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Charcutepalooza February: The Salt Cure: bacon & pancetta

by David Dadekian October 31, 2022
written by David Dadekian

pancetta with slice
pancetta with slice

Pork belly.

I’m going to let those words roll around your tongue for a while. Perhaps I’ll type them again.

Pork belly.

Beautiful words, yes? Before February’s Charcutepalooza challenge was even announced I had acquired a thick, fatty, gorgeous pork belly from a pasture-raised Berkshire pig. It had been delivered on a Friday morning by Patrick McNiff of Pat’s Pastured farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island and then butchered in front of my camera by Chef Champe Speidel of Persimmon Provisions butcher shop in Barrington, Rhode Island. When the photo session was done (the photos will be in the upcoming spring issue of Edible Rhody) I said, “I’m buying that pork belly.” David, who works at Persimmon Provisions, also said, “I’m buying that pork belly.” Fortunately, there’s two sides to every animal, so we avoided pork belly tension. Have I achieved any kind of record for the number of times one can type “pork belly” in a paragraph?

Charcutepalooza

I put the belly in my refrigerator, planning on spending some time that weekend curing it. I have often made un-smoked slab bacon (essentially slab pancetta) and had come very close to a recipe I liked the last time I had done it, so I had hoped to perfect it with the nine-plus pounds of belly now wrapped in plastic in my refrigerator. Clearly the pork belly has mystical powers because it was revealed on Saturday morning that the February Charcutepalooza challenge was The Salt Cure. How often do you find yourself with a large cut of pork belly and the possibility of winning a prize by curing that pork belly? I know what you’re saying: not often enough.

First thing I did was split the belly into two pieces. The extremely thick end weighed in at about 3 1/2 pounds and that was set aside for bacon. The rest, which was still pretty thick and proved a bit difficult to roll, I cured with the pancetta recipe straight out of Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn’s Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing. I still haven’t completely decided if I’ve perfected my bacon cure yet, but if you like your bacon a little on the spicy/savory side, you can give this a try:

Bacon Cure

Print
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Ingredients

  • salt cure (how much and what color I leave to you to decide, my bacon never leaves a refrigerator or oven, so I used a cup of kosher salt)
  • 1 Tbs Ecuadorian whole black peppercorns
  • 1/2 Tbs whole coriander
  • 1/2 Tbs whole cumin
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 Tbs Herbs de Provence
  • 1/2 cup maple syrup

Instructions

Toast and grind the whole spices, crumble the bay leaves and mix it all up in a zip top bag with the pork belly. From there follow the directions in Charcuterie. I use Ecuadorian black peppercorns because they have a bit of heat. I wouldn’t say hot like cayenne, but definitely more heat than you’d get from Tellicherry peppercorns. I get them from The Spice House. If you don’t have them you could use standard peppercorns and a dash or two of ground cayenne or perhaps a few shots of Tabasco.

Before closing, a quick story about my wonderfully faithful and protective black Labrador named Bayou (yes, she was born in Louisiana). I hang most of my charcuterie out in the open in our basement. Each time I hang a piece of meat, Bayou wanders down to the basement and sniffs every square inch of the floor, hunting for something she knows smells delicious, but she can never find it. I’m not sure if I’ll be upset or proud on the day Bayou finally figures out that all she has to do is look up.

Photos and captions will tell the rest of my curing tale. Thank you again to Mrs. Wheelbarrow and The Yummy Mummy.

Berkshire pork belly after curing for bacon, prior to roasting
Berkshire pork belly after curing for bacon, prior to roasting

Berkshire pork belly after curing for bacon, prior to roasting (reverse view)
Berkshire pork belly after curing for bacon, prior to roasting (reverse view)

pork belly cured for bacon, seen after roasting, fresh from the oven
pork belly cured for bacon, seen after roasting, fresh from the oven

close-up cross section of bacon
close-up cross section of bacon

the bacon now having cooled
the bacon now having cooled

full view of bacon cross-section
full view of bacon cross-section

cooked bacon, soon to be inside grilled cheese sandwiches, alongside a jar of glowing bacon fat
cooked bacon, soon to be inside grilled cheese sandwiches, alongside a jar of glowing bacon fat

bacon fat, strained through cheesecloth
bacon fat, strained through cheesecloth

portion of pork belly cured for pancetta
portion of pork belly cured for pancetta

belly rolled, tied and ready to hang
belly rolled, tied and ready to hang

pancetta tie job 1
pancetta tie job 1

pancetta tie job 2
pancetta tie job 2

close-up of rolled belly and trussing
close-up of rolled belly and trussing

hung
hung

finished pancetta, cut in two
finished pancetta, cut in two

one half of the rolled pancetta
one half of the rolled pancetta

one thin slice
one thin slice

One more time: pork belly

October 31, 2022 0 comment
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