Recipe: 18 Seaboard's house-cured bacon
Monday is National Bacon Lovers Day, and Chef Jake Wood from 18 Seaboard is sharing the restaurant's house-cured bacon recipe along with a dish featuring the bacon called Devils on Horseback.
18 Seaboard's House Cured Bacon
Cure mix:
- 1 raw pork belly
- 1 cup #1 pink curing salt
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh ground black peppercorn
Directions:
- Rub the entire belly with the cure mix, applying pressure to ensure the rub penetrates the protein and fat.
- Circle back around with a light coat of cure mix on the whole belly. Refrigerate for up to 10 days.
- Smoke the belly above a wood fire grill for up to 6 hours at a very low heat.
- Cool and slice to desired thickness.
One cup of salt might sound like too much for one pork belly, but Chef Wood says, with this special kind of salt, it's not.
"The salt used for bacon is a #1 pink cure salt," said Chef Wood. "It is not a regular kosher, iodized, table, or sea salt. Once mixed with the sugar it creates the perfect flavor we look for after curing and smoking. In fact, a lot of the saltiness is lost while curing/smoking. It’s also very important to spend the time rubbing the spice mix in to ensure the cure salt starts to work on the protein/fats."
Devils on Horseback
- 1 piece of grilled bacon (1/2" thick)
- 1.5 oz chevre goat cheese
- 2 fresh figs (slice into thin rounds)
- 6 fresh blueberries (slice into thin rounds)
Finish with sea salt and desired amount of crystal cane syrup, which is equal parts crystal hot sauce and Lyles golden cane syrup blended.
