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Hi all,

After reading Shauns post on black bacon here http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=110 it reminded me of a recipe I did on a Curing course in West Wales, the recipe was basically Lucas Easicure Trad. and Treacle. I did a quick google and found a recipe in an old edition of a Dalziel news letter.

I had all the stuff in the cupboard so just put a 1.5kg piece of belly away in the cure to see what it's like...gotta love fennel with pork

Here's the method direct from the newsletter...in my recipe though I substituted the nutmeg for ground mace as I think it would be more savory. (I know its the outer casing of the nutmeg so pretty much the same thing)

Black Treacle Dry Cure

Curing Salt Mix %

Easicure Traditional Dry Cure - 50%
Fine Salt - 25.5%
Demerera Sugar - 20%
Ground Nutmeg - 1.5%
Ground Black Pepper - 1.5%
Ground Fennel - 1.5%

Blend all ingredients and apply to pork at 6% of the meat weight, rubbing well into all surfaces

Place the meat in a vacuum pouch to cure for 2 days per 1/2" plus 2 days

Add black treacle immediately after the cure, again at 6% of the original meat weight

Vacuum seal the bag and leave for further curing (it doesn't state how long at this point but I think 3 days should do the job)

I'll let you know how it turns out, if anyone has already tried this recipe let me know...

Cheers,

Dave

How did it turn out Dave?

This is the first success I had with curing. Turned out really well.
I cured 1kg of pork loin last week. I don't have a vacuum sealer so put it into a plastic bag inside a lunch box in the fridge.
First taste tonight.
The fennel and mace had a nice subtle flavour but I could get any treacle flavour. Still, mighty pleased with the results

Hi Peckerdunne

Great to hear that you had success with this recipe.

Welcome to the forum.

Phil

I have a relatively easy way to make a treacle cure after many messy attempts. I bone put a whole belly then slide it into a vac bag. Then I make a dry cure with salt, brown sugar and cure #1. I tip this in one the meat side only, and rub it in a bit. Then I weight the tin of treacle, and pour it into the bag onto the meat. I aim for between 30-40g per kg of meat.

Once that's in I vaccuum the bag until it's nearly done, then stop the machine and just do a normal seal. If you're doing it in a normal zip lock bag, just get as much air out as possible.

I then lay the pack, meat side down, on a flat dish in the fridge for 24 hours. By then, a brine will have formed which has broken down the treacle, and it's just a case of turning and rubbing the bag for the next five days.

it works a treat, every time!