CURING YOUR OWN BACON

With supermarket meat prices being as ridiculous as they are
over the holiday season I decided to buy a whole pig from a mate's
dad's butchery, Vrystaat Vleis in Welkom.

Apart from the fact that the price per kg is about a third of what
you'd pay at a supermarket or deli here in Joburg, the other nice
thing about it is that you can tell the butcher how you want the meat to
be cut, what you want to keep whole and what you want to 
hop up (excuse the pun).

So I asked oom Kallie to keep the pork belly whole so I

could make myself some yummy bacon.

I found so many recipes online and they all differed

quite a bit so I asked around on Twitter.

I was put in touch with Ammy from HomeCooks who
helped me out with a recipe.

The idea is that the salt-sugar cure draws out all the
moisture from the meat leaving you with a preserved piece
of meat that can be used over a period of time.

Here goes:

Ingredients for the cure:

1 cup of coarse koshering salt

1/2 cup of brown sugar

a few shredded bay leaves

2 tsp crushed black peppercorns

spices according to taste

This was for a 2kg-2.5kg pork belly, adjust according to the weight of your meat.

1) Cut the belly into manageable pieces (I divided my 2.5kg belly into 2 pieces)

2) Make the cure by mixing together all the above ingredients

3) Take about half of the cure and rub it into the meat especially into the cut surfaces (the raw meaty areas that are not covered with fat) to prevent mould.

4) Put it into a non-metal container preferably with a grid at the bottom (this prevents the meat from lying in the drawn out blood) and put it in the fridge.

5) After 24 hours drain off all the liquid, rub in some more of the cure,

turn the meat and put it back in the fridge.

6) Repeat for 4/5 days. The longer you cure it the more stable

(and more salty) the meat becomes.

7) Rinse the belly under cold water, pat dry with a cloth and

hang it in a cool spot with good air flow.

8) I built my own biltong maker (or in this case bacon maker) which helps to

speed up the drying process and keeps the flies out. If you don't have one,

I suggest you wrap the meat in cheese cloth before hanging it and perhaps put

a fan on it especially for the first day or two.

9) After a week my bacon was dry and firm and ready to use. If you are not using a biltong maker it might take a few days longer.

I've used it for canapes, on snack platters or as a replacement for pancetta

in pasta alla carbonara (see Fritz Brand's recipe here).

This stuff is absolutely brilliant! 

Try it, you know you have to.