manticle said:
Hope I don't start a huge debate on the topic but there's very good reasons unitrited bacon won't kill you from botulism - almost as good as those that make no chilled wort a non issue. Besides the fact it's usually cooked hot to eat, it's made from a whole muscle cut.
Mince is far less safe so any sausages*, salamis, etc carry much more risk.
*fresh sausage cooked properly before consumption is fine - sausage in this instance is anything cured and cold smoked.
Well, that's been a debate since the beginning of time I think. I know of several historical events that resulted in loss of life from improper curing and improper cooking of bacon, but there has never been a case of botox poisoning from a properly cured meat. Even bacon that has spoiled in the fridge wont grow botulinum. There are also many types of botu-bacteria that produce different types of toxins and scientist are finding that some are more resistant to heat than others, leaving the 90°C safety temperature behind and one they suspect can remain active beyond the temperature of boiling water. That's scary ****. A member of my grandfather's tribe died from that stuff, and because of the stories, I have the utmost fear and respect for that little microbe. But with that said, to each their own and I respect that there are many different ways to make good bacon.
My practice is very traditional and was handed down to me (modernised of course with modern chemistry) and mostly remains the same.
I de-rib a whole pork belly (or several of them), trim the rind and outside fat off.
Using a mixture of salt, beet sugar, fresh peach juice, honey and Prague #2 cure (6.25% sodium nitrite and 4% sodium nitrate) I massage VERY well into the pork belly. I put it in the fridge in a sealed bag with no air in it turning daily for 12 days.
I then soak the slabs in luke warm water for 2 hours to leech the cure.
I put them back into the fridge to form a pellicle before cold smoking for 6 hours with very light hickory @ 45°C.
They are then rolled in powdered salt and wrapped tightly in 2 layers of muslin cloth, placed in a tied up hessian in a cool dark room for about 6 weeks.
My other recipe is salt, dextrose, brown sugar, maple syrup, juniper berries, cracked black pepper and cure #2
Now you have bacon made old school.
It never sees a fridge and is hard as a rock, but it melts when you put in a med-hot skillet to cook golden brown or bake in the oven @180 until the same.
beercus said:
Manticle,
do you find the nitrite free bacon taste different? I understand that Nitrite will affect colour but does it affect taste?
I do not think i have ever tasted nitrite free bacon.
I have no issues with Nitrite being a health issue (the nitrite/nitrate cancer link is ********) and do not add it to my bacon for food safety. I do not see how it is different to keeping a piece of meat in the fridge for 5 - 7 days and then smoking it for 3 hours hot. I have marinated roasting meat for that long.
But what about the all important taste?
Beercus
Nitra(i)tes are most of the taste you get from cured meat. To me, uncured bacon tastes like a salted, fatty pork chop, but it's all a matter of taste and some people prefer it.
They claim that nitrate salts can be bad for you if you over-cook bacon to black. If I recall it's about 200°C that nitrosamines start to form, but you can't get away from them all together as they are in almost all BBQ meats, smoked meats, beer (especially dark beer) and many other products that we consume daily. They even claim they are made in your stomach from eating nitrate rich foods.... better stay away from celery and spinach!!
So is it bad for you? I dunno.. don't care.
I'll eat my bacon, drink my beer and might even surprise my liver with a glass of tap water once in a while.
The day I die will be the end of a life I wasn't afraid to live. :icon_cheers:
