This began ages ago, with a local, organic pork belly that I squared off (and used the trimmings to make salt pork) then cured with salt, sugar, maple syrup, togarashi, pink peppercorns, bay leaves, and coffee for about 6 weeks. It could have gone much less, but I could not.
Smoked- along with the duck- yesterday on a nice mix of our own maple & apple wood plus grape vines, it achieved a sublime deep smokiness along with a complex sweet-spicy-porkitude that words simply will not suffice to describe. Imagine your favorite sex act on a plate, and you’ll be close. I set some thick (1/8 inch) slices to frying on Monday morning and everyone in the house (7 people) was in the kitchen drooling expectantly within a minute or two.
Having this in the fridge makes me want to use it in everything I make, although it is so good by itself I wonder if it will last long enough to get much use as a supporting player in anything. I pretty much need to go get another belly right away. Honestly, it’s like being able to microwave your own meth. And when it’s all used up, I’ll still have the skin to play with.
Want some?
If I beg, will you send me some? I’ll pay the freight! 🙂
Why yes, and I’ll trade you with some guanciale or pancetta. Nice smoke on that bacon, man! How long did it go?
I can just see the FDA getting us for dealing with hot hog.
Maybe I’ll start a bacon this weekend.
Me, me, me!
I’m a bacon ho’.
(Starting mine in a day or two. No skin on, sadly.)
I’m sorry, are you still talking? I can’t stop imagining my favorite sex act on a plate.
Zoomie: Next time I come out to SF, I’ll bring some for you and Cookie to fight over.
Hank: I have guanciale (though my cheek source is no longer viable) and I plan on doing a pancetta soon. It only smoked for an hour, but I made the fire really smoky.
CC: See Zoomie comment above. My cousin lives in Larkspur…
Heather: Isn’t that pretty much always the case with you?
oh man, this is awesome.
may i ask – can you recommend some place in the NYC area to get pork belly? i haven’t really done research, but I thought you’d know.
No fair pitting me against Cookiecrumb – she fights dirty! You see, she’s mad and she eats…
Amy: If you’re a member of the Coop, just order one or eight from their source. (If you’re not a member, you should be.) Union market might be able to get you a good local one; they’ve ordered fish for me in the past.
Zoomie: You can totally take her.
Your cousin lives in Larkspur? I can probably hit his roof with a lobbed watermelon rind. Hee!!
(Well, no. My arm’s not that good. But close.)