After quite a lengthy hiatus from my blog and cooking for that matter (sadly my diet has been largely fast food for the past couple months) it feels good to be back in action.  It feels even better to have made my very own batch of the candy of meats, bacon.  Making bacon has been on my list for quite some time, but it always seemed so difficult and scary, well it was neither difficult nor scary, in fact it was very rewarding and dare I say tasty.

Before I could make bacon I had some fears to overcome in the process, maybe not fears but decisions.  I did not want to use any nitrates or nitrites in the process, which is scary at face value because nitrites, sodium nitrite particularly, and nitrates are used in meat processing and curing to prevent botulism.  Botulism is like cancer, no one wants it and everyone is scared of it.  The problem with using nitrates and nitrites in the curing process is that nitrites when exposed to high heat in the presence of protein, think frying bacon which has been cured in sodium nitrite, the proteins in the meat bind with the sodium nitrite to form nitrosamines.  Unlike sodium nitrite which is recognized as generally safe when consumed in small quantities, some nitrosamines have been proven to be carcinogens.

So the options are botulism or cancer then right?  Well not so fast, sodium nitrites are necessary in large commercial meat operations where there are numerous individuals handling the meat using various machines.  I contend that at home there is much more control over who and what are used in the processing of meat.  Like any other home cooking or canning exercise a good measure of cleanliness and attention to proper handling and sanitation will go a long ways in eliminating the need to add toxins to keep the meat botulism free.  With that said continue at your own risk.

As part of my operation everything was either new in package that was used (zip locks, foils pans) or sanitized in the dishwasher or cleaned with a bleach solution prior to contact with the meat.  Hands were washed regularly (with proper technique) and an alcohol based hand sanitizer was used just to be safe.  Overkill maybe but I suffer from Mysophobia.

If all of that is too much and you want to be safe just use some sodium nitrate, it won’t taste the same but it should at least provide a little more comfort, it is often sold under the names pink salt, curing salt, instacure and Morton® Tender Quick® among other names.  Be sure to follow the dosing instructions carefully when using these as they are toxic in large amounts.

So with all of that business out of the way I decided I would not use nitrates or nitrites in the curing process and would be extra vigilant in the processing, curing and smoking of my bacon and I am glad I chose to go this route, the end result is phenomenal.

I started out with a 13.54 lb chunk of pork belly from my cousin, she had a hog slaughtered a while back and had kept the belly in the freezer with hopes of having bacon made.  Keeping with the cautious side I had wanted to wait until daytime temperatures were set to max out around 40°F so I could truly cold smoke this and not have to worry about getting up too far into the scary temperature range.  First I chopped the belly into three fairly even chunks, I had three variations I wanted to try.

Next I mixed up my three cures they were all pretty simple and started with the same base recipe which can be found below, the recipe below is good for 3-5 pounds of meat.  The most important part of applying the cure is that it is applied evenly and thoroughly.  In addition I made two alterations to the base recipe to one I added 1/2 cup of real Michigan maple syrup and the other I added about a tablespoon of ground black pepper.

Once I had all three of the cures made up I took care to rub them on their corresponding pieces of meat making sure to get it in all the nooks, crannies and crevasses.  Once this was done I sealed up the meat in gallon zip lock bags getting as much air out as possible and then placed them in labeled foil pans in the refrigerator for seven days.  Each day I flipped the bags over, it was amazing how much liquid the salt pulled out even the first day.  As the days progressed the liquid continued to accumulate in the bags and the meat continued to firm up.

On the seventh day I removed the bacon from its home in the bag, rinsed it under running water patted it dry and placed it on a set of drying/cooling racks over a cookie sheet in the refrigerator.  In our home the are used for drying racks for smoked meat as much as they are for cooling racks after baking.  I digress, something else happened on that seventh day that was magical, this is a must, I sliced off two pieces of the bacon and fried them up to check for their saltiness and a flavor to see if anything needed to be adjusted.  This was a semi alarming process to be completely honest, the bacon started to cook like bacon then all of a sudden it turned GRAY!  Subconsciously I knew this would happen, it had no nitrates to give it the nice red color I am used to be it still took my by surprise, a few moments later it did turn a nice rosy color as it cook and the fat sizzled.  Then it was time to try, I was a little apprehensive, what if it was terrible?  It wasn’t it was salty, but not too salty and the maple bacon, it was like candy- sweet, salty and mapley, it was good.  At this point had it been too salty I would have soaked the bacon for an hour in cold water, rinsed, dried, fried and then put them in the refrigerator to dry if all was well.

   

After a good 24 hours in the refrigerator to form a pellicle, it should sit in the fridge for 12-24 hours but truth be told I didn’t have much of a chance for anything but 24 hours, I pulled the bacon out of the fridge, put it in the smoke house and fired up the smoke house.  The bacon was smoked for 12 hours using hickory and apple wood chunks, I also did some cheese in the smoker during the same time for good measure.  During the time it was in the smoker I monitored the temperature of the smoker constantly, I ended up having to put a house fan our in the garage on the firepot because despite the fact that it never got over 25°F, I had a hard time keeping the temperature in the smoker near 40°F like I had hoped.  My over fascination with keeping the temperature that low was likely that just an over fascination but none-the-less I did.

Early on in this whole process I made sure to save a couple of smaller chunks of meat to mix in and pull out throughout the day to test for smokiness, this was a mistake.  Mostly because the chunks of meat were so small that they got really smokey, too smokey really quick and I got worried.  I figured the smokiness would mellow as the bacon aged, like cheese does after a smoke but I was still worried.  So when the fateful hour came to kill the smoker I started to get anxious.  I killed the smoke and left the meat sit in the smoker for another couple hours to come down to a near freezing temperature slowly.

Then it happened.  Bacon.  I took the bacon out of the smoker and brought it in to a once again meticulously sterilized work environment and began chopping it in to appropriately sized pieces of about a pound and chopping off a few slices here and there to try.  In the interest of perfection and not making my house smell more like a find smokehouse I cooked the bacon in the oven, this is cheating but delivers perfect bacon every time.  Because it was in the oven I am not sure if it ever turned gray or not but when it came out and sat for a few minutes it smelled like bacon, it looked like bacon and it tasted very little like the chemically altered pork you find at the supermarket, it was phenomenal.  It was sweet, it was salty, it was smokey and most of all it was bacon.  It was the candy of meats.  Number one on the periodic table of meats without question.  And the maple was still the best, all it needed was a pancake and some syrup to go with it.

At the end of the day we ended up with a literal pile of bacon, a big smile on my face and a delicious plate of bacon to be sampled.  We also ended up with a renewed understanding of why bacon is the candy of meats, it can be so sweet, salty, smoky and necessary.  On more accomplishment on the Nate’s must do everything at least once list, but this one will end up on the why can’t I do this weekly list I have a feeling.  It was good to be back in action and there is no better way to come back than with bacon.

Here is the recipe for the basic bacon cure, this will make enough for 3-5 pounds of raw pork belly depending on how thick it is.  The thicker it is the farther it should go.

Its been a while since I have been able to really cook, like really break down and cook something.  We have been way to busy.  So finally this week I broke down and decided that no matter what I was going to make these tacos tonight.  They have been on my radar for a while and was looking forward to making them.  Its been a long week knowing this is what I had to look forward to on Thursday.  Well today was Thursday and my stomach is full, almost too full after my repeat visits up to the counter.

I must caution that even though they may look delicious, and they are; they do take quite a while to make, I wish I had thought of that prior to starting them that they would take longer than I thought, by you live and learn I guess.  With that one caution here is the recipe.

Ingredients
1/2 chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb pork tenderloin
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp ancho chile poder
1/2 tsp cumin
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4 slices of fresh pineapple, 1/2″ thick
1/4 c fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
3 tbsp thinly sliced red onion
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/2 tsp ground chipotle pepper
soft corn tortillas

Instructions
Begin by mincing chipotle, then combine with olive oil and rub evenly over pork.  In another bowl combine oregano, chile powder, cumin, 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper.  Sprinkle spice mixture over both sides of pork and let pork stand for 30 minutes.  Prepare the grill for a hot fire.  Once the grill is ready oil the grate with vegetable oil or cooking spray.  Once the grate is good and hot throw pineapple on over indirect heat, cook 5 minutes per side.  Once pineapple is cooked chop roughly and combine with ground chipotle pepper, remaining salt, cilantro, lime juice and onions in a medium bowl.  Set aside.  Grill pork over indirect heat until an instant read thermometer reads 145°F.  Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes on the counter.  Roughly chop, prepare tortillas according to their instructions.  Pack each with equal parts pork and pineapple salsa.  Enjoy

Its sweet, its spicy and delicious.  This is a recipe I think that will make its way into the rotation, this was a good dinner and will make an excellent lunch tomorrow.

Ahh fall is here, with the cool weather here starts the beginning of our soup season here in the Elston home.  Soup is a handy go to dish when our schedules get packed and we need something in a hurry.  We try to make a soup or two every week for a few weeks and we never eat it all at once, so we freeze it and from there we have weeks and weeks where a couple of our meals will be quick and easy and consist of a sandwich and soup or just bread, butter and soup.  We like soup.

 

Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb kielbasa, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 c chicken broth
2 c stock (vegetable, chicken or beef)
2 c water
8 oz kale, stemmed and sliced
3/4 lb red skin potatoes, cubed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp smoked salt
1/4 tsp ground chipotle

Instructions
Pour oil in stock pot and place on burner over medium heat.  Add kielbasa slices and cook until browned and a little crispy.  Removed kielbasa and set aside.   Add onion and celery to the pot, cook until soft and semi translucent, add garlic cook for about a minute.  Add in kale, broth, stock, water and kielbasa.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until kale is wilted, about 10 minutes.  Add everything else except the beans.  Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add beans.  Cook until heated through.

If you don’t have any stock on hand, you can always substitute with broth.

This is a tasty soup, its going in the cookbook for a later rendition.

Not often do I venture into the realm of baking, not because I don’t enjoy baked goods but more because you leave too much to a recipe or a single ingredient.  Leave something out or put too much of something in you have just ruined your baking efforts and its time to start over.  You either have a piece of concrete or a massive bubble in your oven and unlike cooking you cannot rescue it at this point.  Call off the authorities this atrocity has happened and its time to move on.

Moving on, tonight’s baking ended in a much more pleasing manner.  The brownies cooked up nicely, the sauce albeit stubborn turned out and end result…a more than 1300 calorie (before the ice cream), Paula Deen would be proud…it uses nearly a half pound of butter, life shortening dessert that is worth the 10 miles it would take to run off those calories.  But I didn’t eat a whole piece, just enough to know its good and that is all I need.

So now the details of how to make this beast of a dessert, make a double batch and you will need nearly a pound of butter and over three cups of brown sugar, this is not for the faint of heart.

Ingredients
1 c sifted flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c chopped walnuts + extra
1/3 + 1/2 c butter
1 + 3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 c white chocolate chips
3/4 c maple syrup
4 oz cream cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.  Combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda and sift twice.  Add 1/2 c of chopped walnuts, mix well and set aside.  Melt butter, when melted add brown sugar and mix well.  Then add egg and vanilla and mix well.  Add flour mixture slowly, mixing well.  Add white chocolate chips.  Spread in a greased (with butter) 9 inch square pan.   Bake 20 to 25 minutes until done ( when a wooden tooth pick comes out clean).

While baking melt 1/2 c of butter and the cream cheese in a pan with maple syrup, stir in brown sugar until it is dissolved.  Once the brownies are done serve brownies topped with ice cream, drenched in maple butter sauce and sprinkled with walnuts.

It is important to note that real maple syrup is the key here, not the garbage you get at the store that is imitation, real stuff that was cook from sap that was drained out of trees.  That kind, its expensive and worth every penny.

Enjoy these babies and don’t tell your cardiologist about them or any other doctor for that matter, they may not approve.

Sadly I have been neglecting my blog, don’t feel alone though, I have also been neglecting my cooking and my diet (meant merely as the consumption of quality food and bacon).  The last several weeks have been crazy busy and finally the combination of my garden and my parents garden while they are on vacation is forcing me to do some canning and cooking.  Thank goodness for fresh produce.

One of the recipes that has been passed down through my family like balding (I hope not) and an attitude are sun dill pickles.  Just like they attitude they are true to form every time.  You put the same stuff in the jar, you follow the same process, you get the same result.  Easy, actually they are really easy, but, also true to form I have tried a few things this year to make them last longer.  One problem we always have they spoil, well they don’t actually spoil they just turn mushy.  No one wants a mushy pickle, they do make great dill relish at this point I must point out.  The best dill relish ever actually.

So this year I am trying the typical alum in half of the jars (I have left the alum in the recipe as handed down) and grape leaves in the other half.  In my reading this year I found that grape leaves are supposed to keep things crisper.  Do they?  I have no idea but come middle of the winter I will crack open two jars of pickles one with each technique and be sure to follow up on here with the results.  Fearful of a funky taste I have tried a few pickles from the grape leaf jars and noticed no difference in taste.

Also new this year to the process in addition to the usual washing I have begun removing the a small chunk of the blossom end of the pick approximately 1/16-1/8″ off the end of each pickle.  I read several places that there is an enzyme in the blossom end of the pickle which makes them mushy…so just to be safe they are all gone.

So with all of that said here is the recipe, it is designed for a gallon of pickles, rarely do I do a whole gallon at once, the left over brine keeps nicely in the fridge until it is needed.

These are probably the simplest pickles ever and they are mighty tasty, they are no Claussen pickles (more about that to come) but they are great in their own light and did I mention simple to make?

Be sure to check back mid winter to see how the grape leaf – alum throw down shakes out, which will keep the pickles crisper, will either or will they both fall short.