Mmmm...bacon!!?

mp2615 said :

Thread revival. There was a recipe in the SMH the other weekend for making your own bacon. Sounds great but it really annoys me when they hang stuff out there with exotic ingredients that are hard to source.

Anyway, does anyone know where I could buy saltpetre, aka potassium nitrate, aaka KNO3 ?

Thanks

that recipe was for a dry cure. I’ve tried those but find it easier to control the salt level by using a wet cure (brine). The nitrate is sometimes called Pink Salt or Cure number something-or-other, you can get it from kitchen supply mobs online.

I don’t use it, it’s not necessary and many people are allergic to it. They reckon it’s carcinogenic, too.

Thanks p1. good tip.

mp2615 said :

Thread revival. There was a recipe in the SMH the other weekend for making your own bacon. Sounds great but it really annoys me when they hang stuff out there with exotic ingredients that are hard to source.

Anyway, does anyone know where I could buy saltpetre, aka potassium nitrate, aaka KNO3 ?

Thanks

I bought some a while ago of Ebay…

Thread revival. There was a recipe in the SMH the other weekend for making your own bacon. Sounds great but it really annoys me when they hang stuff out there with exotic ingredients that are hard to source.

Anyway, does anyone know where I could buy saltpetre, aka potassium nitrate, aaka KNO3 ?

Thanks

Yep, the curing is what preserves the bacon. In fact, after curing my last lot I did a fry-test, cutting off a bit and frying it to see how the cure was going, and it tasted bloody good even without smoking. The smoking helps with the preserving a bit, but really it’s for taste

When curing meat, the curing process only begins when the nitrate that is in the cure is reduced to nitrite.
Curing protects against rancidity due to the stabilisation of fats and reduces the growth of noxious micro organisms like clostridium botulism.
The majority of nitrates consumed by humans are actually through vegetables.
Smoking does contribute to preservation but it is mostly through the curing process that meat is preserved.
Liquid smoke is used in some bacon production but it is mostly used in ham production from the large well known supermarket brands, which is why buying from a butcher that makes their own is where you’ll get the best quality.

imarty said :

Far out Johnboy, you are so far off the mark it’s not funny.

Well, JB must be making his potassium nitrate in his back yard, since if he was purchasing it, I think it would be made from slightly more modern methods.

Although the nitrates used in cured meats is replacing the preservative action of the smoking, not the flavour. If you are buying a cheap un-smoked, but smoky flavoured, bacon, then I suspect it has also been dipped in something to add that taste.

Far out Johnboy, you are so far off the mark it’s not funny.

It’s not hard to make bacon, although it’s ironic that the bits of pork you make it from now cost more than most bacon by the kilo. That’s pork bellies and loins (preferably attached). Quite a few people are making their own bacon, and not using nitrites, just salt and a bit of sugar. You pickle it in that for a couple of weeks, then into the smoker to finish it off. You do have to remove the rind though, as the smoking really dries it out.

johnboy said :

Bacon smoked? only if you’re very lucky. Most of it is just dunked into potassium nitrate. (made with a delightful combination of ashes, horse manure, and human urine)

Jebus Wept… If bacon didn’t taste so good… I think I’d have just been put off for life…