Why it works: Molasses and meat work together. They rank in the top 37% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 441 recipes. The science ↓
Rust on Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
Make a strong brine with good salt and water, enough to float a potato. Boil and skim the brine if possible.
Once cool, place hams and shoulders in a cask filled with the brine.
Add 1 pint of black molasses and ½ ounce of saltpetre for each 100 pounds of meat.
Cure and smoke
Ensure the meat is cold and well trimmed before adding to the brine.
Keep the meat covered with brine for 4 to 6 weeks.
After brining, remove the hams and shoulders and hang them in a smokehouse.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Molasses + meattop 37% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together441 recipes
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Good salt
- Seasons the meat and, with the water, forms the brine that cures it.
- Black molasses
- Adds sweetness and a dark colour to the cured meat.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the meat keep its pink colour during long curing.
The step that matters
Keep the meat covered with brine. Any meat that rises above the brine can spoil or cure unevenly, because the salt and curing agents only penetrate where they are in contact with the liquid. Keeping every piece submerged for the full 4 to 6 weeks gives an even, safe cure.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More cured bacon recipes
You might also like
Meat Croquettes52 recipes
Meatballs37 recipes
Mince Meat37 recipes
Meat Cakes35 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.