Cook the Book: How to Cure Your Own Bacon

Name: Cook the Book: How to Cure Your Own Bacon
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 7
Cuisine: Global
Ingredients: 2 bay leaves; 1 teaspoon caraway seed; 1 teaspoon dried rosemary; 1 teaspoon dried thyme; 1 teaspoon fennel seed; 1 large garlic clove, minced; 1 Tbsp peppercorns; 1 kilograms pork belly, skin on (see note); 3 Tbsps pickling or curing salt; 2 Tbsps sugar

Cook the Book: How to Cure Your Own Bacon might be From preparation to the plate, this recipe takes roughly 45 minutes. Head to the store and pick up bay leaves, thyme, curing salt, and a few other things to make it today. To use up the salt you could follow this main course with the Apple Turnovers Recipe as a dessert.

Instructions

Wash and dry the meat.

Ingredients you will need

Meat

Place it on a large sheet of wax paper.

Equipment you will use

Wax Paper

After the 7 days are up, remove the pork belly, wash it, and dry it very well.

Ingredients you will need

Pork Belly

Place the meat in a baking dish and cover with plastic wrap or foil.

Ingredients you will need

Meat

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Plastic Wrap

Baking Pan

Aluminum Foil

Refrigerate for 24 hours. This allows the salt to distribute evenly throughout the meat.

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Meat

Salt

When the meat is cool enough to handle, cut off the rind. Dry the meat very well and wrap in wax paper before placing in a bag in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about 2 weeks.

Ingredients you will need

Meat

Beef

Wrap

Equipment you will use

Wax Paper

Note: Some butchers will sell you a pork belly that has been folded. This does not affect the flavor, but the crease in the rind can cause the bacon to buckle. To avoid this, weight the bacon down during the 7-day curing process.

Ingredients you will need

Pork Belly

Bacon

Beef

Place the bagged meat in a baking pan and place a smaller baking pan on top, then load on the weight. I use a brick. Every time you turn over the meat, replace the weight.

Ingredients you will need

Meat

Equipment you will use

Baking Pan

Photograph: ©iStockphoto.com/Juanmonino