So we make Bacon. Lotsa bacon. the sweet smokey kind with big flavor and a big return clientele. I do not think it is the perfect formula yet, it still has some kinks and inconsistency's that really have not won over our clientele yet. but here is how we do it.
pork bellies, squared off and cleaned (5-10% trim/ loss which gets turned into tesa)
brown sugar and salt with a touch (.03875% by weight) of sodium nitrate.
cure for 5 to 7 days (15% loss)
24 hang to dry cure for pelicle. this allows the smoke to adhere to the bacon.
two smokes, first for 3 hours, second the next day for 2-3 hours.
when it comes off the second smoke it is grubbingly good stuff. sweet and smokey, think caramel barbecue with charred crispy bits that make you chew the fat. sliced thick or thin, it has all the characteristics that make it a pleasure to cook and eat.
now not to get up on a soapbox or anything, but bacon should be easy to cook. that is the first bit. I dislike the shrink and ripple that some bacons seem to do not matter what or how you cook them. the water that pops off and ends up steaming the very bits your trying to turn golden brown. there should also be easy fat to chew through. not a big glue ball that stays in your mouth while you feverishly search for a napkin to spit it into.
How about finding a solution?
well, we cure it longer to draw out the ambient water. trust me it is loss but it makes for a "dryer" bacon. and the double smoke does the same, "dryer". the fat is fully cooked and takes on a more solid texture than one you can shove your finger through. when you render it for lardon or salad squares, you should have candy. sweet morsels of bacon that are like a confit on the inside, with a delicate shell of carmelized sweetness on the outside.
