My first artisanal bacon It was quite simple, I used the most basic recipe possible, both in terms of ingredients and process. It was good, but with a mild, delicate flavor, a little far from the intensity of the bacon we are used to these days. This time I made the bacon using natural smoke flavoring and some additional ingredients to give it a more intense flavor.
Liquid smoke, contrary to what many think, is not a chemical additive that imitates the flavor and aroma of smoking, it is actually the extraction by steam of particles from burning wood, in other words, it is a collection of smoke from smoking, without any additional chemicals. This liquid is later filtered to purify it of unwanted particles.
It is an easy recipe to reproduce as it does not require complex equipment or processes.
First you need to acquire a good pork belly, which is a layer of skin, firm fat and little meat, coming from the lower middle part of the pig, close to the ribs of the animal's chest, in the image below it is the part called belly. The thickness will vary greatly depending on the origin of the animal, pigs from large-scale productions tend to have a thin belly, with a thickness of 1.5 to 3 cm, while pigs from small productions, raised free range, can have a belly measuring 7cm in thickness. thickness.
This time I got a thicker, more beautiful piece from a meat shop.
Ingredients
- 2kg of pork belly
- 45g of salt
- 45g sugarcane molasses
- 2g ground black pepper
- 1 dose of whiskey
- 4.8g of curing salt (6.25% of nitrite and 93.75% of salt)
- Two tablespoons of natural smoke flavoring
Add all the dry ingredients and massage until well distributed throughout the piece. Then add the whiskey and molasses, spreading it with your hands or a culinary brush. The meat is very tender, with very good seasoning adherence.
Place the seasoned pork belly in a plastic bag and close it tightly to prevent it from leaking. If you prefer, place it in a covered plastic container.
Place in the refrigerator and leave to cure for 10 days. In my first test I had left it for 7 days, but I realized that with more time the flavor would develop better. Turn the plastic bag or piece inside the container over once a day.
At the end of 10 days, the piece should be much more rigid. If it is still too soft, go back to curing and leave for another 1 or 2 days.
Remove from the plastic or container, discard the excess liquid and brush the liquid smoke over the entire piece.
Place it on a baking tray and leave it in the fridge for another day, the piece will dry a little more and the liquid smoke will be absorbed by the meat.
Remove from the fridge and bake in the oven with the door slightly open for 3 hours. The temperature should be between 90ºC and 100ºC, no more than that as the fat cannot melt and drain. In the previous attempt I had left it for an hour and a half, but the inside was still slightly raw, this time I doubled the time and the result was much better.
As you can see in the image below, I left the thermometer on the side of the oven, helping to keep the oven door half open. The temperature remained stable at 90ºC or almost 200ºF.
After 3 hours of baking, the bacon will be ready!
It was very different from the previous version, which can be seen in the post artisanal bacon. The flavor was intense, the whiskey appeared, the aroma of smoke was also present, the cure was more developed, salty at the right point. It caramelized better than the previous one, so the molasses worked well. This is a recipe that I will make a lot of! Hope you like it!
English 
Português do Brasil
I made the recipe, left it for 11 minutes in the bag and 1 day in the fridge out of the bag. I baked it in the oven for about 3 and a half hours at 80 degrees. It was perfect I used powdered smoke because it was cheaper than liquid and the result was perfect. Great recipe, I'll make it more often. Next time I'll try with sirloin
Did it pay off financially?
Can you remove the curing salt? Does it have nitrates and glutamate? Thanks!
It is possible to do it without the curing salt, which has nitrite and nitrate, which help with protection, but it does not have glutamate, which is a flavor enhancer.
Is curing salt mandatory?
I already found it, I hadn't seen all the comments.
Good afternoon…
I replaced two ingredients… molasses with honey and whiskey with cachaça from Minas Gerais…
It was wonderful!!!
Can it be stored in the sausage rack and left outside the refrigerator?
You can, but outside the fridge it will gradually dry out and become harder and harder. The ideal is to pack well and store in the refrigerator so the bacon maintains its softness.
My question is whether I can smoke this pastrami?
Yes, you can, but it will need to cook much longer than the bacon to soften the pastrami.
And how long do you recommend?
Thanks
About 3 hours
Goodnight!
Can I use type 1 curing salt for this recipe?
Yes, you can use type 1 curing salt.
Thank you very much for your attention. I made the Canadian sirloin that you taught, it was perfect.
Hello!
Your recipe is interesting.
My question is this: is it possible to produce homemade bacon without adding sugar or molasses to the recipe?
Hi Rosângela, yes, just omit the sugar. If you want, you can add other condiments too.
Can I use brown sugar instead of molasses?
Maybe yes.
Perfect recipe... I'm approaching the tenth day, tell me one thing: is it necessary to wash it after taking it out of the plastic bag??, in my case I used a vacuum cleaner. Thank you and congratulations on the recipe and sharing it.
Hi Marcos, there is no need to wash, just drain the excess liquid.
Hello Eduardo! How should this bacon be stored and how long will it last?
Hi Edson. Well packaged and well refrigerated it will last around 90 days. If you want more guarantee of shelf life, add more salt to the recipe.
Thanks for the answer! One more doubt that arose: the recipe calls for “4.8g of curing salt – instacure #2”. Wouldn't it be Instacure #1? (I ask because the first homemade bacon recipe was #1)
Hi Edson, in this recipe the bacon stays in the fridge for 10 days during the curing process. As it is a prolonged period, I preferred the use of curing salt 2 as it has a prolonged action. But you can do it with curing salt 1 too, no problem.
I can't find curing salt in my city. Can I do it without??
If you want, you can buy online: https://charcutaria.org/categoria-produto/aditivos/sais-de-cura/
It is possible to do without it, it will only last less and the color of the bacon will not turn red.
I'm not finding curing salt in my city. Can it work without it??
If you want, you can buy online: https://charcutaria.org/categoria-produto/aditivos/sais-de-cura/
It is possible to do without it, it will only last less and the color of the bacon will not turn red.
friend to do it in the smoker, what would the process be like…..would it be after ten days, put it in the smoker without the liquid smoke….and what temperature and smoking time would you tell me?
Hi Wagner, that's right, leave it in the fridge for between 7 and 10 days, then place it in the smoker at approximately 80ºC until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 70 to 75ºC. It should take at least 5 hours. It will vary depending on the thickness of the piece of meat.
Good afternoon! My dear friend, one question, is the smoke “liquid or powder” only after 10 days that I brush it on the meat?
Hi Juarez, in this case I brushed on the liquid smoke before baking, after 10 days in the plastic bag in the fridge. But, if you prefer, you can apply it beforehand and let the smoke soak in the refrigerator for 10 days. Both ways will work.
I'm going to bake tomorrow, but I couldn't buy the thermometer, I'm going to leave it at least 180 with the door open a little. And the first test. But next time I'll have the thermometer. Do you indicate which one? I saw one at ML that puts it inside the oven but a lot of people complained that the glass darkens after 3 uses.
I bought my analogue on Amazon, from the American brand Copper Atkins, it is very resistant, I use it in the oven, for cooking and in the smoker. I bought another digital one to measure the internal temperature of meat on Aliexpress, it arrived in 20 days.
PLEASE, I HAVE READ OTHER RECIPES / METHODS FOR PREPARING ARTISAN BACON WITH LIQUID SMOKE. HOWEVER, NONE INDICATE THAT THE BACON NEEDS TO BE ROASTED. QUESTIONS: 1. WOULDN'T ROASTING IT MAKE IT LOSE THE FAT, EVEN PARTIALLY (JUSTLY USED AS A MEANS OF LATER FRYING)? 2. OTHER PREPARATION METHODS INDICATE THE “MATURATION” PHASE (FOR EXAMPLE, IN A REFRIGERATOR, UNDER BUTTER PAPER) WITH A MINIMUM PERIOD OF 30 DAYS. IS IT INCORRECT? 3. WHAT IS THE BEST MATURATION PROCESS, IN THIS CASE WITH THE APPLICATION OF LIQUID SMOKE? 4. AND IF IT CAN BE DONE AS SUGGESTED IN QUESTION 2, WHAT SHOULD BE APPLIED TO THE MEAT AT THIS STAGE (MATURATION)? 5. WHATEVER THE PROCESS IS (ROASTED IN THE OVEN OR CURED IN THE REFRIGERATOR), CAN IT ALSO BE APPLIED TO PORK RIBS OR IS THERE A DIFFERENCE? MUCH OBLIGED.
There is no single rule in charcuterie, there are different recipes and methods that result in products with different characteristics. This recipe I made is adapted from a traditional charcuterie book. I have my own opinions, but there are other aspects and they all have their merit. 1) Bacon, from my point of view, can be hot smoked or baked. With liquid smoke there is no need to smoke, you can skip this step. The fat is not lost, it remains in the product. The one I made lost zero fat. Just roast/smoke at a temperature of up to 90ºC. Test it and you will see that the bacon is soft and juicy, as, for me, it should be. 2) As far as I know, bacon is not traditionally aged, at most it stays in the fridge for a few days before finishing by smoking or cooking. Curing and maturation are different things that tend to generate confusion, I recommend you read the post Cured, Fermented or Maturated? 3) If you are going to leave it hanging to dry, then the ideal environment is with a temperature between 12ºC and 14ºC and humidity between 70% and 90%. But, if the product is bacon, I recommend leaving it in the fridge for 5 to 10 and then finishing it by smoking it.… Read more "
OK. THE MAJOR PREMISE IS THAT THERE IS NO UNANIMITY. OF COURSE YOU ANSWERED AND THANK YOU. AS I HAVE SEEN ALTERNATIVES, INCLUDING ON “GRINGO” WEBSITES AND I HAVE A DAUGHTER WHO LIVES IN NY, IT SEEMS – REALLY – THAT ALTERNATIVES BETWEEN CURING, ROAST OR SMOKED AND A “BLEND” BETWEEN THE PROCESSES, PERMEATE EACH ONE’S TASTE! SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE CASE OF “PANCETTA” (CALLED “ITALIAN BACON” BY NORTH AMERICANS) WHICH HAS – ALSO – THE SAME ALTERNATIVES. SOME INCLUDINGLY USE THE APPLICATION OF THE FIRST PHASE (CURING) USING WATER FOR TOTAL IMMERSION. OTHERS, NO. IN THE USA, THE DIRECTION FOR “DRY” CURING AND SMOKING IN THE SECOND PHASE PREVAILS – APPARENTLY. THERE, THEY HAVE “SMOKERS” ALTERNATIVES WHICH RANGE FROM REAL “WOODEN HOUSES” FOR SUCH PURPOSES, LIKE SMALL “GADJETS” FOR SMOKING, ON THE SHELVES AT WALMART. SOME TAKE OFF THE SKIN, OTHERS DON'T (CUT IT OUT) AND OTHERS TAKE IT OFF AFTER ROASTING. GOOD, THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT. I WILL TRY TO APPLY THE ALTERNATIVES OF CURING WITH LIQUID SMOKE + MATURATION IN THE REFRIGERATOR AND CURING WITH LIQUID SMOKE + ROASTING IN A MILD OVEN (THERE APPEARS TO BE A DIRECTION FOR 200 DEGREES IN THE OVEN FOR 90 MINUTES – IN A LESS TIME PROCESS). OTHER… Read more "
IN TIME: A FRIEND OF SAMPA, USED THE FOLLOWING IN THE CURING PHASE WITH LIQUID SMOKE (FOR EACH KG OF MEAT): 2 TBSPOONS OF LIQUID SMOKE + 2 OF JIM BEAM BLACK “BOURBON” + 2 OF KARO (IN PLACE FROM CANADIAN MALT – 3X MORE EXPENSIVE… WITH “C”… KKK). IT INFORMS THAT IT GAVE A MIXED FLAVOR BETWEEN SMOKED, SOMETHING WOODY AND SWEET. TO CHECK.
Okay, I always make it in a smoker, but as I'm currently living in an apartment, I'd like to make it in a conventional oven. Could you tell me if smoked paprika helps the taste or is using powdered smoke enough?
Hi Lucas, the smoked paprika will give a VERY light smoked aroma. If you want to feel the most striking smoked aroma and flavor, you need to add powdered smoke or liquid smoke. Both are good options.
Is it normal for meat to have a very strong smell after curing? Mine smells, I'm afraid to consume it...
No, the meat has a weak smell, best to discard as there must have been some contamination in the process.
Do you have to wrap it in aluminum foil to bake?
No need, the only care is the temperature.
Good afternoon, I need to smoke some pork meat with liquid smoke, I can use whatever seasoning I want, is sugarcane molasses necessary?? and beef is the same procedure?? thank you idervan
Andradina SP.
Idervan, yes, you can use whatever seasoning you want and apply liquid smoke. Molasses is not necessary, it is an optional ingredient that will add flavor and create caramelization in the fried/baked product. The procedure can be the same for all meats, just vary the amount to suit the natural flavor of each one.
Friend, is it possible to carry out this process with sirloin?
Yes, with the tenderloin they call it Canadian Bacon.
Great recipe, just one question. Did you bake in a conventional gas oven or smoker?
Baked in a gas oven. The intention was to do it without a smoker, in a very simple way to do it at home.
Can I substitute sugarcane molasses as it is difficult to find where I live?
Thanks
Hi Emerson, yes you can, replace it with brown sugar or, if you can't find it, with refined sugar.
good afternoon! Is it possible to do it without the whiskey? What is its role in the recipe? Where can liquid smoke be found? thanks.
You can remove it from the recipe as the whiskey is only used to add flavor and has no functional use in the recipe. Liquid smoke is currently found in supermarkets, but the price is usually quite high for the quantity offered. If you want, I can quote for you.
HEY, GOOD MORNING,
I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW CAN I USE SMOKE POWDER AND HOW MUCH?
Juliana, it really depends on the product you purchased, as each one has a different formulation. Some have salt, others don't. Generally the quantity is very small. If there is no indication on the packaging, use a level teaspoon for one kilo of meat.
I really liked the recipe, I'm going to try it. I would like to know where I can find the liquid cure, thank you.
Hi Ademir, you can buy liquid smoke online. Search for liquid smoke or liquid smoke. Buy from a reputable store as the wood used in manufacturing must be good for smoking, without resins, varnish or any other chemical treatment.
I would like to know, if instead of putting it in the oven for 3 hours semi-open, and putting it in the smoker for about 6 hours, would it be cool too?
Hi Bruno, I think it will be even better, in this case you don't even need liquid smoke. Depending on the temperature of the smoker, this time may vary, but if you can maintain it at the suggested temperature, I believe it can stay in the smoker for the same 3 hours. Then tell us how it turned out, a big hug!