I decided to go with the pancetta, i did order some more pork bellies to do the others as well though,
word of warning, curing salt is a poison if ingested directly in very small amounts
You do need to handle it with care because its toxic if you ingest it directly. Its colored pink to prevent accidental ingestion. Keep it out of kids reach. According to this link on Oxford Universitys site, the exact toxicity is 71 milligrams per kilogram. I weigh nearly 100 kilograms. That means if I ate 7.1 grams, it could kill me (by binding the oxygen carried by my blood to the hemoglobin, making that oxygen unavailable to my cells). Thats about a teaspoon. If youre a petite 110 pounds, 1/2 teaspoon would be toxic. This article on its toxicity suggest an even lower amount is harmful. Bottom line: Dont be afraid of it, but keep it well identified, and use it only as a recipe calls for.
find a good recipe and follow it, now is not the time to be getting creative, especially with curing salts
anyways, I assembled my supplies needed
and dumped in 2 tablespoons of garlic
I destemmed one sprig of rosemary
and 3 sprigs of thyme
a tablespoon of peppercorns
and 1/3 cup of kosher salt
4 bay leaves
and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 teaspoons of nutmeg
and 12 juniper berries
I stuck them in a blender and blended well
I took my pork belly
and removed the skin
flip it over and you want to square off the meat so it tolls uniformly and trim the meat and fat so it rolls with no air pockets created that can harbor bacteria
the recipe I was using was for a 6 pound pork belly, but mine was 3 pounds and the recipe called for 4 tsp's of curing salt, so i used one on each side, sprinkled on the meat
and rubbed it in
I took half of the spice mix and coated the meat
and flipped it over onto a piece of saran wrap and coated the other side
I wrapped the meat up with the plastic wrap
and stuck it in a pan in my fridge, time to wait 7 days
so it's been 7 days
I dumped 2 tbsp of peppercorn into a bowl
and used a measuring cup to crush the peppercorn
I unwrapped the belly and rinsed off all the cure under water and patted it dry with paper towels
I rubbed the crushed peppercorn into both sides
and rolled the belly up tight length wise
I used some twine and tied up the ends good
and tied the middle
I wrapped it along the length
and hung it in the pantry for the next 3 weeks, to be continued
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