-aliwonderland- Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I'm having a heckuva time finding bacon that doesn't have some kind of sugar (corn syrup, honey, etc etc) in it. I have recently found a pack of "pork belly" which is sliced into bacon-like strips for me, but isn't called "bacon" and has no flavoring (or ingredients other than "pork"). Does anyone know if it will be bland if I just put it in recipes that call for bacon, or eat it plain? Any suggestions for how I should season it (before or after I cook it? with paprika? other spices?) to make it more bacon-y? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah T Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I find pork belly to have a very... um, "porky" taste? LOL But there are also quite a few resources out there on how to cure pork belly into bacon. Just Google it. I'm pretty sure Civilized Caveman had a blog about it, too, but I can't find it on my work computer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcheoGator Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Pork belly does not equal bacon. Making bacon is a minimum of a one to two week process. You can Google what method you want to use, since there are wet cures and dry cures. The key is, the belly has to be cured, then it is normally smoked. The key ingredient is Prague Powder, also known as curing salt. I ordered mine from Amazon. You have to have the belly weighed so you know exactly how much Prague to use. If you do not use enough, the meat can spoil. If you use too much, it will become a salt lick. To make my bacon, from the bellies of pigs that we trapped, I used directions primarily from http://www.amazingribs.com/recipes/porknography/making_bacon_from_scratch.html. Do not worry about any non-compliant ingredients, as they are not actually essential. The ingredient that makes it bacon is the Prague Powder. After making my own bacon, I quickly learned why bacon used to be a luxury. It takes a while, and the yield is not terribly too much per animal compared to the animal's body weight. Most of the manufactured bacon in markets now is done with a rushed process and thousands of animals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
praxisproject Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 If you don't smoke it, it's unlikely to taste very bacon-ish. However if you're after something porky for breakfast, salt and ground fennel seed are a good seasoning for plain and fatty pork cuts. Cook in duck fat until it has a bit of crisp to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-aliwonderland- Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm really intimidated by the curing, so I might try the salt and fennel method. But really good info, I appreciate the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted January 23, 2014 Moderators Share Posted January 23, 2014 I'm having a heckuva time finding bacon that doesn't have some kind of sugar (corn syrup, honey, etc etc) in it. I have recently found a pack of "pork belly" which is sliced into bacon-like strips for me, but isn't called "bacon" and has no flavoring (or ingredients other than "pork"). Does anyone know if it will be bland if I just put it in recipes that call for bacon, or eat it plain? Any suggestions for how I should season it (before or after I cook it? with paprika? other spices?) to make it more bacon-y? Thanks! I bought some already sliced pork belly, thinking I could salt it generously and fry it and surely it would be close to the same as bacon, right? It was ... disappointing, I guess is the best way to put it. It was salty and fatty and crunchy, but it just wasn't bacon. So if you can smoke it, do, but if you can't, just know it may not be quite what you're wanting if you're wanting bacon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanB Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Yep ,needs to be cured to be tasting anything like bacon. I did make my own a few times when I had pigs - takes a bit of work and also some takes practice to get the saltiness right. Also I've not seen a recipe that doesn't involve some kind of sugar, but I guess just salt might work, especially if you smoke it - never smoked mine, though I love smoked bacon, the superior quality of the home bred meat was enough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArcheoGator Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I don't use any of the sugar called for in the recipes and it turns out nice. I do smoke mine, for roughly four hours. I wish I could raise pigs, but the trapping and hunting gives me a nice healthy hobby as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapstitching Posted January 26, 2014 Share Posted January 26, 2014 I use La Quercia's pancetta. No sugar, no weird things you can't pronounce. Some Whole Foods carry it or you can buy it on line. I'm way too lazy to make my own. The farmers market near me also sells a nice compliant bacon. My husband loves it; I'm not a huge fan. It's good, but it's basically thick bacon that isn't super tasty. (He grew up on a farm and that was what he remembers bacon tasting like.) Prosciutto can be used as a bacon substitute and most of them are complaint (read those labels!). I get mine at Walmart, toward the front of the store where they have their specialty cheeses, etc. Good luck on the pork belly curing. I'm in awe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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