Food preparation — Cure your own bacon

You have probably already found that supermarket bacon is terrible — all slimy and wet, and when you fry it, it spits and exudes a load of gunge that sticks to the pan. This is because bacon is not cured these days, it is 'pumped'. Bacon is sold by weight: the more it weighs, the more it cost you. So, to increase the weight cheaply, it's filled with water — and other things. But you don't have to buy this. Farmers' markets are usually a good source of 'dry-cured' bacon and, if you have the right equipment, curing your own bacon need not be difficult.

You will need space in a fridge with a temperature between 2.5 and 6.0 C (35 to 41 F). Too warm and the meat may spoil, too cold and it won't cure properly. You also need something to put the bacon in. I use a plastic washing up bowl but a shallower tray may be easier.

Buy as much belly of pork as you can handle and as fatty as you can get it. I would suggest a side of about 12 lbs. Gloucester Old Spot is a good bacon pig in the UK. Ask the butcher to bone it out.

Method

Mix 2 parts sea salt with 1 part caster sugar. This is the cure (the salt and sugar will not be eaten; it is merely used to draw moisture from the meat, it will not be absorbed). Sea salt is too coarse to use as it is so use a blender's coffee grinder attachment to grind the salt to a fine powder and mix it with the sugar.

Cut off as much pork as will fit in the bowl. Rub the cure mixture all over it paying attention to the ends and inside where the bones have been removed. It doesn't have to be put on thickly. When it is covered, place in the bowl, put the bowl in the fridge and tilt it so that liquid from the bacon runs to one end, or place the meat on a wire tray. The aim when curing bacon is to remove the moisture from it by osmosis. This mixture will do that.

Each day for a week pour away the water that has run out from the bowl and recoat the meat with cure.

After about seven to ten days, depending on thickness, the bacon should be ready to eat. Rinse the outside of the bacon to remove the cure, pat dry, and slice. Keep in the fridge or freeze what cannot be used within a week.

I find that I can do 12 lbs at a time this way by stacking one piece on top of another. They last me about a month.

The sugar is not essential but if salt alone is used it is a bit sharp to the taste. The sugar takes this away. You will note that I do not use nitrates or nitrites. These are not necessary.

You could also buy a commercially produced cure. There are several available via the Internet. The method of curing is similar, however.

1. Introduction
2. Make your own sausage
3. How to cure your own bacon
4. Frying and using fats for cooking