new bacon: an update

both curing pork bellies have been flipped for the first time.
this meat doesn't seem to be giving up its liquid as much or as quickly
as the first batch of bacon we made.
i am not sure why this is,
but it could be colder in the new refrigerator
or the belly could simply be leaner than before...
we did use a different butcher this time, after all.
we are also using kosher salt, as the recipe requires,
where as last time, we only had fine grain sea salt on hand.
either way, we are making progress
and both pork bellies smell fantastic!

our bacon after the first flip:
chocolate serrano on the left & roasted garlic herb on the right
image by sarah c baron

homemade bacon part deux

the kitchen is unpacked, 

the wine is chilling in the fridge, 

the garden is growing nicely...

so it must be time to make bacon again!!!

saturday morning we made a stop at the the atherton mill market.

for old school charlottean's, that is the refurbished warehouse complex 

near the train tracks at south boulevard and tremont.

it is a lovely, local fresh market with many vendors

selling all sorts of delicious fruits, meats, cheeses, and handicrafts.

we stopped by the windy hill farm table 

and they just so happened to have some fresh pork belly on hand!

windy hill is a local family farm that you just can't help but want to support...

the people are nice and the food is fresh.

we picked up three well-trimmed, one pound pieces of pig.

just down the sidewalk, still in the mill,

is the savory spice shop where we were able to purchase

curing salt, kosher salt, and some more spiciness for our bacon experiments.

this is another shop, i can certainly recommend.

again, nice people, over 400 spices, 

and if you have no idea what you are doing 

or what you are looking for, 

they let you taste everything!

this time, we thought we'd try a few different types of bacon.

fun bacon, if you will.

chocolate chili bacon &

roasted garlic and herb bacon are on the menu this week!

we kind of just made this stuff up, so it could be awesome of it could be horrible...

we'll find out next weekend!

here are some image of the process...

updates to follow!!

mmm... raw, uncured pork belly
from windy hill farm in new london, nc
image by sarah c baron

homemade curing mixture, dutch cocoa powder,
and dried, smoked serrano peppers
image by sarah c baron

belly, wrapped in curing mix,
blanketed in cocoa & chili
image by sarah c baron

every herb we could find...
parsley, basil, marjoram, thyme, rosemary, lavender, cilantro, mint, etc.
image by sarah c baron

wishing we had a full sized food processor
image by sarah c baron

belly rolled in curing mix, coated in
a glorious paste of herbs & roasted garlic
image by sarah c baron