Cured and smoked bacon

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• n. B. spice mix (curing spice)
• 1 kg bacon or belly bacon
• 5 kg whiskey oak smoking flour
• 3 kg cherry smoking wood chips

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest period approx. 45 days 12 hours 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 2 days; Total time approx. 47 days 13 hours 15 minutes

Bacon or belly bacon – wet curing in its own brine

You have to work very hygienically here, otherwise the meat can become inedible! First, trim the bacon, which means removing tendons, loose shreds, and unwanted bits. Then rub the bacon thoroughly with a large portion of the seasoning, making sure not to miss any spots, including small gaps like the transition between meat where the ribs used to be, or between the rind and fat or meat. Place the meat in a vacuum-sealed bag, add the remaining seasoning, and vacuum-seal. Store the sealed bacon for 3 weeks at approximately 5°C. After 3 weeks, remove it from the bag and hang it in a cool place for another week to “season.” After this time, place the bacon in a tub of cold, clear water. The meat is soaked for 8–24 hours, depending on your taste, to reduce the salt and nitrite content (we soak it for 12 hours, changing the water every 4 hours). After this time, remove the bacon, dry it thoroughly, and hang it up in a cool place for another week. Now we come to the cold smoking process: Depending on the intensity of the smoky flavor you want, air the bacon out for approximately 4-8 smoking sessions, each lasting 8-16 hours (we usually do 6 smoking sessions). Once the smoking sessions are complete, hang the bacon up in a cool place for another 2 weeks. You can find some recipes for curing spices in our profile. The information there is based on 1 kg of meat. We recommend whiskey oak and cherry wood for smoking. Beech is the standard.