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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Saturday, January 24, 2009 Bacon Easy to make at home, if you can get the raw materials (pork bellies, in other words). Last week, before I came down with whatever this is, I took one out of the freezer and set it in the bottom of the fridge to thaw. If I don't get it in the cure, I'm going to be throwing out a lot of meat in a day or two. So germs and all, here we go (I do religiously wash my hands during food preparation, I should add).The basic information for this came originally from Blog Sober, and I'd recommend that anyone trying it should read Dave's instructions first. But I've made some changes of my own, and encountered some issues that he apparently did not. So I thought I'd document my own bacon saga.First is the pork belly. This is not something you just waltz into the supermarket and snatch off the meat counter (even if your supermarket still cuts its own meat--most of them don't any more). In larger cities, you'll find butcher shops that can at least order one for you. Dave said he thought they were also available in Asian shops, but I haven't looked there so I can't corroborate that or disagree with it. My pork bellies come from the same source as the rest of our pastured meat, eggs and milk, Tendergrass Farm. You can also order pork bellies from several online sources, but as far as I'm concerned, they are astronomically expensive. If you don't have your very own local farmer, your best bet is probably a butcher shop.I failed to take a picture of mine before I cut it, but the picture on Dave's blog is typical. I haven't seen one yet that was drastically different in size or appearance.Once having acquired a pork belly, it is now necessary to cut the thing in pieces. I cut it in thirds this time, because I wanted to show what three different rubs look like. The problem with doing that is that if you're off even a little on one of those thirds, you won't be able to get the largest piece in a gallon plastic bag. And indeed that's what happened to me this time. So I normally cut the belly in four pieces. I've settled on the rub I like, and if I vary it, I can still do two pieces with one variety and the other two pieces with the second variety. This insures that each piece will fit into a gallon bag, and once they're stacked in the fridge, the foodprint is smaller as well.This first picture shows a dry rub consisting of 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, roughly the same as Dave's third rub. You get a very nice taste and aroma from this rub, but it tends to go all over the place when you're applying it to the meat. I don't have much counter space, so "going all over the place" means on top of the stove, on the floor, down between the counter and the fridge, etc. It tastes fine, but it makes a big mess.Dave's second rub, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup maple syrup, is very very good. It's also very very wet and sloppy. The first time I tried this, I found out the hard way that I needed to have the meat IN the plastic bag before I applied the mixture. Here is my left-handed attempt to take a picture of me pouring the rub over the meat. This was the largest of the "thirds," so it's in a 3-gallon bag that I happened to have on hand. A 2-gallon bag would probably have worked as well, but getting the bowl inside the bag, to minimize the mess, would have been less easy. I press most of the air out, secure the closure and rub away until it looks good.Finally, here is my preferred mixture. It's 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and enough maple syrup to make it moist, but not soupy. It sits there nicely in a contained little pile waiting for you to spread it around and rub it in, without flying all over the kitchen or oozing down the front of the counter. This much maple syrup provides a good maple-y flavor, and doesn't use quite as much of the precious stuff as the wetter version. The syrup I bought today was $5.69 for a ridiculously small bottle, and I used over half of it.By the way, whatever your other food choices may be, this is not the place to use Mrs. Butterworth's sugar-free maple-flavored syrup. This is bacon, for pete's sake. It has FAT in it. We're adding a lot of salt and a lot of sugar to the fat. Skimping on the syrup, for whatever reason--cost or diet--is dumb. (I say this only because someone asked me if it was really necessary to use "real" maple syrup. Yes, it is.)I had initially planned to wait until after the bacon was smoked and sliced to post this, but as the day wore on, it became obvious that if I didn't go ahead and put this up, I wasn't going to post anything. So the rest of the story will have to wait until at least next weekend. I promise to take lots of pictures, even if I can't get them posted immediately. posted by Liz @ 4:56 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
Easy to make at home, if you can get the raw materials (pork bellies, in other words). Last week, before I came down with whatever this is, I took one out of the freezer and set it in the bottom of the fridge to thaw. If I don't get it in the cure, I'm going to be throwing out a lot of meat in a day or two. So germs and all, here we go (I do religiously wash my hands during food preparation, I should add).The basic information for this came originally from Blog Sober, and I'd recommend that anyone trying it should read Dave's instructions first. But I've made some changes of my own, and encountered some issues that he apparently did not. So I thought I'd document my own bacon saga.First is the pork belly. This is not something you just waltz into the supermarket and snatch off the meat counter (even if your supermarket still cuts its own meat--most of them don't any more). In larger cities, you'll find butcher shops that can at least order one for you. Dave said he thought they were also available in Asian shops, but I haven't looked there so I can't corroborate that or disagree with it. My pork bellies come from the same source as the rest of our pastured meat, eggs and milk, Tendergrass Farm. You can also order pork bellies from several online sources, but as far as I'm concerned, they are astronomically expensive. If you don't have your very own local farmer, your best bet is probably a butcher shop.I failed to take a picture of mine before I cut it, but the picture on Dave's blog is typical. I haven't seen one yet that was drastically different in size or appearance.Once having acquired a pork belly, it is now necessary to cut the thing in pieces. I cut it in thirds this time, because I wanted to show what three different rubs look like. The problem with doing that is that if you're off even a little on one of those thirds, you won't be able to get the largest piece in a gallon plastic bag. And indeed that's what happened to me this time. So I normally cut the belly in four pieces. I've settled on the rub I like, and if I vary it, I can still do two pieces with one variety and the other two pieces with the second variety. This insures that each piece will fit into a gallon bag, and once they're stacked in the fridge, the foodprint is smaller as well.This first picture shows a dry rub consisting of 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, roughly the same as Dave's third rub. You get a very nice taste and aroma from this rub, but it tends to go all over the place when you're applying it to the meat. I don't have much counter space, so "going all over the place" means on top of the stove, on the floor, down between the counter and the fridge, etc. It tastes fine, but it makes a big mess.Dave's second rub, 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup maple syrup, is very very good. It's also very very wet and sloppy. The first time I tried this, I found out the hard way that I needed to have the meat IN the plastic bag before I applied the mixture. Here is my left-handed attempt to take a picture of me pouring the rub over the meat. This was the largest of the "thirds," so it's in a 3-gallon bag that I happened to have on hand. A 2-gallon bag would probably have worked as well, but getting the bowl inside the bag, to minimize the mess, would have been less easy. I press most of the air out, secure the closure and rub away until it looks good.Finally, here is my preferred mixture. It's 1/2 cup kosher salt, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and enough maple syrup to make it moist, but not soupy. It sits there nicely in a contained little pile waiting for you to spread it around and rub it in, without flying all over the kitchen or oozing down the front of the counter. This much maple syrup provides a good maple-y flavor, and doesn't use quite as much of the precious stuff as the wetter version. The syrup I bought today was $5.69 for a ridiculously small bottle, and I used over half of it.By the way, whatever your other food choices may be, this is not the place to use Mrs. Butterworth's sugar-free maple-flavored syrup. This is bacon, for pete's sake. It has FAT in it. We're adding a lot of salt and a lot of sugar to the fat. Skimping on the syrup, for whatever reason--cost or diet--is dumb. (I say this only because someone asked me if it was really necessary to use "real" maple syrup. Yes, it is.)I had initially planned to wait until after the bacon was smoked and sliced to post this, but as the day wore on, it became obvious that if I didn't go ahead and put this up, I wasn't going to post anything. So the rest of the story will have to wait until at least next weekend. I promise to take lots of pictures, even if I can't get them posted immediately.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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