prep
10 minutes
cook
2 hours
difficulty
Easy
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
2
hours
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 1 piece pork middle
- dry cure mix (60:40 ratio of fine sea salt to caster sugar)
Chilling time 5 days
Instructions
Trim middle of pork until it’s nice and even. It must be able to fit in a large container.
In a metal bowl, add the dry cure mix and stir. Rub the dry cure mix over the pork middle. Place the pork in the container, with a sprinkling of dry cure mix on the bottom of the container and on top of the pork. Cover and place in the refrigerator.
Turn the pork once daily, dredging it in the liquid that has formed. After 5 days, remove the pork and pat dry on a paper towel.
Smoke the bacon at 80°C until the inside temperature of the bacon is 65°C. (If you do not have a smoker, cook the pork on a rack in a roasting tray in the oven at 90°C.) It will take about 2 hours for the internal temperature to reach 65°C. Remove from the smoker and leave the bacon to cool and set before slicing.
Note
• When smoking the pork, use hardwood only that is free from any resins, glues or processing. Do not use any soft woods, such as pine, as these have to high content of resin. Shavings or chips are used as they produce a higher smoke content.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
