Bacon-making at home can be done in many ways, I am putting together an online course that will show you literally every way possible that I know and have learned over 20 years. I’ve noticed online content has a massive variation in how bacon is made, also there is confusion over the ways you make it. Showcasing it has a …
Best Cuts of Meat for Sausage Making (Diagrams & Pictures)
Cuts of meat vary a lot for making sausages or for that matter salami. Farmed or wild meat does have some key differences for making sausages and the various prime and sub-prime cuts that are available. I’ve enjoyed sausage making for decades and also become proficient at various dry-cured and hot smoked salamis. It’s a MASSIVE topic, and what I’ve …
How to Cure Ham so it’s Not Salty
The classic question that gets asked a lot is how to avoid the ham being too salty, because, after all that effort of brine curing or wet brining the ham you want the result to be perfect. Buying a big chunk of ham or using a precious piece from a pig you’ve reared – it’s a beautiful thing! Then it …
Does Cured Meat Need to be Cooked?
Because cured meats come in many different types and variations, whether you have to cook them or not depends on a few things. Meat curing has fascinated me for a long time. I’ve gone across Europe (especially Italy) purely to savor the types of cured meats they have there. For example Calabrian Njuda (a spreadable pork sausage, or Parma from …
What Does Cured Meat Mean?
The meaning of cured meat seems like a pretty simple question, but due to the variations and different types of cured meat, I want to get into more detail. For instance, some cured meats like dry cured meats are ready-to-eat like prosciutto or dry cured picante salami. Then, on the other hand, you have dry cured cold smoked bacon which …
How to Smoke Bacon With a Pellet Tube Smoker
Using a pellet grill for smoking bacon is pretty straightforward when using a pellet tube smoker. However, there are some key points that I’ve learned over the years that can help make things easier and more straightforward. Of course, like most things, experience and going through the learning curve is part of the process. The bacon we normally eat at …
Can I Cure Meat Without Nitrates/Nitrites (Pink Curing Salt)
Over the years I’ve done a lot of meat curing using sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite. Another name for these is pink curing salt. A question that comes up a lot around here, is whether you need to use them to make cured meats. Curing meat also has a wide meaning, whether it’s dry cured or smoked/cooked (hot smoking). So …
Why Does my Bacon Taste Like Ham?
Bacon can definitely taste like ham, and there is one main reason why this happens. It comes down to the technique that’s used to make the bacon. I’ve been making bacon and ham for nearly 20 years and have tried many different techniques. Hams comes in many varieties and so does bacon! But the main reason is this one below: …
Do I Need to add Curing Salt to Bacon?
Adding curing salt to your bacon is one of those things that many new meat curers ask. It’s also a question that often comes up here on my blog, so I thought I would share many years of research and give you some facts about it. I’ll go into it, how I do it and how I approach it. I …
How to Cook Trout on a Campfire (and Other Methods)
When it comes to fishing, catching and cooking trout on an open campfire this is something I love to do, either at home out the back or out in the bush. As a young kid I had an ability to catch trout nearly every single time I went out (after a few years maybe a decade of practice). I was …