Comments on: Making Bacon at Home

By: Jane Goody

Jane Goody — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 11:36:00 +0000

My fellow on Facebook shared this link with me and I’m not dissapointed that I came here.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 15:01:55 +0000

Congrats on entering the world of baconeering.
I’ve going through several batches and iterations myself, using both Ruhlman and Polcyn as well as Alton Brown for sources of how to.
As for your comment about the curing salt and what it does… mainly it preserves the pink quality of the meat when it’s cooked. The first few batches I did were salt/sugar/flavor only with no nitrites, and, while awesome when cooked, turned brown like any cooked pork will do. I routinely make my own Canadian Bacon, and the nitrates there really keep the pink quality of the pork loin all the way to the plate.

Nice blog by the way. Very well laid out and organized, and a nice relaxing style of writing. Can’t wait to get some time to peruse your archives.

And the Clam Chowder… looks awesome. I was where you were as well. Love the stuff, but was intimidated. Just break it down to the basics, and it falls into place.

By: Tim Collins

Tim Collins — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 00:22:02 +0000

You should try Alton Brown’s recipe for bacon. I’ve made it several times now and it’s fantastic!!! I’m a beginning Charcuterista too working on Guanciale hoping it turns out. Living in the Chicago area, we have the Spice House which make it easy to find curing salt. My next bacon making project will be with Maple Syrup.

By: New England Clam Chowder « Charcuterista

New England Clam Chowder « Charcuterista — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:52:31 +0000

[...] it was an opportunity to play with fresh clams, still in their shells, and use some more of my home-cured bacon. For my first attempt at clam chowder, the results were stunning (and faster then going out). [...]

By: charcuterista

charcuterista — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:59:19 +0000

I think my favorite was the maple-cured; it had just a hint of sweetness that I really liked. I currently have a couple more kinds in the fridge curing – one with toffee bits as the sweetener and one with cumin and smoked paprika. I’ll let you know how those turn out. But the big event this week is the pancetta, still in the cure as well, but exciting nonetheless…

By: The Paupered Chef

The Paupered Chef — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 15:21:52 +0000

Congratulations on your bacon! It’s quite a feeling of accomplishment. But then again, I also found myself wondering, “Why was this so easy?”

I’m curious to know which cure you preferred, the maple or the pepper. Did you try them alone and in different recipes? My next bacon is probably going to be a sweet cure as my first was quite savory.

By: Chard Stem Gratin | Modern Beet

Chard Stem Gratin | Modern Beet — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 06:30:50 +0000

[...] Anyhow, this bacon in particular was made by Dittmer’s Wursthaus in Mountain View, CA, my local butcher. If you’re looking for ethical meat, try your local farmer’s market or natural foods store, butcher, Whole Foods, websites like LocalHarvest.org, or if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can even make your own! [...]

By: charcuterista

charcuterista — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 01:03:38 +0000

Pancetta is up next, literally. I picked up a nine pound pork belly this morning, so the bulk of that is becoming pancetta with a few pieces going to bacon curing. I just have to get it together to put it in the cure…thanks for all the encouragement and I’ll keep you all updated…

By: hshaw

hshaw — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:44:29 +0000

Congrats on joining the ranks of the salumieri. Definitely try making the pancetta; I like it (gasp!) even more than smoked bacon…

By: Julia’s All-American Potato Salad « Charcuterista

Julia’s All-American Potato Salad « Charcuterista — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 20:18:28 +0000

[...] me if I fell asleep and the snow falling outside, I was looking for recipes to use some of the beautiful savory bacon I had cured. Flipping through, I came across a recipe for potato salad that included bacon and had the added [...]