Home Cured Bacon

Takes 15 minutes to prepare and 3 days to cure

In our push to make more basics, we started making our own bacon, and it’s been well worth it. You have complete control over the saltiness and sweetness, plus you can add all sorts of herbs and spices to flavour it - the herb and spice mix below is just a suggestion. When it’s cured, we slice it into rashers, then layer with greaseproof paper in a lunchbox in breakfast sized portions, then freeze it, taking them out the night before. Having a sandwich of your own bread, your own bacon, your own mayonnaise, and tomatoes from your own garden is very satisfying indeed!

You will need a lunchbox that’s slightly bigger than your chunk of pork

1kg pork in one piece. We’ve done it with loin, and shoulder. The loin is easier to slice. Cut the rind off, but leave a thin layer of fat

1 tbspn salt

1 tsp Demerara sugar

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp fresh bay leaf, very finely shredded

2 tsps fresh thyme, finely chopped

• Mix the salt, sugar, herbs and spices together. Put a thin layer on the bottom of your lunchbox, then rub the rest thoroughly into the pork. Put the meat into the lunchbox, close the lid, and place it in the fridge. Put a teaspoon under one corner of the box so it’s tilted. This will help the juices run off
• Three days later, take the pork out and rinse it under a tap. Slice a little bit off, and fry it in a frying pan. Test it for saltiness. If it’s not salty enough, cure it for another day. If it’s too salty, soak it for 4 hours in a pan of cold water
• Once it’s to your taste, put it in a colander or strainer with a lid or plate on top, and leave sitting on a newspaper to dry out for a day in a cool place. If it's a flat bottomed strainer, put a couple of teaspoons under the edges to allow air to circulate around the bacon
• Slice into rashers, and freeze as described above, though it will keep in the fridge for a fortnight