It's makin' bacon time!
Got all the ingredients lined up for this recipe...
Into the dry ingredients, I add the 'wet.'
Well-mixed into a sticky paste that'll be rubbed into the bellies...
I picked up 16.5 pound of pork belly at a 'reasonable' price. Hard to get it in my area, I've discovered. Many places want upwards of $7-8 a pound! This was $3.99/lb special ordered at our local Whole Foods. Good fat-to-lean ratio.
I gave the bellies a thorough rub-down with the maple/honey cure paste, distributing it evenly across all surfaces. These will sit in my fridge for two days while the salt draws moisture out and a brine develops. It's important to allow the brine to cover the meat so I may move the bellies into separate zip-locs to ensure good brine contact & submersion.
That's all for now. After 5-7 days of curing, it will then be on to the next step: SMOKING.
More to come!
Kevin
Got all the ingredients lined up for this recipe...
Into the dry ingredients, I add the 'wet.'
Well-mixed into a sticky paste that'll be rubbed into the bellies...
I picked up 16.5 pound of pork belly at a 'reasonable' price. Hard to get it in my area, I've discovered. Many places want upwards of $7-8 a pound! This was $3.99/lb special ordered at our local Whole Foods. Good fat-to-lean ratio.
I gave the bellies a thorough rub-down with the maple/honey cure paste, distributing it evenly across all surfaces. These will sit in my fridge for two days while the salt draws moisture out and a brine develops. It's important to allow the brine to cover the meat so I may move the bellies into separate zip-locs to ensure good brine contact & submersion.
That's all for now. After 5-7 days of curing, it will then be on to the next step: SMOKING.
More to come!
Kevin
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