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  • Ham and bacon

    I'm getting pretty good at this homemade bacon thing, so I decided to try a ham.

    One whole porkbutt (12 kilos), rubbed all over with local coarse salt...





    And then covered in salt and left for two days a kilo...the leg part didn't fit, so I rigged up a styrofoam extention...

    http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
    http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

  • #2
    Re: Ham and bacon

    Bacon is easy...take one slab side of pork, cut off the ribs, rub with salt, cover with salt, leave for 18 hours, take it out and wipe off the salt...



    Poke in a meathook to hang it with, the sprinkle liberally...very liberally...with ground black pepper...



    Hang at least a month in a cool, dry, airy place...such as a stairwell...



    And...Voila! Perfect bacon!
    http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
    http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

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    • #3
      Re: Ham and bacon

      Voila! Perfect bacon!

      http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
      http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Ham and bacon

        That is simply awesome! Just hang it, and no bugs bother it? Does it smell "funny" or off as it cures? My daughter's culinary school taught them meat smoking last week, and sausage-making is this week. I hope she learns your skills of curing soon... good to know!

        You are one talented lady, Susie! So it's cured, but not smoked, right?

        thanks for sharing this.
        barb

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        • #5
          Re: Ham and bacon

          Mmmmmm, bacon. Looks better than the Oscar Mayer I'm stuck with.

          Thanks for sharing!

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          • #6
            Re: Ham and bacon

            Originally posted by mapen View Post
            Mmmmmm, bacon.
            Does homemade bacon have that same mmm... aroma when cooked in the morning as the processed ones?

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Ham and bacon

              Susie's recipes are fantastic and I have prepared some of the above.

              That was years ago in France.

              Nowadays, I just send the dog out to see if he brings me back half a postman's leg and treat it the same way as Susie does with her pig

              Only joking.

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              • #8
                Re: Ham and bacon

                Originally posted by Walkoff Balk View Post
                Does homemade bacon have that same mmm... aroma when cooked in the morning as the processed ones?
                I dunno. I can't remember the last time we had bought bacon....although I have seen Oscar Meyebacon for sale in Spain.

                What I can tell you is that the bacon I make is DELICIOUS! I slice it off the dry slab in thin slices as we need it, and the kids eat it just like that. They say it tastes like ham.

                Ham over here is the dry and salty kind...like Parma ham...very dry and sliced paper thin. So is bacon, which turns out just the same as the kind in the US, once it's cooked.
                http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
                http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

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                • #9
                  Re: Ham and bacon

                  Originally posted by Barry View Post
                  Susie's recipes are fantastic and I have prepared some of the above.

                  That was years ago in France.

                  Nowadays, I just send the dog out to see if he brings me back half a postman's leg and treat it the same way as Susie does with her pig

                  Only joking.
                  Maybe that's something I could do with some of these neighbors.
                  http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
                  http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Ham and bacon

                    That's very cool. I had read an article in Saveur magazine about curing meats, something I've never done but it made me want to try it out.

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                    • #11
                      Re: Ham and bacon

                      You won't regret trying it out. The taste is far better than anything bought. Just follow Susies methods of 'how to do it.' You will not go wrong.

                      a) It doesn't smell. We used to use sea salt and really rub it in well.

                      b) Try to get the whole black pepercorns and grind them.

                      c) We made our own meathooks out of wood, it does not contaminate the
                      bacon.

                      d) An airy, place to let it hang is essential.



                      Nowadays, I have only got a small two bedroomed house, so there's no chance of me taking a trip down memory lane and doing that again. Still, I would encourage anybody to try this out and awaken their taste buds.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Ham and bacon

                        We just now broke into that ham.

                        To be honest, I wasn't sure of myself...it looked more green around the edges that the ones I see in shops (although there was one in a teensy closet-sized shop in Salamanca that still had the hoof on and it was green)...I was afraid that the house wasn't airy enough to do it properly.

                        And it took a few knives before I hit on the idea of using Kalani's razor sharp scout penknife to carve the paper thin slices.

                        It is SO GOOD! Even the green rindy part, which tastes mostly of pepper. It's not as salty or tangy as the shop ones, either. Lani went to fetch a crusty baguette, sweet butter was at the ready, and we did it!

                        Next year I am going to be brave and smoke one for a time before hanging it.
                        http://thissmallfrenchtown.blogspot.com/
                        http://thefrenchneighbor.blogspot.com/

                        Comment

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