Somersetshire Bacon
Ingredients
Directions
Salt and drain
Place the sides of pork in a large wooden trough and sprinkle all over with coarse sea salt.
Leave for 24 hours to drain blood and juices.
Wipe the meat dry.
Cure
Heat more coarse sea salt in a frying pan and rub it over the meat until absorbed.
Repeat this process every morning for four days, turning the meat only twice.
If the flitches are large, keep them in brine for three weeks, turning ten times.
Dry
After brining, thoroughly dry the bacon without smoke.
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
What each ingredient does
- Sides of pork
- Forms the meat that is cured, and its fat gives the finished bacon its texture and flavour.
- Coarse sea salt
- Draws out moisture and blood, seasons the meat, and firms the flesh as it cures.
The step that matters
Thoroughly drying the bacon after brining. Salt draws water out of the meat, and any moisture left on the surface can keep the cure uneven and let the surface spoil. Drying the surface thoroughly helps the cured meat keep well.
“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.
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