Be it as rashers, strips or slices; Bacon is one of the most widely used ingredients in the World. Streaky bacon, back bacon, lardons, pancetta, peameal, plain, smoked, maple glazed and countless more variations besides the word bacon is used all around the world.
Brief History….
The derivation of the word bacon is controversial, theories are that it is derived from Old Germanic – Bakkon, or Old French – Bacun or Old Dutch – Baken – literally meaning the meat from the back/buttock of an animal. By Saxon times in England the spelling had become Bacoun and by the middle ages it was widely accepted to mean a side of cured pork, synonymous with the local term Flitch.
Traditionally smallholders would rear pigs through the Summer months for curing and preserving to see them through the harsh Winter. Breeds of pig such as the Yorkshire and Tamworth were bred with bacon particularly in mind and well suited to the outdoor living that a small holding would offer. It was common practice until the end of rationing in 1954 for households to keep a pig.
In 1770 John Harris industrialised the production of bacon making it more available to those living in Towns. Situated in Wiltshire he was well placed to receive Irish swineherds being driven (on foot) to London. Since then bacon had become synonymous with being British, the bacon butty/bap, The full English, Scottish and Welsh breakfasts all feature bacon and its versatility means it can be used in many recipes.
Method….
To cure 2kg of Pork you will require; 500g of PDV salt, 500g demerara sugar, 8 bay leaves shredded, 20 juniper berries (bruised) and 25g of freshly ground black peppercorns. You will also need a food standard plastic container large enough to hold the meat and space in your fridge for the next 20 days.
First mix the ingredients well. Back bacon being thicker will require about 10 days to cure and streaky bacon five days. Use tenths of curing back bacon and fifths if using belly pork for streaky. Here I used loin of pork for back bacon.
Spread a tenth of the mixture on the bottom of the container and lay the meat, fat side down onto this. Then add a further tenth of the cure onto the meat rubbing it well into the meat and the ends. Try to ensure the salt is spread evenly. Each day you will need to drain off the liquid and add more salt on top. By the tenth day (5 days if using belly pork) you should have used all of your cure and the amount of liquid draining is much reduced. Remove the meat, wash and dry the container and rub off the salt. Pat the meat dry and dab with kitchen roll with malt vinegar to seal.
Place back into the container and leave in the fridge for 10 days.
Now your bacon is ready to eat, or smoke if desired.
To smoke you will need to create a cold smoker – the subject my next blog.