Curing and smoking pork

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Permalink Reply by Reviled on August 30, 2011 at 6:00pm

Hmm, I found an awesome pdf a couple of years back about how to make your own bacon from pork belly. It seemed pretty basic, a shitload of rock salt, smoke the crap out of it and bobs your uncle... I may be able to find the link in my work inbox, ill have a look :) 

 

You shouldnt have to worry too much about botulinum with bacon as the smoking process generally sorts this out, and you dont have to cure it for very long with the salt from memory, so it should be ok. I understood that botulinum was more prevalent with non smoked meats such as beef jerky, and even still ive never had a problem when making jerkey.

 

Just in case you werent aware, if you have the cash you can also buy really nice naturally cured bacon with no additives and stuff like that, its pretty expensive, but we always buy it as once you taste it, you cant go back to the sodium nitrate stuff..

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Permalink Reply by Mike Neilson on August 30, 2011 at 6:10pm

Had some nice home cured bacon for breakfast this morning and I have 2 rashes in the fridge for breakfast.How do you make it? Fuck knows!!

 

I too have just stumbled on a whole eating pig to do what ever I like with, its happening in the next week and Im getting it whole, but obviously gutted and shaved and maybe the toe nails trimmed?

 

I have a couple of uncles who are butchers and who made the bacon, so I will let you know how I get on, as for now I have nothing to offer im a true green pea in this field 

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Permalink Reply by Tilt on August 30, 2011 at 8:57pm

I'm wet behind the ears on this too - but looking forward to knowing more.  Keen to know how your uncles do their bacon if you find out over the next little while.

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Permalink Reply by Tilt on August 30, 2011 at 9:32pm

Thanks Rev - I'd be keen to see that pdf if you can find it.  It all seems pretty basic as long as you've got the right ingredients - but good to know from those who've done it to save making stupid mistakes.

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Permalink Reply by studio1 on August 30, 2011 at 7:53pm

2 words: Bradley Smoker :-)

http://www.fishing.net.nz/asp_forums/christmas-ham-in-a-bradley_top...

http://bradleysmoker.co.nz/

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Permalink Reply by Tilt on August 30, 2011 at 8:59pm

That ham looks fantastic!  I'm drooling on the keyboard looking at those pics. 

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Permalink Reply by Haish on August 30, 2011 at 7:58pm

There is plenty of info online, try here. A good book to read is Charcuterie by Ruhlman and Polcyn. Youtube also has some helpful videos.

 

For preserving salts Dunninghams in Penrose is good but you'll have to buy heaps more than you need, otherwise there is a seller in trademe that repackages a couple of their products. Honeydew cure (ready to use) and Prague salt (needs mixing with sugar and other spices) are both good for making bacon. For smoking I've had good results with manuka, oak, peach and pohutukawa. Cold smoking works best!

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Permalink Reply by studio1 on August 30, 2011 at 8:16pm

what are you using to cold smoke H?

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Permalink Reply by Haish on August 30, 2011 at 8:31pm

Cold smoke generator and the casing of my old hot water cylinder. I get about 2-3 hours smoke out of one hopper full of sawdust and woodchips.

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Permalink Reply by Tilt on August 30, 2011 at 9:04pm

Thanks for the specific info Haish.  I'll check out TMe for the salts.  I've got some manuka and applewood I could chip down for this.  I was thinking of using the fish smoker on the BBQ...but now you've also got me thinking about a cold smoking chamber - I've got an old defunct dishwasher that could be put to use - now to think about a cold smoke generator....

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Permalink Reply by Barbara Joppa on September 3, 2011 at 11:48am

Good luck with the pig. We have done both dry cure and wet cure for our pigs. We had one great result making prosciutto and one failure (we think the outer fat and skin needs to be removed for the salt to penetrate sufficiently in a dry cure). We have not tried to smoke any of our meats yet as we do not have access to a smoker. 

I can recommend highly, the DVD "pig in a day" from River Cottage. Their web site is also full of good information.

 

Now I need to talk the partner into getting pigs again!

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Permalink Reply by Reviled on September 3, 2011 at 12:00pm

"we do not have access to a smoker."

 

Come on Barbara, you have better ingenuity than that, surely you could knock something up? lol

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