Ingredients
1 kg / 2 lb 4 oz pork belly middle bacon500g / 1lb Cornish Sea Salt Crystals
500g / 1 lb brown sugar
2 tbsp juniper berries, crushed
1 tbsp cracked pink peppercorns
2 tsp chilli flakes
Instructions
- Mix your cure ingredients together.
- Rub 100g of the cure into the pork meat (make sure it is evenly coated), with 25% on the fat side and the rest on the meat and leave for 24 hours in an airtight container. Store the remaining cure in an airtight container or sealed bag.
- The next day, pour off any water that has been drawn out of the meat and top up with another 100g of your cure. Repeat this process for 5 days in total.
- Your bacon will firm up and darken slightly in colour. After dry curing, rinse off the remaining cure in a little water. Pat dry and then wrap in muslin cloth. Store in the fridge for up to 5 weeks or in a cool larder for up to 3 weeks. Slice the bacon as required.
- For smoked bacon, hang in a well ventilated cool place and leave for 2 days before cold smoking for 6-8 hours.
Taken from Smoked Food Manual by Cornish Sea Salt Development Chef James Strawbridge [publication in March 2019]. Photography by Simon Burt Photography.
