Makin' Bacon part 2

When I prepared bacon last December, I went to the local butcher for my pork, asking for a boned loin "with a tail".  He was very obliging but I wasn't happy with the size of the eye which gave me a less generous bacon slice.  The piece was about 3kg which I had to cut into two pieces so that they could fit into a large ziploc bag.

This time, I decided to buy 2 rolled roasts made from the same cut but I chose pieces that obviously had a more meaty loin.  When unrolled, one piece had a short tail which I left intact.  The other had a longer tail which I cut off and treated separately.  This will give me "streaky" bacon which is good for dicing into small pieces called "lardons".  One of the pieces will be smoked and the other cured but not smoked for family members who are not terribly fond of the smoky flavour.

Makin' Bacon

I made my first bacon before Christmas and even though it was very salty, the flavour was spot on.  There's still a few chopped pieces in the freezer and it's time for another attempt, taking aboard my experience from last year.

This morning I prepared the cure and used this to massage the meat.  It's now packaged and ready for refrigeration for about a week.