Bacon, a type of Chinese cured meat. The meat is cured and then baked or exposed to the sun to make a processed product. Especially in Sichuan, Hunan and Guangdong, the production of bacon is a very important time of the year. In addition to bacon, there are also specific delicacies such as preserved fish and preserved duck, all of which are made during this season.

The bacon is delicious, transparent and shiny, brightly colored, tastes mellow, fatty and not greasy. And the well-made bacon does not deteriorate after three volts, which is also a distinctive local flavor food.

Curing bacon may seem simple, but many friends make it easy to rot and the taste is not authentic. In fact, cured bacon, in addition to the choice of meat is important, but also remember to put 2 kinds, bacon sweet and mellow resistant to preservation.

[Cured bacon].

【Ingredients】：Pork, salt, Chinese medicine

【Production steps】.

1, cured bacon selection of meat is very important. The recommended part to use can choose the clip meat, which is the meat on the front leg of the pig. Pork or hind leg meat. These parts of the meat, fat and thin, the production of good bacon to eat is also fragrant and strong.

Prepare 10 pounds of fresh pancetta, wash it, put it in a cool and ventilated place, and air-dry the surface water. Then use a high level of white wine, coat the pancetta evenly and set aside.

2, start frying salt, a pound of pork put about 15g salt can. 10 pounds of pork we prepare 150g salt. Stir-fried salt is less water, so it is more able to put forward the moisture in the meat, and the flavor after frying to be a little thicker. When frying the salt, we can put a little pepper, allspice, star anise, cinnamon, so that the aroma will be more intense.

When frying salt must be low heat throughout and keep stirring; when the salt is lightly browned, you can just turn off the heat. Set aside to cool naturally.

3. Put on disposable gloves. Apply the fried salt evenly on top of the pork, gently massage while applying, so that the salt of the salt is incorporated into the pork as much as possible. Salt has a sterilizing effect, and after curing the pork, the flavor of the bacon produced is better.

4, after the salt coating is complete, the next step is to color the bacon. Traditional bacon coloring is to rely on the added salt, although this way the bacon has color, but the color will be rather dull. Especially air-dried production of bacon, the color is not bright enough.

So we can properly use some raw milk and evenly coat the surface of the pork, so that the bacon produced is red and bright, which can greatly improve the luster of the bacon.

5, processed bacon, we put it all inside a waterless and oil-free airtight container, or put it in a basin covered with plastic wrap. Above you can press a heavy object to facilitate the marination of pork.

Cured bacon usually takes about 5-7 days to cure and needs to be turned over once in between. Let the pork fully absorb the salt and the flavor of the big ingredients. Until the pork is cured to the extent of browning, you can hang it up for air-drying or smoking.

6, cured bacon does not need to be rinsed with water again, directly take out the meat piece by piece, and then pierce a small hole in the meat, prepare some clean and strong rope, from the small hole in the top of the bacon through, hanging in a cool and ventilated place. Bacon is fine whether it is air-dried or hung out in the sun. Both can play a role in evaporating the moisture. But it is best to dry under the conditions of wind and sun at the same time, which can accelerate the moisture discharge of bacon.

However, if the air is heavy with moisture, it must be received inside the house in time to avoid moisture and mold deterioration. General winter drying 10 days will be fine, bacon becomes crystal clear on the drying good.

Cured bacon remember to "put 2 kinds"

1、Spices

When curing bacon, pork is usually directly rinsed with water can be; or some friends are directly smear salt, meat also do not need to wash. But the surface of the pork can not avoid some impurities, so it is best to rinse and then dry the surface water.

Although rinsing, but the pork itself will still have a fishy smell, this time if you directly rub salt, the deodorizing effect is not outstanding. So when frying salt put some spices, so together with the pork coated, not only can achieve the role of deodorization, but also can increase the flavor, the production of bacon flavor will be more intense.

2、White wine

Putting white wine when curing bacon is to further remove the fishy smell of pork on the one hand, and the aroma of white wine will also be incorporated into the bacon to improve its taste.

Another aspect is that white wine has the effect of sterilization and disinfection, the surface of pork washed and dried water first coated with a layer of white wine, which can avoid deterioration in the process of curing and drying, to play the role of sterilization and anti-corrosion.

Bacon as a cured product, so the shelf life itself is relatively long. However, cured products contain certain nitrite substances, so they should not be stored for a long time. Generally, under normal temperature, cured bacon can be preserved from the winter solstice to about March of the following year's lunar calendar. After the beginning of spring, the temperature rises, this time at room temperature preservation of bacon will be easy to deteriorate.

So if you want to keep bacon for a longer time, you can put it in the freezer for up to a year; however, the taste of long-term frozen bacon will also be reduced, so it is recommended to finish consuming it as soon as possible in a relatively short period of time. Avoid long-term preservation, bacon overflowing grease, and thus the taste of bacon will become woody and hard.