Benton's bacon-salt/sugar only cure

[phoenix rising]

So, I was watching a video on youtube on Benton's bacon, and saw that they used only a salt sugar cure on their bacon. It seemed from the video that the process went as follows:

1. rubbed the belly with the salt/sugar mix, and stacked the bellies up in a cool room for 10 days,
2. rinsed the bacon off and hung it to dry for 10 days,
3. left it to hang at room temp to cure for 10 days,
4. smoked for 3 days to a temp of 130,
5. left the bacon to sit at room temp for 3 days,
6. froze it for 2 days,
7. sliced and packed it.

Does anyone have more details on how this is done? I have 2 bellies from a Berkshire/european wild boar pig I slaughtered. I"d like to give that recipe a try.

Video for reference.

 

[mike243]

No idea but have ate several packs of it over the years, Best to cook outside as the smoke smell is pretty intense lol, Alan is a fine person and gave me and the wife a tour of his place 1 time, he uses 2 pot bellied stoves to provide the smoke

 

[mike243]

Also it requires no refrigeration, not sure how long it will hold like that but suspect a pretty good while

 

[thirdeye]

It looks like they are using some techniques from country hams on their bacon, it's a heck of a process. I would think that the cold room is temperature, humidity and circulation controlled for those 10 days, much like cold rooms for aging prime beef are. What I don't fully grasp is the next 10 days of aging at room temperature. All that said the finished product looks wonderful.

 

[SmokinAl]

If it were me I would stick to using cure #1 for bacon. If their process is not done correctly, you risk getting botulism.
Al

 

[chef jimmyj]

The first 20 days are at Refer temp, 36-38°F. The goal is to use Salt and Sugar to draw out and bind moisture to inhibit bacteria, until the surface dries. In the next step, the guy made a big deal about not letting the bellies touch as they hang. This gives even drying but also keeps plenty of Oxygen in contact with the belly so there is No Chance for the bacteria that causes Botulism to start growing. ( C. Botulinum needs a very low or no oxygen environment to grow...Like the center of a Salami.).
After 20 days in the refer, the bellies are dry enough and Salt concentrated enough, to resist bacteria growth at Room Temp, 75+ degrees for 10 days of aging and further drying, without the Expense of Refigeration.
Add 3 days of Smoke and between the Salt, Sugar and 20 days of Drying, you have a Thousand Year Old method for makin' Country Bacon.
I would suggest packing and Freezing any Bacon you won't eat in 7 to 10 day stored in the Refer...JJ

 

[SmokinAl]

Thanks for clarifying that JJ!
But I think I will still stick to my cure #1 method!
It seems fail safe & uncomplicated!
Al

 

[chef jimmyj]

True Al. Adding the Cure #1, simplifies and most importantly to Commercial Processors, Speeds up the process. Adding Cure compresses 33 days of drying, aging and smoking down to 15 days? Less than Half that if you Inject a Curing Brine!...JJ

 

[daveomak.fs]

3 days at 130F, pasteurizes the slab.... It's not totally safe as spores are still active if the salt hasn't killed them... Refer temp, freezing or cooking is in order, if the salt hasn't killed any spores...

The pasteurization times for beef, lamb and pork are listed in Table C.1.
Temperature... ....... Time.... ....... Temperature... ........ Time
°F (°C) (Minutes) °F (°C) (Seconds)
130 (54.4)........... 112 min
131 (55.0) ......... 89 min...........
132 (55.6).......... 71 min............
133 (56.1).................. 56 min............
134 (56.7).................. 45 min...........
135 (57.2).................. 36 min............
136 (57.8).................. 28 min...........
137 (58.4)................. 23 min............
138 (58.9).................. 18 min...........
139 (59.5).................. 15 min ...........
140 (60.0).................... 12 min............
141 (60.6).................. 9 min..............
142 (61.1).................. 8 min.............
143 (61.7).................. 6 min
144 (62.2).................. 5 min
145 (62.8).................. 4 min
Table C.1: Pasteurization times for beef, corned beef, lamb, pork and cured pork (FDA, 2009, 3-401.11.B.2).