First Homemade Bacon

First Homemade Bacon

I had read about making bacon and was interested in trying it myself.  Every article I read or person I talked to who had made their own bacon just fueled my interest.  I finally crossed the threshold after a conversation with Vlad Liubich, a colleague of mine at Mentor Graphics, who shared his experience with acquiring the ingredients, recipe, and procedure.

Bacon From Vlad Liubich

For 5 pounds of pork belly (can be bought at Sheridan’s Fruit company or any other butcher shop you like,  I saw some recently at Meating Place, http://meatingplacepdx.com/home/ if you are in our area). Should be ok for 1st try.

Recipe:

• ¼ cup kosher salt
• 2 tsp pink salt (aka curing salt, sodium nitrite, can be bought at Sheridan’s and some other places, just ask for it.  Again, not necessary but will kill the bacteria during curing process and keep bacon rather pinkish the way it looks at store.) See the Sodium Nitrite section below.
• ¼ cup of brown sugar
• ¼ cup of maple syrup (can be omitted if you don’t like it)

In addition, you can add rough ground black pepper if you like it or any other spices you like with your bacon

Preparation:

Combine all of the spices in a bowl. Rub it on the pork belly. Put the belly in the 2 gallon zip lock bag and squeeze the air out. Place in the fridge for 5-7 days ( I also put it in the pyrex tray just in case cure and juices are running out of the zip lock) . Turn every day. It is not an exact science, slack in all of that is enormous. Once done  (I decided that 5 days are enough and it was) get the belly out of the bag. You will feel that it quite firmed up. Wash it thoroughly in the cold water. You can also soak it in there for 15-30min. otherwise  outside layer will be quite salty – meat likes to absorb a lot of it.

Once done, pat dry it with a paper towels, put it on the rack and back in the fridge it goes for one more day to develop a so called pellicle - the outer coating of the meat.  Keep it there overnight.

Next day smoke it for about 3-4 hours at 225F (again not a precise  science, if temps go above that for a short time – fine). I used hickory and apple mix 50/50. I like it but you can use any hard woods you can find around – oak, alder, pecan, whatever you like). At the end of the process check the internal temps, should be 140-150F in the middle of the thickest part. Remove, let it cool down. You can try it right away but it should be wrapped in the cello-tape and put in the fridge until cool (pyrex or plastic tray will be good as well in case some juices running out).
Smoke sets in, juices stop flowing, you will have finished product.

My schedule was SundayàFriday – curing, FridayàSaturday – drying, Saturday – smoking, Sunday – bacon and eggs J It is also easier to slice it thick or thin or anyway you like it when it is cold.

Sodium Nitrite

Since originally gathering the information in this specific article I have read quite a bit more about the use of sodium nitrite.  I have not tried making bacon without sodium nitrite.  The reason I haven't is that I prefer a low and slow smoking of the meat.  This means the internal temperature of the meat might not exceed 140 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 4 hours.  The bulk of the articles I've read indicate that the temperature of the meat needs to exceed 140-150 degrees Fahrenheit in less that fours hours has a higher risk of bacteria development.   In the entire curing process, the most sodium nitrite I use is 1 teaspoon of pink salt per 9-10 lbs of pork belly.  Pink salt contains very little, by weight or volume, sodium nitrite.