There are many ways to make bacon, and different places have different ways of doing it. Sichuan side of the cured bacon is mostly 10 pounds of meat, 3 to 4 pounds of salt ratio.

Hunan bacon curing way with Sichuan curing bacon is slightly different.

Hunan bacon: The way to do it is to cut fresh pork into long pieces, each weighing 3 to 5 pounds. Stir-fry salt in a pot and add the right amount of pepper. Piece by piece with a salt rub; then together in a wooden barrel. After a week, the meat out of the barrel, hanging in the fire pit above the smoke and fire.

Bacon can be kept for two or three years. And the longer it sits, the more flavorful it is.

The traditional methods of processing are as follows:

1, the processing period: generally after the winter solstice to the spring, that is, from December 23 to February 6 of the Gregorian calendar, the processing period of about 40 days.

2, raw materials preparation: earth salt, pepper, five-spice powder in moderation.

3, Salt and pepper marinade:

Meat, salt, pepper, five-spice powder according to the ratio of 100:2:2:1, the salt and pepper powder mixing spare. As soon as possible after the slaughter of pork rubbed salt and pepper powder, it will be loaded into the vat marinade, large pieces of meat strips put down the part, small, thin meat strips put on the upper part, filled with wooden board or film cover, without turning. Marinade time for 5 days to 7 days, so that the salt and pepper powder fully dissolved stick in the meat strips.

4, smoking and baking:

The cured meat strips one by one through the rope hanging on the hanger above the fire hall, to the center of the fire hall to the surrounding expansion. Meat from the fire hall 1.2 meters high ~ 1.6 meters, the use of winter farmers in the fire hall on the cooking, heating and burning firewood to produce smoke and heat for smoking and baking. Smoking and baking the number of natural cooking and heating times appropriate, day smoking and baking night drying, hot and cold. General smoking period of 30 days to 60 days, fuel to charcoal forests, timber forests, sawdust, cake, hulls and other good, do not use garbage or waste paper, agricultural film burning smoke. Smoking fire should not be too large and too rapid, in order to prevent the outside dry inside. Meat should not be surrounded by bamboo curtains or agricultural film fences. Halfway through the hanging meat strips can be switched with each other.

5. off the shelf storage:

After one or two months of smoking and baking, the meat gradually lose water and dry, color from white to maroon, this time can be off the shelf to eat or storage. In order to extend the shelf life, to ensure that the authentic flavor of bacon, can be used in the following four methods of storage: First, the smoked baked meat hidden in the pile or husk of grain, the second is hidden in the sawdust, the third is hanging in the ventilated dry ledge, the fourth is to be wrapped in straw and placed in a dry place.