meat, called "bacon" now; as it is cured from a piece of "pork".
Cooked or uncooked it's called bacon and if you went shopping for that piece of meat and asked for anything else you would not get what you are looking for.

I guess the same applies across the pond just the other way around...

But boy those cuts of smoked meat look damn good!!!!!!!!!!!!

All this learning is really cool...I love it

Big Guy wrote:If its not smoked its not bacon in my books , just cured meat

that is except for peameal bacon

We have both smoked (cold smoked) and unsmoked (some times called green) varieties. Both are stored uncooked in the fridge, sliced thinly and either grilled (ie heated under a hot element, not as on a BBQ ) or fried, at the time of consumption.

Dave

Hi my friend you must be a specialist in this to be worried about it that much. Since you are not one, the old adage "practice makes perfect" says it all.