I don't buy cheap bacon, but here in the UK it hardly seems to matter what one buys, as it all contains water and 'gunk'. I have never seen so much white 'gunk' coming from a frying rasher of bacon as I see here. It really is quite disgusting.
When frying most UK bacon, both water and 'gunk' flood out, leaving a watery white goo in the pan (see below). This is easily removed, but why is it there in the first place?
In France I can buy superb bacon, but I often make my own. I buy a large slab of Belly Pork, cover in salt, sugar, and freshly ground pepper, leave for about 4 days, then brush away all the salt and hang in an airy place for a few weeks (below in our fireplace). Yes, it really is that simple!
The resulting bacon (pancetta) is delicious, and no 'gunk' appears when frying.
If you have a reliable source of good quality Belly Pork, and you eat bacon regularly, then this is a good method to provide yourself with the cheapest and best (see below).
I seem to remember that Hugh Fearnley-Thing gave a simple recipe for home-made bacon in his first River Cottage book.
Here's one I made earlier (below).
I suspect they inject water. If I get either dry cure or wet cure from the butcher it doesn't do the white gunk.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a pukka nearby butcher, but I always try to buy the best. I'm afraid it's all injected with a saline solution.
DeleteYes but it ought not to be. There's enough water in the pork to dry cure.
DeleteWhen I make my own, water doesn't go near it, and it cures perfectly. In France I can buy good quality WHOLE Pork Bellies for about 5 or 6 Euros a Kilo. Very different to here.
DeleteWe are lucky to have a local butcher and the weekly Farmers Market where we can buy proper bacon, although I am no longer able to eat it, much to my sorrow.
ReplyDeleteGood Bacon is one of life's pleasures; that's a shame.
DeleteI do my bacon under the grill or better still in the top oven in a baking pan lined with parchment paper. You can then just throw out the paper and anything that comes out of the bacon leaving the bacon crisp and dry.
ReplyDeleteTo paraphrase Trump, when it comes to bacon: Grill baby Grill!
ReplyDelete