Jan 25 2012
RECIPE: Easy, Homemade, Chemical-Free Bacon
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Who doesn’t love bacon? Everything is better with butter, but the same is true with bacon, right? Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, and even dessert (mmmm, chocolate covered bacon!). Bacon can be eaten at any meal, any time! And of course there’s turkey bacon, chicken bacon, beef bacon and pork bacon — but will the real bacon please stand up? Well, to me the real bacon comes from pigs of course. When I first started learning more about nutrition, over ten years ago, I stopped eating pork products. Pigs eat anything and everything, are supposedly full of parasites, biblically unclean, and oh, gasp! lets not even talk about the saturated fat content! While this may be true of factory farmed pork, I have since discovered that pork that has been organically and humanely raised, on pasture by small local farms is quite different.
Vitamin D and Pork
According to the Weston A. Price Foundation, pork fat (lard) is the second richest source of vitamin D, with cod liver oil being the best source. In fact, there are 500 IU of vitamin D per teaspoon of lard. But, there is a catch. Since we know that vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin, the pigs have to be outside, or on pasture, being exposed to sunshine in order for them to manufacture vitamin D. And because pigs are generally light skinned with little hair on their bodies, they have the ability to manufacture a lot more vitamin D from the sun than say, chickens, or cows. Pigs in confinement will not be a good source of Vitamin D. What is the big deal about vitamin D anyway? Well, we know from the studies Weston Price conducted on traditional peoples, that on average, those healthy cultures got ten times more vitamin D (and other fat-soluble vitamins) than most people do now. Vitamin D is important for fighting infections (one of the main reasons we catch more colds and flus in the winter), depression, bone health, cancer prevention, and so much more. It is estimated that 77% of Americans are deficient. (source)
Parasites and Pork
Pork meat is one we have been conditioned to make sure we cook thoroughly to kill parasites, specifically trichinosis. This is one of the main reasons I avoided serving pork to my family for so long. Even if you do thoroughly cook your pork and kill any potential parasites, the thought of eating dead parasites wasn’t exactly appetizing. Well, I found it curious that Dr. Weston Price, during his travels in the 1930′s, found several traditional cultures that ate pork and were in superb health. These cultures of course had no fear of the fat content of pork and ate of it freely. But, their pigs were pastured, which I believe makes all the difference. When an animal is living in a healthy environment and eating appropriate food for their species, they are unlikely to be infested with parasites. However, this may have still posed a problem from time to time, so traditional people also knew how to properly prepare pork to destroy any potential parasites. In the Fall 2011 issue of the Wise Traditions journal, this method was investigated. By using salt and or vinegar to cure or marinate pork, it was found to be effective in killing parasites in pork meat and make pork easier to digest. You can read the article here.
Saturated Fat and Pork
Pork has a bad rap for being high in cholesterol and saturated fat. For years now we have been brain washed into believing that saturated fat is bad for us and to avoid it like the plague for fear of clogged arteries, heart attacks and stroke! Thanks to the Weston A. Price Foundation, we now know that we have been lied to and that saturated fat is actually good for us. In her book “Fat”, Jennifer McLagan states that lard and bacon fat only contain 39% saturated fats, 45% monounsaturated fats, and 11% polyunsaturated fats. So, pork fat actually does not have a high saturated fat content, which I think is too bad! I personally try to eat the majority of my fats as saturated as possible, while trying to minimize the mono and polyunsaturated fats. Why do I do this? Saturated fats are the most stable and highly resistant to oxidation. The less saturated a fat is, the less stable it is and is therefore more likely to go rancid and create free radicals. And those nasty free radicals are what causes damage in our bodies. Free radicals = cellular death. Cancer anyone? No thanks!
Today I am sharing with you an easy recipe for making your own bacon. But why would you bother? First, cost. It is always cheaper to make things from scratch rather than pay someone to pre-make it for you. Second, chemicals. Since bacon is a preserved food, it almost always contains preservatives of some kind. Here are the ingredients in a typical package of bacon found in a grocery store: pork, water, salt, sugar, sodium phosphate, dextrose, sodium erythorbate, sodium nitrite, smoke.
Of particular concern, and what I personally try to avoid in all cured meats are:
Sodium Nitrites/Nitrates – Used as a preservative, antibacterial, antimicrobial and coloring agent in many processed meats, are converted to cancer-causing nitrosamines in the body. According to nutritionist Mike Adams, when consumers eat sodium nitrite in popular meat products, nitrosamines are formed in the body where they promote the growth of various cancers, including colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer. “Sodium nitrite is a dangerous, cancer-causing ingredient that has no place in the human food supply,” he explains. (source)
Sodium Erythorbate – A chemical version of vitamin C, used as a food preservative with no nutritional value. It has been found to cause general side effects such as headaches, body flushing, generalized fatigue and malaise, dizziness, lightheadedness and hemolysis. Has also been found to have gastrointestinal and renal side effects. (source)
By making your own bacon, you have the ability to procure the best quality pork available to you. If it is pastured, it will have a high vitamin D content (which many of us are lacking) and you will be able to control the ingredients while still making delicious, easy bacon! I am using both sea salt and apple cider vinegar in my recipe to cure, flavor and kill any potential parasites.
Easy, Homemade, Chemical-Free Bacon
- 1 lb pastured pork belly, fresh and uncured
- 1 TBS unrefined sea salt
- 1 TBS organic apple cider vinegar
- 1 TBS maple syrup, honey, sucanat or palm sugar
- 1 tsp organic molasses
- Optional: Spices of your choice, such as black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, chili powder, etc.
Slab of pork belly in marinade.
1. Your pork belly may come as one whole piece, or for convenience, you can ask your butcher to slice it for you. Slip the whole piece of belly into a large zip-lock bag, or a shallow glass container.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the the ingredients together. It will have a paste-like consistency.
3. Smear the paste all over the pork belly or slices with your hands, or if using the bag, dump the paste into the bag, and use the bag to help smear the paste all over the meat.
4. Place the pork belly into the fridge and let sit overnight. By morning, your bacon will be ready to enjoy for breakfast. If your pork belly was not pre-sliced for you, use a sharp knife to slice pieces off as thick as you like.
5. Fry bacon slices slowly in a cast iron pan over low-medium heat. Be careful not to use high heat because the sugar in the bacon may burn.
Frying up thick slices of homemade bacon.
Enjoy! And be sure to save that delicious bacon fat for another yummy dish!
This post is being shared over at Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesdays and Fight Back Friday. Go over and check out the other real food posts!
I had no idea how easy it would be to season my own bacon! I love this! Now I won’t have to worry about what ingredients my butcher puts on our bacon
Hi Tiffany! It really is that easy. Feel free to experiment with the type of unrefined sugar you use (or use none at all), and the spices you use. Sometimes if I am really lazy, I don’t marinate it all, I just sprinkle the slices with sea salt and black pepper while frying, and the kids are just as happy!
Wow, I had no idea that bacon was so simple to cure.
Thanks for the posting.
Ciao, Pavil
[...] Easy Homemade Bacon, Chemical-Free from Butter Belle. She makes it look so easy and you don’t have to guess what it is made with! [...]
[...] RECIPE: Easy, Homemade, Chemical-Free Bacon | Butter Belle If it is pastured, it will have a high vitamin D content (which many of us are lacking) and you will be able to control the ingredients while still making delicious, easy bacon! I am using both sea salt and apple cider vinegar in my . [...]
This looks like a great idea. do you know how long you can keep it in the fridge? And any reason the recipe requires two kinds of sweeteners? Can I skip one or both altogether? (My husband loves bacon but he can’t imagine having it sweet.)
Hi Carrie, I would say this keeps no longer than any other piece of fresh meat, one week max. I add a small amount of molasses for the depth of flavor it adds, almost a smokiness. You can of course omit it and all of the sweeteners if you like, your preference. Sometimes we just add sea salt and pepper when frying up the slices and forgo marinating altogether.
Actually, nitrites are not bad for you at all. In fact, vegetables have them in immense quantities. Nitrates in cured meats break down to nitrites over the curing process. As for nitrosamines, they are only formed when food is burned. So don’t eats burned bacon.
The whole crusade against nitrites is marketing. Some brands are making false claims (because even nitrite free bacon has plenty of nitrites, they are added as celery salt) to get you to buy their bacon over some other brand.
The recipe you give above is probably tasty, but it will not taste like bacon. I agree that you want higher quality meat and ingredients, but you don’t have to ditch the nitrites!
Thank you for your comment Frances. Actually, I have read the arguments on both sides regarding nitrites and have come to the conclusion that I would rather not expose myself or my family to chemically derived nitrites. I am aware that vegetables contain them, but since it is a natural source, I am perfectly ok with that. Chemical versions of natural substances are never ok in my books.
My recipe actually does taste like bacon, only much fresher, and without the strong, over-salted, chemical aftertaste. In fact, my 10 year old son says my bacon is the best bacon he’s ever had, and believe me, he’s had restaurant/store bought bacon plenty!
I love my bacon really crispy – am I cooking out all the good stuff??
Frances is correct. I have done much research on this issue as well. Nitrates (and eventually nitrites) were found in sea salt used to cure meat. Over the centuries, people realized these nitrates protected the meat from certain deadly toxins. The hype, as Frances notes, started with the U.S. Government sticking their noses into the whole business in the early 1970s. Yes, just like they did with raw milk. And what do we know about raw milk? Ironically, organic bacon contains “natural” nitrates derived from celery. You can purchase them from any meat curing supplier.
BTW, I suggest curing your bacon for closer to 7 days then hang it to dry for 8-24 hours. The texture change with the short drying time is astounding and you get a much better fry and a crisper, more delicious bacon.
Great post and idea! In my home country people usually dry-smoke pork belly or just the fat and eat it raw, no frying! It’s more than delicious. And yes, animals are healthier too..
Where do you buy your pastured pork belly?
This is incredibly awesome! Thank you!
This is prob a dumb question….. But where do u get the pastured pork belly??
Hi Stephanie, I get my pork belly from a local butcher shop that carries organic and pastured meats from local farms. I have to call them and ask them to set aside several pounds for me, because otherwise when they get a delivery of fresh pork belly, they make it into bacon! You can also try some local farms.
Hi Kristin, what I’m opposed to are the chemically derived nitrites and such. Years ago they originally did use sea salt to cure meat. But, eventually, they turned away from sea salt in favor of something cheaper and synthetic. Kind of like what happened to medicine. If it’s synthetic, I would rather avoid it!
With this recipe I posted, I really wanted to avoid having a long cure time. Not many people are going to go to those lengths I don’t think. We find marinating the pork belly overnight in a simple paste is easy and we are quite happy with the results.
[...] is chemical and sugar free, Christine has written a great post for you! She teaches you how to make Easy, Homemade, Chemical-Free Bacon. Amazing! Who knew?! We are able to get our bacon sugar and nitrate free, but did you know that as [...]
Technically it is not “cured” because it will continue to need refrigeration. Still a tasty recipe, although I think I will smoke mine for a while to give it a more traditional bacon flavor.
[...] Pssst! Want bacon without all the additives? Try making your own with this recipe! [...]
[...] Make your own bacon. [...]
Is it possible to make your own turkey bacon? If so, any tips or even a recipe?
Hi Karen,
I don’t think it’s possible to make homemade turkey, or even chicken bacon. I imagine the way they do the store bought stuff is by extrusion of waste/cheap parts of the turkey to form it into strips. Much like how hot dogs might be made.
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[...] can't find any without nitrates (check with local farmers/butchers), you can make your own bacon (RECIPE: Easy, Homemade, Chemical-Free Bacon | Butter Belle) A simple recipe. OR You can also just get some pork belly without making it as bacon (Slow Roasted [...]
This is not Bacon it is seasoned pork belly
Of course it is bacon! What else do you think bacon is? Bacon IS seasoned pork belly!
So… we tried this recipe… well kinda. I just did the salt and maple syrup (I doubled b/c I didn’t have molasses). We let it sit with the pork belly in the rub overnight. It was delicious! Really, the best bacon we’ve ever had. At first when we started cooking it we didn’t think it was going to turn out… it smelled like pork chops at first… but we just keep cooking it and it was yummy. I think we will let it sit in the brine a couple more days next time b/c the salt pulls the moisture out which will make it crispier (according to this and other websites and my limited cooking experience agree). Do try if you like bacon. It yummy!
Oh, I’m so glad you tried it and you liked it Steph. Thanks for letting me know!
I’ve been making this bacon for a few months and we all love it. It tastes better than any bacon you can buy at the store and it’s not sweet tasting. We even bought a slicer just to make it easier. My kids like it better than the smoked, pastured, no chemical nitrate bacon we can get from our local farmer.
Jennifer, that is music to my ears! I am so glad that it is working out for you and your family — thanks for letting me know!
Christine – I just got some pork jowls from my farmer and I’m going to try it with this recipe tonight, I’ll let you know how it goes.
BTW, the pork jowls are so yummy, just like bacon only maybe even a litle better.
Thanks so much for this recipe! I cannot wait to try it! Is there a difference in taste of bacon if the pork belly is marinated as a whole piece or sliced? Or does it not matter?
Nice post. I learn something totally new and challenging on websites I stumbleupon everyday.
It’s always exciting to read content from other writers and practice something from their websites.
This recipe looks really good, and I’m going to try it. One question though: Other websites with nitrate free DIY bacon recipes suggest leaving the meat to marinate for up to 5 days before either smoking or baking in the oven. Is overnight sufficient to ‘create’ bacon? Thanks!
Overnight has always been sufficient for me. Of course you could leave it longer, but because you are using fresh pork, remember it will only last about 5 days or so in the fridge before it starts going bad.
I have tried it both ways, sliced and left whole. I have not noticed much difference, but the sliced does get more surface area covered. I would just try it both ways and experiment for yourself!
Thank you for your recipie. My butcher agreed to try some new recipies without chemicals. Our first run, he just used salt and pepper and smoked it. It tasted great, But when I first put it in the pan raw it had a very gray color to it. Maybe that is from smoking it, I havnt figured that out yet. The bacon is also very stiff once it is cooked.
I am going to try your recipie, but will also have the butcher smoke it.
I am very happy to see people like you making available to the public healthier alternatives. Thank you again.