Bringing home the bacon!

Bacon is the food that drives vegetarians crazy, and it seems to have a natural way of finding itself on breakfast, lunch and dinner plates in a very complementary and unassuming manner and is one of the most celebrated and versatile foods.
 
Everything, is better with bacon... Or is it? 
There is no doubt about it. Bacon is a much loved, iconic ingredient in Australia - yet what most people aren't aware of is that 80% of the bacon sold here is made from imported pork and this isn’t good for our farmers, our pigs or for you as the consumer.

So what does it mean when the label on the front of a pack of bacon reads 17 per cent Australian content? How can bacon be 17 per cent Australian? Well, boneless, factory farmed, imported pork, is defrosted, placed in tumblers with water, salt, sugar and chemicals to make this bacon - the water and possibly the salt and sugar are the Australian part. The rest is imported.
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So be sure to check the Country of Origin label, a percentage of over 90% of Australian ingredients will ensure you're buying bacon made from Australian pork. Or better yet buy from your local butcher or farmers markets.

We grow the best and healthiest, disease free produce on this planet. So why would we import anything that we can grow right here in Australia? 
 
#aussiebacon #tassiebacon
 
First catch your pig...
 
Not all bacon is created equal. There are various versions of bacon around the world – they are all made differently due to variances in the quality and cut of meat, the curing process, the spices/ingredients used, and the smoking process (or lack thereof). The only common denominator of real bacon: you need to first catch the pig.
 
Principally, pork belly is cured to make streaky bacon, the loin section (the part with the rib bones) is cured to make ‘eye’ or ‘shortcut’ bacon. And the whole loin and belly cured together is a side of bacon.
 
Curing is an ancient food preservation technique that draws away moisture to help prevent spoilage. Two common curing methods are salt curing and smoke curing. 
 
In salt curing, the large among of salt (mostly commonly, in conjunction with nitrates) deprives certain bacteria of water, which helps prevent the oxidation process that causes meat to spoil. 
 
Similarly, smoke curing helps seal the exterior pores of the meat, making the meat more resilient to infection from bacteria. 
 
With as many types of bacon as there are methods of curing and flavouring (honey or brown sugar cured…, apple wood or hickory smoked…) - the big differences come in either dry curing (with or without nitrates) or brining and hot or cold smoking.
 
So how do we do it in the Meatshed? Our bacon is the simplest and purest kind of bacon, with a mild flavour. We take a slow-grown, Berkshire belly slab or loin, massage it with our dry cure (only pure Australian sea-salt), refrigerate, rinse and then dry. Once it is cured, it is hot-smoked using local apple wood, then cooled and sliced into thick rashers. Our whole process takes about two weeks from piece of meat to bacon heaven.
 
And OMG… a slab of bacon just out of the smoker is heaven on a platter. It is hard to resist tearing off a little piece (or a whole belly) and shoving the still steaming, salty, sweet meat into my mouth.

As with most artisan made things, there is a threat to the existence of traditional cured foods. Sadly, the fast-food, accelerated version of smoking and curing is perhaps now the most prominent.
Mass-produced bacon is made in a different way – cured by injections of salty water, which can also include chemicals such as potassium nitrate, sodium nitrate and ascorbic acid. Add a little time and there you have it – Bacon.

Beware of cheap bacon that has been pumped with salted liquid.
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It doesn’t take much to work out that not only is the original moisture still there, but so is the added water, salt and additives. When that bacon is cooked the heat causes the brine to be released – resulting in a pan full of water.
 
Cheap bacon and sausages may sometimes seem tempting and moreish, not because of any real qualities they possess but because of the combination of the comfort of familiarity and the deceptive, almost hallucinatory effect on the tastebuds of artificial flavours and preservatives. As with bad Chinese food and cheese and onion crisps, there is a shallow, pharmaceutical gratification of the taste buds but little, if any, lasting pleasure or satisfaction. The moment you turn to comparable products of worthy provenance and true quality, you realise what a cheap trick (literally) it’s been.
 
Take slow-grown, rare-breed pigs, make dry-cured smoked bacon from their backs and bellies, or sausages of coarsely ground pork from their shoulders. Flavour the former with nothing more than salt and smoke, the latter with a pinch of white pepper and nutmeg, and you’ll have all the robust flavour, deep savouriness and lasting pleasure that you could ever wish for from a rasher or a banger.

Did you know?
Bacon is not fully cured or cooked. It’s not safe to eat raw, like salami. Bacon requires further cooking.
 
Because of its high fat content, bacon keeps well frozen, making it easy to always have some on hand to throw into the pan.
 
The Best Way to Cook Bacon…there is actually more than one way.
 
The perfect method depends on the circumstances. Here’s how to get the perfect bacon every time, no matter what.
 
Making this essential food may seem like a no-brainer, but think back to all those floppy strips you’ve served up. Even the simplest food benefits from proper cooking. Here are a couple of foolproof methods to see you through breakfast and beyond.
 
The Classic Method: In a Frypan
This tried-and-true method is the obvious choice when you need to cook 6 to 8 slices at a time.

1. Pull out the bacon from the fridge 15 to 20 minutes before cooking. At room temperature, bacon just cooks up better (just like steak).

2. Don't preheat the frypan. Lay out the bacon strips without overlapping in a cold pan. This helps the fat render slowly, for consistently cooked strips.

3. Cook over medium heat — again, good for even rendering. Turn the strips as needed until they reach the desired crispness, 8 to 12 minutes.

4. Drain well on a paper-towel-lined platter.

For Feeding a Crowd: In the Oven
Make this your go-to method when you need bacon for a big group and don't want to bother making multiple batches. Plus, there's no turning and cleanup is simple.

1. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil or parchment paper, and lay out as many bacon strips as will fit snuggly without overlapping.

2. Place in a cold oven. Then heat the oven to 200oC and bake to desired crispness, ~25 to 35 minutes.

3. Drain well on a paper-towel-lined platter.