Armed with my copy of Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, I've decided to start simple with homemade bacon.
Curing meats requires Nitrites or Nitrates, it is responsible for the red color and taste common to bacon or ham. More importantly, it inhibits bacteria growth, particularly that responsible for botulism. Before you have a fit about the evils of nitrates, it is likely you consume more nitrates in your vegetables than in your cured meat, but that is a discussion for another time.
With the magic Sodium Nitrite in hand, I made their basic cure:
1 lb kosher salt
8 oz sugar
2 oz pink salt
I did weigh it all out. Let's not wing it on a first try. Mix it all together.
Can you see the light pink color? Keep this out of reach of the kids! Improperly used this can be toxic.
I have two hunks of pork belly, let's do one sweet, and one more savory.
Combine in a 2 gallon zip bag 1 hunk of pork, 1/4 cup of the basic cure, plus some more brown sugar in the sweet one:
In the savory one add cracked black pepper, crushed garlic , and some crumbled bay leaves.
Press out the air, and massage the dry rub all over the pork belly. Into the fridge it goes for 7 days. I'll be paying a visit to check on the progress every day. Stay Tuned!
Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!
The Gastronomic Gardener
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