Skip to main content
Main

To Cure English Bacon

A method for curing English bacon using a dry salt-sugar-saltpetre mixture and smoking.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann · From a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg) · 5 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

To Cure English Bacon

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the hog

  1. Ensure the hog is not too large or too fat, weighing no more than 200 pounds.

  2. Dress and cool the hog.

  3. Cut the hog into proper pieces.

Cure

  1. Rub the mixture of four quarts of common salt, one quarter pound of saltpetre, and four pounds of sugar thoroughly over and into each piece.

  2. Place the rubbed pieces into a tight tub or suitable cask.

  3. Allow a brine to form from the meat juices, enough to baste the pieces.

  4. Baste the pieces two or three times a week.

  5. Turn each piece each time it is basted.

Smoke

  1. Smoke the bacon using black birch chips; if unavailable, use hickory.

  2. Avoid smoking with corn‑cobs.

  3. Smoke the bacon for three weeks to a month.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

49Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
13 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Project Gutenberg).

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. See the original page.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Common salt
Draws moisture out of the meat and preserves it while curing.
Saltpetre
Helps the meat keep its pink colour and inhibits spoilage during curing.
Sugar
Balances the salt and adds sweetness while feeding the curing process.

The step that matters

Rub the cure thoroughly into every piece. Salt and saltpetre must reach all surfaces and interior areas evenly. Missed spots can spoil or cure unevenly, so each piece needs full coverage.

“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.

You might also like

Tomato SoupTomato Soup526 recipesBrown BreadBrown Bread461 recipesMutton BrothMutton Broth292 recipesYorkshire PuddingYorkshire Pudding264 recipes