Method 1 (How to make bacon from eastern Sichuan and western Hunan)
Main ingredients and auxiliary ingredients: 5000 grams of pork, 150 grams of refined salt, 30 grams of five-spice powder, 100 grams of cooking wine, 50 grams of white sugar, pine cypress 5oo grams.
Preparation method:
1. Choose fresh pork, cut into strips of 30 cm long, 5 cm wide, weighing about 700 grams, and then pierce the meat with bamboo skewers. Small eyes to facilitate the taste.
2. Put the pot on the fire, stir-fry the salt, then pour it out and mix it with the five-spice powder, let it cool, add cooking wine and sugar, mix it evenly, rub it evenly on the meat and skin, and then put it on the skin. Place them face down and meat side up in the vat. The top layer should be stacked with skin side up and meat side down. Marinate for about 7 days, turning the vat two or three times to facilitate the flavor and drain out the blood.
3. Take out the marinated meat, wash it with warm water, then put it on with hemp rope and hang it in a ventilated place to dry.
4. Use a large iron pot, put pine and cypress, put a grate on top, put the meat on it, cover the pot tightly, smoke it over fire; take it out after coloring, and hang it in a ventilated place , let it dry until the water dries out and it becomes bacon.
5. When eating, burn the bacon skin over an open fire until oil bubbles form, then scrape it with warm water to remove the black skin and ash. Wash it with warm water, steam it in a basket, take it out and slice it.
Key points of the process:
1. The exact time should be mastered when curing meat. Winter is slightly longer, taking about 10 days, and summer is slightly shorter, taking about 5 days.
2. When smoking, the time needs to be about 15 minutes, not too long, otherwise the color will be too dark and affect the appearance.
Flavour characteristics:
1. The meat is red and bright, moderately salty and has a smoky flavor. Suitable for both wine and food.
2. In addition to steaming the meat directly, if you add green garlic, garlic moss, bean curd and other vegetables to stir-fry it, the flavor will be better.
Method 2 (How to make air-dried bacon in Western Sichuan)
Ingredients: fresh pork (preferably two-cut pork), salt, pepper, fermented glutinous rice juice
Preparation method:
1. Use a knife to scrape off the dirt on the meat (do not wash it with water).
2. Stir-fry the salt and pepper together until the salt turns yellow and take it out of the pot.
3. Apply the fried Sichuan peppercorn salt evenly on the meat while it is hot (control the amount according to the weather and experience), marinate the meat with Sichuan peppercorns and salt in a basin for 7 days, and turn it once a day. .
After 4. 5-7 days, take out the meat and dry it in a particularly ventilated place.
5. After drying for a week, take off the meat, apply the glutinous rice juice directly on the meat, and let it dry for another 1-2 weeks. During this period, you can also apply the glutinous rice juice twice more.
6. The most important point is to blow with wind. This is the key point of wind-blown bacon.
7. When it’s time to eat, take off the bacon and wash the fermented glutinous rice. If the bacon tastes salty, boil it. If it doesn't taste salty, it tastes better steamed.
Method 3 (Recipe for old bacon from farmers in western Sichuan)
Ingredients:
According to the amount of 10 pounds of meat, prepare 85 grams of Sichuan salt, 25 grams of MSG, 100 grams of sweet sauce, 100 grams of Laopixian watercress more than two years old, 150 grams of seven-spice powder, 100 grams of Hanyuan pepper, 50-150 grams of sea pepper noodles, 100 grams of white sugar, 250 grams of glutinous rice water, and 25 grams of pepper.
Method:
1. First put the salt in the pot and stir-fry, then put all the seasonings into the pot and stir-fry until fragrant, and finally add the fermented glutinous rice water. , stir evenly. Apply the seasoning evenly to the meat while it's hot, put the meat in a basin, squeeze it tightly and put it in place, then cover it.
2. After three days, turn it over and re-lay it every day, and then cover it with a lid. After about six days (depending on the temperature and weather), hang it in a ventilated place to dry.
3. After drying, you can use wet pine and cypress branches to smoke and grill the bacon, or you can keep it indoors without smoking.
4. Place it above the kitchen fire pit and let it burn with smoke. It can be eaten after three months. It will not be bad if it is placed in a place with good conditions (dry and cold climate) for three to five years.
Method 4 (Recipe of Farm Bacon in Southern Sichuan)
Ingredients: Add 3 kg of salt for every 100 kg of pork, 0.8-1.2 kg of white wine, 0.5-0.6 kg of sugar water boiled with brown sugar, 100-120 grams of Sichuan peppercorn noodles, mixed with 120-150 grams of five-spice powder (an appropriate amount of star anise, sannai, cinnamon, licorice, etc.).
Preparation method: Choose fresh pork with skin and fat of more than 1.5 cm, especially the front and rear legs and ribs. Trim the meat and cut it into strips about 35 cm long and 3-4 cm wide. Rub the prepared seasoning evenly onto the meat strips. Then place the meat side up and skin down in a large, watertight container. Marinate for 3-4 days and turn once. After a week, wash the marinated meat with warm water and place it on the stove to bake until the surface is hard, the fat is slightly oily, the lean meat is red in sauce, and the fat is golden red and transparent. Rural areas are rich in branches and weeds. It would be better if they can be smoked, especially cypress slats.
Note: The amount of salt used is related to the local temperature, humidity and wind environment when making bacon. If the environment is good, you can use less salt. In the end, if the salt content is high, it will not taste good.
Method 5 (How to make low-end commercial bacon)
Ingredients: meat, salt, spices.
Method:
1. Heat the salt, let it cool, add saltpetre and spices, mix well, rub it on the meat, put it in a jar, mix the remaining salt and Sprinkle the spices evenly on top, marinate for 2-3 days before turning the vat, and then marinate for 2-3 days before taking it out of the vat.
2. Put the marinated meat into the drying room (the temperature in the room is kept at about 113°C) and bake for about 1 to 1 and a half days until the skin is dry and hard.
Features: The bacon is golden in color and the lean meat is red in sauce. The saltiness is moderate, the wax aroma is strong and there is no smoke smell.
Note: This kind of bacon is cheap, dry on the outside and moist on the inside, has a high moisture content, is bright in color and contains carcinogenic nitrite.