Salt-cured bacon
 

Hello

So i have a friend who gave me 2 lbs of 'shelf stable' salt-cured bacon wrapped in paper, in a burlap bag. Skin-on, rock hard, slightly moldy. Incredibly salty.

I understand I can't treat it like regular bacon so . . . . what am I supposed to do? Cut off a chunk and throw it in a soup?

I'm about 2 minutes from throwing it away but I want to be a good steward of the gift and I need your help.

Thanks!!! SmileWavy

Don't throw it away!

This is how they use to make bacon in the old days.

Yessir! I understand and I'm interested, but I lopped off a hunk and trimmed it and fried it up in the skillet and had a very hard time with it so I'm ready for suggestions. White bean Soup was my immediate takeaway.

Thank you!

Sorry, no more clues. but I immediately thought of a story my mom told me about when she first got married. some family friend gave them a "real" cured leg of bacon that she hung off a hook and cut bits off it as required. It didn't go rancid because of the salt and smoke curing. She said it lasted a long time.

Very weird.

I've had the bacon from Benton's before. It's got amazing flavor, and it's salt cured, but you keep it frozen and or refrigerated, and even refrigerated, it'll go bad pretty fast. It tastes like bacon, but salty and better than the stuff from the grocery store.

https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/

I've also had their "country ham" which is SUPER salty. You don't cook/eat it like regular ham. I think it's possible to keep it not refrigerated. I found that the ham is good to flavor things, and can be good in certain circumstances. I've heard/read that with the country ham that's super salty, that you can either soak or boil it in water some before you do your other normal cooking which will get rid of the saltiness. Check google.

Send it to me I'll tell you how to deal with it.

That's what my Mom did when we could afford ham. She soaked it a long time.

Treat it like jerky since that's essentially what it is. Bring some water to a boil, take a few slices of the bacon and throw it in the boiling water and let it boil for a few minutes. This will not only get rid of a lot of the saltiness but also soften it up so you can pan fry it like regular bacon.

As others have said, soak it to remove some of the saltiness. Then some fry it in RC cola or Dr Pepper to give it some sweetness.

Saw a couple video blips on meat curing/preserving, and it is a science used since the beginning of our time. There are a couple different kinds of salt and mixtures used. The Mediterranean pink sea salt is high in nitrates and results in a different product. The nitrates preservative is less healthy and should definitely be washed off and meat dried before cooking.

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Use it in Gumbos, Jambalaya's, beans, stews, use it in stuffing other pieces of meats such as chickens, turkeys or ducks etc... What you have there is some awesome seasoning for other dishes. Or cut in it up in small pieces, bake in the oven til it gets crispy. Use that on salads.

I remember my parents getting big ol' salty "country hams"... I haven't had that kind of ham in decades. I reckon I've never had "real bacon" either.

Gotta ask .... what kinda friends give ya 2 pounds of salty bacon?


My kind of friends :)!

Make pork rinds (chicharones)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZcKgdKyxUE

https://shop.bentonscountryham.com/

$32 for 4lbs of bacon. The real killer is the shipping. When I order (it's been several years) I try to order a bunch of stuff as the shipping goes up a fairly small amount as you add stuff.

Sounds basically like pancetta that hasn't been rolled up. If it's super hard, he may have air dried it longer than necessary.
White mold is good, green or black mold is bad. You can remove mold with a light vinegar solution.

I almost placed an order a few years back based upon your posts. I decided I prolly didn't need 20 lbs of bacon.... or even 2 :D.

My grandfather used to drive as far as several states away to buy his hams. He wouldn’t touch a grocery store ham and ridiculed anybody that would eat one.

Dark Shadow has it. Works well in beans, slow cooked so you do not need to worry about the saltiness. Old school goodness.