Cured Pork Food

GERMAN KASSELER: A CURED AND SMOKED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Stir together the ingredients for the brine and heat to a simmer to dissolve all the salt and sugar. Refrigerate until completely cold.
• Prepare the loin by removing all but a thin layer of fat. We recommend a loin , not a rib roast (back ribs attached - common in commercial "Kasseler") for home processing.
• Place the loin in the brine and weight it down with a plate or other object to keep it submerged.
• Refrigerate for 48 hours.
• Remove the loin from the brine. Discard brine.
• Wash off the pork with cold water and pat dry. You may dry it in the refrigerator for up to a day (do not cover with any wrap).
• Prepare your smoker: Start your charcoal fire in the bottom of the smoker an hour before you want to smoke the meat.
• Soak 2 cups (or so) wood chips (preferably alder for this project) in some water.
• Place your smoking tray (or aluminum foil tray) on top of the charcoal and add 1/2 cup wet wood chips. Place the grill about a foot above that.
• Place the meat on the grill, cover and smoke 2 to 3 hours, until the internal temperature is 150 F or above. Add more wet chips as needed to keep the smoke up.
• You may choose to roast the brined meat instead, or if you are having trouble with the smoker just bring it inside and finish the cooking process in the oven. Heat the oven to 450 F and cook the meat for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 250 F and roast the meat for 2 to 3 hours, until the internal temperature reaches 150 F.
• Eat warm or cut and wrap. Refrigerate to 4 days or freeze for 2 to 3 months.

CURED PORK

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together on a smooth surface.
• Rub meat every morning and every night for 3 days, making sure you rub in good around the bones.
• After first rub, place meat skin- side up.
• Turn after each rub.
• On the 4th day, place a strong wire or hook through the shank of hams and shoulders, (and at corners of middlings, if you're doing them).
• Hang from rafters of your smoke house, placing pan underneath to catch the drips.
• As it takes the cure, the meat will drip almost continuously.
• If the meat becomes moldy after hanging for several weeks, not to worry.
• It's not spoiled, just aging.
• Just wash meat well when ready to use.
• This mix should take care of a 350# to 375# hog.
• My husband and I start our hams, shoulders, middlings, ham hocks and jowls, (500 to 600) mid-October and are finished by mid-April.
• Have fun and happy eating!

BRINE-CURED PORK

Steps:

• Put 2 1/2 gallons cold water in a large, nonreactive container that will hold the meat and brine. Stir in the salt and sugar. Slightly crush and add the bay leaves, peppercorns, clove, allspice, and chili peppers. Add the garlic and thyme. Add the pork and put a plate on top to keep the meat submerged. Refrigerate for 5 days or more.
• Remove the pork from the brine and pat dry. Roast pork loin for about 1 hour, grill over a medium fire, or slice into very thin chops and brown them in a cast-iron pan. They will cook very quickly, about 1 minute per side. Finish with a good fistful of chopped parsley and garlic if you wish. A brined shoulder is good boiled or braised, and is delicious to add to cooked beans.

HOW TO CURE PORK

Steps:

• Mix the salts, pepper, bay, nutmeg, sugar, garlic, and juniper. Pour ¼ cup (75 g) of coarse kosher salt into a bowl and stir in 2 teaspoons (11 g) of pink curing salt, 4 tablespoons (27.5 g) of coarsely ground black pepper, 4 crumbled bay leaves, 1 teaspoon (2 g) of freshly grated nutmeg, 1/4 cup (50 g) of brown sugar, 5 cloves of crushed garlic, 2 tablespoons (9 g) of lightly crushed juniper berries, and 10 sprigs of fresh thyme. If you prefer, substitute honey or maple syrup for the brown sugar.
• Place a ramekin in a storage container. Get out a non-reactive container that's large enough to hold the pork belly. Set a small ramekin upside down in the bottom of the container. Use a plastic, glass, or enamel container, but avoid metal containers since these will affect the flavor of the pork. When you place the pork on the ramekin and the pork gives off liquid, the ramekin will keep the pork from curing in its juice.
• Coat the 5 pounds (2.3 kg) pork belly with the dry rub. Place the belly on a cutting board or platter and cover it with the dry rub mixture. Use your hands to firmly rub the mixture into all sides of the pork.
• Place the pork belly in the container and cover it. Arrange the pork belly in your storage container so it's propped up on the overturned ramekin. Put the lid on the storage container.
• Refrigerate and turn the pork every 2 days for 1 week. Place the container with the pork belly into a refrigerator and leave it to cure. Remove the pork from the refrigerator and flip it over once every 2 days. Return it to the refrigerator and keep flipping it every 2 days for 1 week.
• Remove and rinse the cure off of the pork belly. After a week, take the pork belly out of the refrigerator. Rinse it with cool water so the dry rub washes away. Use paper towels to pat the cured pork belly completely dry.
• Place the pork belly in muslin and hang it for at least 1 week. Put the dry pork belly into a muslin bag and tie a knot at the end. Insert a hook into the knot and hang the pork belly in a cool, dry place for at least 1 week. If you're pressed for time, you can skip this step but the flavor of the pork will be more intense the longer it cures.
• Slice and heat the pork belly. Cut the pork belly into slices as thick as you like and then fry, roast, broil, or grill the meat until it's completely cooked. For example, slice the pork belly into 1/4 in (0.6 cm) slices and then fry for 7 to 8 minutes to get crispy bacon. Refrigerate the cured pork belly that you haven't cooked. Store it in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

CHINESE CURED PORK BELLY

Steps:

• Remove the boneless cut pork belly from the package. It is best to choose half fat and half meat. (This is 4.26 pounds and has 10 pieces. You can get 3-4 pounds of pork belly.)
• Put the pork belly into the plastic ziplock bag. (I prefer to use a ziplock bag to marinate because it's easier and less messy.)
• Pour ¼ cup of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of salt, ¼ cup of sugar, ¼ cup of cooking rice wine, ¼ teaspoon of five spices, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1 slice of grind ginger into a bowl. Then, mix it well.
• After that, pour the marinade sauce from step 3 into the bag of pork belly. Then, zip and tighten the bag. Massage the bag of meat and make sure the sauce covers each pork belly. Let the pork belly marinade in the refrigerator for at least a full day (24 hours). Marinated for 1-2 days is ok. Remember to lay the marinated pork belly bag flat in the refrigerator (12 hours) and flip the other side at night before going to sleep (12 hours).
• Cut 10 of the 36 inches long strings. (Because I have 10 pieces of pork belly.) Then, thread a string through the needle and tie the end.
• Next, take a piece of marinated pork belly and thread through the meat part a couple times to secure the meat. Cut the needle out and tie the string. See the video below the recipe card for detail.
• Repeat steps 5-6 until the marinated pork belly is tied with a string.
• After, put the safety pins through the strings. (You can use any hooks that help hanging is ok.)
• The following, hang the marinated pork belly outside in the early morning until dark at night. Then, I put them back in the refrigerator cover with a plastic wrap. I repeat this process for 7 days on average depending on the weather and area. (The first day hanging the marinated pork belly out, I usually put a plastic cover under the meat because it prevents the liquid from dripping on the floor.)
• These Chinese bacon are hanging outside 2-3 days on a mostly sunny day, humidity was around 56%-76% and wind was around 5-9 mph.
• On days 4-5, hanging the lap yuk outside. (On a sunny day, humidity was around 51%-69% and wind was around 4-7 mph.) You can see a layer of oil shiny on the meat. It's a good indicator that the bacon is almost done.
• Chinese cured pork belly, lap yuk, is ready after hanging outside for 7 days.
• You can cut it into slices. (When the lap yuk is dried and cold, it is hard to cut.)
• Therefore, a lot of people like to wash the lap yuk with warm or hot water. Then, put lap yuk on a plate and steam it for 10 minutes. (After the water is boiling, put the lap yuk in and account for 10 minutes.)
• After steaming lap yuk for 10 minutes, it is softer.
• And, steamed lap yuk is easier to cut. The taste is even better.