Bacon Shortage

Budley Doright

Well-Known Member
Someone bought me a pigs head in a plastic bag as a moving in gift, a warm cosy housewarming present, I lived in surburban Britain at the time so it was somewhat unusual. I had absolutely no use for it so chucked it in the trash. Head bacon? Is it a thing
You chucked a perfectly good pigs head? Are you mad??? Nothing beats a fresh pigs head ;).
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
i play with pork belly all the time, at work,(chef), and at home for fun. I have great results with a 50/50 rub of kosher salt and brown sugar.
Rub it down liberally, let sit for 1 week refrigerated, flip every day as juices will start to form.
Rinse under water, to remove any remaining salt and sugar. pat dry with paper towel.
Smoke at 225 until internal temp read 155. allow to cool before cutting.
to really cut it thin it will need to be cold, chilled overnight.
It would be easy to add anything else to the above mentioned 50/50 blend, cracked black pepper, herbs, chiles etc

Id recommend getting the whole belly if possible and you have the space. You don't just have to make bacon with it, you can slow roast it, braise it, sous vide it. Get all kinds of deliciousness out it!
thanks! i found steven raichlen's recipe for it and that's pretty darn close. he does use pink salt though too (saltpeter). don't you need that?
 

rkymtnman

Well-Known Member
Not only did I chuck the bloody thing I’ve never eaten pig since, I wanted a box of chocolates not a fucking horror story
isn't a horse head what the mafia puts in the bed of somebody theyre gonna whack??? that is a strange gift indeed!

although braised pork jowels are really good
 

schuylaar

Well-Known Member
Someone bought me a pigs head in a plastic bag as a moving in gift, a warm cosy housewarming present, I lived in surburban Britain at the time so it was somewhat unusual. I had absolutely no use for it so chucked it in the trash. Head bacon? Is it a thing
a pigs head means death to you..WTF? that was no friend.
 

xtsho

Well-Known Member
unfortunately Prague Powder is not available at Kings or Safeway..Amazon or Restuarant Supply i would imagine.
Just a warning. Pink Himalayan salt is not the same pink salt used for curing meats. There is Prague #1 and Prague #2. Both are pink and you do not want to use those as regular salt. Prague #1 has sodium nitrate. Prague #2 has sodium nitrite and sodium nitrate. Prague #1 is typically used for things like corned beef, pepperoni, and other short cured products that are cooked. Prague #2 is used for long cured products like salami and hams. You only use a little so if you ended up using either as regular salt you would likely get sick.
 
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