Loading ...fall is in the air, time to make up a batch of Treefrog’s Genuine Original Down-home Boneless Bacon…
not all bacon is like what americans are used to in the supermarkets. various cultures have been making bacon or bacon like products for millennia. there’s nothing else on the sunday afternoon/evening agenda, i think i’ll make up 15 pounds of this recipe (tripling all the quantities) from a couple of boneless boston butts i picked up yesterday.
this recipe has evolved from buckboard bacon, cajun tasso and other kitchen traditions.
not purist to any particular type, but i think it tastes really good:
5 lbs pork several cuts will work (belly, boston butt, jowl, etc), minimum 25% fat, more is better. remove all bone and skin, cut in chunks max thickness 4″ (bear in mind you’re going to want to slice them thin across the grain later).
1 1/2 tsp cure # 2 (can be found on the web. many folk use cure #1, but i like #2)
4 tbs salt
1 cup red table wine (rossi paisano ?)
1/2 cup honey
16 oz beer
1 tbs garlic powder
1 tbs cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbs liquid smoke
1) combine everything but pork in a large, non-metallic, sealable container (2.5 gal ziploc in a bowl? large tupperware type container?). mix well, then add the pork.
2) turn it over (or stir) several times to ensure all the meat surfaces are covered.
3) refrigerate for at least ten days (2 weeks? 3?), turning or stirring daily.
4) rinse excess salt, cure, spices from the surface
5) slow oven roast (or smoke) 160 f for 4 hours or until internal temp is at least 150 f.
6) slice thin across the grain and fry as you would other kinds of bacon.
7) enjoy!!
(chunks will keep in ziploks in the fridge for several weeks. freeze for longer storage)
it doesn’t matter what the question is, the answer is either bacon, or more bacon. american (streaky) bacon, canadian bacon, buckboard bacon, back (british) bacon, tasso (cajun bacon)…