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hi all, first time curing. did some belly pork, lovely. what i would like to ask is, is it ok to cure pork shoulder to make into bacon. i used the cure from franco, and couln't beleive how easy, and how tastie it was. thanks guys. john.

Hi Hoggie,

It is great is'nt it, I was wondering the same thing.

Jen

Yes there is no reason why not to providing you get the second cut from the neck,

Dont go for the supermarket shoulder as it is all pieces and there is no firm slicing piece.

You can also use the boned leg cuts that are one piece of meat but don't forget the thickness of the cut and allow the number of days to cure accordingly so its two days to the inch and two days over, makes a nice bit of gammon.

If you have a piece of collar that stands four inches high or thick from skin to inside then it will still be 40gms to the kilo and curing time will be ten days and then the drying time.

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I have used the collar many times and it makes superb bacon.

Regards, Paul Kribs

I really fancy a nice big rasher of collar the snag with commercial bacon is it is so salt you can't eat it......well I can't anyway.

They always seemed to serve it in cafes when I was building.


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I have cured shoulder and leg it makes great gammon. when it has cured, cover it with either honey or maple syrup and roast it at approx 20 minutes per pound and you will eating the best bacon you ever tasted

I have a boned and cured leg cut in my smoker at the moment. I had in mind giving it a simmer then roasting it to serve cold with salad (or with a couple of fried eggs and a pint). Can't wait!

I have half a leg curing for making a ham at them moment, the plan was to first make it into bacon and them boil it for making into ham.

Any pointers or should I do honey roast ham ??

Myself I like a nice pink ham like that Wiltshire off the bone.


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thanks for the replies, just used a pork shoulder joint, see what you mean about bits never mind it won't go to waste. might try a leg joint next time. it's all new to me, but having great fun. cheers. john.

hoggie wrote:thanks for the replies, just used a pork shoulder joint, see what you mean about bits never mind it won't go to waste. might try a leg joint next time. it's all new to me, but having great fun. cheers. john.

Pity I didn't read this before dismantling a shop bought boneless shoulder half an hour ago It seemed like a good idea but as you and Rik have said it's all in bits. I'm curing it anyway and I might try rolling it back together before cutting and cooking.

The fore end of the pig is, in my opinion, the fiddliest part to butcher. I just remove the collar for bacon and utilise the rest for sausages or salami. Because of the work it does, and all those muscles, I like to really take my time and remove all the tendon and connective tissue. If you cure them they become so sinewy (is that a word?) and hard that it detracts from the enjoyment of eating the product and sort of defeats the reasons I started making my own. I have used the hand as roasting joints after boning and rolling, and they are very nice. You can always remove the hock and cure it as a small ham.. Any bones and skin go into the stock pile along with the trotter.

I must admit that my all time favourite bacon used to be 'long back'.. It was the whole width of the belly and loin, boned and just turned over on itself and sliced. You only needed one piece.. opened out it would be 15" or more. You got both the lean and the fat.. superb stuff. For some reason I haven't seen it available for years. I can feel a project coming on..

Regards, Paul Kribs

My butcher does long back if you pre-order, as he buys his bacon by the side, but always separates the streaky and the back, as these are all he sells. I've bought it to lay on the turkey at Christmas, as it's so long it goes the the full diameter of the bird.

I know exactly what you mean Wohoki, some things just seem to fall out of fashion. Personally I wouldn't put loin on the turkey, just streaky. I am not overstruck with turkey breast albeit frozen or fresh, much preferring the flavour in the thigh. I love the giblets, believing they have much more taste than the bird itself. I have weaned the wife onto Gressingham Duck now.. good taste, succulence and flavour. She does however, insist on a turkey for tradition sake. I eat the skin, the giblets and the arse.. anything leftover is for the stew pot. I would say that I have used the thigh and drumstick meat for an xmas cocktail sausage, wrapped in collar bacon.. recipe available on request I know 'pigs in blankets' are old hat but these are very nice 'cold' in the evening with a few glasses of cotes du rhone.

Regards, Paul Kribs

A small secret: I snipped the loin-end off as soon as it was cooked. If I spend ten hours in the kitchen cooking the closest natural equivalent to cardboard on the face of the earth, then I want some kind of reward. I also did a brace of ducks for cold later on, and had some instead of turkey at lunch. Dreadful things, turkeys.

Wohoki

When you get another one, nip the crown off and serve it to those who 'enjoy' it.. have the legs off and follow this..

Yuletide Cocktail Sausages

Ingredients

1500 grams Turkey Leg meat cubed (sinew and tendons removed)
500 grams Pork Belly cubed (skin removed)
60 grams phosphate * (optional)
50 grams redcurrant jelly
35 grams Sea Salt
15 grams Sugar (or 25 grams Dextrose)
10 grams Dried Sage
10 grams ground dried Orange Zest (or finely chopped)
5 grams Ground White Pepper
2 grams ground Cloves
1 gram ground cinnamon
1 gram ground Nutmeg

200 grams sausage rusk
200 grams iced water

Sheeps Casings

Method

1. Chill the cubed meat for 30 minutes in the freezer. Pass the meat through the mincer. I like to pass it once through an 8mm screen and then through a 4.5 screen. Put the minced meat into a large mixing bowl.

2.Sprinkle the dry ingredients (including the rusk) evenly over the meat. Mix well for 2 minutes and then add the redcurrant jelly and the iced water and mix well for a further 4 or 5 minutes. If the mixture feels stiff, then add more water little by little until the mix becomes pliable.Leave to stand for 15 minutes. At this stage you can fry a little patty and adjust the seasoning to your taste if required.

3. Stuff into sheeps casings and link off at 2" increments. Leave to bloom overnight in the refrigerator before cooking.

Superb eaten hot or cold.

note: If you are unable to obtain dried orange zest then it's easy to make. Use a fine vegetable peeler to remove the zest (not the white pith) from 2 or 3 oranges, place the zest slithers on a flat plate and place in an airing cupboard for 2-3 days. Crumble up and grind with a pestle and mortar.

They are a delicious way to utilise the turkey and can be enhanced by wrapping them in smoked collar and roasting in a medium oven for 30+ minutes. The only pain in the a*se is linking them, but you are rewarded by the fact that those who eat the turkey breast won't beleive the flavour.

Regards, Paul Kribs