Maple Cured Bacon Food

MAPLE-CURED BACON

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together syrup, salt, dark brown sugar, and pink salt. Coat entire pork belly with the cure and place in a large resealable plastic bag. Place in the coldest part of the refrigerator and cure for 5 days, flipping bag about every 12 hours.
• Remove pork belly from bag and wash any large deposits of salt under cold running water.
• Fire up smoker or grill to between 200-225°F, adding 1-2 fist-size chunks of smoking wood on top of the coals when at temperature. When wood is ignited and producing smoke, place pork belly in smoker, fat side up, and smoke until an instant read thermometer registers 150°F when inserted into thickest part of the meat. Remove pork belly from smoker and let cool. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until completely chilled.
• Cut bacon into slices at desired width and cook using your favorite method. Store leftover bacon in Ziploc or vacuum sealed bags in the refrigerator for up to a week, or in the freezer for up to 4 months.

MAPLE BACON RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients other than pork belly in a bowl and mix together.
• Pour mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc bag and add the pork belly. Remove as much air as possible from the bag before sealing, then mix around the liquid so that the belly is completely covered.
• Place the bag on a baking dish to catch possible leaks, and allow it to cure in the refrigerator for 1 week, flipping it over and moving around the liquid each day.
• After bacon is done curing, remove it from the bag, give it a rinse to remove excess salt, and pat it dry.
• Smoke at 200-225° F until bacon reaches an internal temperature of 150° F. This should take 2-3 hours depending on your smoker's temperature and the thickness of the pork belly.
• Refrigerate bacon to cool completely before slicing.

MAPLE-CURED CANADIAN BACON

Steps:

• Stir together water, salt, brown sugar, Instacure, and vanilla in storage tub until solids are dissolved, about 3 minutes, then add maple syrup and stir until dissolved. Add ice and stir until cure is cold (ice may not be completely melted; keeping liquid cold slows salt absorption).
• Add pork to cure, then weight with a large plate to keep submerged. Chill, tub covered with a lid or plastic wrap, 36 hours.
• Rinse pork and pat dry, then discard brine.
• Prepare grill and smoke bacon:
• Open vents on bottom of grill and on lid. Remove lid and top rack from grill, then center disposable roasting pan on lower rack. Add 6 cups hardwood sawdust to pan.
• Light 5 briquettes in chimney starter. When briquettes are fully lit (covered completely with gray ash and glowing), transfer with tongs to sawdust, spacing evenly.
• When sawdust begins to smolder, replace top rack and arrange pork pieces on rack about 1 inch apart. Cover grill with lid, then insert thermometer into a vent hole in lid to monitor air temperature, which should be 80 to 120°F. (If temperature rises above 120°F, remove 1 or more briquettes or uncover grill slightly until temperature falls. If temperature falls below 80°F, light 1briquette and add to sawdust.)
• Smoke pork, adding 1 cup sawdust to roasting pan and stirring with tongs every 11/2 hours to ignite unburned sawdust, 8 hours. Cool completely, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until ready to use.
• Cut finished bacon crosswise into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-thick slices (or roast whole; see cooks' note, below) and fry in a nonstick skillet over moderate heat, turning, until browned. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
• Available at The Sausage Maker (888-490-8525).

MAPLE-CURED BACON

Steps:

• In a glass or other nonreactive mixing bowl, combine the salt, sugar, pink salt, and maple syrup. Put the pork belly in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour in the cure, squeeze out any air in the bag, and seal; smush it around to coat the belly completely. Put the bag in a rimmed container just in case it leaks. Refrigerate for 8 days, turning the bag over every other day.
• After 8 days, remove the pork belly from the cure, rinse thoroughly with cool water, and pat dry with paper towels.
• Put a wire cooling rack over a baking sheet and lay the pork belly on top. If you are going to smoke the belly, allow it to dry out in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or up to 24 hours. This is important; the meat will not take smoke until the surface is dry. Then fire up your smoker to 200°F and smoke the belly for 3 hours using your favorite wood. The internal temperature of the meat should reach 150°F. Alternatively, to roast the belly, preheat the oven to 200°F. Place the belly on a rack set in a roasting pan, and roast until the internal temperature of the meat reaches 150°F, about 3 hours.
• Allow the bacon to cool to room temperature. Then wrap well with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
• Pink Salt
• Pink curing salt, also referred to as saltpeter or sel rose, is popular for all types of sausage and bacon curing. The cotton candy-colored salt contains a small amount of sodium nitrite that reacts with the meat to form a more stable protein complex, making it especially resistant to oxidizing, and helps the meat to maintain a pink tinge. It is available in gourmet markets or on the Internet.
• Pork Belly
• Pork belly, which comes from the underside of the hog, is basically uncured fresh bacon. The rosy meat is marbled with fat and when baked for hours (as it is here), it becomes so custardy soft that you can literally cut it with a spoon. I have to say, the succulent and crackling fat is what makes it taste so damn delicious! A good butcher should be able to help you out when buying pork belly, and it's typically an inexpensive cut. Ask for unsalted, uncured belly, which is not the same as slab bacon or salt pork. You can often find pork belly in Asian markets.

MAPLE PEAMEAL BACON ROAST

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350F/180°C.
• Cut six 1-inch slits across roast.
• Place a cooling rack on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Place bacon on rack.
• Combine maple syrup, Dijon mustard, rosemary, salt and pepper. Brush with basting mixture.
• Bake in centre of oven for 25 - 30 minutes and baste with remaining mixture.
• Bake for 50 - 60 minutes, or until a thermometer registers 130F/55°C.
• Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.