makin bacon

I bought a piece of pork belly and rubbed it well with 50 grams of plain salt mixed with .5gram of saltpetre, placed in in a pyrex baking dish with a lid in the fridge for 24 hours.
Then drained off the water, rinsed the meat, dried it, rubbed it with another salt mix, and left it for another 24 hours.
Again I drained the moisture, rinsed the meat, dried it then wrapped it in a clean tea towel soaked with vinegar.
That's how you can easily make your own bacon!
Sad to say the majority of people presented with traditionally salted food turn up their noses - saying that it is too salty and dry. They prefer the modern sweet, soft hams and bacon which are pumped full of liquid and made soft by shredding and pressing: ie SPAM!

Some technical info: the salt dries the meat out (hence the liquid), helps preserve it and keeps aerobic bacteria at bay. The saltpetre is a very effective germicide - and (even in miniscule amounts) will act against any other poisonous organisms.
Other methods soak the meat in a liquid brine with added treacle or molasses - these will counteract the toughening action of the salt.
Sliced bacon can then be easily smoked in a small hot-smoker to add a most delicious flavour.

Here is a recipie I found on the web which I will try next time ( & add some saltpetre):
Best wet cure recipe for back and streaky bacon
Ingredients:
* A joint of either loin or belly of pork
* 900ml of cold water
* 100g of cooking salt
* 4 heaped teaspoonfuls of dark treacle or molasses
Method:
Mix the salt and treacle with the water.
Place the joint in the water and submerge it with a small plate. Leave to soak in the fridge for four days.
Remove the joint from the curing mixture and dry with a clean tea towel. Leave the joint to chill in the fridge for an hour or so – this makes slicing easier.
Place the joint skin side down on a chopping board and slice.
Store in greaseproof paper in the fridge or slice and store in the freezer.

the ultimate beer snack!

This evening I concocted the ultimate beer snack!
Fresh home-made butter-popcorn with a sprinkle of salt, a pinch of ground chilli, and a dash or so of Lea & Perrins sauce......

ASIAN SEAWEED & NOODLE SOUP

Check out my latest video - a packet of noodle soup combined with fresh seaweed from the beach & herbs & spices to make a delicious & nutritious meal....

SMOKED FISH

I bought some salmon bellies [$4.00 a kilo!], & someone generously gave me a fresh schnapper on Friday [thanks Kerry!].

I scaled & filleted the schnapper & marinated some of it with the salmon overnight in a mixture of 1 teaspoon each of salt & raw sugar, with the juice of a lemon.
On saturday afternoon I set the smoker up in the back garden, with 3 handfulls of manuka sawdust inside. I laid the fish along with some fresh asparagus stalks onto tinfoil, put this on the grill inside the smoker, poured half a cup of meths into the burner - lit the meths, & placed the burner under the smoker.
The meths took about 10 minutes to burn out, I then turned the fish, added more sawdust, refilled the burner & let it burn out then sit for a while. The result was delicious! - eaten with refried beans & watercress salad.
The meths is a bit messy, so I have bought a small LPG cannister for my camping stove to use next time.

HOKITIKA WILD FOODS FESTIVAL

I found an interesting review of the 2010 Hokitika Wild Food Festival by an Australia food writer, on her blog: notquitenigella

MEALWORMS

Last week I bought 50 mealworms from the petshop & am rearing them in an icecream tub. They eat bran & fruit - there is a worm on the apple slice below, the other dark lump is a piece of guava.

These "worms" are in fact beetle larvae. In a few weeks they will pupate, then turn into beetles, which will in turn lay eggs. Mealworms are eaten in many countries, & are very nutritious.
I will try them fried in butter & garlic, & roasted & salted with beer - see my new website
www.pavlovasdog.weebly.com for more on edible insects.

A TRIP TO THE COROMANDEL

Last weekend I drove over to Whitiang, on the eastern side of the Coromandel Peninsular to visit an old school chum. On the Sunday we visited the Farmers' market at Gumtown - just south of Coroglen. My chum was dismayed to see 20 cars in the parking lot "Looks like the place is getting too popular with tourists" he grunted. He hasn't been to Matakana, & somehow I don't think he'd like it!
In & around the old Gumtown hall were a dozen or so stalls, & at the back, backing on to the river was a large community garden.
Stall produce included home-made hula hoops, stained glass, a BBQ, coffee & cake, jams, eggs, veges, plants, bread, smoked meat, eggs, pickles, & preserves.
I bought some salami, smoked venison, pickled olives, blue cheese, & a dozen blue-shelled eggs [from South American araucana chickens] - thereby contributing a grand total of $38 to the local economy.
My chum & I also enjoyed a coffee in the sun - & he introduced me to some of the locals: a pretty friendly bunch of farmers, growers, & alternative-lifestylers.






On the way back I stopped at the Wholesale Fisheries in Thames & bought some smoked salmon carcases with heads on - delicious!