Cold smoked cured pork fillet

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 pork fillet(s), approx. 500 g
• 18 g curing salt
• 1 tsp cane sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp peppercorns, colored
• 2 garlic cloves, squeezed
• n. B. Juniper berry(s) for smoking

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 3 days 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 12 hours; Total time approx. 4 days 30 minutes

Remove any silver skin and excess fat from the fillet. Then rinse and pat dry with kitchen paper. Mix all ingredients except the juniper berries and place in a bowl with the meat. Carefully rub the meat all over with the seasoning. It’s better to be a bit more fussy than to miss out on some of the spices and, above all, the curing salt. Place the seasoned fillet, along with any leftover spices, from the bowl into a vacuum-sealed bag. I always fold over a few centimeters of the opening so the top of the bag stays clean and the seal holds properly. Vacuum-seal the bag in the vacuum sealer. Place the bag in the refrigerator at 4-6 degrees Celsius to cure thoroughly. One day for every centimeter of meat thickness, plus one day to be safe. My meat was 5 cm at its thickest point, so it took 6 days. Turn the bag over at least once a day and knead the meat a little. After six days, remove the meat from the bag and thoroughly rinse under running water to remove any spices and brine. I use a dish brush for this, as the vacuum has literally pressed the spices into the meat. Pat the meat thoroughly dry. Then place the fillet on a cake or oven rack and, covered with kitchen paper, return it to the refrigerator for three days to sear. For cold smoking, I use a simple smoking barrel with a smoking spiral into which the beech smoking powder and juniper berries are filled. Depending on your taste, smoke 1-3 times for 12 hours each. In between, let the meat rest for 12 hours at around 12 degrees Celsius in a draft-free place. After the last smoking session, let it dry in a hung position for another three days. The meat will then be as tender as butter and very aromatic. Best served with buttered bread.