Around the winter solstice, there will be a significant cooling process, and people are getting busier and busier, preparing for the winter and the New Year. As the saying goes: winter wax is pickled in the wind, and it is stored to keep out the winter. When the weather is cold and the ground is freezing, the air becomes less moisture and is drier, which is a rare good time to marinate bacon. Now the cured bacon can be put in the New Year, just enough to share the bacon delicacies with the family during the Spring Festival.
The Xi of marinating bacon in winter has a long history. In the beginning, because of the limited storage conditions of food, people were able to extend the shelf life of meat products by curing bacon. To this day, the reason why people still insist on curing bacon is more out of love for traditional food. The marinated bacon, whether it is steamed, boiled, or stewed, is particularly fragrant, and it is completely different from the taste and flavor of fresh meat. Eating bacon, you will feel that the flavor of the New Year is getting stronger and stronger.
When it comes to how to marinate bacon, it varies from place to place, but there are some common tips. My grandmother told me that when marinating bacon, remember not to put salt directly, otherwise the bacon will not be authentic and easy to mold. Grandma said that if you want to marinate a piece of bacon with a golden color and shelf-stable bacon, there are 3 tricks that cannot be forgotten, namely: 1 selection, 2 wipes, and 3 puts. Below, I will share with you the method of marinating bacon that my grandmother taught me, I believe it can provide you with a useful reference.
Basic steps for marinating bacon
1. Prepare 5-10 kg of fresh pork belly and cut it into long strips with a width of about 5 cm. There is no need to wash the meat, otherwise during the marinating process, the moisture on the surface of the meat will not dry, and it will be easy to mold later. After the bacon is marinated, just wash the meat before preparing it for cooking. Before marinating the meat, remember to prepare 1 bottle of high liquor and rub it on the surface of the meat several times, which can play a role in removing the smell and sterilization, and can also prolong the storage period of bacon.
2. Grandma said that when marinating bacon, it is wrong to put salt or salt directly, such salt is not stimulated to produce fragrance, only simple saltiness, and the marinated bacon is not fragrant. The correct way is to fry the salt and other spices in the pan before adding the salt until it is fragrant. According to the ratio of 15 grams of salt, 10 grams of light soy sauce, 5 grams of sugar, 2 grams of five-spice powder, and 2 grams of Sichuan pepper to 1 kg of meat, all the seasonings except light soy sauce are fried in the pot to make them fragrant.
3. Pour the fried seasoning on the pork, add light soy sauce, wear gloves and knead vigorously until each piece of pork is evenly smeared, then pour in 20 ml of liquor above 41 degrees, and continue to grasp and mix evenly. The whole process of grasping and mixing takes about 15-20 minutes, everyone must be patient, this step is the key to whether the meat can be marinated and flavored.
4. After sealing with plastic wrap, put the marinated pork in the refrigerator for 1 day and 1 night, every 3-4 hours, turn the meat over and change the surface, if you are not in a hurry, marinate for 3 days and 3 nights, and the pork will be more flavorful.
5. After the pork is marinated, we use appropriate tools, such as wires, hooks, ropes, etc., to string the pork, hang it in a cool and ventilated place in the yard or home, and dry it for about 7-10 days. When the fat part starts to get oily, looks a little transparent, and the whole piece of meat feels hard to the touch, it's done.
6. Remember to put the marinated bacon into a food preservation bag, if possible, take a vacuum and seal it, put it in the refrigerator for freezing, and it can be stored for 3-6 months without mold or deterioration.
Summary of marinated bacon skills: 1 selection, 2 wipes, 3 puts
1. Choice: Be sure to choose fresh pork belly. Marinating bacon with pure lean meat or pork with a large proportion of lean meat will have a dry taste when marinated, and it will have no fragrance when eaten, and it is difficult to swallow; The trick here is: to choose high-quality pork belly, the more layers the better, so that the marinated bacon has the right ratio of fat and lean, the taste is not dry or greasy, and it is particularly chewy to eat.
2 wipes: Be sure to rub the meat with high white wine. After preparing the pork belly for marinating bacon, remember not to wash it with water, because there are actually a lot of bacteria in the tap water, and it does not have any bactericidal effect, which may be counterproductive. Remember, applying a high degree of liquor instead of washing it will have a better sterilization effect and can also remove the fish.
3. Put: The proportion of salt should be moderate. Generally speaking, about 15 grams of salt is just enough for 1 kg of pork (plus 10 grams of light soy sauce), and a little more or less is acceptable. If there is too much difference from this ratio, the meat is either tasteless or salty, and a few catties of pork will be wasted.
In general, it is not difficult to marinate bacon, as long as you do it correctly in the key steps, you can marinate the bacon, which is sweet and mellow and easy to preserve. In addition, we should remind everyone that when marinating bacon, you can spread newspaper underneath to avoid grease dripping and polluting the floor.
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