Aging is a process that allows you to preserve the meat and which usually involves the use of salt. Generally, the procedures that are used are two: drying and bittersweet. The first is more common for less valuable cuts, such as pork shoulder and belly. Before modern technology made food storage easier, seasoning was a widely used process. The basic concept is to block bacterial proliferation and consequently prevent rot. Nowadays, aficionados age meat for the unique flavor it develops during processing. Follow the instructions in this tutorial for storing pork belly.
Steps
Step 1. Buy at the butcher's shop 2.3 kg of pork belly
The meat must be fresh and stored at a low temperature.
Step 2. Wash the meat and, if necessary, remove excess fat
Step 3. Make a spice mix
Make a dry mix with 60g of salt, 10g of pink seasoning salt, 60g of black pepper, 4 chopped bay leaves, 5g of nutmeg, 60g of brown sugar, 5 crushed cloves of garlic, 30 g of crushed juniper berries and 10 sprigs of thyme
Step 4. Coat the meat with the spices
- Place the bacon on a clean, dry surface.
- Pour half of the spice mix over the meat. Turn it over and add the other half.
- Flip the bacon to cover it entirely with the dry flavors.
Step 5. Store the pork
- Close it in an airtight plastic bag and then store it in the refrigerator where the aromas can act undisturbed.
- After three days, remove the bacon from the bag and massage it. The juices will be percolated into the bag and the salt will have dried the meat.
- Return the pork to the fridge for another 4 days.
Step 6. Find a suitable place for air drying
Choose a room in the house with good air circulation and with a temperature below 15 ° C. The room must be dry and clean. In addition, there must be a structure on which the meat can be hung. Beams or ceiling hooks are perfect
Step 7. Tie the bacon with butcher's string and hang it from the ceiling
- Take two pieces of string and wrap them around each side of the meat two or three times.
- Tie a tight knot to the flesh.
Step 8. Let the bacon season in the air for 3-4 weeks
Step 9. Unhook the meat from the ceiling, rinse it with cold water to remove all aromas
Advice
- The optimal temperature for aging is between 3 and 6 ° C.
- Instead of drying the meat in the air, let it mature in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.
- In addition to other uses, cured meat can be sliced and cooked in a pan, grilled or roasted in the oven.
Warnings
- Always wash your hands before and after handling raw meat.
- Pink seasoning salt contains nitrites which appear to be carcinogenic. These give the meat the classic pink color and the typical bacon aroma but, if you wish, you can not use them in the preparation. However, if you have decided to smoke pork belly, you must use them to avoid the development of the Botox bacterium.
- To prevent the meat and spices from coming into contact with the plastic, wrap the cut of bacon in wax paper before placing it in the bag.
- Do not salt the hot meat. Trapping moisture inside the pieces of bacon could cause it to rot.
