The Smell Of Bacon ?

[Boyce]

Hi ,

Can anyone tell me why my home made Bacon , Don't smell as good as Bacon from the uk , am i missing something here it just smells like i'm cooking pork chops, and not Bacon.

Thanks.

[NanaFoods]

need more info....

what type of bacon? (streaky, back, or middle?)

(based on your description of what you are ending up with, sounds like back)

did you dry cure or wet cure it... and for how long?

besides salt and sugar, did you flavor the cure with any one or more of the following: juniper berries, bay leaves, coriander seed, other?

did you smoke it?

if so, for how long...and with what wood?

[Boyce]

Thanks for your reply, i wet cured it with a mix i bought from a friend who makes the brine mix,he has gone back to the uk now , i did not add any berries or spices to the mix on the instructions with the kit it recommends that you leave the bacon in the wet mix in the fridge for 3 day's.

i did not smoke the bacon as the mix was the unsmoked type,, and yes it was a loin of pork i used about 2 kilos.

Thanks.

[NanaFoods]

I heard about some bacon kit being sold that has no cure in it... is that perhaps the same as you bought? I recall it had instructions for around 3-days as well... which is not nearly enough time for a loin. However, if there is no cure int he mix, then you don't want the meat sitting in the fridge for too long, unless its heavily salted, else it will spoil. So, if I were to guess, I would think there might not be any cure in the brine mix you obtained.

did your bacon cook up grey or pinkish?

you should also find out more about what it is you're aiming for - eg: the brand of bacon you are used to eating back home. Is it spiced or smoked or both? see if you can pull up an ingredients list on the web....

I've made some really nice Canadian bacon several times here in Thailand, using pork loin in a wet brine. I brine it for about 18 days, with brown sugar, cure, sea salt, juniper berries and other herbs and spices.

The day I am to smoke it, I pull it out of the brine, rinse well, and then soak it in ice-water for 1-hour to remove any excess salt (don't worry, the flavors won't leave the meat during this process, but it is important to get a palatable salt level). Then the meat is patted dry and air-dried a bit more (until reasonably dry to the touch) before going into the smoker.

I use mango wood to smoke with - for this item, I think it was about 12-hours (have to dig up my recipe to be sure - it's been awhile since I've made it). The end result is that it comes out scrumptious each time.

Although brining time depends on the thickness of the meat (and whether you use injection or not), that is a fairly typical process for a brine cured and smoked meat product. It's essentially the same when I make American bacon, but no spices, and I smoke it for longer. For an unsmoked meat product, simply omit the smoking process.

[Boyce]

Hi there,

Nana the bacon comes up Gray , the kit sounds like the one you have heard of it says on the brine box paxgo.

Maybe that rings a bell.

Cheers for the info.

Edited May 29, 2011 by Boyce

[meatboy]

hi boyce being a lover of bacon myself i love the smell when its cooking,i cure all my own and i find that the best tasteing comes from the belly i buy,my mother always used to tell me most of the flavour is in the fat,this is right what is a nice piece of beef if its got no fat on it same with a nice sirlion steak or a piece of pork,everyone that likes pork dripping with that jelly will know what i mean.back in the 50s and 60s i used to buy home cured bacon at the farmers market along with faggots,brawn,jelled veal and chickling,the bacon used to give off the most fab.smell and it only had a small amount of meat,that was from the belly,you would get a pan full of fat to fry the eggs in followed by the fried bread,i think that is why i had to have a double by pass 2007.well mrs meat is off to buy some belly and loin,i was given some mango wood so i am going to give smoking a go. good eating meatboy.

[theseahorse]

hi boyce being a lover of bacon myself i love the smell when its cooking,i cure all my own and i find that the best tasteing comes from the belly i buy,my mother always used to tell me most of the flavour is in the fat,this is right what is a nice piece of beef if its got no fat on it same with a nice sirlion steak or a piece of pork,everyone that likes pork dripping with that jelly will know what i mean.back in the 50s and 60s i used to buy home cured bacon at the farmers market along with faggots,brawn,jelled veal and chickling,the bacon used to give off the most fab.smell and it only had a small amount of meat,that was from the belly,you would get a pan full of fat to fry the eggs in followed by the fried bread,i think that is why i had to have a double by pass 2007.well mrs meat is off to buy some belly and loin,i was given some mango wood so i am going to give smoking a go. good eating meatboy.

Although belly bacon is much easier to cure and yes, fat is flavour, I wouldn't agree with it being better. Most Brits see belly bacon, or streaky bacon as it's called in the UK as being the cheap, fatty option. In the UK and many parts of Europe a well cured loin, or Back bacon is the gourmet option.

Personally, I make bacon out of the loin which is just dry-cured and smoked (Brtish bacon doesn't have any herbs or spices in the cure) and I make Panchetta out of the belly (using a cure with Brown sugar, garlic, thyme, Juniper and black pepper) this is then aged for about 10- 15 days too. Sometimes I smoke it sometimes I don't. When mking a sandwich it has to be back bacon, but when cooking with bacon, whether I'm making a carbonara or a Amatriciana or what ever, then I want the extra fat and flavour from a Panchetta.

Boyce, I think it's time to throw away that cure mix you have and start again.

[meatboy]

just prepared 2 loins for cureing recipes from hugh fearnley whittingstalls web.agree loin is the best but again they had no fat got to wait 7days so i will post to let you know what its like,now i am going to make a smoker

[SausageKing]

If you want to make your own bacon at home then Sausage King will be happy to sell you some of our dry cure that i find is better than brine cure as with dry cure there are so things you can do to change the taste of your bacon, our cure is easy to use and safe.Rob/sk

just prepared 2 loins for cureing recipes from hugh fearnley whittingstalls web.agree loin is the best but again they had no fat got to wait 7days so i will post to let you know what its like,now i am going to make a smoker

[meatboy]

just prepared 2 loins for cureing recipes from hugh fearnley whittingstalls web.agree loin is the best but again they had no fat got to wait 7days so i will post to let you know what its like,now i am going to make a smoker

the one i crured in a bag of dry mix was great,but the smoked one i burnt but it ended up smoked loin,i think too much charcoal,the mango wood gave it a good flavour.

[NanaFoods]

all this talk got me hankering for some Canadian bacon, which I haven't made for a quite while.

So I picked up some fresh loin at the talat and am brining it now with some real Amish maple syrup, juniper berries, thyme, rosemary, pepper and cure #1. I have a smoker, but am experimenting with liquid smoke this time in the brine, just to see how it works out.

Will let y'all know results in about two weeks.

BTW and for those interested, attached are some pics of my homemade smoker... It ain't pretty, but it works quite well and never any burn issues.

1st pic show it from the outside - firebox on the right, meat hanging chamber on the left. The cooling tube is just cement pipe from a local supplier. I wanted the pipe longer, but the local guy who actually mortared it together did it that way.... anyway, it works fine.

2nd pic shows the hanging bars inside the meat chamber - rebar.

3rd pic explains the inside of the firebox.

Edited June 19, 2011 by NanaFoods

[lomatopo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ka2kpzTAL8&feature=related

[Boyce]

If you want to make your own bacon at home then Sausage King will be happy to sell you some of our dry cure that i find is better than brine cure as with dry cure there are so things you can do to change the taste of your bacon, our cure is easy to use and safe.Rob/sk [quote

Hi there Rob , that sounds good , i have tasted your Bacon , and it is the best i have had since comming to thailand can you PM me with some prices please on the Dry Cure Mix.

Regards

Boyce

Edited June 21, 2011 by Boyce

[puchooay]

Mine's coming on nicely now. Something still missing though. Anyone know where to get juniper berries?

[meatboy]

If you want to make your own bacon at home then Sausage King will be happy to sell you some of our dry cure that i find is better than brine cure as with dry cure there are so things you can do to change the taste of your bacon, our cure is easy to use and safe.Rob/sk

just prepared 2 loins for cureing recipes from hugh fearnley whittingstalls web.agree loin is the best but again they had no fat got to wait 7days so i will post to let you know what its like,now i am going to make a smoker

where can i buy some.

[Boyce]

Mine's coming on nicely now. Something still missing though. Anyone know where to get juniper berries?

Hi there , puchooay, i see your in Issan , i have seen them for sale in the korat shopping mail .

all the best

Boyce

Edited June 22, 2011 by Boyce

[NanaFoods]

Mine's coming on nicely now. Something still missing though. Anyone know where to get juniper berries?

Hi there , puchooay, i see your in Issan , i have seen them for sale in the korat shopping mail .

all the best

Boyce

would that be Klang Plaza ?

[Boyce]

If you want to make your own bacon at home then Sausage King will be happy to sell you some of our dry cure that i find is better than brine cure as with dry cure there are so things you can do to change the taste of your bacon, our cure is easy to use and safe.Rob/sk[/size] [q

Hi rob can you send me some prices for you dry cure mix please

[email protected]

[Boyce]

If you want to make your own bacon at home then Sausage King will be happy to sell you some of our dry cure that i find is better than brine cure as with dry cure there are so things you can do to change the taste of your bacon, our cure is easy to use and safe.Rob/sk

just prepared 2 loins for cureing recipes from hugh fearnley whittingstalls web.agree loin is the best but again they had no fat got to wait 7days so i will post to let you know what its like,now i am going to make a smoker

If you want to make your own bacon at home then Sausage King will be happy to sell you some of our dry cure that i find is better than brine cure as with dry cure there are so things you can do to change the taste of your bacon, our cure is easy to use and safe.Rob/sk[/size] [q

Hi rob can you send me some prices for you dry cure mix please

[email protected]

Hi Rob can you please reply, i want to use your dry cure mix.

Boyce

[NanaFoods]

OK, here is the result of my experiment with liquid smoke: Canadian bacon.

Exactly 1-kg pork loin marinated as described above for 2-weeks, soaked in ice-water to normalize salt level, and then cooked to an internal temp of 160 F. As you can kind of tell from the pic, it came out tender but still moist.

I made an educated guess as to how much liquid smoke to use in the brine, but as luck would have it, the smokiness came out about perfect to my liking - not too strong but "there". I used Wright's hickory liquid smoke -> 2Tb per 1.5Lt brine.

All in all, quite happy with the results

[kikoman]

Nana Foods,

That looks great, I have not used my horno or under ground pit for a while, placed my laying hens and rabbit house to close to them for comfort.

That is the problem of living on a one rai lot, not enough room for all the projects, the wife's 22 rai of land is about 2 kilometers away , but the trip was made a lot longer about 3 years back when the flood washed away the dam the provided quick access to the land.

If possible PM me on your your brining ingredient's and process, or sell me a package of your brine.

I like the looks of the resulting bacon.

Cheers;

Kikoman

Edited July 8, 2011 by kikoman

[Boyce]

Yes nana, your bacon looks very succulent.

[puchooay]

I attempted a honey roast ham over the weekend. It turned out quite good except for the colour.

Looks like I can get away without cure for the bacon but not the ham.

Does anyone know where I can get hold of the Nitrate/Nitrites/Prague Powder/Salt Petre or any good substitute?

Thanks

[Cuban]

BTW and for those interested, attached are some pics of my homemade smoker... It ain't pretty, but it works quite well...

Very interesting photographs, thank you for posting.

• Could you tell me how you hang the meat in the smoker.
  
• Do you turn or rotate the meat to allow for hot spots.
  
• How long do you smoke for?
  
• Do you use experience to gauge "done" or measure the internal temperature and duration.
  
• What woods do you burn?
  
• I've read about mango before but there's more spiky brush and misc wood around here.
  
• What time can I come round for breakfast?
  

I've done a few wet cured loins, same issue as others have experienced with grey meat. I understand/believe that not using sodium nitrite is the cause of this. The only reason I have not done more is difficulty in slicing to produce bacon for frying, the key objective of many. If I could find a small rotary slicer I would get it.

[puchooay]

BTW and for those interested, attached are some pics of my homemade smoker... It ain't pretty, but it works quite well...

Very interesting photographs, thank you for posting.

• Could you tell me how you hang the meat in the smoker.
• Do you turn or rotate the meat to allow for hot spots.
• How long do you smoke for?
• Do you use experience to gauge "done" or measure the internal temperature and duration.
• What woods do you burn?
• I've read about mango before but there's more spiky brush and misc wood around here.
• What time can I come round for breakfast?

I've done a few wet cured loins, same issue as others have experienced with grey meat. I understand/believe that not using sodium nitrite is the cause of this. The only reason I have not done more is difficulty in slicing to produce bacon for frying, the key objective of many. If I could find a small rotary slicer I would get it.

I would like to get hold of a slicer too.

I currently part freeze my cured pork before slicing. 1/2kg joint in the freezer for about an hour, then using a freshly sharpened knife can get the slices quite thin.

[DavidARoss]

OK, here is the result of my experiment with liquid smoke: Canadian bacon.

Exactly 1-kg pork loin marinated as described above for 2-weeks, soaked in ice-water to normalize salt level, and then cooked to an internal temp of 160 F. As you can kind of tell from the pic, it came out tender but still moist.

I made an educated guess as to how much liquid smoke to use in the brine, but as luck would have it, the smokiness came out about perfect to my liking - not too strong but "there". I used Wright's hickory liquid smoke -> 2Tb per 1.5Lt brine.

All in all, quite happy with the results

You'd better not give out the address or you'll be missing a pork loin. I was just going to start something similar as to your question. Why is it that Pork Tenderloin or a loin of pork when cooked very slowly comes out tough as nails or chewy. I'm from Canada and have cooked many a Tenderloin cutting it and slowly frying it with butter in the frying pan and it's never been tough like Thailand's pig. Perhaps I can come and buy it from you.

[meatboy]

OK, here is the result of my experiment with liquid smoke: Canadian bacon.

Exactly 1-kg pork loin marinated as described above for 2-weeks, soaked in ice-water to normalize salt level, and then cooked to an internal temp of 160 F. As you can kind of tell from the pic, it came out tender but still moist.

I made an educated guess as to how much liquid smoke to use in the brine, but as luck would have it, the smokiness came out about perfect to my liking - not too strong but "there". I used Wright's hickory liquid smoke -> 2Tb per 1.5Lt brine.

All in all, quite happy with the results

You'd better not give out the address or you'll be missing a pork loin. I was just going to start something similar as to your question. Why is it that Pork Tenderloin or a loin of pork when cooked very slowly comes out tough as nails or chewy. I'm from Canada and have cooked many a Tenderloin cutting it and slowly frying it with butter in the frying pan and it's never been tough like Thailand's pig. Perhaps I can come and buy it from you.

pork tenderloin and pork loin are two diff.cuts of meat,tenderloin is the fillet under the rib cage of the loin[pork chops] only to be fried,the same as beef fillet is under the rib cage[sirloin].

he used the loin.i used the canadian recipe,a bacon joint and a boiled joint for sandwiches,the bacon was excellent havnt tried the other.

[NanaFoods]

OK, here is the result of my experiment with liquid smoke: Canadian bacon.

Exactly 1-kg pork loin marinated as described above for 2-weeks, soaked in ice-water to normalize salt level, and then cooked to an internal temp of 160 F. As you can kind of tell from the pic, it came out tender but still moist.

I made an educated guess as to how much liquid smoke to use in the brine, but as luck would have it, the smokiness came out about perfect to my liking - not too strong but "there". I used Wright's hickory liquid smoke -> 2Tb per 1.5Lt brine.

All in all, quite happy with the results

You'd better not give out the address or you'll be missing a pork loin. I was just going to start something similar as to your question. Why is it that Pork Tenderloin or a loin of pork when cooked very slowly comes out tough as nails or chewy. I'm from Canada and have cooked many a Tenderloin cutting it and slowly frying it with butter in the frying pan and it's never been tough like Thailand's pig. Perhaps I can come and buy it from you.

What we from the lower 48 call "Canadian Bacon", you probably refer to as simply back bacon - and that's made from the loin. And I know what you mean regarding chewiness. My first go, I cooked it according to "directions" and it came out a bit tough for my liking. So this time, I increased the heat a bit and kept a close eye on the meat thermometer, placed squarely in the center of the meat. Worked out quite nicely.

Edited July 25, 2011 by NanaFoods

[meatboy]

hi nana have you tried boiled bacon? i used your recipe for canadian bacon,brined it for 8days washed it in cold water,coved it in a pan with cold water added an onion and some celery brought it to the boil then simmered for 1.5hrs,if your not going to eat it on the day leave it in the stock,inthe fridge,i also use the stock to make pea and ham soup [HEAVEN]

[NanaFoods]

hi nana have you tried boiled bacon? i used your recipe for canadian bacon,brined it for 8days washed it in cold water,coved it in a pan with cold water added an onion and some celery brought it to the boil then simmered for 1.5hrs,if your not going to eat it on the day leave it in the stock,inthe fridge,i also use the stock to make pea and ham soup [HEAVEN]

Never tried boiled bacon, but I do enjoy "split pea soup with smoked ham hocks", especially on a cool rainy day. Not sure if that's the same as what you are referring to, but certainly sounds similar.