My Second Kick at the Can - Curing Bacon

They say that the third time's the charm - but my second try at bacon was so vastly improved over the first batch that I feel plenty charmed already. (For those of you interested in the miserable results of my first attempt at bacon, click here.)

The first and most important thing I learned from last year was not to brine the belly for so damn long! Last year I kept the bacon and pancetta in the salt mixture for about 5 days, which is what you'll need if you want to truly cure the meat to avoid refrigeration. However, these being modern times, I have a freezer and need not fear spoilage. So the bacon soaked up the salt for just under 24 hours this year.

The second thing I learned from last year was that I needed a better smoker with an off-set firebox so my meat can't start on fire! My little charcoal BBQ unit still provides a pretty amateur smoking situation, but it's easier to use than my old kettle smoker.

And the third thingI learned from last year - don't use yucky wood! Apparently Manitoba Maple is not a premium smoking wood. (Who knew?) A less acrid choice was a bag of little Hickory and Applewood chips that I bought in a bag at S.I.R. It wasn't 100-Mile smoke, but it actually resulted in enhancement of flavour rather than the detriment of flavour.

The bacon sat in the smoke (away from the heat this time!) for about two hours.

My result - lovely pink bacon. hampered only by the nasty hack-job that I performed on the skin removal.

Just enough sugar to have a slightly carmelized effect when cooked, without the overwhelming saltiness from last time.

Yay for modern packaging. Say no to oversalting.

PS - I made pancetta too. It was also good!