American Style Pork Neck

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 3 kg pork neck or pork loin
• 500 g raw cane sugar, brown
• 250 g sea salt, uniodized
• 25 g black pepper, crushed
• 15 g peppercorns, pink, crushed
• 10 g juniper berries, crushed
• 10 g garlic granules
• 10 g onion granules

Instructions

Working time approx. 10 minutes; Rest period approx. 6 days; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 hours; Total time approx. 6 days 2 hours 10 minutes

hot smoked, without nitrite curing salt

In a blender, mix the spices for the curing mix. Rub it thoroughly into the meat. Place the remaining curing mix in a vacuum-sealed bag with the meat and create a vacuum. Alternatively, you can make a spray solution from part of the mixture with a little water and inject it into the meat. If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, you can place the meat and the curing mix in a plastic bowl with a lid. Let it rest in the refrigerator for 5-6 days at approximately 3-5°C. Turn the meat at least once a day. Wash the meat, pat it dry, and hang it in a cool, airy place for approximately 12-24 hours. In winter, you can hang the meat outside, or in a cellar where it’s insect-proof. After airing at 140°C, hang it over the embers in the hot smoke for approximately 2-4 hours, depending on the thickness of the meat. I use fresh or soaked applewood logs. These smoke beautifully and give the meat a very pleasant sweet-tart caramel flavor. Choosing a lower temperature will increase the cooking time. Since no nitrite curing salt is used, the meat can also be roasted, baked, boiled, or eaten fresh. Tip: Use 80 grams of curing mix per kilogram of meat. For convenience and to speed up the curing process, I always cut the meat into approximately 1.5 kg pieces.