Recipe for homemade english bacon
English bacon rhymes with Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine. Here we have a delicious and easy recipe for wonderful bacon.
However, it does require a certain amount of patience, as the meat needs to be brined, smoked, and dried.
But what is English bacon?
We know Danish bacon: It is typically salted and smoked pork belly without bones. The English prefer their bacon leaner, so it is made from pork loin instead.
This recipe is very simple, as it only contains meat, salt, and sugar. One can easily choose to add bay leaves, juniper berries, peppercorns, and similar to the salt/sugar mixture if preferred.
So, consider this a standard/basic recipe.
Ingredients
- 2500 gram Roast Pork Loin
- 720 gram Nitrite Salt Can be replaced with regular salt
- 255 gram Sugar
- Smoking Chips
- Hand Gel
Instructions
Brining
- -
- Start by mixing the salt and sugar in a bowl/dish. I always use nitrite salt as it helps retain the beautiful red color in the meat. It's not necessary, so if you don't have nitrite salt or can't get it, just replace it with regular salt.
- The mixture is antibacterial and prevents mold in the brining process.
- Massage the salt/sugar mixture into the meat, and if the skin is scored, make sure to get it into all the cracks, crevices, and holes.
- The meat needs to brine for 2 days thereafter.
- You can do this by placing it in a tightly sealed bag and turning it twice a day.
- Alternatively, you can pack the meat in a vacuum bag, and it will take care of itself—that's what I did.
- After two days, remove the meat from the bag and rinse it in cold water. It's essential to remove all the salt, as the meat shouldn't continue brining.
- Dry the meat thoroughly and place it in the fridge—without covering it. This makes the surface of the meat fatty and gives it better chance to absorb the smoke.
- -
- I always cold smoke bacon on my large Charbroil gas grill.
- Before I start, I dry my smoking chips in the oven for 1-2 hours at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit). That way, I'm sure they're dry enough.
- The best time to smoke is in the evening/night. Therefore, I start smoking in the evening and put the meat back in the fridge in the morning. I do this for 1-3 nights, depending on how smoky I want my bacon.
- This one was cold-smoked for 2 nights for about 8 hours. Next time, I think I'll give it 3 nights of 8 hours each.
- On the grill, I cover the lower rack with aluminum foil and make a U shape with the smoking chips. The higher the chips are, the easier they burn for a longer time.
- The meat is placed on the top rack.
- I usually start the fire with a bit of household alcohol in the corner that's ignited. After it burns for 30-40 seconds, I blow it out and close the grill.
- In the morning, the meat is placed back in the fridge, and the same process is repeated the next day.
- When it's done smoking, it is hung to dry in a aging chamber for typically 2-4 weeks.
- If you can't wait, you can start eating the meat right after it's done smoking. However, the flavor becomes more concentrated and deep if it is allowed to hang and dry, and the meat also becomes firmer in texture.
- Slice it as thinly as possible, preferably with a slicer, and fry it as desired in the pan or oven.
Notes
You can skip the smoking and instead put the meat in the oven at 100 degrees Celsius (212 degrees Fahrenheit) for 1 hour or until the meat has an internal temperature of 65 degrees Celsius (149 degrees Fahrenheit).
Once the meat is cooled, slice it very thinly (preferably with a slicer) and use it as bacon. It can be frozen in smaller portions so you always have access to good, homemade bacon.
Once the meat is cooled, slice it very thinly (preferably with a slicer) and use it as bacon. It can be frozen in smaller portions so you always have access to good, homemade bacon.