No nitrate bacon?

[negolien]

Hey All,

 

I love bacon and prices are crazy here $12 a lb for Oscer. I have wanted to try making my own smoked bacon but I don't have the room or the time to brine it/cure it right. I seen a video of a guy using 1 table spoon of course kosher salt per pound and for a 5 lb'er he added 1/2 cup brown sugar. In fridge in zip lock bag flipping once per day for 7 days. thoughts He made a good point were not like settlers who are keeping ot out for days on end it either gets used or goes in the freezer?

[negolien]

I also seen this https://kentrollins.com/home-cured-bacon/

[Wade]

On 7/13/2023 at 9:43 PM, negolien said:

I also seen this https://kentrollins.com/home-cured-bacon/

This is what the Americans commonly refer to as "Canadian bacon" as it is cured and fully cooked/smoked before it is sliced. This is delicious however it is different to what we would usually recognise as bacon here in the UK. 

There is a lot of talk about making bacon without using Nitrites however it is the Nitrite that gives bacon its "bacon" flavour. You can reproduce this without using a specific nitrite cure by substituting something like celery powder, however you are still effectively adding Nitrite/Nitrate in a different form - and in a less precise way. Completely Nitrite free bacon that tastes like bacon is now possible to produce commercially however it is difficult to produce at home.

You can show that it is the Nitrite cure that gives the bacon flavour by curing a chicken breast with a standard dry cure bacon mix. The chicken takes on a distinctive "bacony" flavour.

For members of the forum who are interested in trying their hand at bacon curing for the first time, please drop me a message as I will be happy to send them some Cure#1 to get them started on their journey.