Salt/Sugar cure for side meat

[dusty texian]

Cured pork side meat is one of my favorite things to make this time of yr. In the last few days I have been curing the pork cuts that are from wild pigs taken during the past few hunts .  First I prefer to cut the pork into small pieces usually about 1 lb. or 1-1/2 lb. size pieces then cover the pieces in a mix of Morton tender quick and brown sugar .  put the pieces in a sealed plastic bag  in the lower drawer of the refrigerator , small cuts like this only takes about 7 to 9 days . Just turn the bags over once every day . When the cuts feel firm usually they are ready to remove from the bag and rinse in fresh water , then dry with a towel . I then hang them up on a SS wire in my smoke house and give them a very light Mesquite or Hickory . After I get the amount of smoke color I want  cut off the smoke and let them hang in the cool smokehouse . After they are cold I slice of the size and cut as need for frying . This is the way I was taught to do the bacon cure for pork and I'm sure others do it different . This way works for me and I can say its the best bacon I get , partly because I have handled the meat from the field to the table . Cant get better than that . If anyone else is curing their own bacon I'd sure like to hear about your method . ,,,DT

[jthbjr]

I cure all my own.  Some I cure in brine; some I cure dry. I've been making sausage about 25 years and curing bacon and other parts about 10 years. I never have cured any wild pork. No reason except just never did it. I aim for a final product on the whole muscle products with 3% salt, 1% sugar and nitrite closer to the FDA max than the FDA minimum. I use what is called an equalization cure meaning I weigh the salt sugar and cure rather than relying on timing. I started out using way too much nitrite and relying on timing. This was needed in the old days before good reliable cooling. For any cold smoked product I use nitrite. There is a lot of good advice on the net and some really bad stuff too. And some great books. Everyone in the family really likes what is called collar bacon in Ireland and the UK. Something you can't buy here in Texas. Also make a lot of belly bacon and sausage. Most commercial bacon should be labeled "artificial bacon like substance", in my humble opinion. I will be happy to share info with you Dusty.
John in beautiful Art Texas

[dusty texian]

Hey John ,tell me about the collar bacon . I have been curing bacon for 6 or 7 yrs. now . Some batch come out better than other , but all are better than store bought .  If I get a pig just the right size 75-150 lb. I am ready to do a scraping and butcher with the skin on . Want to try my hand at curing some hams with the skin on . Are you doing your curing up at Art ?  Sure could get better in the sausage making dept. Would like to learn to make the dried Hill Country style sausage . Good to hear from Ya John . ,,DT   Ron.

[Major 2]

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm Bacon 

BLT the best samach there is

[jthbjr]

I cure here in Austin. I have everything set up here. I haven't ever made the Hill country dry sausage. Once a year I make smoked  deer sausage and the Lyonnaise sausage that my wife likes. I make breakfast sausage and chorizo norteno  and bacon pretty often. My grown  daughters have full access to my freezer. I would do the hams you are talking about by brine curing and injecting along the bone. The OLD Morton Salt meat curing book is very good on hams. I'll be happy to help. We dont have a lot of pigs right now because only one tank has water.
The collar is the part of the shoulder butt that doesn't have the blade bone. It's called the coppa in Italian. My source for pork right now is Costco because they sell the least processed and least adulterated commercial pork.
Email me
John on the way to beautiful Art Texas

[dusty texian]

Will do John .,,,DT