Smoking bacon at home, accessible recipes

The term “bacon” appeared in our everyday life relatively recently. Note that now we are talking about the term, and not about the product itself, since cooking pork and serving it to the table in different variations began hundreds of years ago. The word “bacon” itself was defined in the dictionary, but its applicability was very limited. Today everyone will say that this is a special type of meat or lard. One way or another, everyone will try to define it.

The benefits and harms of pork

Over the years, a certain persistent stereotype has emerged, claiming that bacon is a product containing GMOs, and that pork, which is a unique material, is grown with the help of chemical additives. The list of these “horror stories” goes on. It turns out that there is no special “bacon” breed of pig. The most common individuals are selected immediately after birth and fed on a special diet. It includes valuable varieties of barley, wheat, legumes, as well as dairy products. As a result of such feeding, piglets quickly gain weight, not due to fat deposition, but due to the growth of muscle mass.

Not every cut can be called bacon. The back part, vertebral part, and limbs are separated from the carcass. In the remaining parts, cuts of meat are made, which are called bacon. It is localized on the sides, breast and neck of the carcass.

Bacon is a layered product that alternates lard, meat and thin layers of fat.

All of the above leads to the fact that bacon meat can be obtained from an ordinary, domestic pig if you feed it in a certain way, and all statements about the content of harmful substances turn out to be just a myth.

Consumers loved bacon so much that it began to be used in the preparation of various dishes. It is served smoked as a slice, salted bacon is an integral part of a sandwich, and raw bacon is fried along with chicken or quail eggs. It is usually presented to us in the form of thin slices of flaky meat, although it can be sliced just before serving.

The topic of calorie content, beloved by many, is practically not discussed, since bacon is far from the fattest meat. However, let’s dispel all doubts about the delicacy, because many refuse their favorite dish, believing that it will certainly lead to weight gain. The main components of pork bacon are fats and proteins. There are practically no carbohydrates in it. A significant portion of the mass is water, but in our case it is not interesting.

Protein is considered a building material for any organism. Only due to protein, fiber is formed and muscle mass grows. In addition, the body itself spends energy on the breakdown of protein, so protein does not pose any danger to the fight against excess weight. Some fats are oxidized to amino acids, the rest is easily absorbed by the body within the next hour. Therefore, you should not “blame” fats for excess weight gain.

The fly in the ointment is the negative impact of fats on the functioning of the heart and blood vessels, but these concerns become real with excessively large amounts of meat consumed.

The benefits of eating pork are much greater. Pork meat is a source of vitamins, minerals, and valuable elements. Together with the product, vitamins A, E, PP enter our body in ready-made form. Microelements include magnesium, potassium, fluorine, phosphorus, iodine. All of these substances have a complex effect on the nervous system, enrich the blood, normalize the functioning of the heart, and have a general strengthening and restorative effect. And although this has not yet been recorded in medical indicators, statistics confirm all the facts.

What is bacon

Bacon is pork meat from special breeds of pigs.
Bacon is pork meat from special breeds of pigs. They are subject to special fattening, due to which the fat content is reduced, and layers of meat alternate with fat. This effect is achieved through special protein fattening. To prepare bacon, take the side of the pork, first removing the bones. Individuals are selected young so that the finished product is tender and soft.

Where to start smoking

Oddly enough, the decisive amount of attention when analyzing smoking recipes is given to the stage of preliminary preparation of the product. This paradox is explained by the fact that the actual smoking itself proceeds monotonously and practically does not require outside intervention. But the correct method of salting or even cutting meat significantly affects the final result.

You can find many recipes, and they will all have original names. In the absence of a single source, you will have to keep all the information received in your head. In fact, not everything is so sad if you understand the basic principles of pickling. There are units of algorithms that are fundamentally different from each other. The remaining recipes represent some kind of variable extension of the above-mentioned algorithms.

At the initial stage, it is necessary to properly salt the bacon at home. This procedure does not cause any particular difficulties, but it cannot be ignored either. Salting or marinating is necessary for any meat product. Under the influence of salt, moisture leaves the fibers, which causes the death of bacteria. Thus, salt acts as a disinfectant, and without it it is impossible to prepare a tasty and healthy dish.

Salt, as a flavoring additive, is always present in food. Marinating will not only salt the meat, but also fill it with different flavors. It’s not hard to guess that in any recipe, the pickling process will always come first.

Author of the recipe

Olga Malyuta

If you are sure that the only acceptable place for cooking is the kitchen, then Olga will easily prove the opposite to you. Our editor has visited many countries and almost never sits still, because she believes movement is the best impetus for creativity. Olga loves Georgian cuisine and is in awe of the culture of this country, giving preference to spicy meat dishes, khinkali and, of course, good wine. But when her suitcases are already unpacked, what she loves most is cooking

homemade grated pie

and serve it with herbal tea.

Simple salting method

First, it’s more convenient to prepare all the necessary tools, available materials and ingredients to smoke bacon. If you calculate for 2 kg of meat, you will also need rock and nitrite salt in equal parts, a teaspoon of sugar and ground pepper (optional).

You need to cut the meat so that you get flat pieces with a side of about 15 cm and a thickness of up to 4 cm. They are placed in a wide vessel, for example, a basin and poured with a mixture prepared in advance from the listed ingredients.
Within 7 days, the pieces must be turned over so that each side is well salted. This method is called simple salting, since there are a minimum of ingredients, a minimum of manipulation, and a minimum of skill.
When the salting period ends, you need to remove each piece and wipe it dry with a towel.

There is one detail left - you can’t smoke bacon yet, as it has high humidity. During cold smoking, microorganisms can grow in the fibers over a long period of time. When hot, the bacon will cook under the influence of temperature. The meat is hung on a rope and dried for about a day in suitable conditions (no dust, insects, draft, ventilation).

Drying in Italian

As already mentioned, it was not only the Celts who invented bacon. The cooking recipe, invented in Italy, consists of several stages. The first step is to pour half a kilo of coarse salt into a wide container and place 2 and a half kilograms of pork on it (do not cut it!). The bowl is wrapped in foil and placed in the refrigerator for three days. After the specified time, the pork is washed well in running water and a brine is prepared: add a spoonful of salt, a teaspoon of ground red and black pepper, a chopped sprig of rosemary and four crushed garlic cloves into a liter of apple cider vinegar. In this brine, thoroughly rinse the meat for several minutes, then roll it in a kind of breading of 100 g of salt, a handful of fennel and a tablespoon of both types of pepper - red and black. The entire surface should be covered with this mixture. The future bacon is tightly packed in parchment and tied with twine in the shape of a ball. Since the pork will give off fat, the package is also wrapped with cloth or paper towels on top for absorption. After a month spent in the freezer, when the bacon becomes elastic, the wrapper is replaced with a clean one, and the meat itself can be eaten.

Cold smoking

According to most consumers, bacon is especially good if it is cold smoked. This method involves smoking bacon in a smokehouse with maximum smoke density and a minimum temperature of 25°C degrees.

External conditions affect compliance with the temperature regime, so experienced craftsmen are able to take into account external factors.

To cold smoke bacon you will need apple or cherry sawdust. If a smoke generator is used, the material consumption is significantly reduced. So, for our smoked meat you will need only 3 cups of sawdust. A smokehouse made by yourself cannot boast of such indicators.

In any case, a properly organized process will last several days. The exact completion date can only be announced after the meat has been laid. The finished product should not be served immediately. Cold smoked bacon, like any other product, must be aired. Heavy harmful smoke fractions that settle during the smoking process evaporate from it.

If there is a smokehouse

Unfortunately, you can't cook smoked bacon without it. But if you have it or a friend or relative “lends” it to you, you can make an amazing delicacy. Some preparations will be required, in particular you need to prepare the so-called pink salt. For it, iodized salt is mixed with sugar, ground pepper (all types you can find) and a paste of bell red pepper, onion, garlic and basil. Proportions are at your discretion. Just don’t use too much salt - a teaspoon is enough for two and a quarter kilos of brisket. Add one and a half tablespoons of brown sugar, the same amount of regular salt and a shot of maple syrup. Rub the meat with this mixture, place it in a small saucepan, skin side down, and put it in the refrigerator for a week. You need to turn and stir daily. Next, the brisket is washed, dried, placed on a wire rack and returned to the refrigerator for half a day. Since the meat will drip, an oven sheet is placed underneath it. The bacon cooking now enters the final phase. It is placed in a smokehouse heated to 95 degrees for three hours. All that remains is to cut off the skin and wrap it in film until ready to use.

Boiled-smoked version

Those who like to make meat as soft as possible use hot smoking. Imagine their surprise when, instead of tender meat, they get a rather dense and tough product. The answer lies in the high temperature, under its influence the fat melts and the meat becomes dry.

The only solution is short-term exposure, but the meat cannot be cooked in a short period of time, so the problem must be solved at the salting stage. A marinade is prepared from water and salt, then spices are added. The meat will have to be cooked at 80°C degrees. Bringing water to a boil will render the fat from the bacon.

A special cooking thermometer is required to measure the temperature. It will accurately give readings of values not only in water, but also inside meat.

If there is no such device, proceed as follows. First, use test water and bring it to the point where small bubbles begin to form on the surface of the pan. Now you need to maintain the temperature by adjusting the intensity of gas combustion. Once this balance has been established, all the ingredients are added to the marinade and the meat will have to be boiled for 40 minutes. After this, the pieces of meat are removed and dried. At home, this method is considered labor-intensive, but there is no rush to abandon it.

Dispelling misconceptions

When buying cured bacon, no matter what cuisine “invents” it, you need to understand that it is not lard at all. Not every pig and not all its parts are suitable for it. Animals are selected for long backs and fast growing ones. At the same time, the diet of pigs destined for bacon is also very important. In no case are they fed slop and waste - only beans, barley, millet, vetch; root vegetables are given chopped, pigs are fed skim milk, or even milk. As a result of such expensive investments, the result is, rather, not lard, but meat with its layers. When slaughtered, only the side of the pig is used for bacon. The product is first salted. Afterwards it can be dried or smoked.

Smoking in the apartment

It is known that residents of apartment buildings, in the absence of a dacha or suburban area, are practically deprived of the joy of trying a delicacy smoked with their own hands. But this statement is true when it comes to full-fledged natural smoking. But you can imitate the process using the Liquid Smoke extract.

By the way, most smoked meat producers do just that. The essence of the process is that boiled bacon is soaked in liquid for a few seconds. The result, naturally, differs from the natural one, but in terms of the amount of costs this method looks more profitable. Bacon can not only be boiled, but also baked. A slow cooker is perfect for this situation. In the oven, the meat will lose its moisture, but in the slow cooker the product will remain juicy and also healthy.

How to pickle delicious lard so that it melts in your mouth

In the traditional cuisines of the Slavic peoples, salted lard has always been and is. It is salted in different ways: cold, hot, with the addition of seasonings and spices, in brine and without it. Probably everyone has their own favorite recipe. And today I will tell you about two successful recipes and show you how to salt lard so that it melts in your mouth.

These are express salting recipes, according to which lard is salted quickly, tasty, but boring. By salting lard using one of the methods listed below, you can even serve it to guests. The snack is not only tasty, but also looks elegant.

How to store the finished product

The question of how the meat will be smoked has been resolved, but the finished dish cannot be eaten in one day, so a parallel question is brewing about how to store bacon.

It is first frozen and then thinly sliced. The finished slices can last in the freezer for about 2 months. This is provided there is no access to air. If you do not consider freezing, then cooked meat should be consumed within a couple of days. If cold smoking did not involve pre-cooking or high-temperature conditions, then the product can be preserved for a week.

Is it possible to salt bacon? How to cook pork bacon at home step by step recipe

Lard roll with herbs and spices

For salting, thin lard with layers of meat is best suited. It will roll up well and retain its shape when cooked.

Ingredients

lard – 500g;
salt – 200g;
sugar – 1.5 tbsp. (30g);
garlic greens – 1 bunch;
dill and parsley - 1 bunch each;
spices (mixture of peppers, paprika, coriander, basil, cumin, hot pepper) – 1 tbsp;
bell pepper – 1 pc.

How to cook lard so that it melts in your mouth

Let's talk a little about salt as an important ingredient in the recipe. It is better to use rock salt for pickling. These are large grayish salt crystals. At first glance, it may seem that this type of salt looks unappetizing and “unfinished.”

However, unlike beautiful fine table salt, rock salt is more healthy. It is natural and contains all the beneficial substances. So it can only be called “white poison” very conditionally. It is better to use it for pickling and preservation.

Before salting, we rinse the lard in clean water and dry it with paper towels.
Mix salt and sugar, put lard in a container and sprinkle it with this mixture.
Place in the refrigerator for 1 day. Under pressure. Since we have layers of meat, in this case it is important not to overcook it. It is known that lard itself takes as much salt as “it needs,” but meat does not; it is easy to oversalt it. When you take it out of the refrigerator a day later, taste it first before cooking further. If you feel that it is too salty, then put it in water for 1-2 hours. The excess salt will come out and you can continue working.
The layer for the roll will be herbs and spices. Chop the washed greens: garlic, parsley, dill with a knife. Place in a jar and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
For the spice mixture, I recommend taking dried paprika, basil, cumin, coriander seeds, a mixture of peppers and a little extra hot pepper. The amount of hot pepper can be adjusted to suit your taste. You can also use ready-made spice mixtures for salting lard or add a mixture of Provençal herbs.
A piece of lard should be cut lengthwise like a book. To do this, press it with your palm against the cutting board, hold a knife with a wide blade parallel to the board and cut the piece, slightly short of the end, and then open it like the pages of a book. To make the layer a little thinner and softer, beat it with a hammer. Then it will be better saturated with herbs and spices, will become tender and will simply melt in your mouth.
We clean the bell pepper from seeds, cut off the thick partitions and cut into strips. Place a layer of herbs and pepper strips on a layer of lard.
When there are no fresh herbs for a layer of salted lard, you can use dried paprika.
Roll up tightly.
Roll the roll in a mixture of dry spices and herbs.
Wrap with cling film. In order for the lard to retain this shape, it must be placed in the freezer for at least half an hour to an hour.
Before serving, take out the lard and cut it into thin slices with a sharp knife.

Delicious, tender, melt-in-your-mouth lard is ready. We spent only one day salting it. You can even put such an appetizer on your holiday table, especially if you are preparing traditional Russian dishes for it.

If today we are salting lard with layers of meat, then it would be dishonest not to talk about how to salt bacon.

Homemade salted bacon

We're talking about salting bacon. Since few people have the opportunity to smoke lard at home. You need not only a smokehouse, but also the ability to use it correctly.

Ideally, bacon is made from meat of the same name. And this is a young pig, fattened in a special way. But this is ideal.

What to do if such meat is not sold in the immediate environment? To make homemade salted bacon, you can use pork belly. But I wouldn’t recommend salting the belly.

It is tough and you can end up upset by getting lard that does not melt in your mouth at all, but turns out to be tough.

Preparing salted bacon

It is best to freeze the brisket first. This is necessary to immediately cut it into thin slices for pickling.
Peel the garlic, cut one clove into thin slices and place it on the bottom of a plastic container.
Mix salt and spices in a bowl.
Sprinkle each individual slice of lard with this mixture on both sides. Place the garlic cloves on top of the container.
We pass the second clove through a press and distribute it among the slices of lard.
Close the lid of the container tightly and first leave the lard to stand at room temperature. It will give juice, the salt will melt in it, mix even better with spices and form a brine. Then put it in the refrigerator for two days.

Remove the finished salted bacon from the container and remove the garlic. To serve, roll melt-in-your-mouth lard slices into rolls and serve with black Borodino bread.

To be honest, I have wanted to make bacon at home for quite some time, but somehow there was no reason.

On the eve of New Year's feasts, this recipe is especially relevant, since you need to snack on strong alcoholic drinks with delicious high-calorie snacks and preferably with the least amount of artificial additives, colorings and preservatives.

By preparing bacon according to this recipe, you will be confident not only in taste, appearance and quality, but I assure you, you will make a splash among your guests.

To prepare bacon at home, take the necessary ingredients. We select the underbelly (the peritoneum from the navel to the groin, the groin area is already the flank) with a minimum amount of sebaceous layer. It should not be thin, otherwise it will be salty. The head of garlic is small.

There should be a lot of onion peel, at least three large handfuls.

Rinse the husks thoroughly under running water.

Transfer the husks to a saucepan, add all the herbs and spices.

Add salt and sugar, pour in 1 liter of water, boil. The brine will taste very salty, don't let that scare you, the finished bacon will taste great.

Cook the marinade for 5 minutes until the salt and sugar dissolve.

Push the husks away from the middle of the pan with a spoon and place the undercuts, skin side up.

Cover the undercut with husk. Cook over low heat for 25 minutes.

After a while, turn the undercuts over. It turned out so beautiful already.

And cook for another 20-25 minutes. Turn off the stove and leave to cool in this brine. Already at night (when the bacon had completely cooled), I drained the brine, threw away the husks and put the finished bacon under the press.

The color of the bacon will be natural, barely pink. The red color can only be achieved by using nitrite salt.

The next day, cut up the bacon. Rye bread and an ice glass will go very well with it.

Bacon at home was a success, enjoy!

Bacon... when mentioning this product, almost every person has a strong association - fried eggs, golden toast (croutons) and fried delicious pieces of lard with layers of meat, a cup of aromatic hot coffee.

Unfortunately, finding decent bacon in small towns is not so easy. Either it is excellent imported dry-cured bacon, or local, not cut into long thin strips and not salted.

It's great that brining bacon is so easy.

Preparation

1. Wash and dry a piece of bacon, then cut into several smaller pieces.

2. In a suitable bowl, mix salt, sugar and spices: you can take ground black and red pepper, paprika, coriander. The garlic needs to be peeled and chopped very finely or passed through a special press.

3. Dredge the bacon pieces thoroughly on all sides, rub in salt, sugar and spices. If desired, you can poke holes in the bacon and stuff it with garlic. Cover the dish with cling film and leave on the counter for a couple of hours, then put it in the refrigerator for a couple of days. If desired, you can drain the liquid that is released during the salting process.

Good afternoon, Orthodox Christians, as well as everyone else who believes in the big bang theory.

I did not indicate the true believers for ethical reasons, since the main character of the post will be pork.

I believe in God, not a triune one, not with horns, not with a suitcase of money, but simply God. The one who was able to show imagination and come up with a pig. May raw foodists forgive me, but I consider those who do not eat meat to be defective people, to some extent.

Man is a predator by nature, even his teeth give this fact away, which means that a person needs meat for normal life. A good pork belly is a cure for many diseases. Eating meat and lard is not only tasty, but also extremely necessary. Especially residents of Siberia. For me, lard is a kind of “anti-freeze”.

I ate a sandwich with homemade bacon in the morning and no frost at all! In addition, and this is probably the most valuable thing, it is incredibly tasty.

Fragrant, having absorbed the smells of rosemary, laurel, hot and allspice, dripping with tears after the freezer, cut thinly so that it shines through, a piece of homemade bacon, and on fresh black bread, and with vodka flowing smoothly from grandma’s steamy old decanter... Is this Isn’t it real, unclouded by domestic troubles, work, wasted nerves (I’m talking about football), true, crystal clear male happiness? Undoubtedly...

Pork belly without bone, with skin, thickness 3-4 cm and dimensions 20x30 cm (rectangular piece) - 1.5 kg Peeling from at least 2 kg of onions 4 bay leaves 10 allspice peas 10 black peppercorns 1 tsp.

spoon of dried chili flakes (or red hot ground) 2 medium carrots 1 medium onion 1 head of garlic 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (can be replaced with 10 juniper berries) Stems of dill and parsley (if available) 1 tbsp. spoon of coriander seeds 5 tbsp.

spoons with a heap of sea salt 4-5 liter saucepan Twine, twine or strong bandage - 1-2 meters

To start

Pat the brisket dry with a paper or regular towel. Place skin side down on a cutting board. Make punctures on the side of the meat with a thin narrow knife and stuff with garlic. You don't have to spare the garlic.

Prepare the brine: boil 4 liters of water, add onion peels, peeled carrots, onions and stems of bunches of aromatic herbs to the boiling water. Boil for 30 minutes. Remove vegetables and stems of dill and parsley. Add all the salt. Rub the brisket with salt on the meat side, roll into a tight roll and tie with twine. Pull the ends of the roll especially tightly so that the juices do not escape.

Source: https://transat.ru/mozhno-li-posolit-bekon-kak-prigotovit-bekon-iz-svininy-v-domashnih-usloviyah/