Sichuan bacon is divided into two styles according to the region. One is smoked bacon, which is suitable for places with low temperature and high humidity. The second type is wind-blown bacon, which is suitable for places with sunshine and strong winds, such as Panzhihua and Xichang. When it comes to which kind of bacon is delicious, everyone has their own merits! For me, I like smoked bacon to have a stronger flavor.

Today I will share with you how to make authentic Sichuan smoked bacon. I shared a video on how to marinate bacon before, and many netizens left messages asking a lot of questions. Here, Mother He will give you the answers one by one. I hope it will be helpful to you. Some netizens asked, why does the salt used to marinate bacon need to be fried? Why add white wine? Why do you need to clean it after marinating? Will it not break after cleaning? Why not wash it before marinating? These issues will be explained to you one by one in the following articles.

Our Sichuan bacon is delicious, and there are tricks. Master these tips, and you can make authentic Sichuan-style bacon. The color is golden, red and white, the fat is crystal clear, fat but not greasy, and it is especially delicious with wine and rice. Make it yourself and eat more cleanly and with confidence. When making bacon, don’t just add salt, add 5 more spices. The bacon will be crystal clear, fragrant but not greasy!

What should you pay attention to when making bacon? Any tips or tricks? Remember the following 6 points, and you can also make delicious bacon.

First, the weather, the temperature should be below 10 degrees. Is it not possible to do it above 10 degrees? No, it’s just that the prepared bacon is not easy to preserve, and the proportion of salt when curing is different.

Secondly, the bacon that needs to be cured cannot be washed in water. Once the pork is stained with raw water, it will go bad. There is no need to worry about the pork being dirty. The fresh pork bought in the market can be cut as much as you buy. There is no such thing. This question. Of course, except for the kind of frozen pork you buy or the kind that has been cut into pieces and displayed one by one.

Thirdly, why should the salt for curing bacon be heated? After the salt is heated, rub it directly on the bacon. It will easily dissolve in the bacon and can also distribute the moisture in the meat well, so that the bacon can be evenly marinated and flavored. Salt can disinfect and sterilize. It can be placed in a container for fermentation and protect bacon from rotting. Which situation does not require fried salt? There is no need for freshly killed pork. You can directly apply salt on it, because the pork is hot at this time, and the salt will go directly into the meat.

Fourth, white wine should be added to the cured bacon. The main purpose of adding white wine is to remove the fishy smell, greasy smell and evil smell, and to increase the aroma and taste. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to add it.

Fifth, traditional pickling only uses salt and pepper. Now many people add some spice powder to increase the flavor of bacon. However, it is best not to add chicken essence and MSG, as they will affect the taste of the bacon itself.

Sixth, how to preserve cured bacon? Make air-blown bacon and hang it directly in a ventilated place to dry. To make smoked bacon, dry the moisture first and then smoke it. Place it in a cool and ventilated place that is not humid. There are kang heads in rural areas, which are hung directly on the kang and will not break down for a year or so. If you live in the city, you need to hang it in a ventilated place to dry for a month, cut it into small pieces, put it in a sealed bag, and store it in the refrigerator. Generally, it will not change in flavor for a year. By the way, don’t wash the bacon stored in the refrigerator. Just wash it with rice water before cooking. If you put it in the refrigerator after washing, the taste will be very different. Speaking from experience, if you feel obsessive-compulsive, feel free to do so.

Okay, after talking about so many precautions and techniques, let’s share how my family makes smoked bacon. If you like my method, you can refer to it. If you have a better method, please share it.

Ingredients: 10 pounds of pork (pork belly or two or three cuts of hind legs), 3 to 4 taels of salt, 40 grams of red pepper, 20 grams of star anise, 20 grams of sand ginger (can be powdered) Or ginger powder, 15 grams of cinnamon, 60 grams of fresh lemongrass, 1 tael of high-quality liquor. If you can buy good tangerine peel, you can add a little, or orange peel, if you don’t have it, you can omit it.

Method: Fresh pork bought in the market, I use pork belly here, cut into strips of consistent thickness and size according to needs. For those who don't have the conditions to smoke, just make air-blown meat. Then don't cut the meat too thick, otherwise the air-drying time will be longer.

Prepare the spices and salt you need. The spices in my house are all common and relatively easy-to-buy ingredients. If you don't have it, you can add five-spice powder, but it is not recommended to add thirteen incense, because the fragrance is too strong, and the cooked bacon will lose its own fragrance. As for whether to add soy sauce, there is no need here unless you are making wet marinated meat.

Preheat the pan, add salt and stir-fry until the salt becomes hot and the color turns slightly yellow.

Add in pepper, cinnamon, sand ginger, star anise and vanilla. Fry over low heat until fragrant and turn off the heat.

Prepare an appropriate amount of white wine and decide the amount according to the amount of meat. My pot weighs more than 20 kilograms, and I used about 2 taels. Apply all the white wine evenly on the meat

Then sprinkle the fried spices and salt on the meat, and apply it evenly with your hands. Apply it all over the place

Then shake off the excess salt and put it into the earthen jar. The meat must be close and compacted. Finally, spread all the remaining spices and peppercorns on top of the meat. Cover with a pot lid or porcelain basin and marinate. Turn the vat once every other day, flip the meat on top to the bottom of the vat, and turn the meat on the bottom of the vat to the top, so that the marinated meat can be easily marinated and taste evenly.

The marinating time is not fixed. For smaller and thinner pieces of meat, 2 days is usually enough. If the meat is thick and large, about 4 pounds of meat will need to be marinated for 5 to 7 days.

After the meat is marinated, take it out and wash it with hot water. Hot water can wash off the salt on the meat and remove excess grease.

After cleaning, hang the bacon and place it in a ventilated place to dry. Our place is relatively humid, so let it dry for 3 to 4 days. Once the surface becomes dry and non-sticky, you can put it in the smokehouse for smoking.

The methods and materials used for smoking vary from region to region. There are no cypress trees here, so we use dry firewood and corn cobs to smoke the meat. Sometimes we add orange peels or grapefruit peels and smoke them slowly over a low fire.

After one day and one night of smoking and roasting, the meat slowly turns color, golden and attractive, without a strong smoky smell, and has just the right taste.

Of course, there is also a faster method, which is to use a sealed vat, put the meat on top, cover it with an airtight lid or board, and airtightly smoke it for 1 to 3 hours. This is also possible.

Take out the smoked meat and put it in a cool and ventilated place to dry. After another 15 to 30 days of wind blowing, you can eat crystal clear bacon. Wash and cook directly, slice and serve. The aroma is rich, fragrant but not greasy. Friends who like to eat bacon can try it.