Started with a 5 lb boneless leg joint. removed the skin and trimmed. I left a thin fat cap to help with the frying :-)
Ended up with two loin shaped pieces that weighed in at 2lb each
made up the cure with my curing salt - which uses 15g salt per kg. Weirdly this is just 1 heaped teaspoon of this stuff - it's heavier than normal salt.
So for anyone who hasn't done this yet - ALWAYS weigh cure salt, don't use volume measures.
Anyway I used 15grams cure, 15 grams seasalt and 15 grams brown sugar and about a teaspoon cbp. made this amount up for each chunk of leg.
Rubbed and then double bagged.
I left it in the fridge for 6 days, turning each day. I like to leave it till most of the liquid that comes out in the first day or so is readsorbed.
Rinsed it briefly, once out of the bags and dried it off.
Plugged in the slicer. Set it fairly thin and ran a few slices off.
Very pleased with the evenness and thinness of cutting BUT...
It's sorely underpowered. the blade kept stopping on the last little bit of the cut. edge of the fat cap, maybe a tiny bit of sinew.
Another 50 or 100 watts on the motor (it's 150 I think) would have made all the difference. Maybe also an argument for a slightly serrated blade - mine's smooth.
So after slicing sufficient for a couple of bacon sarnies I've put the rest in the freezer to firm up a bit. Hoping it'll slice better with par-frozen bacon.
On the up side I can't see it having any problems with smoked or cooked ham.
So I'm wondering now whether or not my mate can stick a slightly more powerful motor in it. It was cheap and other than that it's easy to use, easy to clean and does what it says on the box.
back to the bacon. Given that I used quite a lot of salt. I was extremely surprised to find that the bacon has almost no salt taste to it whatsoever.
I didn't soak it, just a quick rinse to remove any excess liquid then patted off with kitchen paper. And all the liquid and thus the salt was readsorbed by the bacon.
But this is the least salty bacon I've ever had. Weird or what.
To be honest while it is excellent bacon, I'd probably want it a little saltier.
On the positive side i can always sprinkle a little fine salt on my sarnie - but if it were too salty I'd be buggered :-)
Either way it's good stuff.
another half hour or so and I'll have another go at slicing.
I'm not actually snowed in today - I was monday (in case anyone was wondering what I'm doing posting this kind of stuff this time of day) but the car battery was flat and is on charge - so marooned just the same :-)
Next batch of bacon I'll smoke.
Ended up with two loin shaped pieces that weighed in at 2lb each
made up the cure with my curing salt - which uses 15g salt per kg. Weirdly this is just 1 heaped teaspoon of this stuff - it's heavier than normal salt.
So for anyone who hasn't done this yet - ALWAYS weigh cure salt, don't use volume measures.
Anyway I used 15grams cure, 15 grams seasalt and 15 grams brown sugar and about a teaspoon cbp. made this amount up for each chunk of leg.
Rubbed and then double bagged.
I left it in the fridge for 6 days, turning each day. I like to leave it till most of the liquid that comes out in the first day or so is readsorbed.
Rinsed it briefly, once out of the bags and dried it off.
Plugged in the slicer. Set it fairly thin and ran a few slices off.
Very pleased with the evenness and thinness of cutting BUT...
It's sorely underpowered. the blade kept stopping on the last little bit of the cut. edge of the fat cap, maybe a tiny bit of sinew.
Another 50 or 100 watts on the motor (it's 150 I think) would have made all the difference. Maybe also an argument for a slightly serrated blade - mine's smooth.
So after slicing sufficient for a couple of bacon sarnies I've put the rest in the freezer to firm up a bit. Hoping it'll slice better with par-frozen bacon.
On the up side I can't see it having any problems with smoked or cooked ham.
So I'm wondering now whether or not my mate can stick a slightly more powerful motor in it. It was cheap and other than that it's easy to use, easy to clean and does what it says on the box.
back to the bacon. Given that I used quite a lot of salt. I was extremely surprised to find that the bacon has almost no salt taste to it whatsoever.
I didn't soak it, just a quick rinse to remove any excess liquid then patted off with kitchen paper. And all the liquid and thus the salt was readsorbed by the bacon.
But this is the least salty bacon I've ever had. Weird or what.
To be honest while it is excellent bacon, I'd probably want it a little saltier.
On the positive side i can always sprinkle a little fine salt on my sarnie - but if it were too salty I'd be buggered :-)
Either way it's good stuff.
another half hour or so and I'll have another go at slicing.
I'm not actually snowed in today - I was monday (in case anyone was wondering what I'm doing posting this kind of stuff this time of day) but the car battery was flat and is on charge - so marooned just the same :-)
Next batch of bacon I'll smoke.
