Takin’ bacon seriously

Old favorite tastes even better when you do the curing yourself.

McClatchy Newspapers

We are a people obsessed with bacon.

And the obsession is growing.

Consider the Bacon Explosion, an Internet recipe phenomenon that called for bacon, wrapped in sausage, wrapped in a woven mat of bacon. Or its follow-up, the Bacon Implosion, which is bacon, wrapped in ground bacon, wrapped in a woven mat of, yes, bacon.

This year has witnessed the release of bacon-flavored vodka, bacon cookies, bacon ice cream, and in May, “Bacon, A Love Story: A Salty Survey of Everybody’s Favorite Meat” by Heather Lauer.

Lauer has been obsessing over bacon since 2005, when a night out having cocktails with her two brothers produced the idea for a book on bacon.

For the next four years the public affairs consultant from Arizona devoted her spare time to the study of all things bacon. She started the blog www.baconunwrapped.com, and the social networking site baconnation.ning.com, all of which led up to the book and her de facto reign as the queen of bacon.

Lauer said the country’s bacon obsession is very real, brought about by a confluence of events that have created, if you will, the perfect porky storm.

”I don’t think there’s one answer to it,” Lauer said. ”Bacon is something that everybody is familiar with and most people grew up eating. It has a comfort aspect to it and a familiarity. It’s also got an addictive aspect to it — that sweet and salty combination of flavors. And it’s probably just a little bit unhealthy for you. When you get to have bacon, it’s exciting and something you look forward to,” she said.

The combination of nostalgia and taste, with a dash of naughty, makes bacon irresistible. Add the fact that it’s accessible, affordable, and is eaten at all times of day, and it’s not hard to see why bacon is in the midst of a culinary renaissance.

”It’s the guilty pleasure everyone can have,” Lauer said, noting that bacon is as much about the meat as it is about the bacon culture. ”It’s not like truffles. People have a sense of humor about their obsession with bacon.”

With the public primed, consumerism followed.

Food television

Food television shows embraced the bacon trend, as did chefs looking for ways to lure customers, and fast food chains that started adding more bacon to their menu offerings.

There are mail-order and online bacon companies, where different varieties are readily available to pursue bacon on a higher level.

As bacon makes its ascent into the culinary stratosphere, Cleveland chef and food writer Michael Ruhlman is working to make sure the pork belly doesn’t lose its soul.

If Lauer is the queen of bacon, then Ruhlman is surely its clergyman.

He’s a purist when it comes to bacon, believing people should cure their own at home to taste what bacon is really all about.

Curing at home

Curing at home, he says, is as easy as marinating a steak — everyone can do it, and everyone would do it if they just tried it once and tasted the difference.

”People say to me, ’Your bacon has changed my life,”’ Ruhlman said.

Ruhlman’s simple method for home-curing bacon is detailed in his 2005 book with Brian Polcyn, “Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing.”

The two main ingredients are fresh pork belly and curing salt, which is often called pink salt for its color. Pink salt is a combination of salt and nitrites. Nitrites change the flavor of cured meats, preserve their red color, keep them from spoiling, and prevent bacteria growth, particularly the bacteria that cause botulism.

Pork belly isn’t hard to come by. Some butcher shops routinely stock it, but those that don’t and supermarket meat departments generally will order it for customers upon request.

Kris Burns, owner of Kirbie’s Family Meats & Catering in Stow, Ohio, said he sells pork belly — also referred to as ”fresh side,” or “uncured bacon,” — in 7- to 8-pound slabs. It typically sells for about $3.59 per pound. It does require a special order.

Pink salt can be more challenging to find than pork belly. It’s sold under various brand names, including DQ Curing Salt and Insta Cure No. 1, which are available from mail order or Internet sources, Ruhlman said. His recipe for a basic dry cure includes kosher salt, pink salt and sugar. Morton’s Tender Quick (about $5.95 for a 2-pound bag) is essentially a prepackaged version similar to Ruhlman’s homemade dry cure.

Sometimes tricky

Jim Leverentz, owner of Leeners, said curing salt can be tricky for amateurs to work with and cautioned those attempting it to follow measurements exactly and use the product with care.

Ruhlman said home-curing meats is a great way for cooks to broaden their culinary horizons, and homemade bacon will be an eye-opener for those who have only had the grocery store variety.

”You’ll notice a depth of flavor that you’ve never had before. A chewy and delicious texture that you’re not used to. A succulent fat that you’re not used to. It’s not that water-logged brine-injected stuff from factories. There will be more fat in the pan, but a good fat, not a fat that you have to be afraid of. The factory fat is the fat to be afraid of,” Ruhlman said.

Home-cured bacon can be smoked, but it doesn’t have to be, he said: ”Both still have that same bacony flavor.” He noted that pancetta, Italian-style bacon, is dry-cured and then air-dried, not smoked.

For those who do want to smoke their own bacon, Ruhlman said a kettle grill and wood chips will do the job instead of an actual smoker. Stovetop smokers also are available at stores that sell cooking supplies. (Leeners and the Cookery at the Western Reserve School of Cooking in Hudson both sell stovetop smokers.)

Getting creative

Home-curing bacon also allows cooks to get creative.

Ruhlman’s recipe is for a basic dry-cured bacon. But he said the recipe works well with the addition of maple sugar or maple syrup for sweeter bacon, and a host of other flavors for more savory bacon, including garlic, herbs, peppercorns, juniper berries and nutmeg for a classic pancetta.

”Heat would go great with bacon,” Ruhlman said, noting that chili powders or hot paprika would work well in the cure. ”You’re limited only by your imagination.”

Home-curing bacon has the added benefit of connecting people with their food in a real way, Ruhlman said.

Here is Ruhlman’s method for home-curing bacon and some recipes to help feed the obsession.

BASIC DRY CURE WITH GRANULATED SUGAR

1 lb. (450 grams) kosher salt 8 oz. (225 grams) sugar 2 oz. (50 grams) pink salt (about 10 teaspoons)

Combine all ingredients, mixing well. Stored in a plastic container, this keeps indefinitely.

FRESH BACON

1 slab fresh pork belly, 3 to 5 lbs., skin on

Basic Dry Cure as necessary for dredging, about 1‚Ñ4 cup

Trim the belly so its edges are neat and square. Spread the dry cure on a baking sheet or in a container large enough to accommodate the belly. Press all sides of the belly into the cure to give it a thick uniform coating over the entire surface.

Place the belly in a 2-gallon zipper lock bag or a covered nonreactive container just large enough to hold it. The pork will release a lot of liquid as it cures, and it’s important that the meat and the container are a good fit so the cure remains in contact with the meat. The salty cure liquid that will be released, water leached from the pork by the salt, must be allowed to surround the meat for continuous curing. The plastic bag allows you to redistribute the cure without touching the meat, which is cleaner and easier. Refrigerate the belly for 7 days, flipping the bag or meat to redistribute the cure liquid every other day.

After 7 days, check the belly for firmness. If it feels firm at its thickest point, it’s cured. One week should be enough time to cure the bacon, but if it still feels squishy, refrigerate it for up to 2 more days. The thicker the belly, the longer it will take to cure.

Remove the belly from the cure, rinse it thoroughly, and pat it dry with paper towels; discard the curing liquid. It can rest in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days at this point.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Put the belly in a roasting pan, preferably on a rack for even cooking, and roast until it reaches an internal temperature of 150 degrees, about 2 hours; begin taking its temperature after 11‚Ñ2 hours. It will have an appealing roasted appearance and good aroma, and it will feel firm to the touch. Remove the rind or skin now, when the fat is still hot, using a large sharp chef’s knife.

Allow the bacon to cool to room temperature (try a piece now though, straight out of the oven — it’s irresistible). Once it is cool, wrap well and refrigerate.

When the bacon has chilled, slice off a small piece, gently cook, and then taste for flavor and seasoning. If the bacon has cured too long and is too salty, it’s unfortunate but fixable; blanching the bacon in simmering water for 1 minute before cooking it will reduce the salt content considerably. Blanched bacon also tends to crisp up especially well, and lardons are best blanched before being saut ed, because of the same reason, regardless of salt content. If you will be using the bacon in stews, though, you don’t need to blanch; just be cautious when seasoning the stew.

Refrigerate again until ready to use. The bacon will keep for 1 to 2 weeks refrigerated. If you don’t plan to use it all during that time, cut it into slices, lardons, and/or chunks, wrap it well, label and date it, and freeze for up to 3 months.

Makes 2 1‚Ñ2 to 4 pounds bacon.

“Charcuterie,” Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn

BACON AND BLEU SALAD

For the dressing:

1 cup mayonnaise

1‚Ñ2cup sour cream

1‚Ñ4 cup buttermilk

2 tsp. Tabasco sauce

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tbsp. chopped green onion (scallions)

1 cup crumbled creamy blue cheese ( 1‚Ñ4 lb.)

1 tsp. kosher salt

For the salad:

8slices of your favorite bacon

1 head iceberg lettuce

1 large red bell pepper, roasted, cooled, peeled and seeded

1‚Ñ2cup creamy blue cheese

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

Cook the bacon in a cast-iron skillet or in a 350-degree oven for 8 to 10 minutes, until crisp. Remove the bacon and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Reserve the bacon fat for the dressing and let cool slightly.

To make the dressing, combine 6 tablespoons of the bacon drippings with the mayonnaise, sour cream, buttermilk, Tabasco, garlic, green onion, blue cheese, and salt in a food processor and mix until incorporated. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until needed.

To make the salad, cut the lettuce into 4 wedges. Cut the roasted pepper into thin strips. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons of dressing in the center of each of 4 salad plates. Place a wedge of lettuce on top of the dressing. Divide the remaining dressing over the lettuce wedges. Drape the roasted pepper strips over the wedges. Place 2 strips of bacon into each of the wedges between the leaves. Crumble the blue cheese over the salads. Season with sea salt and cracked black pepper. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Chef Greggory Hill for “Bacon, A Love Story,” Heather Lauer

SOUTHERN-STYLE SMOTHERED CHICKEN WITH BACON AND LEMON SLICES

1‚Ñ2lb. streaky bacon (bacon strips), cut into 3-inch-long strips

10fresh lemon slices, about 1‚Ñ4-inch thick

1cup chicken broth

1large onion, sliced

2carrots, scraped and cut into 1‚Ñ2-inch rounds

1‚Ñ2tsp. dried thyme

1‚Ñ2 tsp. ground bay leaf

1‚Ñ4 tsp. ground allspice

Pinch of grated fresh nutmeg

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 31‚Ñ2-lb. chicken, trussed with kitchen twine

Arrange half the bacon strips in the bottom of a large, heavy pot or kettle, arrange the lemon slices over the top, then cover with the remaining bacon strips. Add half the broth, layer the onion slices and carrot rounds over the top, then sprinkle the thyme, bay leaf, allspice, nutmeg, and salt and pepper over the top.

Position the whole chicken in the center of the pot, add the remaining broth, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer till the chicken is tender, about 1 hour, basting it with the liquid every 15 minutes.

To serve, remove the twine and either disjoint the chicken or carve it into serving portions, topping each portion with solids and liquid from the pot. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

“The Bacon Cookbook,” James Villas