If Sussex Smokehouse ever grows to the point where we can start producing and selling our own smoked meats and charcuterie, treacle-cured bacon will be next to the smoked duck prosciutto at the top of the list.
Treacle-cured, cold smoked bacon is one of the most rewarding things you can make at home. It’s also one of the simplest. Two ingredients in the cure, a week in the fridge, 12 hours in the smoker — and what you get out the other end is so far removed from the stuff in a supermarket packet that it barely deserves the same name.
Ingredients
- Pork belly or loin (weigh it and note the weight)
- Curing salt (no more than 2.5% of the weight of the pork — don’t skip this, it’s what keeps you safe)
- Treacle (around 3-4% of the weight of the pork — honestly, I just go by eye- 3 or 4 tablespoonfuls or squeeze enough into your vac bag to give the outside a light coating once sealed)
Equipment
- Vacuum sealing machine (you picked one up after the duck prosciutto recipe, right…?)
- Vacuum sealer bags
- A smoker and your choice of wood (apple, oak, cherry and beech all work beautifully here)
Method
- Remove your pork from its packaging and pat it dry with kitchen roll.
- Weigh it, then calculate and weigh out your curing salt and treacle.
- Rub the curing salt into the meat, making sure every surface is covered- get into any folds or creases- and place it into the vacuum bag.
- Pour the treacle onto the pork in the bag and massage that into the meat too- you don’t need to get it into every nook and cranny but you can get it started.
- Seal the bag.
- Put the bag in the fridge for at least seven days (longer if it’s a large piece), turning it over each day. The treacle will loosen and liquid will start to pool in the bag. Don’t panic- that’s exactly what you want.
- When you’re happy it’s cured enough (you will have to poke it and see if it’s tightened up), remove the pork from the bag and rinse off the cure under a cold running tap.
- Pat it dry with kitchen roll and leave it to sit for an hour to allow a pellicle to form. This is the slightly tacky surface layer that helps the smoke cling to the meat. Don’t skip it.
- Get your smoker lit and choose your wood.
- Cold smoke the pork for 12 hours.
- Remove from the smoker, wrap loosely and rest in the fridge overnight before slicing.
This treacle cured smoked bacon is far superior to your shop bought stuff. No white nonsense or water in the pan, just dry cured, sweet, salty bacon goodness. Made a streaky variant? Treat it like pancetta or guanciale and make the best carbonara this side of… the part of Italy that carbonara comes from…
