Sichuan Bacon

Cured Sichuan Bacon

A How-To on Sichuan Foods

-disclaimer- 
This recipe is not for those cooks inexperienced in curing, smoking and preserving meat. This process is not for the beginner. Thanks for your understanding.

I'm always impressed by Chinese food and foodways. With the largest population in the world, throughout my lifetime, they have all had at least one meal a day and now with 1.2 billion, eating 3 meals a day, they eat all the foods there are and not just to stave off the wolf, but in a creative way. This recipe will only approximate the commercially made bacon, which is smoked over several weeks to achieve that unique Sichuanese flavor, color and texture. If you have a smoker, the bacon can be brought into the refrigerator and the smoking continued until you have the desired degree of smokey tenderness.

Cypress Smoked Sichuan Bacon

ALL CHINESE BACON MUST BE COOKED BEFORE CONSUMPTION

Equipment:
8 quart or larger stainless stockpot
wok
aluminum foil

Brine Ingredients:
1 scant cup of salt
1/2 cup of sugar
1 gallon water
2 to 3 pounds of pork belly - skin removed, ask the butcher to do this.
2 to 3 pounds of ham slices ( 猪肉腿 or transliterated: Zhu Tuirou ) -  OPTIONAL Latin and Asian markets have this as a fresh, unsalted, uncured, unsmoked, raw piece of leg. This is what you will ask for. Usually sold whole in 7 to 12+ pounds pieces. Do not remove the fat, but the skin may be removed. Again, ask the butcher to do this.

Marinade Ingredients:
2 tbs. coarse salt
1 tbs. sugar
1 tablespoon curing salt - see Curing NOTE below
2 ozs. vodka or Chinese baiju of 100 proof or more
2 tbs. dark soy sauce - sometimes called black soy sauce - this is more for coloring than flavor
1 rounded tablespoon black pepper, lightly crushed
1 star anise, lightly crushed

Smoking Material
Cypress fronds cut to fit in the wok with the lid on
1 tangerine peel if large, or 2 if small - need not be dried, broken into small pieces for easier smoking
2 tsp. sugar
1 cup rice
1 tsp. tea - if no Cypress is available

Brining
Make a solution of 1 scant cup of salt and 1/2 cup of sugar to 1 gallon of water. Cut the pork, into bacon pieces about 6" long, 1" wide and 1-2" deep. Put the pork in the brine and stand overnight, refrigerate or at least 8 hours (need not be refrigerated), weighted down by a plate or a plastic bag filled with water and tied tightly to prevent leaks. 

Marinating
Remove the meat from the brine. Rinse briefly under running water. Mix the marinade and add the brined pork. Refrigerate five to seven days, turning the meat over daily. The meat is now ready to smoke into bacon.

Curing
Tie butcher twine around the pieces and hang them in a sunny spot on days when the temperature does not exceed 60 degrees F. Place a newspaper under the meat to catch any drippings, weighted down so the wind will not move it. If you have a larding needle, you should run the twine through the meat and make a loop. Truly Chinese Style: use a bamboo skewer and tie the twine to it, to make a "ʎ" shaped affair. Squeeze the pieces, testing for firmness everyday. The meat should give and the desired texture is as supermarket slab bacon. Dry on the outside, moist on the inside. To test, cut a small piece off an end. You may fry the small piece as a taste test as well.

Air dry in the sun for one day at a time, testing the bacon by squeezing between the finger and thumb. That is how this is done in Sichuan. Air "cured" in the high mountain air, like Italian prosciutto.

If you are concerned about the air drying, skip this step and proceed to smoking the meat.

Smoking

Place a double layer of aluminum foil in the bottom of a wok. Put the rice, tea, tangerine peel and Cypress wood on top of that. Put a grid on top of the wood. There is to be at minimum 1" clearance between the wood and the grid.

Put the lid on the wok, turn on the exhaust fan, or close the kitchen doors and open the window. Bring up the heat and smoke the meat, adding more Cypress wood. Smoke up to 20 minutes. Allow the meat to cool to room temperature. That portion not immediately used should be wrapped tightly in plastic and frozen. Refrigerate the piece for immediate use, none the less.

Curing NOTE - If you use Pink (Curing) Salt use a teaspoon per pound of meat, if Morton Salt's Tender Quick, use 1 tablespoon per pound of meat. Pink salt is NOT the same as the now trendy Himalayan "Pink" Salt.

Note - In the US, the Cypress tree is called a Bald Cypress. The scientific name is: Cupressaceae Taxodium distichum

References:

http://www.douban.com/note/326018937/ - photos used by permission.

http://www.baike.com/wiki/四川腊肉

Bacon and Hams by George J Nicholls (1917)

Another work on cured meats uncovered. Complete with pix of piggies, and lots of info for commercial bacon makers. My brief gloss found no recipes.

From the sausagemaking.org forum at this URL:

http://forum.sausagemaking.org/viewtopic.php?t=9157

comes the following:

SausageBoy "Hard copies can be found, at ridiculous prices, I'm hoping to find a digitized version."

Here is the version you seek, SausageBoy


http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?seq=1&id=wu.89041956749&q1=Bacon+and+Hams+by+George+J+Nicholls&page=root&view=image&size=100&orient=0

I tried registering at the forum, as I'm a sausage making fan, but the damn password maker screwed it up and I cannot understand why a unique member-poster name isn't enough. Why a password? Got something secret you don't want others to know about you?

Traditional Cures and Making of English Ham and Bacon

John Warr, posted the following at what was then known as: Deja News. Later Deja was purchased by Google and was renamed: Google Groups.

For those wishing to make authentic English style Ham and Bacon, this is a must read. One Caveat: a British pint is 20 fluid ounces, not the American 16 fluid ounces. An English stone is 14 pounds. Where the recipes call for saltpeter that is the chemical: Sodium Nitrate and where the call is for prunella, that is Sodium Nitrite.

Warr's post:

I said some time back that I would post these ham & bacon cures. They are all

traditional methods, and assume for the most part that you have a whole pig

to deal with. I have not used all of them, but have based cures on some. If

you need any further info, let me know. Some scaling will be needed, and some

modification. I have not bothered to update units or nomenclature, but that

will add to the fun :-)

John Warr

Barkway.

"...a gentleman who was generally spoken of as having nothing a-year, paid

quaterly."

Oxfordshire beer & juniper cure.

16 lb Ham

1 lb soft brown sugar

1/2 oz bay salt

3 pts beer

1 lb salt

1/4 lb juniper berries

1/2 oz saptpetre

Boil all ingredients and cool Pour over ham. Rub every day for first few days

then every 2-3 days for a month. Take from pickle and hang to dry.

Cumberland cure

A 20 stone pig

1/2 lb saltpetre

1 1/2 stone salt

1 lb brown sugar

Lay hams, fitches shoulders skin up on stone slab. Rub salt into skin till

moisture forms. Turn over, remove all veins & rub with saltpetre & brown

sugar ( especialy around veins & bones).cover with salt & leave 1 day. Check

each day for 3-4 days, keeping covered with salt. Take out fitches after 14

days, shoulders & hams after 21 days. Wash with cloth dipped in lukewarm

water & hang to dry from November to March.

Devonshire cure

7 lb bay salt

1 lb treacle 2 oz saltpeter

Boil 8 qt water, add above & stir to dissolve. Place hams in crock and pour

brine over when cold. after 6 weeks, take out hams & dry thoroughly. Place

in muslin bags & store in malt dust or wood ash.. Better, hang in chimney

of open fire for two weeks before storing.

Hereford cure for ham & bacon

1 lb salt

1 oz saltpeter

6 ox moist sugar

3/4 pt pickling vinegar

Remove backbone & ribs from fitches. Remove feet. Remove thick shoulder end

from fitch ( takes longer to cure).

Saw into hip joints of hams & remove head of hip joint.

Sprinkle meat with plenty of salt & lay on sloping boards to drain 24 hrs.

Wipe with cloth.

Rub in saltpeter, then salt. Lay meat skin down on a little salt in

pickling trough, spread sugar on top. After 3 days pour vinegar on top.

Bath with pickle several times a day. Turn every other day. Bacon & cheeks

take about 14 days, Hams & shoulders 3 - 4 weeks depending on size. Dry off

and hang in a dry place. Smoke if liked.

Leicestershire method

Prick hams 7 shoulders with sharp pricker. on skin side ( about 20 times).

Rub rind with small amount of saltpeter, finish off with salt until it

sweats. put on plenty of salt, and leave 3 days. turn meat, and add more

salt. Leave about 3 weeks, turning & rubbing occasionally. Dry meat well,

and brush off salt. dredge with flour and when dry, paint the exposed meat

with bee's wax.

Lincolnshire cure (for whole pig- about 30 stone)

3 to 3.5 stone salt

1/2 to 3/4 lb saltpeter

Bacon: place fitch in salting tub. rub rind well with a little saltpeter,

especially the shoulder part 7 where the bone has been cut out. Put a

little extra in the "pocket" and fill with salt. Rub all over with salt.

Turn the fitch over & leave meat side uppermost. Sprinkle with saltpeter ,

rub all over with salt & leave well covered with salt. Hams are treated in

the same way, using a little more saltpeter. Leave in a dry, well

ventilated place. after a couple of days, , if salt has run & left bare

patches, re-cover with salt.

After a month, take out, rub off salt & hang to dry. But into bacon bags.

Optionally, a 1/4 lb of moist brown sugar can be added to the hams &

shoulders for moistness.

Northamptonshire method.

For 18 - 20 lb ham, rub well with salt, leave 24 hrs then wipe dry. Rub in

1 oq saltpeter, mix together 1 lb salt, 1/4 lb pepper, abd rub into ham

each morning for 3 days. Pour over 1 lb treacle and baste & turn each day

for a month. Drain 24 hrs then hang in cool dry place. When dry, put into

muslin bags & hang at least 3 months.

Nottingham method (bacon)

Strew salt over meat and allow to drain 24 hrs. To each 5 lb meat, allow

1/4 lb salt, 2 oz saltpeter, 1 oz prunella salt, 1/4 lb sugar (coarse

brown).

Mix & pound fine salt & prunella salt. Mix with salt & sugar. Rub into

bacon well. turn & rub every day for 3 weeks.

Derbyshire cure

1 pt old ale

1 pt stout

1 lb treacle

3/4 lb fine salt

3/4 lb coarse salt

1/4 oz saltpeter

10 - 12 lb ham

Put all (except ham) into saucepan & boil 5 mins. Meanwhile rub ham well

with coarse salt & place in pickling jar. Pour over hot mixture Keep ham in

pickle 3 weeks, turn & rub each day. Take out, dry, put into muslin bag &

hang in cool dry place.

Somerset bacon

8 lb salt

3/4 lb brown sugar

1/4 lb saltpeter

4 gal water

Boil all above 20 mins. Remove any scum. Allow to cool, put in bacon &

leave 10 days. Turn every day.

Somerset ham

20 lb ham

2 lb salt

1 oz saltpeter

1 lb bay salt

2 oz mustard flour

2 oz black pepper

Pound 7 mix ingredients. Rub hams and let lie 4 days, rubbing each day.

pour over 1 1/4 lb treacle. Keep hams in pickle 4 to 5 weeks. Turn & baste

each day. Take from pickle & place in cold spring water 24 hours. Hang to

dry. These hams need no soaking prior to cooking.

Rock salt & red pepper

Rub hams with a mix of 4 lbs rock salt & 1 1/2 oz saltpeter. Place intrough

rind down. and drain 48 hrs.

Take 4 lbs crushed rock salt, 1 1/2 oz saltpeter, 2 lbs brown sugar, and 2

oz red pepper to each 100 lb ham. Rub in well, pile into trough, cover with

1/2 inch salt. Any liquor collected should be poured over meat. After 10

days, repeat rubbing and pile in trough as before. After another 10 days,

remove hams, brush off salt. wash rind with warm water. Put in muslin bags

& hang in cool dry place.

Roxburghshire cure

Take 3/4 lb brown sugar, 1/2 oz black pepper and mix in a basin. Sprinkle

over hams. Put a layer of salt in the pickling vessel, and rub salt well

into ham skin. salt the fleshy parts generously. Push salt well into places

where bones have been removed, and into the shank end. Place hams in vessel

and cover with cloth. After 12 days remove hams, clean out vessel and

repeat. Sides of bacon take about 3 weeks, hams 5. brush off salt & hang in

cool dry place. ( This should be done in hogshead quantities. YMMV.)

Suffolk sweet cure for bacon & hams

2 pts beer

1 lb gran. sugar

1 lb bay salt

1/2 oz peppercorns

2 pts vinegar

1/2 oz saltpeter

1 lb cooking salt

1/2 oz cloves

Boil together. Take 2 oz hops & boil in 2 pts water for 30 mins. Strain

into the liquor above. Cool & pour over meat. Bale liquid over meat each

day . Thin parts take 3 weeks, Hams & thicker bacon 5 weeks.

Suffolk treacle cure

Salt meat. Leave 3 days. On second day make pickle. Take 4 gal water, 8 lbs

black treacle, 2 bars cooking salt, 4 lbs brown sugar & 2 oz black pepper.

Bring to boil. Simmer 20 min. Cool. Take meat out of vessel & drain. Cover

meat with pickle. 20 lb hams require 1 month. Turn every other day, hang to

dry slowly in cool dry place. Ready to eat after 1 month to 6 weeks. Will

keep up to a year.

Sweet pickled pork

1 small leg or hand of pork

3 oz coarse salt

3 oz bay salt

1/4 oz saltpeter

1/2 pt ale

1/2 pt stout

Rub with coarse salt & place in crock. Pound fine 3 oz coarse salt 3 oz bay

salt, 1/2 oz saltpeter & mix.

Put into saucepan with ale & stout. Boil, stirring. Pour boiling hot over

pork. Turn pork over in pickle every day for 14 days. It is then ready to

cook, either boil or bake.

Aberdeenshire cure (1)

For 2 hams:

2 lb salt

2 oz pepper

2 oz mustard

2 oz saltpeter

3 lbs treacle

Mix dry ingredients & rub over hams. . pour over treacle, turn & rub each

day for 5 weeks. After 2 weeks, liquid smoke can be added if required.

Aberdeenshire cure (2)

2 lbs bay salt

2 oz saltpeter

2 lbs brown sugar

1 oz cloves

1 ox pimento

4 lbs common salt

2 oz salt prunella

1 oz whole pepper ( B&W)

1 pt stout

Make a pickle of the above with water. ( it should be strong enough to

float an egg). bring to boil & strain.

When completely cold, pour over the hams. leave 14 days & hang to dry.

Wiltshire cure

Mix together 1 1/2 lbs cooking salt, 4 oz saltpeter, 2 oz sale prunella,

1/2 oz juniper berries, 2 lbs treacle, 1/2 lb bay salt, 1 oz black pepper,

2 qts beer. Boil together, cool slightly & pour over ham, which has been

sprinkled with cooking salt, left 12 hours and wiped dry. Turn & rub pickle

in each day for 1 month. Dry well before storing.

To pickle 2 sides of bacon in 3 weeks:

Mix together 5 lb cooking salt, 8 oz bay salt, 2 oz salt prunella, 4 oz

saltpeter, 2 lb brown sugar.

First day, sprinkle bacon with cooking salt. Day 2 wipe dry, rub well with

pickle. Day 3 leave. Day 4 rub with pickle. Day 5 & 6. leave. Day & rub

with pickle. for 2 weeks, rub with pickle every third day.

Yorkshire cure

For a 25 stone pig:

3 bars salt, 1/2 lb saltpeter, 1 lb demerara sugar. lay pig skin up on

slab. Rub shoulders & hams well with salt. Leave 1 day. Next day cover slab

with salt & lay pig on it skin side down. rub salt in well & cover with

salt. Sprinkle with saltpeter & sugar leave 3-4 weeks. take out of salt,

wash well with cold water. Hang up to dry in well ventilated dark room.

JUSTORUM SEMITA LUX SPLENDENS. the path of the just is a shining light

Carnes en Sus Jugos

Carnes en Sus Jugo

The plate is a little known speciality of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. I had my first taste of this at El Norteño in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was served this dish as a "taster" for the restaurant. It's delicious. No two ways about it. I never got the recipe from Leo, but did have it described in detail for me. But I have changed the recipe!!! I may have improved it. Well, not much. Why I say improves is I have improved the American "chile con carne" recipe. Purists may pull their hair all they want; this is my story and I'm sticking to it.

I can find two Guadalajaran restaurants that specialize in the dish. They are:

Kamilos 333

Karne Garibaldi

and I submit this as a tribute to those who invented this (yet another) splendid Mexican dish.

The substance of carnes en su jugos is bacon and beef. The beans are served on the side. I have read reports about Texas chile con carne having the beans served on the side. And to Texans I understand that beans in chile is a sin. Then again, Texans may be confused about many things regarding chile con carne.

This is a wintertime dish. No two ways about it. It's like a beef stew without so many vegetables. I ask myself, "Why is that better?" and cannot find an answer. I probably chanced across the technique for this dish by making Clifford Wright's recipe from his encyclopaedic tome Mediterranean Feast: Beef Ragoût in the Style of the Boatmen of Arles. That dish uses beef, onions, garlic, anchovies, salt and pepper as the only ingredients. It to is a wintertime dish; rich and hardy.

Recipe - begin by preparing the ingredients, first

3 pounds top sirloin cut in 3/8" cubes, remove all fat, gristle, silverskin, nerve, blood and connective tissue.
12 ounces smoked bacon, cut in 3/4" slices
2 pounds of onions, sliced lengthwise
1/2 bunch of cilantro, leaves only
1 head of garlic, skinned and minced
3 teaspoons of salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of pepper
hierbas de olor

I will begin with a discussion of hierbas de olor. This is a Spanish cooking term which means herbs of aroma. As this is a Mexican plate, I suggest oregano, bay leaf, pasilla chile powder and one or two jalapeños. My pal, Leo, reminds me that this is a family dish in Mexico and chiles are for adults. So feel free to leave the chiles out of this dish. I am not going to give quantities for the hierbas de olor and I do this not out of not knowing, but as an attempt to get you, dear reader, to experiment a little.

Also, frijoles de olla are part of this dish.

16 ounces of pinto beans, check for dirt, small stones, broken beans, removing all
1 ounce of bacon fat, lard, cooking oil
4 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
2 sprigs of epazote
2 teaspoons of salt

Clean the beans, soak overnight in water. Drain, return the beans to the pot, cover with water by 2". Bring the pot to a simmer, add the garlic and epazote. Simmer, covered, for 2 hours. Add the salt after you remove the beans from the flame. Stir to incorporate the salt, remove the garlic and epazote. Serve the beans in a separte bowl on the side and allow diners to add beans to their taste.

The secret of Carne En Su Jugo is in the cooking technique. The bacon is added to the pot first, and over a medium flame, the fat is rendered. Once that is done, there are two ways of proceeding, the bacon can be removed, leaving the rendered Carne En Su Jugo fat behind for the beef, or the bacon can be cooked further with the beef. Add the beef and under a gentle flame, cook it until the beef juices render. This should take under 10 minutes. Maybe 12 minutes. Unlike making traditional American chile con carne, the meat is not seared or browned here in this dish. After the liquid has been released, cover with beef stock or water by 1" and raise the heat. Add the cilantro. Cover the pot and when the boiling begins, immediately lower to a simmer. Cook the meat 60 minutes. Taste it. If the beef is tough, cook another 30 minutes.

This plate is served in a shallow soup bowl, beans added by the diner. Tortillas also are part of this extraordinary meal.

This dish can be scaled up or down, but the ratio of beef to bacon is 4 to 1 or 25% bacon.

NOTE on hierbas de olor. 
Use one or two whole cloves. Use some bay leaves. Mexicans use oregano. If you choose oregano, use it sparingly. The herb seasonings here, in this dish, are to be a half-note. A subtle scent.