How to make Classic American Smoked Bacon - without Nitrites
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- Опубликовано: 16 дек 2022
- Big thanks to Smokin It Smokers for sponsoring this video. Check out their selection of smokers and accessories here: www.smokin-it.com/Smokers-s/5...
Today we are making Classic American Smoked bacon without Nitrites
You can find a printable recipe here: twoguysandacooler.com/classic...
Brining time calculator: genuineideas.com/ArticlesInde...
(Click on the "brining time" option and fill in the blanks. Once you get the results add 20% time to your answer.)
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Items used in this video:
EcoCure #1 - 8oz (on Amazon): amzn.to/3FYaxHk
EcoCure #1 - 16oz (on Amazon): amzn.to/3VYx3W1
EcoCure #1 - 5lbs (on Amazon): amzn.to/3VYwZFL
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Small accurate Scale for spices: tinyurl.com/3asv33t5
Large Capacity Scale (33 pounds): tinyurl.com/mr23dhsd
Heavy Duty Vac Sealer: amzn.to/2WUALpO
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Cold Smoke Generator: amzn.to/3jdRXSF
Bacon Hangers: www.smokin-it.com/product-p/j...
Meat Slicer: amzn.to/31XV19q
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Small accurate Scale for spices: tinyurl.com/3asv33t5
Large Capacity Scale (33 pounds): tinyurl.com/mr23dhsd
Heavy Duty Vac Sealer: amzn.to/2WUALpO
Drying rack and tray: amzn.to/3LDhgHX
Custom Cutting Board: tinyurl.com/3ez3ww7f
Ph Meter by Apera Instruments: amzn.to/2A04Gll
Smokin-It Bella's Cold Smoke Generator: amzn.to/2UVTsX9
Digital Smoker (I use the 4D WIFi): tinyurl.com/mrxbnwkw
Meat Slicer: amzn.to/31XV19q
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Eric
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Big thanks to Smokin It Smokers for sponsoring this video. Check out their selection of smokers and accessories here: www.smokin-it.com/Smokers-s/5.htm
Just to add to it, my Smokin-It #3dwi has been great and Steve, the owner, is so helpful and just a great guy. 👍
Great video Eric and thanks for showing the EcoCure, I didn't know that even existed. I have been asked so many times by people what would be a good replacement for using nitrites. Well now I can tell them haha. Very cool smoker as well!
I'm addicted to your channel. Top of the range presentation and recipes. Thank you.
I've long been interested in making my own sausage and bacon, but sodium nitrate gives me tension headaches, so this EcoCure stuff is ay-fudgin-maze-ing game changer for me.
This looks outstanding...and it's 1:20 in the morning and I want bacon.
I'm 4 days into a Canadian bacon loin right now (using just video #1 of your Lonzino), and I'm getting low on belly bacon too, so this is a timely video Eric.
THANKS!
Beautiful Video as always! I would enjoy seeing more videos of you making cheese. I could see you pioneering some sort of cheese that is filled into casings like a sausage :D
Yummy... 🙂Made my first bacon a few weeks ago, amazing stuff, everyone has said "It's the best bacon I ever ate"... :-) I have some pork loin curing in the fridge right now for some back bacon, it should be delicious as well... 🙂
I was fine til the 9 minute mark... started to drool profusely.... was good til the 10 minute mark then rushed to the fridge for some bacon. "Hello Amazon? I need a few pounds of Ecocure #1..... yes by Christmas would be good" 🤤
Thank you, Happy New Year. God Bless and stay safe.
Hey Joey. I wanted to reach out to tell you that 2 people did not get back to me in time and I had to re draw a few names. Yours came up as a winner!! Get in touch with me though my website (twoguysandacooler.com/contact-us/) to claim your prize. There is no cost to you whatsoever and I appreciate you being a part of the two guys and a cooler experience. Looking forward to hearing from you soon. You have 24 hours to get in touch with me or I will pick a new name. Thanks Eric (this is not a scam) I will try to reach you through multiple comments you've left (FYI)
Thanks Eric for another great post…
Try adding ground coffee to the cure, my family loves it. Thanks for the information on eco cure
I like adding both fish sauce and molasses to my bacon. Scrummy.
I have noticed that I get joint pain from adding nitrates.
I'd say that anyone with arthritis would be well advised to avoid nitrates.
Merry Christmas to you and yours Eric. Onoce again another fantastic video. I have been making bacon for a few years now with great results. I find simple is better salt brown sugar pepper and cure no.1. My last batch I doubled the brown sugar by accident, calculation error. And it turned out fantastic as well. A sweeter product that I will definitely do again sometime. This is the first I heard of eco cure. Nitrites are something I have never worried about after watching your video on them. My question to you is, which cure do you prefer in processing bacon? Cure no.1 or eco cure? Thanks Eric cheers.
OH MY GOSH!!!! THANK YOU!!!! Thank you for doing this with a non-pink cure method like the EcoCure product (which I didn't even know existed)! I'm not so much concerned with nitrates/nitrites as I am with the red dye put into prague powders, as my son is allergic to artificial dyes. Now I don't have to worry about getting my numbers wrong with making my own cure from saltpetre and table salt, or making the risky decision to not use anything at all and hot-smoke everything! Got EcoCure #1 and #2 on order! Thanks again!
It's a really fascinating product. The science on how it works is incredible and the fact that it's got a clean label is just brilliant!!! Glad the info was helpful!!
Nice job! Thanks...
Congratulations on your work, I'm a charcuterie maker here in Brazil and we use practically all the same seasonings, the only difference is that we use type 1 curing salt, as it's difficult to find citrus preservatives and annulants here. I'm a new subscriber to your channel. Congratulations - Alberto Tomaz From Brasil
Olá, você sabe me informar se existe alguma marca ou algo do tipo que seja não químico? Tenho alergia a sais de cura, adoro a temática de charcutaria mas não posso consumir os alimentos com nitrito. Por favor se tiver algo me informe
The Sausage Maker advertises it as not containing synthetic nitrites. But does it contain natural nitrates or nitrites? After all celery extract is used for it's nitrite properties. Rosemary is high in anti-oxidant properties but what is in the other ingredients?
Hola Eric, me gustaría saber si cuando se hace el proceso de curar la carne si puedes poner humo líquido en la bolsa de vacío (ya que no tengo ahumador) y si es así cuales serían los siguientes pasos para cocinar la carne (bacón, salchichas, brisket, etc). Gracias por tus videos que son fáciles de comprender (aunque podrías hacer algunos en castellano ya que creo que lo controlas).
Eres un crack 😎👍
Yet another great video, thank you! I don't have a smoker, is the bacon usable before smoking?
Hi Eric great informative videos , just one question about cure time , i see many other vids saying one week per inch , 1 day per lb etc , this calculator seems lower cure time , how is it different than many other recommendations thanks
Just wondering if you are familiar with smoking by addition of liquid smoke on the surface? Not neccessary with browning effect - just to add falvour and taste and then all you need is to dry it in the smoking chamber. Works fine - I can tell.
Awesome video again. I didn't know about ecocure which is great for people who are funny about nitrites.
Eric Do you know where I can get the plastic sheets to place under the bacon prior to vacumn sealing the bacon. I tried wax paper but it fell apart once I thawed the bacon. Thanks and Merry Christmas
Great clawing technique
interesting, is this really nitrite free, or just has natural nitrite in it instead of synthetic?
either way, i use regular nitrite at the moment. and i'm just using correct amounts to be safe.
Probably a Celery extract
my god that looks good
I have heard a lot about using celery powder in place of nitrites an experience in using celery in the curing process?
Another great video Eric. Two questions: I have the Smokin-It #3 Digital and love it. Do you find a need to control the humidity in the smoker for bacon or sausages, ie. having too much moisture since the cabinet is so tight? Second question is, do you find much of a taste difference using the Eco cure vs cure #1 ? Thanks again.
There's only been a few times when I though there was too much humidity in the cabinet. I tried to smoke 45 pounds of andouille at one time and my smoker was jam packed. I ended up having to open the door a bit in the middle of the cook to help dry out the sausages, then it was fine.
I did notice that ecocure didn't give the meat that typical cured flavor like using cure #1
great video and good looking bacon! At 5x the cost and still containing nitrites from the fruit, vegetable and spice extract's it seems like just another make the consumer think it's better product.
Many thanks Eric for your hard work and the time you spend reading and answering all the comments/questions. This is a 100% 1:1 replacement for Instacure #1? According to The Sausage Maker, " . . This product has not been FDA or USDA approved and is not yet recommended for processors because of this fact . . "
I get it how Celery Powder can get the job done with its naturally occurring Nitrites. Wish a Chemist would jump in here and explain how the botanical molecules can replace the Nitrite molecules in Instacure #1. Rosemary has naturally occurring Nitrites? Man, I am confused. I've been curing meat for 10 years with Instacure # 1, and I could have just added Rosemary instead?
Hey Joseph. This is certainly a 100% replacement. It's not quite 1:1 it's more like 1:4 but the end result is the same. FDA currently only approves synthetic nitrites/nitrates (E250, E251) so anything else (celery powder, beet root powder) used to "cure" meat is not approved. So technically unless you are using E250 or E251 (sodium nitrite or sodium nitrate) you cannot call your meat cured. With that being said we both know that beet root and celery powder both contain nitrites and nitrates so they will effectively cure your meat.
Here's where things get interesting. EcoCure #1 is the first nitrite alternative that can effectively cure meat as well. It's a very exciting product as the properties used to cure meat do NOT come from nitrites, they come from polyphenols and antioxidants. Ecocure uses polyphenol rich extracts from citrus, rosemary, and a few other ingredients (possibly pomegranate and bear berry) to create a truly nitrite free curing agent. Although the FDA would say it has to be labeled as uncured if it's sold commercially. There are a few companies using this product in the UK and Europe. Look up the bacon called "Naked Bacon". In the US a company called Pederson's is using a product like this and if you look at their label, you will notice that there is no asterisk after the claim "No Nitrites or Nitrates Added". The FDA requires by law for companies to put an asterisk next to that claim when "natural" ingredients that contain nitrites are added. Here's a link to their bacon product: pedersonsfarms.com/products/no-sugar-added-hickory-smoked-uncured-bacon-4-pack#gallery-1
I plan on making a full-blown video on the ins and outs but it's a great (albeit expensive) nitrite alternative.
@@2guysandacooler Eric, Many thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed response. Totally mind-blowing! Expensive . .yeah, but I gotta try it on my next batch of sausage. And thanks for the tip on Pederson's. I see that can get that locally here in Marin, CA. Looking fwd to your full video on this product.
Last I knew the word "cure" couldn't be used unless nitrited salt was utilized (even though celery powder has been utilized for a number of years now sans "cured" claim.
Celery powder has naturally occurring nitrite. It's an "organic/natural/nitrite free" marketing scam.... 🙂
Good looking bacon
You ought to try making cottage bacon- IMO the king for BLTs
What do you do if you don't have Eco cure, can you use regular pink curing salt?
Hey Eric. Great video as usual. Beings you used an EQ cure does the bacon need to be washed off after curing?
I washed the bacon off. You could just pat it dry
How would the amounts be adjusted if you want to remove the sugar?
How is the flavor different when using the different curing style?
Great video man! Can the smoked bacon slices be added to soups and noodles without frying first?
Yes you can! The end product is completely cooked. Can be eaten as it, added toy our favorite dish, or sliced and fried up
Thank you for an amazing channel! It really makes it much easier for beginners like me :) I recently watched the series about curing salts, and it probably saved me from making a big mistake. Unfortunately, it also led me to the decision of throwing away all the sea salt-cured cold-smoked bacon I made. Do you have a recipe that would allow me to produce safe cold-smoked bacon? I can't get hold of Instacure #1 where I live; only Nitrite salt 0.6.
Thanks again for being my kitchen superhero :)
I will be making a cold smoked bacon video soon😉
Awsome! Looking forward to it :) @@2guysandacooler
Amazing video. Curious, is sugar only used for flavor? Can it be omitted from a bacon cure?
I make mine with sugar substitute, Sometimes I leave it out entirely and add Chinese 5 Spice... it comes out savory and fantastic.
Hi Eric
I made Bacon for the first time following your recipe.
I have a 2 lb pork belly and somehow added a teaspoon of instacure #1 . Do I have to dispose of this pork belly?
By the way love your posts I am regularly following!!!!
did you let it cure with the instacure in it, or did you wash it off immediately. If you did let it cure I would say toss it and start over. You would have only needed 1 tsp if it weighed 5 pounds.
@@2guysandacooler
Thank you
Very helpful
4:11-4:34 The background music is great, may I ask which one?
Hi
A friend had asked could I make a Russian teewurst
Would you know a good recipe for one please.
I can’t seem to find one anywhere.
Cheers
Eric if using Cure #1, should the calculated salt be reduced by the amount of cure?
I would.
If I want to use Prague Powder first to try this recipe with a friend, whats the ration I should use per pound of pork belly?
.25%
Using your formula with the 1% (of pork belly weight) for salt does it matter if I am using table (iodized) or kosher salt?
nope. any salt works when calculating by weight
Classic.
Here its seems some surface moisture is good for smoke but in the sausage vids a drying step is added. Why?
I’ve made bacon in the past with nitrates and done a true cold smoke just using the cold smoke generator, can I still do a true cold smoke safely without adding the nitrates into the cure ?
if you use the product I am using in this video you can
For sure not the way my grandfather cured his but that was 80 years ago. Great show and tell show.
Can I use regular fine salt in my brine that is not iodinzed
yes
When I was seventeen I had this amazing opportunity to hook up (via a friend) with this CU Health Sciences student- older woman. Anyway, after making myself generally annoying but persistent like a mosquito she whipped up this big BLT Club avocado sandwich then chopped into bits with a big butchers knife and tossed it on top of a big green salad bowl. She just said, " Here". It was the best and I just had to have more. Next week comes along and after school I'm heading over there because I know she's gonna be studying and she's just to damn nice to boot me but on the way I got in caught in a pretty damn nasty trap. I was just cruising along enroute with one planned stop at the liquor store for the then preferred wine cooler spritzer when I happened along this Nissan 300ZX sports car doing 25 in a 30. I passed it at 30 mph only to arrive in second place at the stop light ahead having the Aurora PD ahead and this 300ZX sports car behind. A bald headed guy jumped out from behind and went up to the officer yelling, " He tried to run me off the road". ( Nothing could be further from the truth). So the officer comes up to my window and orders me to pull of to the side - drive over to the right and then demands, " Give me your driver's license right now." So I start pull my I'D from my wallet and peel away the adult 21 yoa overlay perfectly placed on top but the officer got suspicious. Next thing know he's reaching in grabbing my hands and dragging me out into the road. So then he handcuffs me puts me in his car and tears my vehicle apart. After not finding anything he books into jail and impounds my car. He had my current legal driver's license registration and insurance ( not to mention no crime had been committed) but they jail me take my body fluids mug shots and charge me with impersonation. At this point I should be thinking," These people are impersonating human beings". But, they had beat me down to the point of being guilty and when I called my dad for help he backed them up. I wasn't able to finish school, they kept my car, I couldn't get a job, mom and dad turned their backs. It was nearly a year later that they dismissed all charges on the condition that I plea guilty to driving recklessly ( which never occurred). SWINE!
Oh WOW! That's a crazy story. I wasn't expecting that twist at the end. Too bad dad didn't even have your back.
How necessary is a cure when you fry it crispy afterward?
It actually affects colour and taste for pork belly bacon.... 🙂
Interesting. I usually just cure mine with Salt and cook to 165 and that seems to work just fine. It would be fun to cold smoke it though
How much time do you cook your bacon at 165?
If my memory serves me correctly, ration of 1tsp/5lbs of meat. So, for
this cook that's about 2/3rd tsp/piece of meat. Think I'll stick with my
Pink #1. Awesome cook Eric!
ok I'm really confused now. You mention to use 2.25% Salt and .25% Cure in a post below. This does not match the calculator. If I have a 1400gm belly using this I would add 31gm of salt and 3.5gm of Eco. Is that right seems like not enough Eco. I up it to 7gm. Hope that's ok................Please help thanks Pete
If you follow my recipe link it reads that with 1400gm belly you would add 28g salt and 14g ecocure. The other comment was a misunderstanding
can i ese instacure #1 in stead of ecocure #1 ?
yes
change the salt % to 2.25%
My reading on various natural "Nitrite Free" products indicates that the chemical makeup of these natural ingredients convert to nitrites during and/or after processing. Often making the foods in which they are used more nitrite rich than the traditional use of cure#1. Please comment.
The nitrite free products that you are reading about are basically nitrites derived from vegetables. This actually has no nitrites and uses polyphenols to cure the meat.
Ecocure not available on Amazon.
I imagine that product would sell out fast. I'm sure it will be back in stock soon..
dragon fruit at backgraund ???🍊🍊
Hey guys, can i cure a hind leg of a pig that has been frozen? Will it cure, or just dry without developing flavour?
yes. It will cure just fine
Was it really crispy? I’ve tried bacon with and without nitrites and the end result is never crispy 😢
If you listen very carefully when I bite into it, you can hear the crispiness. It comes down to the thickness of the slice (or at least that's what I've noticed). The thinner the slice the crispier it will get. Also cooking it low and slow keeps from burning it
put a 1/16 of an inch of water in your pan first then fry your bacon as you normally would, the water delays the cooking just enough to make very crispy bacon
What are the ingredients in the cure?
I'll give you a teaser. This product doesn't use nitrites to cure the meat it uses polyphenols and antioxidants. Polyphenols are extracted from an assortment of Mediterranean herbs and fruits (called PRE's or Polyphenol Rich Extracts). The actual ingredient list is proprietary but from what I can gather it has rosemary, citrus, probably the bearberry, and a few other polyphenol rich ingredients. The end result yields a nitrite free product that's protected from food borne pathogens
@@2guysandacooler Thank you Eric for the explanation! As far as I know, there are two reasons for using nitrite. One is that it imparts a particular flavour that is typical for nitrite-cured smallgoods, such as ham and bacon. The second reason is that it reduces the risk of a Clostridium botulinum infections. Do we have any data to show how this cure compares to ordinary Prague powder #1 with respect to botulism?
yeah. the scientific tests that have been conducted show that at a 1% dosage it effectively inhibits the growth of C. botulinum. The research indicates that it could actually do a better job than using nitrites in that regard. As far as flavor, the ecocure #1 doesn't impart that typical cured flavor that you usually get with bacons and hams.
@@2guysandacooler Thank you for elaborating, much appreciate it!
Never understood why add black paper if you going to rinse it off later.
The pepper flavor actually penetrates into the meat during the curing process
Why don't you brine it?
I did. It was a dry brine
I realise the legal liability 2 Guys would face if food safety practices weren't recommended but, if cooking, at the temperatures at which bacon is fried, kills microbes and de-nature botulism toxins, why use nitrites or "natural" cures at all?
I plan to make my own bacon without any preservatives whatsoever. Just brown sugar and a very tiny amount of salt in a dry rub, cured in a refrigerator for a week, rinsed, pellicle formation for 24 hrs in the fridge, cold smoked for a couple hours, then sliced and frozen. For consumption, enough would be thawed and fried at one time for individual servings with no leftovers - so no new toxins forming during leftover storage
I fail to see any risk at all. Note: I didn't say any potential risk, I mean no risk if prepared and eaten as described, even if teaming with e-coli, salmonella and botulism spores and toxins before cooking; after cooking should be 100% safe.
I'm I wrong?
Big fan of yours. But this video has quite a few mistakes. I have been semi commercially smoking bacon for over 10 years now.
1. I don't think you can over cure a pork belly. 7 to 10 days for curing.
2. 2g of Cure #1 per kg of meat.
3. Leave the skin on while curing as it controls the saltiness of the bacon. After smoking the skin comes off easy and can be used for flavoring soups and other dishes.
4. Always dry your belly in the fridge after curing to develop a pellicle to which the smoke adheres perfectly. Wet belly doesn't smoke well.
5. 500g of salt to 200g of dirty brown sugar plus anything else you want to add. This is the golden ratio.
I don't see any blood sausage recipes here. Is that by choice or chance? " Blood sausage is a worldwide delicacy with unique regional variants. In Argentina, what's knowns as "morcilla" or Argentine black sausage is a special treat - rich and full of flavor. The sausage is a core component of the asado, which is a regional mixed grill or barbecue meal. If you're new to blood sausage, don't let the name fool you; they aren't bloody. They have a texture and flavor all their own and they're worth adding to your repertoire.
Country of Origin: United States of America
NUTRITION INFO
Ingredients
Cured pork skin (cured with a solution of water, corn syrup solids, sodium phosphates, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite), beef blood, onion, sodium lactacte, wheat flour, salt, sodium (d)acetate, spices. " search "Wild fork" USA company. Love your work.
it's by choice😉
@@2guysandacooler Thanks. Taste or religion, I understand. It's not my choice but a few times a year. You could do a so called white blood sausage [lots of fillers] and the viewer could choose to add his own. "England - White Pudding - diced pork, oats or bread, suet, sugar, onions, cinnamon.
France - Boudin Blanc - pork, milk, parsley, rice, pepper, onions. Boudin blanc de Rethel carries PGI certificate and must be made without filler material. Pork meat, fresh whole eggs and milk.
USA - Boudin Blanc, Cajun Style - pork meat, pork liver, rice, onions, parsley, garlic, pepper.
Poland - White Blood Sausage-pork meat, pork liver, rice, onions, marjoram. "
White sausages would be easy, but regardless of reasons, the blood is just a tough to procure. 👍