Dry Cure Bacon - Vol. IV, Episode 11

[@beetheb]

It's so awesome to have the basics on how to do this, in case I ever need to some day. It's a shame that most of us have lost these pastoral skills. We buy all this pre-packaged in a supermarket without ever knowing how it was done. Sometimes I long to have lived in the 19th Century (not necessarily the Civil War, which would have been a rough time, especially in the South -- but that time-frame) when people were almost completely self-sufficient, and almost nothing was pre-packaged.

[@michaelalexander3828]

If using only salt and brown sugar, his ‘cure’ contains NO sodium nitrite. The bacon will be darker than if he included a little pink salt (sodium nitrite). As the meat is maintained in the danger zone between 40°-140°F, the pink salt also helps prevent botulism.

[@j.lebowski3917]

This is awesome and I will definitely try this and take some to an event. I would love more videos on civil war foods and what the soldiers ate.

[@PumpkinStrikesBack]

Very professional presentation, excellently made and highly informative video!

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thank you for watching!

[@hoilst265]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest Um, when he says "You're gonna want salt - sodium nitrate" I think he means ordinary table salt: sodium chloride. As much sodium nitrate as the sodium chloride used in the video would be fatal. And sodium chloride won't in any way convert to sodium chloride.

[@mickeyholding7970]

A video on making lard or utilizing a cold room or root cellar would be great.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

On the list! Just need to shoot it the right time of year. Will

[@sharingtimeagain]

How does this process differ from the production of Salt Pork that the soldier would consume? I would guess this much effort would not be put into it. Only cured in salt and cured either way beyond this time or shorter before it was shipped out for the soldiers to consume. My process is just salt and put in a crock in the fridge for about a month changing the salt out as it drawls moisture out. Thanks for this great video.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Soldiers would most likely have seen brine cure pork. Like we said, that is in our future. Will

[@sharingtimeagain]

Super.

[@Rawprawned]

Interesting video bit confused on the nitrate. I believe salt, whether table or Kosher, is sodium chloride, not sodium nitrate. The meat industry does add sodium nitrite on the pretext of preventing botulism, however, that has since been proven not to be effective. As I understand your recipe, which I use similar (except add maple syrup or bourbon), is just table salt and sugar, which is excellent.

[@Rawprawned]

@@mikesmicroshop4385 Hi Mike, Its an interesting viewpoint, the fact that modern cured meat does not contain Bot, does that necessarily relate to nitrate/nitrite actually prevent Bot? Nitrate was brought in commercially in the early 1920s when refrigeration and meat standards were both immature, a lot has changed since then. A lot of recent research clearly indicates that the use of nitrate in cured meat at the safe level of 150mg/kg as per EU standards does not inhibit bot growth, which is why the EU is pushing for wholesale changes to cured meats and removal of nitrates. US allows up to 600ppm in processed chicken, bit scary. Of course, it's not actually the nitrates/nitrites that are dangerous, as we consume a lot of those naturally, it when they combine with myoglobin in meat and under heat change to a nitrosamine, that's a butt killer. Interestingly there are massive differences in global standards in the maximum dose of Nitrates, EU is about half of US, South Korea is 1/10th, yet still no cases of bot in South Korea. The Cambden institute researched the effectiveness of Nitrate in cured meat, by injecting meat with Bot and adding nitrite "the action of nitrites during that process is not toxic to spores of the bacteria at levels of 150ppm nitrite" and actually has no effect at all on bot. The EU and US produce 1000s tonnes of cured meat without any use of nitrate, as in this excellent video which uses good ol kosher salt (sodium chloride, not sodium nitrate), with no cases reported globally of bot, none. Nitrate does add colour, increases flavour and reduce cure time and hence cost which the FDA noted when the US meat industry was unable to prove nitrates prevent bot. Could then the ongoing global use of nitrate being more about commercialisation, nice colour, quick to market, at the cost of butt cancer, or for meat safety as pushed by the meat industry, as there is plenty of real research that says it adds no value in preventing bot. It is then changes to food safety and refrigeration that is the key. I thought the same as you, and started adding nitrate to my bacon, which I do a lot of as well every site including FDA says to add nitrate. My wife has a doctorate in food science and I spent months doing research, not into generic statements, rather papers which did real tests on effectiveness against bot. If you can find any real research which shows effectiveness in a lab, I would really appreciate a link. This is just my two cents worth, however I use just salt, pepper and inject with maple syrup and salt.

[@wonder-bred]

@@Rawprawned thanks!

[@wevikings1790]

Fantastic video, nice work guys!

[@michaelelliott172]

Bravo gentlemen!

[@kenpoga79]

Excellent video.

[@interestinoldschool8080]

Lol....the guy in the knit hat was like..." Dude, didn't your folks let you play in the sand box when you were young...?"

[@williammontroy9024]

One of the best I’ve seen in a bit good work with

[@patrickkinney4998]

I do it the same way but it's always salty. Can't be used as bacon, but it works in beans, greens, ect

[@Frodillicus1]

You may have something akin to salt pork, try soaking it after cutting if you want a bacon sandwich, and pat it dry before frying

[@parri111]

a little weird how the right guy holds his hands, but besides of that i like that whole look of the setting really much! Thumbs up

[@BocageTiger]

Great video, Will!

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thank you! It’s a team effort over here! Will

[@MsLashiva]

So why is dried Italian ham from the store only good for a few months? Is it a different process?

[@tommyvinson6]

Good video.

[@schoonerist]

Very educational. Thanks guys.

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

And VERY wrong! What is listed on the screen is ok, what they said in the video is totally wrong!!!!!!!! Do not use Sodium Nitrite as they have said in the video you will KILL yourselves! They should have said Sodium Chloride! Sodium Nitrate is what is in curing salt and it is only 6% of that mixture and of that you only use .25% by weight of the meat being cured! If you do what they have said you will definitely use enough to end your life if you eat it!!

[@josephmesseri2745]

My students love your videos.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

We are thrilled to hear that! Will you message us on our website (www.civilwardigitaldigest.com) and let us know what and where you teach? Will

[@rileyhabermehl4194]

Nice work, great video

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thank you for watching!

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Thank you for watching!

[@portlandbells99]

I am really amazed that this is considered to be historic information, it is general practise in Wales today, in fact the name bacon comes from the welsh word mochin which is mutated to bochin, or bacon. Still, really glad to see this information shared in a really accurate and informed way :) Well done to you for keeping these traditions alive :)

[@tdog123434]

Doesn’t it come from the French word bacon?

[@Frodillicus1]

As german and French had similar sounding words, there's a possibility it has a root in the really ancient indo-european language

[@Kohnbread19]

outstanding. I wish I had to space to cure a slab right now

[@johnmueller4878]

Having watched your video and having done a dry cure once I was instructed on my first to only use salt this a very salty product. Is there a chance you might have the ratio of salt to brown sugar so I can make a better product for my family and mates? Thank you

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

The ratio we used is listed on the screen in the episode.

[@johnmueller4878]

Civil War Digital Digest Thank you I missed that

[@logannold5455]

Is there a time stamp for that ratio

[@patrickkinney4998]

Seems this is different than other shows. The cure time seems longer. Most shows are half the time. It seems the quicker cured bacon won’t be hung outside the refrigerator. More like making store bought bacon. This it seems is a true dried meat product. A product that will survive without the refrigeration. I would imagine one could eat this raw as it’s a dried, cured meat. Much like a prosciutto. I guess one could add cure #2 to this if one was so inclined to eat it without cooking

[@Poodleinacan]

My parents bought me a slab of that stuff, last Spring. I'm not too sure how to really eat it. If I cook slices it just becomes a test of might on if I can stand chewing salt-flavoured bacon. Surely, there must be a way to be able to enjoy more than 2 slices.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

I would recommend you check out our episode on how to deal with salt pork! Will

[@larryviator4749]

do you have a brine cure video ?

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Not yet. It’s high on the list! Will

[@sapphireforge75]

5:48 Right sodium nitrate converts to nitrite.. but it sounds like you are saying that table salt is nitrate.. "once the sodium nitrate, our salt"??? Table and/or kosher salt is sodium chloride.. So are you using sodium chloride for this cure?.. or are you using sodium nitrate?.. or a mix?

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

We are using kosher salt as noted in the graphics. Use that.

[@Frodillicus1]

Seems like he got a little muddled, maybe he's used to curing other things, so very knowlegable, but just confused this process, sodium nitrate is used in curing, but hasn't always been, I beleive it's more to keep the colour of the meat pink than a better curative than plain sodium chloride (it doesn't dye the meat, the red colouring is to stop it being confused with normal salt). What they're using is just plain sodium chloride (they're using kosher salt, bigger grains so it doesn't get washed away too easily) it doesn't have nitrates (which change to nitrites as the meat cures) in it. But it'll work just fine, albeit a slightly longer process.

[@Frodillicus1]

Aye, listening to him again, he just said the wrong thing, and the presenter picked up on it and asked.

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

@@Frodillicus1 You're on the right track. Our guest mis-spoke on that one part. I brought up that we are NOT using pink salt or other modern curing additive. Just the kosher salt and brown sugar (plus spices) mix. We wait longer. Since we shot the episode, and I learned the process that day, I've followed this and done it twice more. Both times I've ended up with tasty, if rather salty, bacon. Different tastes in a different time. Best!

[@MrRufusjax]

I think the guy means "sodium chloride" not "sodium nitrate".

[@77thNYSV]

What are some good sources of pork that'll ship?

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

What do you mean ship? Will

[@77thNYSV]

Ship through the mail.

[@austinklinefelter8297]

They don’t ship it but you can get pork belly at Costco

[@leoscheibelhut940]

What was done with the 'used' salt? Was it dried and reused? Was it dried and feed to livestock?

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Great question! We will pass it on to our friend Brian!

[@leoscheibelhut940]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest Thank you I look forward to finding out.

[@russf6572]

@@leoscheibelhut940 10 Months and still no response? Let me help you. Salt was valuable, so any left over was dried out and used again.

[@leoscheibelhut940]

@@russf6572 Knowing the value of salt, that's what I assumed but I wondered if it wasn't possible for some reason I hadn't considered, such as the "pork juice" it absorbed giving it an off-flavor after it was re-dried.

[@russf6572]

​@@leoscheibelhut940 Because salt draws moisture from the meat, I would imagine some of the pork flavor would be in the salt after drying it for reuse. _I would also think you WOULDN'T want to fill your table shaker with it!_ 😂 I'm guessing it would only be reused for the same application it came from. I've got a nice slab of pork belly defrosting right now, and I'm not sure if I want to make bacon or invest the 10 to 12 months to make pancetta. (I'm leaning towards the later because I still have bacon in the deep freeze)

[@LibertyGarden]

How would this cure be done in the south with no cold rooms? Thank you.

[@theredarmy4058]

root seller

[@beardedbowhunter6139]

@@theredarmy4058 no such thing as a root cellar in South Louisiana they end up being shallow wells

[@theredarmy4058]

​@@beardedbowhunter6139 well i did not say South Louisiana i just said root cellar the CSA was not just in the deep south it went into the mid and west states (a little into the west ) if your talking about modern day well just use your fridge also during the civil war couldn't the CSA just cure it in its northern territory then transport it down south

[@rpmartin1886]

Smoking

[@vizprave6721]

@@beardedbowhunter6139 what's a shallow well?

[@marcusaurelius9631]

Is it neccessary to hang the meat in a cheesecloth bag and if so why is it neccessary?

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

I know for sure that it keeps it up so it stays dry and away from some insects. I will be with Brian, whom we interviewed, next week. I will pose the question and get back with you!

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

You might also look at our episode on Cold Rooms. That should help as well.

[@phillipbanthony]

He was calling the salt sodium nitrate. Did he mean sodium chloride?

[@JackieMacNZ]

I noticed that too. That seemed to be a mistake. The salt that comes from the sea is definitely sodium chloride and this has been used for hundreds of years for preservation. Using sodium nitrate as the main white “salt” could be fatal. Sometimes a little potassium nitrate or sodium nitrate is used in a curing mix but some folks think that even a little nitrate is not healthy. The salt these guys are using will be sodium chloride, preferably not iodised.

[@civilcoinman]

Can you do a video on hardtack

[@emcarver8983]

Salt is sodium chloride, not sodium nitrate 🤔

[@spiffinz]

What th- I'm watching this so I DONT have to keep modern food safety in mind

[@dmithsmith5880]

Check out this recipe I ran across from an old book from the early 1700's 👍 It is what appears to be a type of semi wet cure bacon.. I am intrigued never the less ! Best Bacon --For three score belly use one ounce saltpetre, one pint bay salt, one pint molasses and shake together with bacon for 6-8 weeks. Baste with liquor every day, take out to dry, smoke three weeks with cobs or malt fumes. For long transportation double the period of smoking. Sounds absolutely fantastic to me... I have to do it.. I have some pure potassium nitrate on the way 😊 I assume a 3 score belly must be 30lbs or there about.. So I have a fresh 15lb belly in the freezer so I will cut the recipe in half.. I am also assuming that bay salt must just be natural course sea salt. YUM

[@CivilWarDigitalDigest]

Have you tried it yet? Keep us posted!

[@dmithsmith5880]

@@CivilWarDigitalDigest I will for sure I promise !

[@mikesmicroshop4385]

You would do well to NOT use Potassium Nitrate! It is not as consistent in results as is Curing Salt mixtures used today! As for as Three Score, that would actually be 60 pounds as a Score is 20! If you remember President Lincoln said "Four Score and seven years ago" That speech was in 1863, 87 years after 1776!