Has anyone else given home curing of meat a go ? I had a go at bacon and pancetta over christmas using a salt, sugar and herb cure. The bacon worked brilliantly. The pancetta less so and seemed to be turning a little bit rancid before I threw it out. Just wondered if anyone has any experiences.

nothing to add except I fancy a go at this and jerky if anyone has tips??

There’s a joke in here somewhere about Emma rubbing salt into your rancid meat, but I’ll leave it.

Yes. Done bacon.

The thing that’s difficult with bacon is that really you need to use saltpetre. If you don’t you really just get salted pork belly. The saltpetre changes the structure of the meat, salt just, well, salts it.

As for the pancetta, I’m not sure, although hams do kinda look moldy. The key is to cure in a dry area.

I’ve made ham a few times over the last year or so. Turned out great each time!

I used a curing salt mix from my butcher mixed with brown sugar. Skinned the pork leg (not a whole leg, just a boned and rolled chunk that I unrolled) rubbed the mix all over the pork (you have to be very precise with your meat:nitrate ratios), wrapped in cling film and left to cure for a few weeks. Then baked in foil, glazed and baked some more. Gives you a much firmer meatier ham than a typical wet cure, almost like a hybrid between that kind of Wiltshire cure and an air dried Spanish ham.

Friend does it to bacon. Large slab of meat from the wholesaler. Gets some lovely flavours into it. Leaves it to cure in his fridge, 9-14 days. Loved a cardamom one he brought around.

For jerky and other air dried products you need a very specific environment, humidity is critical – I’ve been wanting to do a whole air dried ham but am a bit scared of finding an expensive bit of pork has become inedible!

Slightly tangential – I cure and smoke salmon. The cure is done by taking filleted sides of salmon, covering them very well in a 2/3 salt to 1/3 sugar mixture, leave overnight in the fridge. Rinse off the following day, changing the water several times (otherwise it will be too salty)then air dry thoroughly. I do this by putting them in the oven on defrost mode for a couple of hours. I then pop them in a hot smoker for about 25 minutes using a mixture of oak and beach. The flavour improves if it’s left for a few days.

I tried brining instead of dry cure, but it made the texture of the fish a bit flabby.

Oh, and I did fennel cured pork scratching with the skin, from the Pitt Cue book. Bloody marvellous!

I obtained an old fridge which I hung the bascon and pancetta in and will convert it properly for air drying at some point in the future. I want to get the wet and dry cure side of things mastered first. I’m leaving the fermentation / salami for little while.
Hope to give the smoking a go this summer when the weather is better for messing around outside.
mmm Home made baacon and poached eggs on muffins for lunch me thinks.

Hope to give the smoking a go this summer when the weather is better for messing around outside.

Yeah, I was trying to do the smoked salmon for Christmas in a hailstorm. Less than ideal.

I’ve made loads of biltong, it’s delicious and a fraction of the price of buying in the shops.

Used brisket from the butcher and a home made coriander and chilli rub. I made a drying cabinet that had a native South African slack jawed in wonder that no-one back home had thought of it before to his knowledge.

Got an old filing cabinet from work and punched the bottoms out of the drawers, drilled vent holes in the top and bottom at the front. The drawers come ready with hanging rails. Stick a couple of bulb holders in the bottom. Using the different height rails you can adjust drying times.

Never failed to make perfect biltong winter or summer

liking it pictonroad.

John key of here makes stuff that would have guardian reading, bearded hipsters falling off their fixies…

A quick way of trying Billtong is to put the oven very low and keep the door slightly open – took me all day to do a load of beef but god it was good.
Plenty of recipes on tinternet

Had a go at curing my own sausage, fnar. Made up some chorizo but my cellar was too damp and not enough air circulating. Was really sad to just chuck it in the bin.

I know they’re a pair of annoying fuds, but there’s quite a tasty-looking How To feature on curing/smoking your own ham on Jamie and Jimmy’s Friday Feast tonight Here

Done all sorts of stuff. Often do bacon and pancetta. Duck preast prosciutto, give that a go, really easy and its really tasty.

Last year/year before I did a full pig’s leg prosciutto. Started in the august and finished the august after. Not as easy as i thought, moving the hanging of it through the house depending on weather and humidity in the rooms. Fighting off flies and checking every day for weird mould. Ended up being a bit dry and a little too salty but still ate the majority of it. I’ll do another one day.

The river cottage on curing and smoking is worth a read.

I have done my own bacon and pancetta. The chorizo was less of a success, as struggled to keep at a constant temp.

I have a homemade smoker, made out of an old dustbin, electric hob at the bottom, then skewers at the top to hang and lay meat across. The best success I have had is with smoked trout. Caught in the morning, smoked the next day after curing.

Also- look in to Hidden Valley Pigs- Devon. We have done a few courses there, and they are brilliant. The pigs are all reared on their smallholding.

I got my own pig for my 30th, then went down to butcher it. They will teach you how to make the sausages, cure chorizo, hams etc.