Irish Bacon - The Recipe
Just about everyone likes bacon, but buying bacon is kind of a crapshoot; will it cook up brown and tasty, or yellow-beige and tasteless? I've found that a package with little or no liquid in it is more likely to cook up nicely. But then I've also gotten blah bacon from the butcher counter. I usually chop, cook, drain and freeze bacon to sprinkle on omelets, pizza, or whatever.
Now for the good stuff:
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Irish bacon is completely different from "American" bacon. It's back bacon, made from lean pork loin instead of fatty pork belly.
Irish Bacon
½ heaping tablespoon peppercorns
2 bay Leaves
½ tablespoon honey
½ heaping tablespoon juniper berries
¾ cup brown sugar
1/3 cup kosher salt (or any non-iodized salt)
2-3 whole Cloves
2 quarts cold water
1/2 Tablespoon Pink curing salt #1
In a small saucepan combine:
The rest of the ingredients EXCEPT the pink curing salt
Heat the mixture to a boil and then simmer 5-10 minutes.
While the infusion is simmering, add ½ Tablespoon of pink curing salt to the reserved water.
Remove the tea from the stove and pour into the reserved water.
This will cure 5 to 6 pounds of pork loin. Place 1 lb sections of pork loin in plastic zipper bags. A gallon bag will hold 3 pounds. Pour in the curing liquid and seal the bags, squeezing out the air to make sure the meat is completely covered. Refrigerate for one week.
After 1 week, remove the meat from the brine and place in on a rack over a pan or foil in the refrigerator for about 24 hours.
Smoke the meat to an internal temp of 150-160 F. Use the wood of your choice. If you smoke on a Weber or other grill, do not use briquettes, only hardwood lump charcoal.
If you do not want to smoke, roast at a low temperature to the above temp.
Wrap and refrigerate or freeze.
To serve, slice thin and brown lightly in a pan over medium heat. You might put a bit of butter or “American” bacon fat in the pan (if you've cooked and drained any good bacon).
Here are some links to other recipes; the above recipe is based on the wild boar recipe.
[link:https://www.outdoorhub.com/how-to/2017/03/02/4-steps-wild-boar-irish-bacon/|
[link:https://www.bigoven.com/recipe/irish-bacon/1348724|
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/how-to-cure-irish-bacon/
And one for American-style belly bacon:
[link:http://tandysinclair.com/home-cured-pork-belly/|
