Bacon, in ancient times, was a way of preserving food that could not be eaten for a while after the slaughtering of a year-old pig. However, its unique smoky flavor is unique in the gourmet world, so when freezers and refrigerators are prevalent today, the people of Hunan still preserve the custom of smoking bacon.
Every year in the winter months, rural people in Hunan will slaughter their own home-fed pigs, invite friends and relatives to eat a meal to kill pigs, and then the rest of the pork coated with a layer of white wine, and then wiped fried pepper rice salt, into the vat in the marinade. Every ten pounds of meat put three taels of salt, pepper moderate. Every day at noon to turn the tank once a day, five consecutive days of pickling.
Out of the brine (marinated 5 days later), with about 80 degrees of hot water to wash the salt brine, hanging in the firewood room (Changde called ear room, dedicated to put firewood, barbecue, bacon smoked side room), the first day of the fire baked, and then left to the daily barbecue when the fire wood produced by the fire smoke and smoked. From time to time, some grapefruit and orange peels are also added to the fire pit. It is smoked until the New Year. The bacon smoked in this way is hung in the woodshop and will not go bad until the summer of the next year, so you don't have to store it in the refrigerator.
The most authentic and delicious bacon is now very difficult to eat. The best bacon is like this, when you soak it in warm water and wash it first, and then steam it through and cut it open, the fat layer is completely translucent, and the lean part of the meat is dark purple. It has a special Chai flavor.
The bacon production process is roughly as follows, first chop the meat into large pieces, rub salt, sprinkle fried peppercorns, marinate for 7 to 10 days, while hanging up to air-dry, and then smoke it next. In my hometown is to use the cypress tree technology shed smothered fire smoking, generally see the color becomes black and yellow, generally on it. Now used to sell, one is not enough time for curing and smoking, and the second is the cypress tree technology is difficult to find, the surface looks good, steamed out is not so much.
As for how long to smoke to achieve the optimal degree, I have not been clarified, I heard that it is necessary to smoke a few days. Longer is better.
It's hard to get the best bacon now. When I was a child, I used to eat it, and at that time, it was sent directly from the countryside. Some years ago, to the countryside, a farmer to build a house, take out to entertain to help do the work of the townspeople's bacon, is the stove in front of the upper part of the pendant to take down the bacon, said to be hanging for half a year, I just happen to be there as a guest, I re-experience a handful of hours eaten bacon flavor, too delicious. Then last year, someone brought a little from the countryside, also good, but to catch up with the former food, or worse.