Pink Peppercorn

[HolmeCurer]

Hi,

Ive read this forum over the past few years and not contributed so i thought id give something back. Ive been curing for a couple of years now and last year managed to get a couple of stars at the Great Taste awards. Im not a professional and am self taught, but am lucky enough to play in a professional environment.

Heres my recipe for my award winning bacon. Although quite fragrant its a great allrounder. Goes amazingly well with tomato sauce in a butty and also makes a great ingredient to add to wilted greens and soups et al.

I hope you like it as much as i do.

I use SeaSun organic Isreali sea salt. I find it has a similar taste to Maldon but at a fraction of the price. It doesnt have the sharpness and harshness of table or vac salts and i find the finished flavour far superior. I only use Billintons sugars as they are unrefined and superiour in flavour to other brands that are refined that ive used.

Based upon Weight of meat (free range and rare breed preferably. I use Gloucester Old Spot)
3% salt
0.8% light muscovado sugar
0.35% Black Pepper
0.35% Pink Peppercorns
0.1% Nutmeg
0.1% Juniper Berry
2.5g/kg Cure #1
0.15g/kg saltpetre

Grind all the ingredients together and cure the meat for 12 days.
Rinse and pat dry
Grind enough pink peppercorns to cover the flesh side of the loin (havent a clue how much i use but you need a good coverying with no noticeable patches of meat showing)
Hang in the chiller for a day if the humidity is low or two days if high.
Remove from chiller and hang at around 15 degrees and 75% relative humidity for upto 5 days.

I firmly believe the saltpetre gives the meat a certain je ne sais quoi but you dont have to add if if you dont want to.

Thanks and good munching.

Matthew

Edited per the poster's intent - vagreys

[HolmeCurer]

Should read 0.35% black and pink pepper. Sorry can't seem to edit post

[wheels]

Hi Matthew, welcome.

Whilst I'm all in favour of the taste of saltpetre, is 0.15% correct? It's 1500 mg/kg (parts per million) - 10 times anything that'd be allowed commercially - officially that is! But don't feel put off by that; you obviously know what you're doing. It just that I wanted to check that you've not missed a nought off.

It's something that a number of us have been trying to work out - how do you get the taste of saltpetre, but comply with regs?

How much does it need to give the taste?

Please don't think that I'm in anyway criticising, your recipe looks great otherwise.

Phil

[HolmeCurer]

Hi Matthew, welcome.

Whilst I'm all in favour of the taste of saltpetre, is 0.15% correct? It's 1500 mg/kg (parts per million) - 10 times anything that'd be allowed commercially - officially that is! But don't feel put off by that; you obviously know what you're doing. It just that I wanted to check that you've not missed a nought off.

It's something that a number of us have been trying to work out - how do you get the taste of saltpetre, but comply with regs?

How much does it need to give the taste?

Please don't think that I'm in anyway criticising, your recipe looks great otherwise.

Phil

Phil you are correct. I incorrectly wrote 0.15g as opposed to 0.15g/kg which equates to 0.015%

To be honest i use saltpetre by eye mostly and seldom measure. I dont use it in all my cures like the sweeter ones but i feel it definitely enhances the spice based and plainer ones. I'm not sure myself what that saltpetre taste is. I know its there though.

Matthew

[wheels]

Matthew,

Perhaps it's my fault; I didn't notice that you'd gone from % to gm. Thanks for clarifying it, for clarity, I'll amend the recipe.

There are a number of members, me included, who swear that 'saltpetre adds that elusive taste'. I think that we don't hear that much about it because it's virtually banned in the US? (perhaps someone will let me know whether this is correct). In any case it seems frowned upon by the US authorities?

The question that was most pertinent when we discussed (briefly) converting older cure recipes to meet modern standards was whether 150 mg/kg (PPM) could give the taste that the old cures had? Or does it need more?

Any input for yourself, or other members, would be much appreciated.

Phil

[BriCan]

I think that we don't hear that much about it because it's virtually banned in the US? (perhaps someone will let me know whether this is correct). In any case it seems frowned upon by the US authorities?

I do not know how true it is (hearsay ??) but one of my spice supplies informed me when I went to get some (early 2000) that it had been put on the restricted list due to the rash of bombings down south (lower 49th) and with the amount of paperwork that had to be filled out it was not worth it anymore

AFAIK it is not restricted in Canada -- just bloody hard to get hold of

Maybe put some in my case next time home to bring back

[wheels]

What's the Canadian limit on the ingoing Robert?

...and do you consider that the amount allowed gives the same taste as the cures of old?

Phil

[BriCan]

What's the Canadian limit on the ingoing Robert?

...and do you consider that the amount allowed gives the same taste as the cures of old?

Phil

I will have to make a check on this and report back due to not using for some time --- might just start again as I 'love' living on the edge

[wheels]

Thanks Brican.

Matthew, I must try your spice mix, I don't normally spice bacon as highly as you. Does the pink peppercorn flavour come through?

Phil

[HolmeCurer]

Phil,

Yes the pink peppercorn really comes through. It piggybacks off the black pepper nicely. I grind the berries very finely as the inner core is hard and an unappealing grey, brown colour.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nwj4u7e9pmyfaj5/2013-05-22%2010.10.15.jpg

Its a strong flavoured bacon. Its a bit like a mini floral pancetta and it makes a great ingredient. Most of my bacons that i make have very distinct flavours. I'm currently working on a butterscotch one using vanilla salt. So far all I've managed to do is create a bacon that tastes like its been in a buttered butty. I'll get there one day!


As for the saltpetre i really cant help. For me it gives a moreishness. That umami thing i suppose, although many would say bacon already is umami. The elderly customers tell me tales of handfuls of saltpetre being used by their fathers and grandfathers so my minuscule amounts probably have no effect on them. The thicker slices, saltier flavour, drier texture and most importantly an intact rind seem to be the things that evoke the biggest response for them.

[wheels]

Oh boy! That bacon sure looks good. I ought to experiment more, but we use so little now that the kids have left home and I'm on a diet. That said, something like this is good because small amounts of things with distinctive flavour help when dieting.

As to the saltpetre, I started writing a series of articles on converting old recipes about 6 months ago; they've been sitting doing nothing as I intended to experiment to determine the maximum potential salt 'pick-up' possible with a dry cure and to determine the effect of different levels of saltpetre: I've done neither. I've put (an abridged) first part of it online and need to decide what to do with the more detailed parts.

Phil

[NCPaul]

Welcome HolmeCurer. Just wanted to thank you for the bacon photo, can't have too many of those.

[BriCan]

I totally agree with NCPaul with the bacon photo

I dabble a bit with the bacon malarkey and seeing that I might have a bit of free time I will put this on my list to do --- possibly a side by side with and without saltpeter

Welcome HolmeCurer

[HolmeCurer]

Thank you for the welcomes. I'd really be interested in your findings if you get chance.

I'll be making some bacon in the next few weeks with Chilean saltpetre (sodium nitrate) and will be interested to see if there is any difference. I'm guessing not but it sure sounds more exotic on the ingredients list

[wheels]

Yes, that'll be interesting. For some of us at least.

Given that old recipes will use (say) 2oz saltpetre and ¼oz Chile saltpetre I assume that there's some reason for its use?

These are the sort of areas I'd love to explore further.

Phil