How to Cure Bacon

On this page I describe how to use our bacon cures. Scroll down the page to select the bacon cure of your choice. Our bacon cures are designed specifically to make the whole process easy as well as making the most delicious bacon.

 

Meat Preparation

Make your own bacon. It couldn’t be easier! We are assuming you are going to use pork for this project but this is a matter of personal choice. We have had customers tell us that they have used beef and lamb with equally good results.

Bone and trim the loin and bellies of pork and remove the flare fat. At this stage you may wish to remove the skin leaving a layer of fat on the surface of one side. The cure will penetrate more effectively without the skin. If your loin or belly is particularly thick you can use a skewer or a tenderising spike to pierce the meat to aid penetration of the cure.
The next steps will be specific to your particular bacon cure sos choose the instructions that match the cure you have purchased. Choose your cure – (ensure you use the correct cure for your product)

 

 

Nitrite Salt Bacon Cure - BUY NOW

  • Prepare the meat as described above
  • Using the dry curing mix at 3% of the weight of the meat, (use 30g of cure per Kg of meat).
  • Apply the dry cure to both sides of the meat, rubbing the mix in well, 25% of the cure on the skin side and 75% of the cure on the meat side. don’t forget the edges of the meat.
  • Place the meat skin side down in a suitable non-metallic container or tray and cover with cling film. If you have a sealable bag or vacuum bag big enough for the meat use this.
  • Place the meat in the refrigerator until cured. (allow one day per 0.5 an inch (13mm) of thickness plus two days).
  • Turn the meat every day to ensure an even cure.
  • At the end of the curing period, rinse the bacon in cold water (do not soak).
  • Dry the bacon using paper towel and mature in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days.
  • The bacon is now ready for slicing, smoking and cooking.

 

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Sweet Rosemary & Thyme Bacon Cure - BUY NOW

  • Prepare the meat as described above
  • Using the dry curing mix at 5% of the weight of the meat, (use 50g of cure per Kg of meat).
  • Apply the dry cure to both sides of the meat, rubbing the mix in well, 25% of the cure on the skin side and 75% of the cure on the meat side. don’t forget the edges of the meat.
  • Place the meat skin side down in a suitable non-metallic container or tray and cover with cling film. If you have a sealable bag or vacuum bag big enough for the meat use this.
  • Place the meat in the refrigerator until cured. (allow one day per 0.5 an inch (13mm) of thickness plus one day).
  • Turn the meat every day to ensure an even cure.
  • At the end of the curing period, rinse the bacon in cold water (do not soak).
  • Dry the bacon using paper towel and mature in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days.
  • The bacon is now ready for slicing, smoking and cooking.

 

Sweet Juniper Pepper

Sweet Juniper & Pepper Bacon Cure - BUY NOW

  • Prepare the meat as described above
  • Using the dry curing mix at 5% of the weight of the meat, (use 50g of cure per Kg of meat).
  • Apply the dry cure to both sides of the meat, rubbing the mix in well, 25% of the cure on the skin side and 75% of the cure on the meat side. don’t forget the edges of the meat.
  • Place the meat skin side down in a suitable non-metallic container or tray and cover with cling film. If you have a sealable bag or vacuum bag big enough for the meat use this.
  • Place the meat in the refrigerator until cured. (allow one day per 0.5 an inch (13mm) of thickness plus one day).
  • Turn the meat every day to ensure an even cure.
  • At the end of the curing period, rinse the bacon in cold water (do not soak).
  • Dry the bacon using paper towel and mature in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days.
  • The bacon is now ready for slicing, smoking and cooking.

 

Sweet Sage & Thyme Bacon Cure - BUY NOW

  • Prepare the meat as described above
  • Using the dry curing mix at 5% of the weight of the meat, (use 50g of cure per Kg of meat).
  • Apply the dry cure to both sides of the meat, rubbing the mix in well, 25% of the cure on the skin side and 75% of the cure on the meat side. don’t forget the edges of the meat.
  • Place the meat skin side down in a suitable non-metallic container or tray and cover with cling film. If you have a sealable bag or vacuum bag big enough for the meat use this.
  • Place the meat in the refrigerator until cured. (allow one day per 0.5 an inch (13mm) of thickness plus one day).
  • Turn the meat every day to ensure an even cure.
  • At the end of the curing period, rinse the bacon in cold water (do not soak).
  • Dry the bacon using paper towel and mature in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days.
  • The bacon is now ready for slicing, smoking and cooking.

Sweet Fennel Bacon Cure - BUY NOW

  • Prepare the meat as described above
  • Using the dry curing mix at 5% of the weight of the meat, (use 50g of cure per Kg of meat).
  • Apply the dry cure to both sides of the meat, rubbing the mix in well, 25% of the cure on the skin side and 75% of the cure on the meat side. don’t forget the edges of the meat.
  • Place the meat skin side down in a suitable non-metallic container or tray and cover with cling film. If you have a sealable bag or vacuum bag big enough for the meat use this.
  • Place the meat in the refrigerator until cured. (allow one day per 0.5 an inch (13mm) of thickness plus one day).
  • Turn the meat every day to ensure an even cure.
  • At the end of the curing period, rinse the bacon in cold water (do not soak).
  • Dry the bacon using paper towel and mature in the refrigerator for 1 – 2 days.
  • The bacon is now ready for slicing, smoking and cooking.

 

Bacon Curing using Prague Powder #1 - BUY NOW

You may prefer to make your own bacon cures using Prague Powder#1. This is easy to do but we recommend taking care to ensure your measurements are accurate.

For every 1 Kg of meat you will need 2.5g Prague Powder#1, you’ll also need to add 27.5g of additional salt. If you require a sweet cure you can add up to 20g of sugar or other sweetner like honey, treacle or golden syrup to the mix. If you do use a wet sweetner like honey or treacle, add them to the cure once the meat has been salted and is in the curing bag. This saves on a lot of mess moving meat around that is covered in a sticky sweet substances.

When weighing Prague Powder#1 we always recommend using scales that have the ability to measure grams up to two decimal places.

Adding herbs and spices to your cure adds flavour and character to your finished bacon and couldn’t be easier. One word of caution though, if using strong flavours and hot spices, just be careful and go a little easy until you know how it affects the finished product.