Homemade bacon, there is nothing quite like it! Fantastic flavors and it keeps longer than regular pork belly. It is a favorite in my family and a gift our friends love to receive.
We started making bacon at home and found it was very easy to do. The only hard part was figuring out how much of each ingredient should be used. Too much salt was not a problem, that was easy to fix, even after the bacon has cured, simply by soaking in fresh water for an hour or two.
The challenge was sodium nitrite. And we did not want any sodium nitrate in our bacon. All the authorities say do not do that, it is bad for you. It is even illegal in the USA to make bacon with sodium nitrate in it. Only sodium nitrite - notice the difference? Sodium Nitr-I-te is okay, Sodium Nitr-A-te is not. At least in bacon. Both are found in nature. They occur in many edible plants. But high heat and sodium nitrate is a no-no!
When we went to find curing salts, we ran into two serious problems. The first was it was very hard to find. The second was most of it was repackaged and unlabelled. We could not tell what we were buying. It might be what we were looking for or it might have sodium nitrate in it, which we did not want and would be a health hazard.
So we decided to make our own. With known ingredients so that it was safe to use. And we worked on it to make it simple. Seriously simple. We don't expect you to be a food scientist. Just a cook. If you know how to level a measuring cup and measuring spoons, you can make great bacon at home!
In upcoming posts, we will share recipes and flavors. We will talk about techniques to enhance your bacon. And about food safety. We will talk about problems we have had making bacon at home and how we solved them. And we will share our love for good food. So please visit us and share your ideas and experience.
Love, Peace, & Bacon Grease!
We started making bacon at home and found it was very easy to do. The only hard part was figuring out how much of each ingredient should be used. Too much salt was not a problem, that was easy to fix, even after the bacon has cured, simply by soaking in fresh water for an hour or two.
The challenge was sodium nitrite. And we did not want any sodium nitrate in our bacon. All the authorities say do not do that, it is bad for you. It is even illegal in the USA to make bacon with sodium nitrate in it. Only sodium nitrite - notice the difference? Sodium Nitr-I-te is okay, Sodium Nitr-A-te is not. At least in bacon. Both are found in nature. They occur in many edible plants. But high heat and sodium nitrate is a no-no!
When we went to find curing salts, we ran into two serious problems. The first was it was very hard to find. The second was most of it was repackaged and unlabelled. We could not tell what we were buying. It might be what we were looking for or it might have sodium nitrate in it, which we did not want and would be a health hazard.
So we decided to make our own. With known ingredients so that it was safe to use. And we worked on it to make it simple. Seriously simple. We don't expect you to be a food scientist. Just a cook. If you know how to level a measuring cup and measuring spoons, you can make great bacon at home!
In upcoming posts, we will share recipes and flavors. We will talk about techniques to enhance your bacon. And about food safety. We will talk about problems we have had making bacon at home and how we solved them. And we will share our love for good food. So please visit us and share your ideas and experience.
Love, Peace, & Bacon Grease!
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